USDA Honors ARS Employees in Annual Awards Ceremony

By Sharon Durham
June 5, 2000

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2000--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today honored 61 Agricultural Research Service employees in the 54th annual U.S. Department of Agriculture Honor Awards ceremony.

“Nothing at USDA has impressed me more than the dedication of our workforce,”

Glickman said. “The Honor Awards are a tribute to our employees for their diligence, commitment, and sacrifice in carrying out their responsibilities and serving the American people.”

Glickman presented plaques to the ARS employees and other awardees at a 1 p.m. ceremony in the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center here. ARS is the USDA’s chief scientific research agency.

“It is with great pride and gratitude that we honor these award recipients,” ARS Administrator Floyd Horn said. “The scientific research they have conducted has led to increased yield and nutrient quality of food crops, enhancement of the environment and human health by reducing the amount of pesticides used on crops, and effective epidemiology of animal diseases and strategies to protect our agricultural resources.”

The ARS awards are as follows:

• The ARS Tilletia Controversa Kuhn Pest Risk Assessment Task Force was honored for developing the Tilletia Controversa Kuhn Pest Risk Assessment Model that has helped expand U.S. wheat export trade in China, Brazil, Mexico and India. Wilda H. Martinez, ARS North Atlantic Area Director, based in Wyndmoor, Pa., led the eight-member collaborative group. The group included two other ARS workers and employees of other USDA agencies, as well as the World Agricultural Outlook Board, the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, and private industry.

• Michael J. Kasperbauer, a plant physiologist with the ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center, Florence, S.C., was honored for having a major impact on improved yield and nutrient quality of food crops through pioneering research contributions in plant physiology.

• Henry L. Shands, Office of the ARS Administrator, Washington, D.C., was cited for excellence in development and enhancement of the global genetic resources base for sustainable agriculture and food security.

• The seven-member “Hong Kong H5N1 Avian Influenza Research Group,” led by David Swayne of the ARS Southeast Poultry Research Lab at Athens, Ga., was honored for research leading to advanced understanding of the pathobiology and epidemiology of Hong Kong H5N1 avian influenza and development of strategies to protect U.S. poultry from this disease.

• Richard Brenner, research leader at the ARS Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research Unit at Gainesville, Fla., was honored for development and leadership of a multi-disciplinary research program to enhance the environment and human health through reduction of pesticide use, risk assessment and precision targeting of pest control measures.

• Carrol O. Calkins, research leader at the ARS Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory, Wapato, Wash., was honored for organizing and coordinating the Areawide Codling Moth Suppression Program that reduced pesticides on pome fruit by 82 percent in the western United States.

• Ronald F. Follett, research leader at the ARS Soil, Plant and Nutrient Research Unit at Fort Collins, Colo., was honored for promoting sensible management of soil and water resources for environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture.

• Neal R. Spencer of the ARS Pest Management and Agricultural Systems Research Unit at Sidney, Mont., was honored for providing outstanding leadership in the development and implementation of research and management programs that promote the sensible use of natural resources.

• A 24-member Sustainable Agriculture Research Program team was honored for developing new technologies and greater understanding of the fundamental principles supporting sustainable agricultural systems. James Anderson of the ARS Beltsville Area, Beltsville, Md., was the team leader.

• Bonnie J. Ebel, secretary to the director of the ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) at Gainesville, Fla., was honored for outstanding service and impact on the organizational efficiency and productivity of CMAVE.

• A 20-member team at the ARS Western Regional Research Center, Albany, Calif., was honored for demonstrating exemplary dedication, effort and commitment to prepare students for careers in science. James Seiber of the Albany center was the team leader.

• Lori Delgado, a member of the Secretary’s Hispanic Advisory Council Adopt-A-School Program Workgroup, was honored for outstanding efforts in developing an effective Adopt-A-School program by which the Department of Agriculture may reach out to the schools in the community.

• Gary L. Peterson, Wilda Martinez, and David J. Chitwood, members of the Wheat Export Resolution Team, were honored for exceptional performance, creativity, and perseverance in successfully opening and expanding markets for export of United States wheat to Brazil, India, China, Mexico, and Canada.

• Dan Ellerman and Withers G. Horner, members of the USDA Workplace Violence Prevention Steering Committee, were honored for exceptional and expeditious efforts that have made the Department of Agriculture a safer place to work.

• Richard Parry and Valencia Winstead of ARS, members of the Continuity of Operations Plan, were honored for superb professional performance in the development of the first Department of Agriculture Headquarters Continuity of Operations Plan.

• The ARS members of the Y2K Millennium Rollover Team were honored for outstanding achievement in meeting the challenges of the Y2K millennium rollover while ensuring continued operation and delivery of program services.

Scientific contact: Sharon Durham, ARS Information Staff, phone (301) 504-1611, fax (301) 504-1641, sdurham@asrr.arsudsa.gov, for fax or electronic copies of news releases about these specific awards to ARS scientists.