NPA Center Directors, Research Leaders and Administrative Officers by State

Colorado| Kansas| Montana| Nebraska| North Dakota| South Dakota| Utah| Wyoming

Area Office - Fort Collins

Wilbert H. Blackburn (Will)
Area Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 300
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
Will.Blackburn@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7057
Fax: (970) 492-7065

Dr. Blackburn received his Ph.D. in hydrology from the University of Nevada in Reno in 1973. Will’s field of expertise is hydrology and erosion of range and forest lands.  He pioneered and established information on how livestock grazing affects watersheds.  He joined ARS in 1987 as Research Leader at the ARS Watershed Research Center in Boise, Idaho where he was instrumental in focusing research on high priority national and regional problems.  Will transferred to Fort Collins, Colorado in 1992 as the Associate Area Director for the NPA and assumed the Area Director position in 1995.  He has received numerous awards including Outstanding Achievement Award presented by the Society of Range Management in 1987, Outstanding Teacher, College of Agriculture, University of Nevada, Reno in 1973, and the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2004.  He served on several National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences committees; Advisory Panel, Office of Technology Assessment, and Congress of the United States.  He is a member of the Society of Range Management and has served as Director of this professional society.

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Vacant 
Associate Area Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 300
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
Phone: (970) 492-7058
Fax: (970) 492-7065

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Michael Mcguire (Mickey)
Assistant Area Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 300
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
Michael.McGuire@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7058
Fax: (970) 492-7065

Dr. McGuire received his B.A. degree in Biology from Kansas Wesleyan, Salina and went on to the University of Illinois where he received a M.S. degree from the Department of Ecology, Ethology and Evolution in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Entomology in 1985.  He was then selected into the first class of ARS “Kinney” post docs and was stationed in Bozeman, Montana to work on pathogens of grasshoppers.  In 1988, Dr. McGuire accepted a Research Entomologist position in Peoria, Illinois where he developed formulations of environmentally sensitive biological pesticides.  Dr. McGuire became Research Leader of the Bioactive Agents Research Unit in 1995 where he resided until 2000 when he accepted a position as Research Leader and Location Coordinator for the ARS efforts in Shafter, California.  He is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in insect pathogens with an emphasis in discovery and formulation.  Among Dr. McGuire’s awards are two ARS awards for transfer of novel technology related to control of insect pests.  Dr. McGuire serves on two patent committees and as an RPES panel chair.  He has served in various officer roles for the Society for Invertebrate Pathology and the Entomological Society of America.

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Michael R. Wiggett (Mike)
Deputy Area Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 300
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
michael.wiggett@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7048
Fax: (970) 492-7065

Mike is the Deputy Area Director (Business Management) for the Northern Plains Area (NPA).  He has 16 years of service with ARS.  He started his career in ARS back in 1979 as a Stay-in-School Student in the Area Office in Fort Collins, Colorado.  He entered the Administrative Officer training program in 1989 and was trained in the Midwest Area Office in Peoria, Illinois.  After completing the program, he took his first LAO position in Yakima, Washington.  In 1993, he was selected as the Location Administrative Officer in Phoenix, Arizona.  In 1999, Mike was detailed to the Administrator's Office to help establish the Office of Scientific Quality Review.  Mike has a degree in Business Management from Bob Jones University.

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ASRU - Fort Collins

Lajpat R. Ahuja (Laj)
Soil Scientist & Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
Agricultural Systems Research Unit
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 200
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
Laj.Ahuja@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7315
Fax: (970) 492-7310

Laj received his B.S.(Hons) and M.S. degrees from India, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. He joined ARS in 1979 at the National Agricultural Water Quality Laboratory, Durant OK, and transferred to the current position in 1991. His major contributions are in the areas of: (1) physics and modeling of infiltration; (2) chemical transfer to runoff from surface and subsurface sources & transport to groundwater through soil matrix and macropores; (3) simplified methods for determining soil hydraulic properties, their spatial variability, and their intrinsic scaling relations for different soil types; (4) quantifying the effects of soil management practices on soil properties & processes; and (5) synthesis of interdisciplinary knowledge to develop process-level models of agricultural systems. He is author or coauthor of 170+ refereed journal papers and 105+ other publications. He has served as Associate editor (1987-92) and Technical editor (1994-97), and is currently serving as Book Review editor, for the SSSAJ. He has organized international symposia for the ASA, SSSA, IUSS. He is Fellow of the SSSA and ASA, and received the SSSA Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award, 2004, the ASA Environmental Quality Research Award, 2006, and the ARS Team Award for Superior Efforts in Technology Transfer, 2006. He has served as an expert for IAEA and FAO, an International Advisor for the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Guest Research Professor of the China Agricultural University. He is Faculty Affiliate of the Colorado State University and serves on graduate student committees.

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NCGRP - Fort Collins

Dave Ellis
Acting Research Leader, Supervisory Plant Physiologist
USDA, ARS, NPA
National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation
1111 S Mason St
Fort Collins, CO, 80521-4500
david.ellis@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 495-3227
Fax: (970) 221-1427

Acting Research Leader of the Plant and Animal Genetic Resources Preservation Research Unit at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Dr. Ellis received his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Montana in 1986 and has since been a founding scientist of three biotechnology companies, worked for 8 years at the Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison and has worked in both Australia and Canada.  His research interests have spanned plant development, medicinal compounds in plants, plant molecular biology, plant and insect ecology and conservation of plant genetic resources and diversity.  Dr. Ellis has authored or coauthored 23 refereed publications, 14 book chapters and is an inventor on two patents.  He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Society for In Vitro Biology, a member of the Advisory Board for the Desert Legume Program, a fellow in the Society for In Vitro Biology and a past associate editor of In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Plant.   Dr. Ellis joined the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in 2003 where he is the curator and lead scientist of the Plant Genetic Resources Preservation Program and has interests in global issues surrounding plant genetic resource preservation.

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SBRU - Fort Collins

Leonard Panella (Lee)
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Crops Research Laboratory
Sugarbeet Research Unit
1701 Centre Avenue
Fort Collins, CO  80526-2083
Lee.Panella@ars.usda.gov
Phone: 970-492-7149
Fax: 970-492-7160

Dr. Lee Panella received his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis in 1992.   Lee came to the genetic improvement program of the Sugarbeet Research Unit after his graduation from U C Davis.  His major research interests are sugar beet germplasm development and genetic resources, and the genetic diversity of sugar beet and its major pathogens.  His research program combines traditional methods of crop improvement with the use of new molecular biology techniques.  In 1998 Lee took over the Research Leader position for this Research Unit.  He is chairman of the Sugarbeet Crop Germplasm Committee and has been North American representative to the World Beta Network (organized through the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute).  He has served as president of the Western Society of Crop Scientists, on the board of directors of the American Society of Sugar Beet Technologists, and as chairman of the sugarbeet crop registration sub-committee of the CSSA. He has received many awards including the USDA-ARS, NPA Early Career Scientist of the year, and ASAE – Outstanding Entry in the Educational Aids Competition.

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SPNR - Fort Collins

Ronald F. Follett (Ron)
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
Soil-Plant-Nutrient Research Unit
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 100
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
Ronald.follett@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7220
Fax: (970) 492-7213

Dr. Follett received his Ph.D. in Soil Science from Purdue University in 1966.  For the past 22 years he has been with the ARS Soil-Plant-Nutrient Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado.  He previously served 10 years as National Program Leader with ARS headquarters in Beltsville, Maryland.  He has also been a Research Soil Scientist with ARS in Mandan, North Dakota and Ithaca, New York.  Dr. Follett is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society and is serving as Director in SWCS.   Among his numerous awards, he has received USDA’s highest award twice, the ‘USDA Distinguished Service Award’, as well as the ‘USDA Superior Service Award’.  In 2004, Dr. Follett received the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, and 2005 he received the ‘ARS Senior Scientist of the Year Award’ in the Northern Plains Area.  He is adjunct Professor with Colorado State University and Virginia Tech.  Dr. Follett has edited 14 books and has authored/coauthored nearly 300 scientific publications on topics that include nutrient management for forage production, soil-N and C-cycling, groundwater quality protection, global climate change, agroecosytems, soil and crop management systems, soil erosion and crop productivity, plant mineral nutrition, animal nutrition, irrigation, and drainage.

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WMR - Fort Collins

Thomas J Trout
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Natural Resources Research Center
Water Management Research
2150 Centre Ave, Bldg D, Ste 320
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-8119
Thomas.Trout@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7419
Fax: (970) 492-7408

Dr. Trout received his Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University in 1979.  His early work was in international agricultural development for CSU, USAID, and the World Bank.  In 1982, he joined ARS at Kimberly, Idaho where he developed surface irrigation systems, including cablegation, soil infiltration management practices, and methods to evaluate and reduce irrigation-induced erosion.  In 1995, he became research leader of the Water Management Research unit in Fresno, CA.  In California, he improved irrigation water management practices for several horticultural crops including strawberries, peaches, peppers, lettuce and nurseries using drip irrigation systems and remote sensing.  He also lead a team of soil chemists, plant pathologists, and nematologists to develop drip irrigation application of soil fumigants for high-value crops as an alternative to fumigation with methyl bromide.  His methyl bromide alternatives team won several awards including a USDA Secretary’s Honor Award, a White House Closing the Circle Award, an EPA Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award, and an ARS Technology Transfer Award.  In 2006, he transferred to Ft. Collins, CO to be research leader of the Water Management Research Unit where he is developing practices to sustain irrigated agriculture faced with declining water supplies in the Central Plains.

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CGPRS - Akron, CO

Merle F. Vigil
RL / Research Soil Scientist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Central Great Plains Resource Management
40335 County Rd GG
Akron, CO, 80720-0400
Merle.Vigil@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 345-0517
Fax: (970) 345-2088

Dr. Vigil received his Ph.D. in soil science from Kansas State University in 1989.  Merle’s field of expertise is soil fertility and nutrient cycling in no-till alternative dryland cropping systems.  He has made contributions in factors affecting the rate of N mineralization from organic matter and crop residues and in understanding rotation sequence effects on cropping system sustainability.  He joined ARS in 1989 as a postdoctoral research associate with the Soil and Water Conservation Research unit in Lincoln Nebraska. He then joined the Central Great Plains Resources Research unit at Akron, Colorado in 1991 as a soil scientist. Since 2000 Merle has served as the Research Leader in that unit focusing research on high priority regional dryland production problems.  He has served on the editorial board of the American Society of Agronomy, on the board of the Colorado Conservation Tillage association and has served on several regional advisory panels on global climate change impacts on soil resources.  He is a member of the American Society of Agronomy, The Soil Science Society of America, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society.

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Mary McGuire
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Central Great Plains Resource Management
40335 County Rd GG
Akron, CO, 80720-0400
Mary.McGuire@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 345-0506
Fax: (970) 345-2088

Mary is the new Administrative Officer at the Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, CO.  She has 8 years ARS experience as well as 8 additional years with the Forest Service.  She started her career in ARS back in 1992 as the Purchasing Agent in Stillwater, OK.  Mary transferred to the Forest Service in 2000 working as the Purchasing Agent for the Bighorn National Forest in Sheridan, WY.  She then moved on to the Black Hills National Forest in Rapid City, SD, working as a Fire Business Management Specialist in procurement at the Central Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center.  Mary transferred back to ARS in March of 2008.

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Thomas Shanower (Tom)
Center Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain Marketing & Production Research Center
1515 College Avenue, Room 269
Manhattan, KS 66502
Tom.Shanower@ars.usda.gov
Phone: 785-776-2701
Fax:  785-776-2789

Center Director of the Grain Marketing & Production Research Center (GMPRC) in Manhattan, Kansas. Dr. Shanower was raised in Naperville, Illinois. He received a B.S. degree in Biology from Marietta College in Ohio, and went on to the University of Illinois, where he received a M.S. degree in Entomology in 1982. He then joined the Peace Corp where he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests in the Kingdom of Tonga (South Pacific) for 2½ years. After returning to the US, he attended the University of California at Berkeley and received a Ph.D. in Entomology in 1989.  Tom worked 8 years at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India and 2 years at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Cotonou, Bénin, West Africa.  In 1998, he accepted a Research Entomologist position at the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney, Montana. He has been Research Leader for the Pest Management Research Unit at NPARL since 2000 where his personal research focused on biological control of the wheat stem sawfly, a key pest of wheat in the northern Great Plains. He has authored more than 85 scientific publications and numerous popular articles and abstracts, and has frequently been invited to present seminars and lectures. Dr. Shanower is a member of the Entomological Society of America, the Kansas Entomological Society, and the South Carolina Entomological Society. He is the Editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Urban Entomology.  He was the recipient of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Exchange Fellowship in 1999, Rockefeller Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship for 1987-1990, Noyes Research Grant in 1985, and the von Alexander Memorial Prize in Biology in 1978.

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Robert L. Bowden
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain Marketing and Production Research Center
Plant Science and Entomology Research Unit
4007 Throckmorton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-5502
Robert.Bowden@ars.usda.gov
Phone: 785-532-2368
Fax: (785) 532-6167
 
Dr. Bowden received his B.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Michigan State University (1978), M.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Minnesota (1981), and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin (1989). He worked as an Extension Specialist in Plant Pathology at Kansas State University from 1989-2002 focusing on disease management in cereals and forage crops.  In 2002, he joined the USDA-ARS as Research Leader of the Plant Science and Entomology Research Unit in Manhattan, KS. His research interests include fungal genetics, fungal population biology, and genetic resistance to diseases of wheat.

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Floyd E. Dowell
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain Marketing and Production Research Center
Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit
1515 College Ave
Manhattan, KS  66502
Floyd.Dowell@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (785) 776-2753
Fax: (785) 537-5550

Dr. Dowell received his M.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1985, and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1988.  Floyd’s field of expertise is in developing instrumentation to measure grain quality.  He joined ARS in 1988 as an Agricultural Engineer at the National Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, Georgia where he developed instrumentation for measuring peanut quality.  Floyd transferred to the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in 1995 where he developed automated near-infrared instrumentation to measure single-kernel grain quality.  Floyd became the Research Leader of the Engineering Research Unit in 1999 and leads research to measure grain quality and to develop improved storage and handling techniques.  He has received numerous awards including the ARS South Atlantic Area Young Scientist of the Year in 1994, the ARS and Federal Engineer of the Year in 2000, the ARS NPA Senior Scientist of the Year in 2002, the Harald Perten Prize in 2005, and the ARS Technology Transfer Award in 2005.  He is a member of American Association of Cereal Chemists, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology.

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Thomas Herald
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain Marketing and Production Research Center
Grain Quality and Structure Research
1515 College Ave
Manhattan, KS  66502
Thomas.Herald@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (785) 776-2757
Fax: (785) 537-5534

Research Leader of the Grain Quality & Structure Research Unit at the Grain Marketing & Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas.  Dr. Herald was raised in Michigan.  He earned his B.S. degree in Food Science from Michigan State University, East Lansing MI in 1980.  He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1980-1983 in Swaziland, Southern Africa.  Dr. Herald completed his MS and PhD degrees in Food Science at Michigan State University in the area of food chemistry.  Dr. Herald worked in the food industrial sector with Yoplait USA and Kellogg’s.  He recently completed a 16 + year career at Kansas State University holding the rank of professor in the Food Science Program. Dr. Herald’s research focus was on the chemical and physical properties of food and food ingredients.  He has 58 peer-reviewed publications and numerous invited presentations at national and international meetings.  As Research Leader for the GQSRU, Dr. Herald will integrate his technical background into the identification and utilization of wheat cultivars and sorghum hybrids for use in value-added systems that will include both food and non-food application.

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Janette Jensen
Location Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain Marketing and Production Research Center
1515 College Ave
Manhattan, KS  66502
Janette.Jensen@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (785) 776-2737
Fax: (785) 776-2789

Janette is the Administrative Officer for the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, Kansas. She started her federal career with the Department of Army as a Personnel Administrative Specialist in 1980. She started work for the Department of Defense in 1983 and then transferred to the Department of Energy in 1997. In 2002 she joined ARS.

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James E. Throne (Jim)
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain Marketing and Production Research Center
Biological Research Unit
1515 College Ave
Manhattan, KS  66502
James.Throne@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (785) 776-2796
Fax: (785) 537-5584

Dr. Throne received his Ph.D. in entomology from Cornell University in 1983. Jim’s field of expertise is ecology and management of stored-product insect pests. Recent areas of research are simulation modeling of stored-product insect pests, entomological applications of near-infrared spectroscopy, and studies on psocids as emerging pests of stored products. He joined ARS in 1985 as a Research Entomologist at the Stored-Product Insects Research and Development Laboratory in Savannah, Georgia, and he was transferred to Manhattan, Kansas, in 1994; he was selected as Research Leader in 1997. Awards received include the USDA-ARS South Atlantic Area Early Career Scientist of the Year Award in 1989, and the USDA-ARS Edminster Award in 1999. He was an editor of the Journal of Economic Entomology from 1997-2002 and currently serves on that journal’s Editorial Board, and he serves as President odf the Permanent Committee of the International Working Conferences on Stored-Product Protection. He has been an adjunct professor of entomology at Kansas State University since 1995.

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Mark Petersen
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Fort Keogh - Livestock and Range Research Laboratory
243 Fort Keogh Rd
Miles City, MT, 59301-4016
Mark.Petersen@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (406) 874-8219
Fax: (406) 874-8289

Dr. Petersen received his Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1981. Mark started his career in 1981 as an Extension Specialist for the University of Wyoming and later moved on to Montana State University where he served in a research and teaching position as an Associate Professor in the Animal & Range Sciences Department. In 1991 he accepted a similar role as a Professor of Range Nutrition in the Animal & Range Sciences Department at New Mexico State University where he taught graduate courses and conducted applied field scale research.  His research has focused on year-long grazing of the beef cow herd and utilizing targeted, small sized and potent nutrient supplements to reduce purchased feed costs and optimize reproduction while improving overall ranch profitability.  In 2009 he moved back to Montana to serve as research leader for the Ft Keogh Range & Livestock Research Laboratory and continues a collaborative range nutrition research program.   During his career he has received the Western Section, American Society of Animal Science "Young Scientist Award" and "Distinguished Service Award."

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Maribeth Wuertz
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Fort Keogh - Livestock and Range Research Laboratory
243 Fort Keogh Rd 
Miles City, MT, 59301-4016
Maribeth.Wuertz@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (406) 874-8239
Fax: (406) 874-8268

Maribeth Wuertz is the Administrative Officer for the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory.  She began working for USDA/ARS in November, 2007, transferring from Department of Interior, National Park Service, where she served as the Human Resources Officer in Yellowstone National Park since 1991.  All of her federal career was with the National Park Service in Yellowstone National Park, prior to accepting the Administrative Officer in Miles City.

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Sidney, MT

Robert G. Evans
Research Leader, Supervisory Agricultural Engineer, and Facilities Coordinator
USDA, ARS, NPA
Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory
Agricultural Systems Research Unit
1500 N. Central Avenue
Sidney, MT 59270
Robert.Evans@ars.usda.gov
Phone: 406-433-9496
Fax: 406-433-5038

Dr. Evans graduated with a BS in Agricultural Engineering and an MS in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University (CSU) in 1970 and 1971, respectively. He worked for a consulting engineering firm for a time, and, returned to CSU in 1974 to finish a PhD which was completed in 1981.  In 1976, Bob was appointed as the Colorado state extension irrigation specialist located in Ft. Collins, CO where he worked on statewide water management issues including on farm water management, scientific irrigation scheduling, ground water pollution and agricultural salinity problems.  In October 1980, he accepted a position at the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center at Washington State University-Prosser as an assistant professor/research agricultural engineer. By 1993, he was a tenured professor in the Biological Systems Engineering Department at Washington State University with a 100% research appointment although about 25% of his efforts were in extension and teaching activities.  In January 2001, Dr. Evans assumed the position of Supervisory Agricultural Engineer, Research Leader and Facilities Coordinator of the Agricultural Systems Research Unit at the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Sidney, MT.

Bob's research directly addresses three broad, overlapping areas: 1) water conservation and improved on-farm water management; 2) assessing environmental impacts of various water management strategies (with an emphasis on development of precision agriculture technologies); and, 3) multiple uses of irrigation systems and management alternatives to reduce agrochemical use. The research focus has been on soil/water conservation and improved water quality while enhancing the economic viability of agricultural enterprises.  This internationally recognized research is directed toward long-term, multi-disciplinary team research on irrigated farming systems. It emphasizes an integrated systems approach to solving present and future problems facing irrigated agriculture.  Most of the research projects are long-term, in-depth interdisciplinary team research efforts from 3 to 10 years in duration.

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Dr. John Gaskin
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory
Pest Management Research Unit
1500 N. Central Avenue
Sidney, MT 59270
John.Gaskin@ars.usda.gov
Phone: 406-433-9405
Fax: 406-433-5038 

Dr. Gaskin was raised in Northern California and spent 13 years as a long-haul truck driver in the USA and Canada before turning to a career in science.  John received a B.A. degree in Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz in 1996.  He then went on to a combined program at Washington University in St. Louis and Missouri Botanical Garden to earn a Ph.D. in Evolution and Population Biology in 2002.  John joined ARS in 2002 as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL), working on population genetics of invasive plants and molecular systematics of taxonomic groups containing important weeds.  He then accepted a Research Botanist position at NPARL where his personal research has focused on invasive plants such as saltcedar, whitetop, and rush skeletonweed; investigating how population structure and hybridization in plant invasions interact with biological control efforts. John has authored/co-authored more than 40 scientific publications and has frequently been invited to present seminars and lectures.  He conducts fieldwork throughout the USA and in South America, Eurasia, and Australia.  John is a member of the Weed Science Society of America, California Botanical Society, and the Montana Native Plant Society.  He was the recipient of an EPA-STAR Fellowship in 1999 and has received grants from USDA-CSREES-NRI and the National Geographic Society.

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Barbara L. Flammond
Location Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory
1500 N. Central Avenue
Sidney, MT 59270
Barbara.Flammond@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (406) 433-9485
Fax: (406) 433-9455
 
Barbara acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Great Falls, Great Falls, MT.  She began her career with ARS in May 2004 in Sidney as the accounting technician gaining experience in federal government budgets and funding, time and attendance, property, and travel.  She was promoted to the LAO position in July 2006.  Prior to entering federal service, Barbara managed a Boys & Girls Club, spent 2 years as a business manager for a state hospital, designed an audit program for a locally owned bank,  managed the regional business office for Cenex/Harvest States Cooperative for 4 years and managed a chain of Oilfield Supply Stores in Northwestern Montana for 9 years.

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Clay Center, NE

John A Nienaber (Jack)
Acting Center Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska US Meat Animal Research Center
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE, 68933-0166
Jack.Nienaber@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4109
Fax: (402) 762-4111

Dr. Nienaber received his MS in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in 1971.  He began his career with ARS in Lincoln as a member of the Waste Management Research Unit following graduation.  His early work was with characterization and control of feedlot runoff and utilization of liquid runoff by grass.  In 1976 he transferred to the USMARC where he initiated an animal stress program and developed the environmental laboratory including an indirect calorimetry system and the environmental chambers for livestock research.  He received his PhD in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1981.  His research in livestock energetics, especially with regards to thermal stress, has provided the basis for numerous livestock models.  In 1992 he became the project leader for the new USMARC Beef Cattle Waste Management program and in 1996 he was appointed as the Research Leader of the Biological Engineering Research Unit, now the Environmental Management Research Unit.  His current work includes emphasis on heat stress of feedlot cattle and management of manure from the feedlot, including crop utilization.  He has served as editor of the Structures and Environment Division of ASAE as well as member/leader of numerous technical committees of that Society.  He received the Henry Giese Award, a major ASAE award, in 1995 for his efforts in both livestock stress and manure management.  In 2006, Dr. Nienaber received the rank of Fellow from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

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Glen L Becker
Program Analyst
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Breeding and Genetics Unit
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
Glen.Becker@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4107
Fax: (402) 762-4111

Mr. Becker is the Program Analyst at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center.  He joined the US Meat Animal Research Center in December, 1970, after graduating with a BS in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska – Kearney.  In addition to providing a wide range of support to USMARC, he is active in a variety of local and regional civic and governmental roles.

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Gary L Bennett
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Breeding and Genetics Unit
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
Gary.Bennett@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4254
Fax: (402) 762-4155

Dr. Bennett received his Ph.D. in Animal Science from The Ohio State University in 1977.  His fields of expertise are genetics, linkage analysis, selection, and computer modeling of livestock.  He has modeled components of litter size in pigs to better understand how litter size can be increased, collaborated internationally to more than double the number of genetic markers on the cattle linkage map, and established that selection for heifer calving ease while maintaining yearling weights can reduce calving difficulty and increase calf survival.  Following a post-doctoral position at the University of Nebraska and a scientist position in New Zealand, he joined ARS in 1985 as a Research Geneticist in the Production Systems Research Unit at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and became Research Leader in 1988.   He subsequently became Research Leader for the Molecular Genetics Research Unit in 2004 and then the Genetics and Breeding Research Unit in 2006.  He received the Rockefeller Prentice Memorial Animal Breeding Award from the American Society of Animal Science in 2001 and was Animal Genetics Division Editor for the Journal of Animal Science from 2001-2005.

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Vince Varel
Acting Research Leader (Microbiologist)
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Environmental Management Research
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
vince.varel@ars.usda.gov 
Phone: (402) 762-4275
Fax: (402) 762-4273

Acting Research Leader of the Environmental Management Research Unit at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska.  Dr. Varel received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Quincy University in 1968, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Dairy Science Microbiology from the University of Illinois in 1973 and 1977, respectively.  He joined the Nutrition Unit at the U. S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska in 1977, was transferred to the Environmental Management Research Unit at Clay Center in 2006, and currently leads research in animal waste management.  He is recognized for his expertise in the fields of anaerobic digestion, gastrointestinal fermentation, and waste management.  Research contributions include; establishing the biological potential of methane production from cattle waste, identification of the cellulolytic bacteria in swine, demonstrated that urease inhibitors can be used to control ammonia emission from livestock waste, and plant oils can be used to reduce odors, greenhouse gases, and pathogens from livestock facilities.  Current studies include feeding wet distillers grains to cattle and evaluating the environmental consequences.

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Charles Williams
Acting Research Leader (Research Animal Scientist)
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Nutrition Research
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
charles.williams@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4248
Fax: (402) 762-4155

Acting Research Leader of the Nutrition Research Unit at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska.  Dr. Williams received a Master’s degree in Dairy Cattle Breeding from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 1980 and a Ph. D. in Dairy Cattle Management from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, in 1987.  He joined the Production Systems Research Unit at U. S. MARC in 1988, where his research efforts were focused on modeling the beef cattle production system from cow/calf production to the slaughter rail.  Dr. Williams’ research program is focused on improving production efficiency in the beef industry, using a systems approach to deliver research information in a useable form to producers.  He has published several peer reviewed papers on component models of nutrient utilization and growth in beef cattle and integrated these models with an existing herd model to develop a complete life cycle systems model of the beef production system that incorporates new concepts on nutrient utilization.  Dr. Williams transferred the technology contained in this biological model to the beef industry through the development of a Graphical User Interface for data input to the model and output analysis.  This decision support software (Decision Evaluator for the Beef Cattle Industry, DECI), represents an innovative means to interface producer information with scientific knowledge for evaluation of the effect of strategic management decisions on production and financial performance.

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Michael Heaton
Acting Research Leader (Microbiologist)
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Animal Health Systems Research
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
mike.clawson@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4342
Fax: (402) 762-4375

Acting Research Leader of the Animal Health Systems Research Unit at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska.  Dr. Heaton attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he received a B.S. from the Biological Sciences Department in 1985 and a Ph.D. from the Chemistry Department in 1990.  His postdoctoral training included an appointment at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied the molecular genetics of bacterial cell wall assembly, and another at The Rockefeller University where he studied the spread of antibiotic resistance elements between isolates at the New York Hospital.  After a brief tour with the cattle genomics group at USMARC, he joined their Animal Health Research Unit in 1997 where his primary research interests are in identifying genetic risk factors that predispose livestock to infectious diseases.  As part of this ARS research, Dr. Heaton discovered new DNA markers that facilitate traceback of diseased animals.  In December of 2003, he was one of three USMARC scientists that executed the successful DNA-based traceback of the Washington State BSE case to its Canadian origin.

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Bucky R Herman
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
Bucky.Herman@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4141
Fax: (402) 762-4148

Bucky is the Administrative Officer at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center.  He joined the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in August of 2002.  Prior to becoming the Administrative Officer, Bucky was an Information Technology Specialist (Systems Analysis and Applications Software) at the research center working in the areas of remote data collection and database design. Bucky was raised on a diversified farming operation in central Nebraska and graduated from Hastings College with degrees in Computer Science and Religion. Away from work, Bucky enjoys spending time with his wife and children as well as working outside in the garden.

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Jeffrey L Vallet (Jeff)
Research Leader, Supervisory Research Physiologist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Reproduction Research
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
Jeff.Vallet@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4187
Fax: (402) 762-4382

Dr. Vallet received his Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.  He joined the Reproduction Research Unit of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in 1991, and became Research Leader of that Unit in 2005.  His work has focused on factors affecting litter size in swine.  These include the contribution of uterine secretions and conceptus development during early pregnancy on later placental development and litter size, and the interactions between fetal red blood cell development and litter size.  Dr. Vallet is a member of the American Society of Animal Science and the Society for the Study of Reproduction.  He has served on the editorial board for Biology of Reproduction.

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Tommy Lee Wheeler
Research Leader, Supervisory Research Food Technologist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Meat Safety & Quality Research
P.O. Box 166, State Spur 18D
Clay Center, NE 68933-0166
Tommy.Wheeler@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 762-4221
Fax: (402) 762-4149

Dr. Wheeler received his Ph.D. in Meat Science and Muscle Biology from Texas A&M University in 1989 and then joined the staff at USMARC as a Research Food Technologist in the Meats Research Unit, which was reorganized into the Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit in 2006. His research has emphasized the development of genetic and postmortem strategies to optimize carcass yield and meat quality, improving meat tenderness, instrument grading for beef carcasses, and eliminating pathogen contamination of red meat products.  He has authored or co-authored 122 refereed journal publications, 95 abstracts, 65 technical reports, two patents, and two book chapters.  Dr. Wheeler was the recipient of the Achievement Award from American Meat Science Association in 1996, the Meats Research Award from the American Society of Animal Science in 2002, and Technology Transfer Awards from USDA-ARS in 2004 and 2007 and from the Federal Laboratory Consortium in 2005.

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Lincoln, NE

Kenneth P. Vogel (Ken)
Research Leader, Supervisory Research Geneticist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grain, Forage & Bioenergy Research
314 Biochemistry Hall, East Campus
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0934
Ken.Vogel@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 472-1564
Fax: (402) 472-4020

Ken Vogel received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Colorado State University.  Following service as an officer in the U.S. Navy, he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Nebraska in 1974. He began his ARS research career in the September of 1974.  His primary area of research has been on breeding and genetics of introduced and native grasses for use in the Midwest and central Great Plains and associated management research.  He has developed improved cultivars of switchgrass, big bluestem, intermediate and crested wheatgrass, prairie sandreed, and Canada wildrye and several germplasms.  He has developed improved research tools including quantitative genetics, breeding, and statistical procedures and field and laboratory procedures for breeding forage grasses.  He has emphasized grazing evaluation in his research and has validated the economic value of improved grasses in grazing trials.  Since 1990 he has been conducting research to develop switchgrass into a biomass energy crop which has been critical to the development of biomass energy crops.  He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In addition research assignment, he serves as Research Leader of USDA-ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit, Lincoln, NE.  Unit consists of 3 plant geneticists, 3 plant pathologists, two molecular biologists, and a forage and biomass agronomist.  As Location Coordinator for USDA-ARS, Lincoln, NE, he coordinates the activities of the two USDA-ARS research units located at Lincoln, NE and supervises the Location Administrative Staff.

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Brian J. Wienhold
Research Leader, Soil Scientist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Agroecosystem Management Research Unit
University of Nebraska - Lincoln - East Campus
Lincoln, NE  68583-0938
Brian.Wienhold@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 472-1484
Fax: (402) 472-0516

Research Leader of the Agroecosystem Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Nebraska. Dr. Wienhold was raised in western Minnesota.  He received a B.A. in Biology from Minnesota State University – Moorhead (formerly Moorhead State University) in 1982, a M.S. in Botany from North Dakota State University in 1985, and a Ph.D. from the School of Renewable Natural Resources at the University of Arizona in 1989. Brian began his career with ARS as a Research Associate with the Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville in 1989 working on formulation effects on herbicide fate and transport. In 1994 he moved to the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, ND, where he worked as a Soil Scientist on management effects on soil properties in irrigated and dryland cropping systems. Brian joined the Agroecosystem Management Research Unit (formerly the Soil and Water Conservation Research Unit) in 1997 as a Soil Scientist where he continues his work on management effects on soil properties in spatially variable landscapes. Brian has authored/coauthored over 60 scientific publications and has made presentations at regional, national, and international venues. He is a member of the Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Soil and Water Conservation Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Brian was selected as the ARS Early Career Scientist for the Northern Great Plains in 1996 and was the recipient of an OECD fellowship in 2003.

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Donna A Martin
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Biochemistry Hall, East Campus, Room 314
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0737
Donna.Martin@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (402) 472-1490
Fax: (402) 472-4020

Donna is the Administrative Officer for USDA, ARS, NPA, in Lincoln, Nebraska.  She has 20 years of service with ARS.  She started her career with ARS back in 1979 as a Volunteer Student at the Roman L. Hruska U. S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC), Clay Center, NE.  She attended college at Kearney State College, Kearney, NE while continuing part-time employment at MARC through appointment on a Research Support Agreement with the University of Nebraska.  In 1982 she became a permanent employee at MARC as the Switchboard Operator.  In 1983 – 1988, Donna worked as the Procurement Clerk at MARC and then from 1988 – 2002 served as the Secretary to the Administrative Officer in Clay Center, NE.  Donna was employed at Lincoln, NE in 2006 as the Program Support Assistant for the Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit.

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Fargo, ND

William P. Kemp (Bill)
Center Director
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
Northern Crop Science Laboratory
1307 18th Street North
Fargo, North Dakota 58105-5677
William.Kemp@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  (701) 239-1370
Fax:  (701) 239-1395

W. P. Kemp currently serves as the Center Director of the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, ND. He joined ARS in 1984 and through 1996 was involved with research on the population dynamics and management of grasshoppers and locusts at the Rangeland Insect Laboratory in Bozeman and Sidney, MT. From 1997 to mid 2005, Bill served as Research Leader of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bee Biology & Systematics Laboratory in Logan, UT, where he conducted research on pollination problems and alternative pollinator management in alfalfa seed and orchard production systems.

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Janice Huwe
Acting Research Leader (Research Chemist)
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
Biosciences Research Laboratory
Animal Metabolism – Agricultural Chemicals Research Unit
1605 Albrecht Boulevard
PO Box 5674
Fargo, ND 58105-5674
Janice.Huwe@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 239-1231
Fax: (710) 239-1430

Acting Research Leader of the Animal Metabolism-Agricultural Chemicals Research Unit at the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota.  Dr. Huwe holds both a M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry, with a biochemistry minor, from North Dakota University, and a B.A. in chemistry from Carelton College.  She has been employed at the USDA, ARS, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Biosciences Research Laboratory for 24 years. Before becoming a Category I Research Chemist, Dr. Huwe was a Category III Chemist in the Animal Metabolism – Agricultural Chemicals Research Unit.  As a Cat III Chemist, she synthesized and purified a variety of radio labeled compounds for animal metabolism studies; applied organic chemistry and the use of immobilized enzymes to the synthesis of putative metabolites and their conjugates for identification purposes; studied the degradation of reactive Phase I and II metabolites (i.e. areneoxides and dihydrodiols); used immobilized enzyme systems to compare in vitro metabolism to whole animal studies; incorporated the use of specialty NMR experiments for identification of compounds and to study a protein binding site.  As a Research Chemist, she has worked on the CRIS research project investigating dioxins and related compounds in livestock and laboratory animals and became Lead Scientist of that project in June, 1999.  The dioxin research group is the only laboratory in the USDA (and one of only a handful in the country) capable of analyzing dioxins in foods.  As such, Dr. Huwe has been consulted by the Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) and European Commission authorities during outbreaks of dioxin contamination in chickens in the U.S. and Belgium, by FSIS concerning contaminated beef exported to Japan, and recently by FSIS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over contaminated mineral supplements fed to hogs scheduled for export to Canada.  As a participating scientist on other CRIS projects in the Unit, Dr. Huwe supplies expertise in organic synthesis, analytical chemistry, NMR, and metabolism.  She has authored or co-authored 50 peer-reviewed papers, 13 meeting abstracts, and a USDA position paper on dioxins in agriculture.

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Michael E Foley
Supervisory Plant Physiologist - RL
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
Biosciences Research Laboratory
Plant Science Research
1605 Albrecht Blvd
Fargo, ND 58105
Michael.Foley@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 239-1251
Fax: (701) 239-1252

Dr. Michael E. Foley earned his Ph.D. in agronomy/weed science from the University of Illinois in 1982. Mike’s field of expertise is dormancy in weed seeds and vegetative propagules. He has post-doctoral experience in molecular biology from the University of Oklahoma and been a faculty member at Montana State University and Purdue University. In 1998, he joined USDA-ARS as Research Leader for the Plant Science Research unit in Fargo, ND. He is an adjunct Professor in Plant Science at North Dakota State University, a Fellow in the Weed Science Society of America, and serves as a Director for this professional society. Mike was raised on a diversified crop and livestock farm in southern Minnesota.

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James S. Buckner (Jim)
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Center
Biosciences Research Laboratory
Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Research Unit
1605 Albrecht Blvd
Fargo, ND 58105-5674
James.Buckner@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 239-1280
Fax: (701) 239-1348

Dr. Buckner received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID in 1964 and M.S. (1969) and Ph.D. (1971) in chemistry from North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND.  In 1971 he joined the Agricultural Chemistry Department at Washington State University, Pullman as an Assistant Professor conducting lipid metabolism research in plants and animals.  He joined ARS in 1976 as a Research Chemist in the Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Unit, Fargo and assumed the Research Leader position in 2004. Dr. Buckner has authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific journal articles and conference proceedings, two chapters of a monograph and a book chapter.  Dr. Buckner has gained national/international recognition for his contributions in the areas of lipid identification, and elucidation of the biosynthetic and metabolic pathways of surface lipid components for plants, animals and insects, and of insect uric acid excretion and storage mechanisms.  His current research involves pest insect interactions with host plants and natural enemies, characterization of surface (lipid) components involved in prey recognition, and characterization and function of lipids of pest and beneficial insects.  Dr. Buckner was elected as a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and is a current member of the Entomological Society of America.

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Brady A. Vick
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Center
Northern Crop Science Laboratory
Sunflower Research Unit
1307 18th Street N
Fargo, ND 58105-5677
Brady.Vick@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  (701) 239-1322
Fax:  (701) 239-1346

Dr. Vick is a native North Dakotan and received his B.S. degree in chemistry in 1968 from North Dakota State University.  After service in the U.S. Army, he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1975, also from North Dakota State University.  Most of Dr. Vick’s research career has focused on plant lipid metabolism.  He conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Cruz, under Harry Beevers, studying the subcellular location of fatty acid and phospholipid biosynthetic enzymes.  He joined the ARS Sunflower Research Unit in Fargo, ND, in 1977 and conducted research that outlined many of the reactions of the lipoxygenase pathway in plants, including the biosynthesis of jasmonic acid, later shown to be a stress signal in the defense mechanisms of plants.  Dr. Vick became the Research Leader of the Sunflower Research Unit in 1989.  He is a member of the American Society of Plant Biologists and the International Sunflower Association.

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Michael C. Edwards (Mike)
Research Leader / Research Plant Pathologist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
Northern Crop Science Laboratory
Cereal Crops Research Unit
1307 18th Street North
Fargo, North Dakota 58105-5677
Michael.Edwards@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  (701) 239-1341
Fax:  (701) 239-1369

Dr. Edwards earned his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Cornell University. He has served as Research Leader of the Cereal Crops Research Unit in Fargo since 2001. He has been a Research Plant Pathologist with ARS since 1985, and holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Plant Pathology at North Dakota State University. His current research focuses on the study of the molecular genetics of viruses and host-virus interactions, with emphasis on mechanisms of virus pathogenicity and host resistance. Dr. Edwards also serves as the coordinator for the Mississippi Valley Uniform Regional Barley Nursery, a program essential to the development of new malting barley varieties adapted to the upper midwest. Dr. Edwards has served as both Associate Editor and Senior Editor of Phytopathology, the top-ranked international journal of fundamental plant disease research.  He is a member of the American Phytopathological Society and has served as both member and Chair of the APS Virology Committee. He is also a member of the Plant Virus Subcommittee of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses and is Chair of the Marafivirus Study Group.

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Jeffrey C. Suttle (Jeff)
Research Leader      
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
Northern Crop Science Laboratory
Sugarbeet & Potato Research Unit
1307 North 18th St
Fargo, ND  58105-5677
Jeff.Suttle@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  (701) 239-1257
Fax:  (701) 239-1349

Dr. Suttle received his Ph.D. in plant physiology from Michigan State University in 1979.  His area of research expertise is the hormonal regulation of plant growth and development.  His current research assignment concerns the identification of the internal processes controlling potato tuber dormancy and early sprout growth.  He joined ARS in 1979 working on the interactions between agricultural chemicals and endogenous plant growth regulators.  In 1991, his research assignment was changed to potato postharvest physiology.  He became Research Leader in 1998.  He is a member of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Potato Association of America.

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Jamie J. Wadzink
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
Biosciences Research Laboratory
1605 Albrecht Blvd
Fargo, ND  58105 
Jamie.Wadzink@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 239-1203
Fax: (701) 239-1202

Jamie is the Administrative Officer for the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center. She joined ARS in 2004. She started her career with the Department of Justice in 1997 as a legal clerk with the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) in Fargo, ND. After college, she moved to Minneapolis, MN and worked for the USAO as a Legal Secretary in 1999. In 2001, she worked for U.S. Trustee Program as the Paralegal Specialist/Administrative Officer in Minneapolis, MN. Jamie has a B.S. degree in the Paralegal Program from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, MN.

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Grand Forks, ND

Gerald F. Combs, Jr.
Center Director
Acting RL - Nutitional Determinants of Health Unit
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
2420 2 Ave N, Stop 9034
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9034
Gerald.Combs@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  701-795-8456
Fax:  701-795-8230

Dr Combs received his Ph.D.in Nutritional Biochemistry from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1974.  He joined ARS in 2000 as Center Director of the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center.  Before that, he was a Professor of Nutrition at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York for 30 years.  Dr. Combs' has a wide interest and expertise in Nutrition and Health.  His research concerns the nutritional biochemistry of minerals and vitamins (especially selenium, vitamin E and factors affecting their metabolic functions), ranging from basic biochemical studies to human metabolic and clinical investigations.  He has conducted research in the US, China and South Asia which has sensitized him to the needs to find better ways of utilizing the inherent power of food systems to enhance human health and well-being.

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Matthew Picklo, Sr.
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Micronutrient Absorption and Metabolism Research Unit
Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
2420 2 Ave N, Stop 9034
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9034
Matthew.Picklo@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  701-795-8464
Fax:  701-795-8220

Dr. Picklo received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995.  He performed postdoctoral research from 1996 until 2001 studying the role of oxidative damage to lipids in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.  He became Assistant Professor of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Dakota in 2001 and was promoted and tenured in 2007.  His research addressed the roles of lipid peroxidation in health and disease with an emphasis on mitochondrial dysfunction.  This work focused upon factors affecting metabolism of bioactive, lipid aldehydes derived from endogenous n-3/n-6 fatty acids, and their roles in cardiovascular and neurologic health.  He is extending his work to address the health roles of dietary n-3/n-6 fatty acids and their relationship to obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  During his career, Dr. Picklo was awarded an Oxygen Society "Young Investigator Award” in 1998 and the 2009 Herman Esterbauer Award for lipid peroxidation research.

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Susan M. Sorum
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
2420 2nd Avenue
Grand Forks, ND, 58202
Susan.Sorum@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 795-8358
Fax: (701) 795-8395

Susan is the Administrative Officer at the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center (GFHNRC) in Grand Forks, ND.  She started her career with ARS in 1975 at the GFHNRC working as a Clerk Stenographer.  In 1979 she transferred to the USDA-ARS Potato Research Laboratory where she worked as an Administrative Technician until 1996.  When that laboratory was targeted for closure, she was given an opportunity to return to the GFHNRC where her work focus was on public relations.  In 2001, Susan had an opportunity to come back to administrative work at the GFHNRC, where she also manages the operational support units of the Center.

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Mandan, ND

Jonathan D Hanson (Jon)
Supervisory Rangeland Scientist / RL
USDA, ARS, NPA
Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Room 201, Highway 6 South, PO Box 459
Mandan, ND 58554-0459
Jon.Hanson@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 667-3010
Fax: (701) 667-3054

Dr. Jon Hanson is the Research Leader and a Supervisory Rangeland Scientist of the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, North Dakota. He received his Ph.D. in Range Science from Texas A&M University in 1979. Jon began his career with ARS at the High Plains Grassland Research Station in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1979. In 1984, he was transferred to the range research group in Fort Collins, Colorado. A subsequent reorganization resulted in the formation of the Great Plains Systems Research Unit in 1986. As part of this unit, Jon began to work in both range and crop land systems. Jon's life-long goal is to contribute toward the development and implementation of sustainable and adaptive management systems for agriculture and natural resources by (1) synthesizing and enhancing knowledge of biological and physical processes, (2) developing, validating, and enhancing integrated models of agricultural and natural resource systems, and (3) developing methodologies for transferring technology to managers, action agencies, and scientists. His work has led to the development and implementation of simulation models and decision support tools including SPUR, SPUR2, RZWQM, RZWQM98, GPFARM, and the Crop Sequence Calculator. He is a member of the Society for Range Management, the Agronomy Society of America, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

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Bruce Rittel
Location Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Northern Great Plains Research Lab
P.O. Box 459
1701 10th Ave SW
Mandan, ND 58554
Bruce.Rittel@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (701) 667-3012
Fax: (701) 667-3054

Bruce is the location Administrative Officer for the Northern Great Plains Research Lab (NGPRL) with 18 years of service with ARS.  After receiving a degree in Education from the University of North Dakota, Bruce started his career as a teacher and then worked for the Social Security Administration.  In 1988, he came to ARS as the Administrative Officer at Mandan, ND.  Bruce has already received numerous awards, such as the Super Supervisor Award from the Association for Persons with Disabilities in Agriculture and the Silver Award of Excellence from ARS.  He was the President of the Bismarck-Mandan Federal Association and received the Federal Employee of the Year Award in 2002.  Bruce has also served on many national and local committees for both ARS and the Federal Government.

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Brookings, SD

Dr. Kenton Dashiell
Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory 
2923 Medary Avenue
Brookings, SD  57006-9803
Kenton.Dashiell@ars.usda.gov
Phone: 605-693-5201
Fax:  605-693-5240
 
Dr. Dashiell received his B.S. in Agronomy in 1976, and then spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Vegetable Agronomist in Antigua, West Indies.  In 1979 he received his M.S. in Agronomy from Oklahoma State University, and in 1983 he earned a Ph.D. in Agronomy with a specialization in Plant Breeding from the University of Florida.  He then worked for 18 years at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria.  He lead a team of scientists that developed several soybean varieties that are now being grown in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Uganda, and D.R. Congo.  While at IITA he held various management positions including Leader of the Grain Legume Improvement Program and Director of the Crop Improvement Division.  In 2001 he returned to the United States to serve on the faculty of Oklahoma State University where he was the peanut breeder and taught crop breeding and grain crop production.  In 2004 he joined ARS as the Research Leader at the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, South Dakota.  Here he is leading a diverse group of researchers that are developing IPM and Agronomic practices for producers of food, feed and energy crops in the North Central US and also developing value-added products made from the by-products of the bio-ethanol fuel industry.

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Sharon Telkamp    
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory
2923 Medary Avenue
Brookings, SD 57006
Sharon.Telkamp@ars.usda.gov
Phone:  (605) 693-5203
Fax:  (605) 693-5240

Sharon is the Location Administrative Officer for the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory.  She has twenty years of service with ARS and the Brookings location.  She began her career with ARS in 1986 as a Purchasing Agent and accepted the Administrative Officer position in 2000.

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Logan, UT

Jack E. Staub
Research Leader and Location Coordinator
USDA, ARS, NPA
Forage and Range Research Laboratory
690 N. 1100 E.
Logan, UT 84322-6300 
Jack.Staub@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (435) 797-2249
Fax: (435) 797-3075

Dr. Staub received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Botany from Utah State University in 1971 and 1973, respectively.  He then received a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA in Horticulture with an emphasis in Plant Breeding in 1980.  Between 1973 and 1976 he worked as a research technician for Sandoz Ltd. (Switzerland) and the Medical College of Virginia (Richmond) in cancer research.   From 1980-2007 Jack was a Research Horticulturist with ARS at the Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Madison, WI where his research focused on cucumber, melon, and squash (cucurbits).  Research areas in cucurbits included the identification, description, and application of unique germplasm, investigations of their genetic, biochemical, and physiological nature, and the modification of cultural practices which exploit their genetic potential.  He is a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science (2001), a member of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has served on the academic advisory board of several technical colleges, has advised the completion of work of 25 graduate students (19 Ph.Ds), has been an associate editor of 4 international journals, made 12 germplasm releases, and has published extensively in scientific and technical journals.  He became Research Leader of the Forage and Range Research Laboratory in 2007 where he now conducts genetic and physiological experiments related to forage and range grass species.

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Kip Panter
Research Animal Scientist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory
1150 East, 1400 North
Logan, UT, 84341-0000
Kip.Panter@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (435) 752-2941 ext. 1123
Fax: (435) 753-5681

Dr. Kip Panter is the Research Leader of the Poisonous Plant Research Unit in Logan, Utah.  He earned his BS degree in Animal Science at Utah State University in 1975, MS degree in Reproductive Physiology, Utah State University in 1978 and PhD in Toxicology from the Dept. of Veterinary Biosciences, University of Illinois in 1983.  Dr. Panter accepted a position at the Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory as a Research Animal Scientist in 1984.  Dr. Panters’ research interests include the toxicology of natural toxins on reproduction in livestock, abnormal embryonic and fetal development and general reproductive dysfunction.  Dr. Panter has authored or coauthored over 100 refereed journal articles and served a detail with NPS in Beltsville, Maryland, in 1997 and prepared the annual Food Safety Report.  Dr. Panter received the Senior Scientist of the Year Award from the Northern Plains Area in 2002 and the James LeGrande Shupe Achievement Award from the Department of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences at Utah State University in 2003.

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Rosalind James
Supervisory Research Entomologist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management and Systematics Research
5310 Old Main Hill, Room 253
Logan, UT, 84322-5310
Rosalind.James@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (435) 797-0530
Fax: (435) 797-0461

Dr. Rosalind James is Research Leader of the Pollinating-Insect Biology, Management, and Systematics Research Unit in Logan, UT. The mission of the laboratory, also known as the Bee Biology and Systematics Lab, is to develop bees as sustainable pollinators of agricultural crops, focusing on domesticating new bee species, that is, bees other than honey bees. Additional research is directed in areas of bee biosystematics and pollination biology. Dr. James obtained a PhD in Entomology from Oregon State University and worked as a Senior Scientist at the EPA Environmental Research Laboratory in Corvallis, OR, before joining ARS as an expert in microbial control of insect pests. Dr. James's expertise is in insect pathology, and she now works on developing novel control options and delivery systems for the management of chalkbrood and other diseases, parasites, and predators in bees, especially the alfalfa leafcutting bee. Her research contributes to our basic understanding of host-pathogen interactions and the improvement of methods for controlling bee diseases in agricultural production systems. Dr. James is currently active in the Society for Invertebrate Pathology, serving as Secretary/Treasurer (2004-2006) and Chair Elect (2006-2008) of the Fungus Division, and has published on a variety of subjects including bee diseases, biological control, genetic engineering, and risk assessment.

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John Watterson
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Forage & Range Research Lab
690 North 1100 East, Room 101
Logan, UT, 84322-6300
John.Watterson@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (435) 797-3071
Fax: (435) 797-3075

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Cheyenne, WY

Jack A Morgan
Supervisory Plant Physiologist & Research Leader
USDA, ARS, NPA
Crops Research Laboratory
RRRU (Cheyenne, WY / Fort Collins, CO)
1701 Centre Ave
Fort Collins, CO, 80526-2083
Jack.Morgan@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 492-7121
Fax: (970) 492-7310

Dr. Morgan received graduate degrees in Agronomy/Plant Physiology from the University of Georgia.  In addition to his responsibilities as a Research Leader, Dr. Morgan is also a co-PI on the National Science Foundation funded Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research Project, headquartered at Colorado State University, and is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Wyoming and the Crops and Soils Department at Colorado State University.  His research interests are in photosynthesis, plant/soil water relations, and physiological plant ecology of native grasslands.  His two major areas of research are understanding the effects of global climate change on western rangelands, and evaluating the impacts of management practices on the health of rangelands, particularly in regards to C cycling.  He is a Fellow of the American society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America, and has received several awards, including Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society for Range Management, the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation Award, and the USDA-ARS Colorado-Wyoming Teamwork Award.  He has served on editorial boards of six international journals, participated as a contributing author in the 3rd assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and has applied his experience to international research efforts through service on a US AID evaluation team to Morocco and an FAO book chapter on global change implications for world grazinglands.

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Kathleen S. Peterson (Kathie)
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
High Plains Grasslands Research Station
8408 Hildreth Rd
Cheyenne, WY  82009
Kathie.Peterson@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (307) 772-2433 x 105
Fax: (307) 637-6124

Kathie is the Administrative Officer for the Rangeland Resources Research Unit in Cheyenne, WY, the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, CO, the RRRU at Crops Research Lab, Fort Collins, CO, and also ABADRL in Laramie, WY.  She started her career with the Veterans Administration as a ward clerk/manager.  She has 22 years with ARS.  She started her ARS career as a Research Leader Secretary then moved on to become the Administrative Technician, and finally the Administrative Officer for the 4 locations.  Kathie has a degree in Business Administration from Laramie County Community College.

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Laramie, WY

Barbara Drolet
Acting RL / Research Microbiologist
USDA, ARS, NPA
Agricultural Building, Room 5031, Dept 3354
1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82071-2000
Barbara.Drolet@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (307) 766-3651
Fax: (307) 766-3500

Acting Research Leader of the Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory in Laramie, Wyoming.  Dr. Drolet earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from Oregon State University in 1994 and then went on to do a post doctoral appointment in herpes simplex virus latency and reactivation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA until 1998.  She joined the Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory (ABADRL) in 1999 as a research associate and became a Microbiologist for the ABADRL in 2001. Her research focuses on virus-vector-host molecular interactions of insect transmitted livestock diseases.  Dr. Drolet serves as lead scientist on one of two National Program 103 CRIS project plans and has authored or co-authored 26 publications.

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Kathleen S. Peterson (Kathie)
Administrative Officer
USDA, ARS, NPA
Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory
Agricultural Bldg, Rm 5031, Dept 3354
1000 E University Ave
Laramie, WY 82071-2000
Kathie.Peterson@ars.usda.gov
Phone: (307) 772-2433 x 105
Fax: (307) 637-6124

Kathie is the Administrative Officer for the Rangeland Resources Research Unit in Cheyenne, WY, the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, CO, the RRRU at Crops Research Lab, Fort Collins, CO, and also ABADRL in Laramie, WY.  She started her career with the Veterans Administration as a ward clerk/manager.  She has 22 years with ARS.  She started her ARS career as a Research Leader Secretary then moved on to become the Administrative Technician, and finally the Administrative Officer for the 4 locations.  Kathie has a degree in Business Administration from Laramie County Community College.

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