2014 College of Agriculture Achievements
• National scholar: Nathan Nordstedt, junior in horticultural sciences at K-State, is university's latest recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.
• College of Agriculture/Research and Extension's Nina Lilja elected new secretary of the International Agriculture Section of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities.
• Animal sciences and industry professor Randy Phebus selected to serve on the USDA-FSIS National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection.
• Ganga Hettiarachchi, associate professor of agronomy, named commission chair of international soil organization.
• Six in a row: K-State Crops Judging Team best in the nation.
• High recognition: K-State's C. Michael Smith, professor of entomology, named 2014 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• K-State's Master of Agribusiness program and communications staff are award winners.
• Frank White, professor of plant pathology, receives a prestigious Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards.
• Jason Ellis, associate professor of communication and agricultural education, is named one of 40 individuals under the age of 40 who is making a significant contribution to America's food system.
• International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium selects Vijay Tiwari, research associate in the Wheat Genetics Resource Center, for Early Career Award.
• Cathie Lavis, associate professor and extension specialist of landscape management, is co-recipient of the International Society of Arboriculture's prestigious Alex L. Shigo Award for Excellence in Arboricultural Education.
• The Crops Team goes down under and takes first place at the Australian Universities Crops Competition.
• Dilooshi Weerasooriya, graduate research assistant in plant and breeding genetics, is honored by Phi Kappa Phi honor society with a Love of Learning Award.
• Kun Yan Zhu, professor of entomology, new fellow of the Entomological Society of America.
• Two agricultural economics faculty members receive awards at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting.
• Four graduate students in agricultural economics receive awards at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting.
• Top poster: Analena Simmons, a master's student in grain science, wins the graduate student poster presentation award at the joint annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association in the Companion Animal Section.
• Three K-State graduate students each receive a $10,000 grant from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
• Simply the best: Six College of Agriculture faculty and students receive awards for teaching excellence from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture.
• A two-person team from K-State won Best Overall Project and Employees Choice Video awards at the national Student Infrared Imaging Competition in Melbourne, Florida, June 27-28.
• Steven Keeley, professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources, has received a 2014 Crop Science Teaching Award from the Crop Science Society of America.
• For the 16th time in the last 17 years, K-State's quarter-scale tractor team has won or finished in the top three at the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition.
• Faris Hussain, doctoral student in food science, wins poster competition at the 2014 annual meeting and expo of the Food Institute Techonologists.
• The write stuff: Raymond Cloyd, professor of entomology, received four Awards of Merit from the American Rose Society for articles published in 2013.
• Chad Paulk, doctoral student in animal science, earns a $2,500 scholarship from Feed Energy as part of its "Excellence in Ag" Scholarship Program.
• Two officers of K-State's chapter of Alpha Zeta have been nationally recognized for their leadership and contributions to agriculture for 2014.
• Entomology master's degree student Jessica Kivett is a 2014 HortScholar.
• Charles Rice, university distinguished professor of soil science, leads group making recommendations on climate change mitigation.
• For the 12th time in the last 16 years, the K-State Crops Team wins North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture national crops contest.
• Three K-State students are recipients of scholarships from the National Pork Board.
• Entomology doctoral student Shelly Wiggam gives the top presentation at a national conference.
• Doctoral students earn travel awards to present research at American Phytopathology Society's annual meeting.
• Kingsly Ambrose, grain science, earns the Andersons Cereals and Oilseeds Award of Excellence for superior contributions to science and/or education related to cereals and oilseeds.
• Animal sciences and industry students earn top honors at the American Society of Animal Science/American Dairy Science Association Midwest Section meeting. Kiah Gourley takes first in undergraduate oral presentation; Chad Paulk wins a Young Scholars award; and Hyatt Frobose wins one section of the Ph.D. oral competition, while Kyle Coble takes second in the other section of the oral competition.
• Teresa Douthit, animal sciences and industry, receives the American Society of Animal Science Outstanding Young Teacher Award.
• Dave Bruton, district forester with the Kansas Forest Service, Valley Falls, is the 2013 Kansas Wildlife Federation Forest Conservationist of the Year.
• Agronomy graduate students sweep the top awards in the poster competition at the 2014 Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference in Denver.
• Double winner: Shelly Wiggam, doctoral student in entomology, is the recipient of the prestigious 2014 Janice Lee Fenske Award for Excellence in Wildlife Biology. Wiggam also wins best student oral presentation at the Kansas Natural Resources Conference.
• For the second year in a row, a K-State wheat named Everest is the leading variety in Kansas. Everest was developed by Allan Fritz, K-State Research and Extension wheat breeder in Manhattan.
• Chuck Rice, university distinguished professor of agronomy, is serving a three-year term on the Scientific Steering Group for the North American Carbon Program, or NACP. The group provides scientific leadership for the program.
• DeAnn Presley, associate professor of agronomy and extension soil management specialist, is now a certified professional soil scientist.The Soil Science Society of America Certified Professional Soil Scientist Certifying Board approved Presley's certification. To become certified, candidates must meet rigorous requirements for exams, experience, education and ethics.
• Dallas Peterson, professor of agronomy and weed management specialist, is the president-elect of the Weed Science Society of America.
• Anita Dille received an Outstanding Paper Award from the Weed Science Society of America as co-author of "Local Conditions, Not Regional Gradients, Drive Demographic Variation of Giant Ragweed, Ambrosia trifida, and Common Sunflower, Helianthus anuus, Across Northern U.S. Maize Belt," which was published in Weed Science.
• The K-State Animal Science Collegiate Beef Quiz Bowl Team is national champion of the 2014 National Cattlemen's Beef Association Collegiate Quiz Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. Team members include Chase Miller, Kiah Gourley, Analena Simmons, Tyler Schultz and Angela Vesco.
• The Ogallala Aquifer Program, which includes K-State researchers, received the prestigious 2013 USDA Secretary's Honor Award in the category of enhancing economic vitality and quality of life in rural America.
• Joann Kouba, associate professor of animal sciences and industry, is the NACADA Region 7 Award Recipient for Excellence in Advising-Faculty Role. The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate qualities of effective advising and practices that distinguish them as outstanding in academic advising.
• Showtimes Junior Livestock magazine inducted Scott Schaake, associate professor of animal sciences and industry, into its Hall of Fame at the 2014 Denver National Western Show. To be inducted, individuals must achieve something great in the livestock industry. They may be an exhibitor, judge, show official or someone who makes a great impression. Schaake is the coach of the university's Livestock Judging Team, which has won five national championships under his leadership.
• The 2014 Livestock Judging Team is the winner of the Champions of the Sioux Empire Intercollegiate Judging Contest in South Dakota, beating 14 university teams for the honor.
