eCALS

The Marshfield Noon Rotary Club has presented Tom Drendel, superintendent of the College’s Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, with its Service Above Self Award. “It really is our club’s highest award not presented very often, but presented to people who exemplify Rotary’s principles and ideals the best — and Tom is certainly one of those,” past award winner and committee chair, Georgette Frazer said in an article in the Marshfield News-Herald.

Every year CALS honors a select group of seniors for their outstanding academic achievement and contributions to the College. This year eight students were recognized; six won the CALS Outstanding Senior Awards and two won the Meyerhoff Award, a prestigious Campus award. The CALS Outstanding Senior Award winners were: Leann Barden, Ashley Gramza, Nicole Helmke, Jennifer Lechowiec, Molly Sauerbry, and Tanya Zimmerman. The Meyerhoff Award winners were Katherine Gielissen and Craig Kohn. Short biographies are included below. (more…)

Rick Lindroth, entomology, has been selected as the 2009 recipient of the Silverstein-Simeone Lecture award by the International Society for Chemical Ecology. This is the highest honor that the society awards. It is given to recognize outstanding or current work at the frontiers of chemical ecology. Lindroth has been very productive for over 20 years on a diverse array of ecological and evolutionary questions, with a focus on plant-herbivore interactions. (more…)

The UW-Madison student chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association and advisor Sarah Botham, faculty associate in life sciences communications, came away happy from NAMA’s annual student agri-marketing competition. The students received second place overall for their plan to market cotton composite decking board as a superior alternative to wood composite board, and Botham won NAMA’s Outstanding Advisor Award.

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Claudio Gratton and his team working on the Project S-1039, Biology, Impact, and Management of soybean insect pests in soybean production systems, has been selected as the Southern Region Nominee for the National Excellence in Multistate Research Award. Their team was commended for “outstanding accomplishment as a result of effective and exemplary multistate research collaboration demonstrated by a high standard of scientific quality, added value from interdependence, relevance to a regional priority and measurable impact.”

The individuals recognized in the 2008 CALS Awards are a talented and dedicated group of faculty and staff who excel in their responsibilities. It is clear that this group is just a sample of the hundreds and hundreds of CALS employees who contribute so much to the pride and success of our college. You may view pictures of the 2008 awards presentation by clicking slideshow. Watch the two minute show from begining to end or use the controls on the bottom of the player to advance through the slides or choose a gallery view.

A student team coached by Brent McCown, horticulture professor and Director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, won the $10,000 first prize in the 2008 G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition. The following press release by CALS writer Michael Penn, describes the winning effort. (more…)

Ahna Skop, assistant professor in genetics, is a member of the newly appointed Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education. The group held its first meeting on April 23. Task force members represent leaders in education, government, business, and citizen groups. The task force will address the essential role of arts and creativity in education and in cultivating an innovative, entrepreneurial workforce. It will focus on planning and making recommendations for various public agencies, organizations, and businesses to use in strengthening arts and creativity education in the state. (more…)

Laura Kiessling, Hilldale Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Laurens Anderson Professor of Biochemistry, was one of four UW-Madison professors to receive 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship Awards, which recognize artists, scholars and scientists based on distinguished past achievement and exceptional future promise. (more…)

Farm law and tax specialist Phil Harris and soils specialist Dick Wolkowski have received the 2008 Second Mile Award from the Wisconsin Association of County Agricultural Agents. Harris is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Wolkowski is an Outreach Program Manager in the Department of Soil Science. (more…)