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Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences

A Message from Dr. Edwards, Our New Department Head:
Greetings from the hill! It is an exciting time in the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences department, as we have just completed on-campus interviews for a new faculty position in Water Quality and are moving forward with our searches to fill positions in Soil Fertility and Production Agriculture/Crop Physiology. I look forward to updating you on these searches, as well as our progress in filling other key faculty positions in coming issues of our newsletter.


I’ve only been part of the CSES family for a few weeks, but I have already come to appreciate the outstanding group of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters that make our department successful. I look forward to learning more about our impactful research, teaching, and extension programs. I am also looking forward to meeting more of you at Extension meetings and alumni events around the state in the coming year. WPS!

Departmental News

Dr. Jeff Edwards Appointed Department Head

Edwards takes leadership of the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Department on Jan. 10 and said he wants his first year on the job focused on getting to know students and stakeholders. "I want to interact with as many people as possible to learn more about the University of Arkansas System and the people we serve. I want to learn more about our research and extension programs and how I might be able to facilitate them in accomplishing our mission."

Deacue Fields, Dean of the Bumpers College said, "You don't often get a chance to hire someone with his reputation and proven track record for leadership success as a department head. Jeff has the vision to continue building the national prominence of our department of crop, soil, and environmental sciences, and it is a bonus that he completed his graduate work here at the U of A."

Edwards is coming to Arkansas from Oklahoma State University, where he has served as department head for the Plant and Soil Sciences department since 2015. Prior to that, he was the Warth Distinguished Professor of Agronomy at OSU. Edwards said that students became more connected to the plant and soil sciences department during his time as department head at OSU. "I worked to develop very much a family atmosphere, and we were all part of the family working for the same goal."

Dr. Mark J. Cochran, Vice President for Agriculture, retired Sept. 30th.

Cochran encouraged the growth of the entrepreneurship and commercialization of research products and fought hard to obtain funding to continue the Division of Agriculture's research and extension work, enabling the traditional land grant mission to remain strong in Arkansas.

"We are the only higher education institution that has faculty and staff in all 75 counties of Arkansas and programs that reach from cradle into adulthood," he said. "I'm particularly proud of the impact made on youth by our 4-H program and how that impact will continue into the future. The land grant mission is as relevant today as it was in the beginning," Cochran said. "We are fortunate to have highly qualified faculty, county agents, staff and leadership who are well positioned to continue to make a difference for Arkansans of all walks of life in all counties of the state."

Among Cochran's accomplishments was attaining the first increase in the Division of Agriculture's recurring funds in more than a decade. Under his leadership, division faculty and staff adapted in-person activities to online platforms to continue delivering services as COVID-19 emerged, while simultaneously restructuring and merging all of its business and human resources functions into one system for greater transparency. 

 
CSES Student Club President Avery Blair, on the right, and Club VP Lauren Gwaltney, on the left, attending the 2021 HillFest at the Arkansas Union Mall. The Office of Student Activities host HillFest as an information fair for students to meet the different offices, departments, Registered Student Organizations, and other resources that are available to them on campus.
The Annual Tri-Societies meeting, held in Salt Lake City, Utah this year, is a gathering of The American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. In the above two pictures Dr. Nathan Slaton, the interim department head for the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences department, is seen giving a presentation to the scientific community. Graduate students Tatum Simms and Francia Ravelombola, with the CSES departmental manager Daniela Kidd, are pictured below attending to the department booth during the conference answering questions for potential recruits.
Alumni Updates 
Tyson Raper, CSES PhD '14
Associate Professor & Pettigrew Cotton Specialist

University of Tennessee

Tyson is the Associate Professor, Pettigrew Cotton Specialist at the University of Tennessee in Jackson, TN, and UT Extension Cotton Specialist for the state. He was named 2021 Cotton Researcher of the Year at the NatiNonal Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference.

Austin Hawes, ESWS BS '20
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Austin is passionate about ecosystem health and sustainability. He wants "to preserve, improve, and promote the importance of our environment for the benefit of my community and the many generations to come."

 
Faye Smith, CSES BS '11, MS '13
Research Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS
Pendleton, OR.

Faye recently completed her PhD as a Distinguished Doctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas, in the Department of Environmental Dynamics. Faye says she is "a soil scientist interested in soil microbial ecology, soil sustainability, carbon and nutrient cycling, and trace gas emissions."
Casey Rector, CSES BS '15, MS '18
Sixth Grade Science Teacher for Helen Tyson Middle School
Springdale, AR.

Casey is a 6th grade science teacher in Springdale that, before teaching, was the Education & Streambank Monitoring Program Manager with the Illinois River Watershed Partnership.


 
Sunny Bottoms, AGRN BS '97, MS '05
Sales Representative
Gowan USA

Suny worked as an Extension Agent while completing her MS from the University of Arkansas, later earning her PhD from LSU in Agronomy and Crop Science. Prior to Gowan, Sunny worked for Horizon Ag as a Technical Service Rep for nine years as well as a District Field Rep for two.
Kaitlyn McDaniel, ESWS BS '19
Environmental Specialist
Booz Allen Hamilton

Kaitlyn is an Environmental Specialist in Seattle, WA. She works with the Federal Aviation Association to ensure the environmental compliance of its west coast facilities, as well as advising on ad hoc environmental compliance issues across the firm's worldwide clientele.
Kristen Michaels, ESWS MS '05
Soil Conservationist
USDA-NRCS

Kristen is a Soil Conservationist with the Bentonville Field Service Center. She has a strong background and skills in environmental awareness, compliance, conservation, as well as water quality and resource management.
Frank Carey, CSES MS '90, PhD '94
Sr Manager, Research and Dev. East
Valent USA

Frank is a Senior Manager in Research and Development with Valent USA. He Resides in Olive Branch, MS. He was named one of the 2021 Crop Science Outstanding Alumni for his career in Agriculture.
Are you an alumnus?

CSES would like to connect with more of our program's graduates.

If you graduated with a CPSC or ESWS degree, please send Holly Yeatman (hyeatman@uark.edu) an email with a brief description of your journey.  We'd love to know if you are in a career you like, how you got there and how what you learned at the U of A played a role. This is very inspiring for our future and current students.  If you can include a photo of you at work, that would be most helpful!

 
 
Outstanding Students

University of Arkansas Soil Judging Team Wins the 2021 Regional Soil Judging Contest

During the week of October 11th, the University of Arkansas Soil Judging Team, consisting of Jonathan Brye, Dr. Kris Brye, Chandler Arel, Katie Jansson, Lauren Gwaltney, Lilly Stults, and Dillon Lake (left to right in the picture) participated in the 2021 Regional Soil Judging Contest hosted by West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX. 

 

In the individual competition Lauren won 1st, Jonathan 2nd, Katie 4th, and Lilly placed 5th out of 24 total undergraduate participants The University of Arkansas team took 1st place overall, and once again earned an opportunity to participate in the National Contest, for the 10th time in the last 12 years, in Spring 2022. Congratulations to everyone involved!

From left to right, Solomon Frimpong, Ujjwal Sigdel, Wesley France, and Francisco Velasquez collecting drone data at Farmer Field in Conway, Arkansas. Solomon, Ujjwal, and Francisco are al graduate students under Dr. Aurelie Poncet, and Wesley is a program associate for Dr. Poncet as well. All do fantastic work at the farm, and Wesley took the drone photo at the top of the newsletter!
The Southern Weed Science Society has recognized Maria Zaccaro-Gruener as the 2021-2022 Outstanding Ph.D.Graduate Student. She was inspired by her parents who run a plant nursery, and to date has authored or co-authored 5 peer-reviewed papers, 13 extension or technical reports, and 57 abstracts from scientific presentations.

Zaccaro-Gruener’s dissertation focuses on evaluating dicamba translocation and metabolism in soybean, understanding factors affecting volatilization of dicamba and ascertaining the contribution of dicamba volatilization to injury observed on soybean in Arkansas and other locations. She is advised by Distinguished Professor and Elms Farming Chair of Weed Science Dr. Jason Norsworthy.

75th Southern Weed Science Society - Graduate Student Poster Recognition

  • Pamela Carvalho-Moore - First in the PhD Paper Contest Presentation - Top
    • Title: "Initial Insights into the Mechanism of Glufosinate Resistance in Palmer amaranth."
  • Bodie Cotter – First in the MS Poster Contest  - Upper Left
    • Title: "Does Coating Urea with Florpyrauxifen-Benzyl Reduce Risk for Damage to Adjacent Soybean?"
  • Mason Castner - First in the PhD Poster Contest - Upper Right
    • Title: "Use of Radio-Labeled Herbicides to Understand Interactions Between Dicamba and Glufosinate."
  • Noah Reed - Second in the MS Poster Contest  -  Bottom Left
    • Title: "Impact of Drill Spacing and Nozzle Selection on Spray Coverage and Weed Control in Rice."
  • Ty Smith - Second in the MS Paper Contest  -  Bottom Right
    • Title: "Long-Term Management Strategies for Palmer Amaranth Control in Cotton."

Student Internships and Scholarships
 
Johnathan Brye, a Junior majoring in Environmental, Soil, and Water Science, has received the Joe M. Steele & Hardy W. Croxton Memorial Scholarship for the Fall 2021 semester. Jonathan participated in the Soil Judging Contest in October and won 2nd place in the individual competition.
Abigail Norsworthy, a Sophomore double majoring in Crop Science and Agricultural Business, interned over the summer for John Deere's Corn and Soybean team in De Moines, Iowa. Abigail is interested in gaining insight into new technologies that are utilized in the production of corn and soybean.
Lauren Gwaltney, in yellow, a Sophomore majoring in Environmental, Soil, and Water Science, interned at the NWA Land Trust where she participated in a BioBlitz at the BlackBurn Bluffs Preserve. Over that internship they had identified over 200 species on the 300-acre property.
Benjamin Swears, a Senior majoring in Crop Science, worked over the summer under Dr. Jarrod Hardke at the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Through the special problems class Benjamin studied rice uniformity through two different planting techniques.

Easton Reaper, a Senior who is majoring in Crop Science and minoring in Agricultural Business, interned over the summer at Syngenta where he worked on product research and development for the Arkansas region. Easton tested and compared products that could potentially be marketable. 

Matthew Woolard, a Senior who is double majoring in Crop Science and Agricultural Business, interned for his second summer with Corteva Agriscience. Matthew is aspiring to be a weed scientist in order to be in a position to study herbicide resistance in various weed species.

Outstanding Faculty
 

Dr. Lisa S. Wood is the university faculty award recipient for the Hoyt Purvis Award as well as the Imhoff Award recipient. Wood serves as the assistant dean for international education in the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences where she is seen as a strong advocate for both international students coming to the University and domestic students studying abroad.  

Dr. Mary Savin is the recipient of the Spitze Land Grant University Faculty Award of Excellence. The objective of the award is to recognize meritorious comprehensive scholarly performance over a sustained period of time. Such comprehensive performance shall include contributions in all of the areas of academic responsibility unique to the Land Grant mission.

Dr. Nilda Burgos was announced as the recipient of the Outstanding International Education Award for her exemplary work in the advancement of international education. Through teaching, research and service, Dr. Burgos has contributed to the international community through academic programs and student involvement.

Drs. Nathan Slaton (Top Left), Kristofor Brye (Top Right), and Vibha Srivastava (Bottom Left) have received 20 year service awards,and Dr. Andy Pereira (Bottom Right ) has received a 10 year service award, for their continous presence at the University of Arkansas Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Department.
Congratulations 2021 Graduates
Summer/Fall 2021

CSES BS CPSC
Neal Scott Benson
Sohn Suttner

 
CSES MS/PhD CPSC
Isabel Werle
Tristen Avent
James Winston Beesinger
Lawrence Gordon Berry IV
Rodger Bruce Farr
Owen Wesley France
Chester Greub
Koffi Badou Jeremie Kouame
Shelby Lebeau
Mary Jane Lytle
Jake Allen Patterson
Lawson Priess
Payton Rhea
Jordan M.Slayden

                                     
 
 
 

CSES BS ESWS
Garrett Adams
Chandler Michael Arel
Molly Waggoner
Jack Lee Hermon
Amelia Hetrick
Lyndsey Holloway
Colten Mathew Jones
Dillon Lake
Austin Lindquist
Mackenzie Lyon
James Mohrwinkel
Ross Shiery
Ashley Smith
Jacob Lee Smith
Kolten Robert Smith
WELCOME TO THE TEAM
Mitiku Seyoum
Post Doctoral Fellow
Shelby Lebeau
Lab Coordinator/Instructor
If you have news you would like to share with us such as a recent job change, address change or any other information, please contact Jacob Jones (jwj006@uark.edu) with an email. We would love to hear from you.
On behalf of the entire CSES department, we would like to thank you for your interest in our endeavors. The support of our faculty and staff, alumni, and local community plays a crucial role in the positive impact we have on our students and the community around us. With continued support, we look forward to sharing our news and accomplishments with you!
 
-The Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Department

 
Our mailing address is:
Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences
115 Plant Sciences Building
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
479-575-2354
cses.uark.edu

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