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MSU faculty and staff win departmental honors
MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station recently honored several faculty and staff members for their research, publications and commitment to excellence.
Dan Reynolds, a MAFES researcher and professor in MSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, received the 2012 Excellence in Research award for his work on herbicide application and weed control for crops grown in Louisiana and Mississippi.
MAFES researcher and plant physiologist in MSU's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences K. Raja Reddy received the Outstanding Scientific Publication Award for a paper describing metrics to predict drought tolerance in cowpeas, an important food crop in developing nations. This paper was one of the most frequently downloaded articles for three months in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology.
Associate professor Zhoahua Peng in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology earned the Grantsmanship Award, which is presented to the scientist who receives the most research funding from outside sources.
Mark McConnell, a doctoral student in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, was honored for the publication having the most impact on Mississippi for his paper describing a geospatial model he developed that optimizes conservation opportunities and profitability in agricultural landscapes.
Four facilities managers received Face and Image awards for their efforts to maintain MAFES’s facilities statewide. Honors were given to Keith Daniels, superintendent of the Black Belt Experiment Station in Brooksville and the research centers on campus; Sam Tackitt, farm supervisor at the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station; Peter Hudson, operations coordinator for the Truck Crops Station near Crystal Springs; and Robert Dobbs, facilities coordinator of the Prairie Research Unit near West Point.
Two staff members in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences received recognition for their outstanding contributions to the university, their department and their colleagues. Gail Maddox, business coordinator, and David Brand, senior research associate, were praised for their dedication and hard work. The staff awards were presented by MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and MAFES.