12/18/1997

Research Agronomist at Auburn University Receives USDA Honors

AUBURN, Ala. - Wayne Reeves, a research agronomist for the National Soil Dynamics Lab (NSDL) and affiliate professor in the department of Agronomy and Soils in Auburn University's College of Agriculture was named the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 1997 Distinguished Scientist of the Year.

Reeves has been a scientist at NSDL, part of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, since 1985, and the focus of his research is conservation tillage. He currently has conservation tillage projects at the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station's (AAES) Tennessee Valley Substation and Wiregrass Substation, and he is doing research with alternative crops like lupin and pearl millet at the Sand Mountain Substation, Monroeville Experiment Field and E.V. Smith Research Center.

Reeves' research with conservation tillage over the past 10 years has increased conservation tillage acreage in Alabama, helping to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality.

Though NSDL is a part of the USDA, Reeves says the lab has an exceptional relationship with Auburn University and AAES. "The experiment station and the agronomy department have always treated us as members of the faculty. The university doesn't look at the USDA as competitors, but as partners," he said.

Reeves hopes that the honor he has received for his research will bring recognition to the entire lab's work. "I'd like to see the lab get bigger and see more USDA scientists here," he said. "In a time of cuts and money shortages, this might help the lab grow."

Also this year, two former directors of NSDL were honored at the Third International Conference on Soil Dynamics in Haifa, Israel. William Gill, retired soil scientist, and Robert Schafer, retired agricultural engineer, were honored with the planting of ten trees in their names in the Jerusalem Forest for their contributions to soil dynamics.

Schafer also received the 1997 Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal Award for his contributions to the field as agricultural engineering as it applies to soil dynamics.

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Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Anna M. Lee

December 18, 1997