Outstanding Achievement Award
Donald Baker, Soil, Water & Climate emeritus professor, will receive the University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement Award, a distinct
system-wide honor bestowed on only one or two faculty each year. Details of the public ceremony recognizing Baker's life long contributions to the
university community and the state of Minnesota will be announced soon. Baker attained all of his degrees at the University and was a distinguished member
of the faculty in the Department of Soil, Water & Climate from 1958-1994.
Honorary Doctoral Degree
Dr. H.H. Cheng, professor emeritus and former head of the Department of Soil, Water & Climate, received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of Minnesota at the COAFES commencement ceremony on May 9. The Honorary Degree is the highest award conferred by the University of Minnesota to an individual who has achieved acknowledged eminence in cultural affairs, in public service, or in a field of knowledge and scholarship.
Cheng was honored for many great accomplishments in his field, including his work as consultant to the World Bank on soil reclamation projects in China, adviser to a United Nations Development Project regarding water conservation in the Yellow River, and other projects around the world. This is only the 190th honorary doctorate given out by the University in its history.
Distinguished McKnight Professorship
Dr. Michael Sadowsky, internationally renowned for his research in several areas of environmental microbiology, was recently named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor.
The purpose of the Professorship is to recognize and reward the University’s most outstanding mid-career faculty. Recipients are honored with the title Distinguished McKnight University Professor, which they will hold for as long as they remain at the University of Minnesota.
The grant associated with the Professorship consists of $100,000 to be expended over five years.The winners were chosen on the merit of their scholarly achievements and the potential for greater attainment in the field; the extent to which their achievements have brought distinction to the University of Minnesota; the quality of their teaching and advising; and their contributions to the wider community.
He has made major contributions to understanding the genomics, genetics, and biochemistry of the microbial degradation of environmental pollutants. He has also made major contributions to symbiotic nitrogen fixation research, the microbial ecology of bacteria in soils and water, and understanding how global change influences soil microbial processes. He has a great ability to form interdisciplinary collaborations to answer complex microbiological questions.
Professor Sadowsky has published more than 90 original articles, including those in Nature and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. His work is widely cited by researchers in several scientific disciplines and he is a fellow in the prestigious American Academy of Microbiology. Professor Sadowsky has given major addresses at over 50 national and international conferences and was recently editor of the prestigious journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Siehl Award
David E. Johnson, SWAC graduate and former President and CEO of Cenex/Land OLakes Agronomy Company wins Siehl Award.
For nearly 40 years, 2004 agribusiness laureate David E. Johnson has been working with and for farmers and ranchers, devoting his professional life to
ensuring a strong future for U.S. agribusiness. As President and CEO of Cenex/Land OLakes Agronomy Company until 1998, Johnsons leadership had a profound
impact on creating crop efficiency to provide safe, high quality, low-cost agricultural products for consumers throughout the world.
Fellows
Deborah Allen (SSSA and ASA) and Mike Russell (SSSA). ASA Fellow and SSSA Fellow are active members of the Society who have been nominated by other active members of the Society (except members of each Society’s Fellows Committee) to receive the honor of Fellow. Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by each Society. Up to 0.3 percent of each Society’s Active and Emeritus Members may be elected to Fellow.The nominee will have made outstanding contributions in an area of specialization whether in research, teaching, extension, service, or administration and whether in public, commercial, or private service activities.
Hueg-Harrison Fellowships
Jianmin Zhang (a PhD student in atmospheric sciences working with Tim Griffis) and Elena Beyhaut (a M.S. student in soil microbiology working with Peter Graham) were recently awarded Hueg-Harrison Fellowships. These fellowships are awarded “to recognize the student/mentor relationship that evolves during the pursuit of a M.S. or Ph.D. in production (applied) agriculture.” The recipients are called Hueg-Harrison Fellows. Each was nominated by their advisor and each will receive a stipend in support of their graduate pursuits.
Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships
Kurt Spokas and Adam Birr both received Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships from the Graduate School. A very small number of Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships were awarded this year due to the large number of Graduate School Fellowships for incoming students - both fellowships come out of the same pool. Consequently, this is a particularly high honor this year.
COAFES Awards
Dr. John Lamb, who won the Distinguished Teaching Award (tenured division). Distinguished Teaching Awards were established in the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences to recognize those members of the faculty who have made significant contributions to teaching. The Distinguished Teaching Award symbolizes the College’s commitment of excellence in teaching. John was nominated by Ed Nater and Jay Bell.
Dr. Claudia Uhde-Stone, who won the Distinguished Academic (P&A) Staff Award. Claudia is a research associate working with Deborah Allan and Carroll Vance (USDA-ARS and Adjunct Professor in Agronomy and Plant Genetics). Claudia was nominated by Deborah Allan.
Joel Nelson, who won the Distinguished Civil Service / Bargaining Unit Staff Award. Joel is the manager of the Soil And Landscape Analysis Laboratory (the GIS lab) on 5th floor of Soil Science. Joel was nominated by Jay Bell.
Dave Ruschy who won the Civil Service/Bargaining Unit Outstanding Performance Award from the Department of Horticultural Science.
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