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ARS Honors Top Scientists for 2006
By Laura
McGinnis March 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, Mar. 6Discoveries to advance the
expanding field of biobased products and biodiesel research have earned
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
chemist Thomas A.
Foglia the agency's Distinguished Senior Research Scientist of the Year
award for 2006. ARS is the chief in-house scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Foglia and other award-winning ARS scientists were recognized by
ARS Administrator
Edward
B. Knipling at an awards ceremony today at USDA headquarters here. Each
scientist received a plaque, cash award and additional funding for research.
At the
ARS
Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pa., Foglia has helped expand
knowledge of how fats and oils can be converted to biobased products and
biodiesel fuel. During his 38 years with ARS, he has authored or co-authored
228 publications, 175 technical abstracts and 17 patents.
"Dr. Foglia's career has been distinguished not only by his
spirit of scientific discovery, but also by the dedication, integrity and
leadership that have won him the respect of his peers both in the United States
and abroad," Knipling said. (More about
Foglia's research) |
In
addition to the scientists of the year, the agency today honored other agency
employees for outstanding achievements in 2006 for
administration and
financial management,
equal
opportunity and civil rights,
excellence in
information,
office
professionalism, and
technology
transfer. |
ARS
also recognized seven other outstanding Senior Research Scientists for 2006.
The awardees are:
Carlos V.
Alonso (Mid-South Area), research leader, ARS
Watershed
Physical Processes Research Unit, Oxford, Miss., for promoting the
development of integrated watershed and stream channel assessment tools and
other innovations for watershed management and conservation. (More) |
Franklin E.
Barton, II (South Atlantic Area), research leader,
ARS
Quality Assessment Research Unit, Athens, Ga., for helping to advance the
field of biomass conversion research. Many of his discoveries have proved
critical for researchers trying to improve the process of converting biomass
into ethanol. |
Leslie
C. Lewis (Midwest Area), research leader,
ARS
Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, Ames, Iowa, for improving the
nation's pest-control strategies for corn. He helped develop mass-rearing
techniques that increased opportunities to study the European corn borer and
contributed to the development of Bt corn, which has strengthened the
national corn industry. |
Fredrick
J. Muehlbauer (Pacific West Area), research leader,
ARS
Grain Legume Genetics and Physiology Research Unit, Pullman, Wash., for
developing and releasing several cultivars of dry peas, lentils and chickpeas
during his career, including the nation's first winter-hardy lentil cultivar.
(More) |
Jeff
Pedersen (Northern Plains Area), geneticist,
ARS
Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit, Lincoln, Neb., for developing
and releasing numerous forage and grain sorghum lines and genetic stocks that
are benefiting both industry and science. |
Debra C.
Peters (Southern Plains Area), ecologist,
ARS
Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, N.M., for shedding light on how
plant processes influence rangeland plant communities. In addition, she
developed the first individual plant-based model to simulate shrub encroachment
into grasslands. (More) |
Walter
J. Rawls (Beltsville Area), research leader,
ARS
Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., for developing
methods to estimate soil water properties that are used today in models by many
government agencies. |
ARS also recognized eight Early Career Research
Scientists who have been with the agency for seven years or less.
The highest honor, the Herbert L. Rothbart Outstanding Early
Career Research Scientist of the Year Award, went to biologist
Douglas
D. Bannerman,
ARS
Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory, Beltsville, Md.
Bannerman is being recognized for his contributions to
scientific understanding of the bacterial disease mastitis and of the bovine
immune system. His research focuses on developing strategies to reduce
mastitis, leading to increased milk quality and production. (More) |
The
seven other Early Career Research Scientists honored for outstanding work in
2006 were:
Justin D.
Derner (Northern Plains Area), rangeland scientist,
ARS High Plains
Grasslands Research Station, Cheyenne, Wyo., for recognizing the importance
of shifts in plant communities and precipitation thresholds for carbon
sequestration on rangelands. His research has explored the impact of grazing on
rangeland carbon storage. |
Gennaro
Fazio (North Atlantic Area), geneticist,
ARS
Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, N.Y., for his cooperative work with
Cornell University scientists to breed
and release three new apple rootstocks with superior resistance to rootstock
fire blight and replant disease complex. (More) |
Niklaus
J. Grunwald (Pacific West Area), plant pathologist,
ARS
Horticultural Crops Research Unit, Corvallis, Ore., for his expertise in
the area of fungal pathogens. His research has provided new information on the
population evolution, disease development and host range of the pathogens that
cause potato late blight and sudden oak death. (More) |
Yulin
Jia (Southern Plains Area), plant pathologist,
ARS
Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, Stuttgart, Ark., for research
to help control several rice diseases. He has developed DNA markers to improve
the process of breeding rice that is resistant to blast, a significant and
costly disease. (More) |
Eric A.
Schmelz (South Atlantic Area), plant physiologist,
Chemistry
Research Unit,
ARS
Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville,
Fla., for improving biological control by showing how plants detect and defend
themselves against insects and pathogensinformation that could be helpful
in developing more-resistant plants. (More) |
Brian
C. Small (Mid-South Area), physiologist,
ARS
Catfish Genetics Research Unit, Stoneville, Miss., for cooperative research
to improve catfish breeding by developing assays to identify genetically
desirable parent fish. Management decisions based on his research have improved
hatch rates by as much as 30 percent. |
Heping
Zhu (Midwest Area), engineer,
ARS
Application Technology Research Unit, Wooster, Ohio, for increasing the
effectiveness of pest control and drip irrigation. He has developed several
tools to improve the accuracy of pesticide sprays and the efficiency of drip
irrigation equipment. (More) |
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