2011 Agricultural Achievements
* The university's Crops Team was crowned national champion for the third year in a row. K-State teams have now won the championship in 10 of the last 13 years.The team won both the Kansas City Board of Trade and Chicago CME Group collegiate crops contests to take the title. December 2011
* A team of graduate students from the department of agricultural economics earned first place in the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association's case study competition in Frankfurt, Germany. Graduate students Brady Brewer, David Boussios, Cooper Morris, Jessica Johnson and Jaeljattin Jean participated in the graduate student case competition and executive industry interviews. They were given four hours to analyze a business case and craft an executive summary of the problem and their proposed solution. The team presented their analysis and answered questions during two rounds of judging. Team coaches are Vincent Amanor-Boadu, associate professor of agricultural economics, and Arlo Biere, professor of agricultural economics. June 2011
* K-State's quarter-scale tractor team won the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers' 14th annual International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition, June 2-5, in Peoria, Ill. It's the eighth time the team has won the international championship, and the 12th time in the last 13 years that the team has finished first or in the top three of the competition. In addition, K-State came in second in the X-Team competition for students new to the event. June 2011* Anna Whitfield, associate professor of plant pathology, was named as one of the state's top 150 scientists past and present by the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative. June 2011
* Martha Giraldo, a K-State research associate in plant pathology, received an Innovative ETD Award from the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations for her electronic dissertation, "In planta characterization of Magnaporthe oryzae biotrophy-associated secreted (BAS) proteins and key secretion components." She is the fourth K-State recipient of the national award. Giraldo earned her doctorate from K-State in December 2010 and is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Barbara Valent, university distinguished professor of plant pathology. June 2011
* Jon Faubion, professor of grain science and industry, is the recipient of the 2011 AACC International Excellence in Teaching Award. The award recognizes an AACC member and current teacher for significant contributions through teaching in the broad field of cereal science and technology. AACC is a nonprofit organization for specialists in the use of cereal grains in foods. June 2011
* For the third time in a row and the 10th time in the last 13 years, the K-State Crops Team took first place at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture national crops contest. This year's event was April 15 at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, Calif. The K-State team also took home four of the top five individual placings. Chad Huffman, senior, Cunningham, placed first overall; Scott Henry, junior, Goff, second overall; Jason Unruh, senior, Peabody, third overall; and Levi Larkins, junior, Belvue, fifth overall. April 2011
* Charles W. Rice, university distinguished professor of soil microbiology, was named one of the top 150 scientists in Kansas. His selection was part of the "Science in Kansas: 150 Years and Counting" project of the Ad Astra Kansas initiative for celebrating the Kansas sesquicentennial. The project highlights scientists of accomplishment with the goal of inspiring young Kansans. Jan. 2011
