TURF ALUMNI NEWS

The Purdue Turf Program and the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation will host a reception for alumni, friends, and MRTF members at the GCSAA Conference and Show in Orlando, FL. If you will be attending the GCSAA Conference then plan on stopping by the Omni Rosen Hotel on Friday February 12, 1999. The Reception is from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in Salons 15 and 16.

Chad Kasprzak (AS 94 turf, BS 94 Ag Eng, MS 96 Ag Eng) has moved to Raleigh, NC. Chad is a design engineer for John Deere Turf Care. The new manufacturing facility in Raleigh is for assembly and development of mowers for the golf course and commercial mowing industries.

Trent Inman (BS 96) is the Golf Course Superintendent at Royce Brook Golf Club in Somerville, NJ.

Catherine (Pitts) Taylor (MS 96) is now residing in Wauwatosa, WI with her husband Chris. Chris is teaching at an area college.

John Williamson (BS 75) is now working for Blue Ribbon Sod Farm, a 500 acre operation, in Manteno, IL.

Thomas Humphrey (AS 93) is the Golf Course Superintendent at Bear Trace, Crossville TN.

Darrick Robbins (MS 95) married Kristi August 1, 1998. They are living in Chicago IL. Darrick is Assistant Golf Course Superintendent at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, IL.

Steve Reynolds (BS 95) married Michelle November 21, 1998. Steve is the Golf Course Superintendent at Edwood Glen Golf Course in West Lafayette, IN.

Lee Piltz (BS98) and his wife Brigette are living in Fort Wayne IN. Lee is Assistant Superintendent at Cherry Hill Golf Club.

Clark Throssell is a Professor of Agronomy specializing in Turfgrass Science. The largest part of Clark's job responsibility is teaching and advising undergraduates in the turfgrass program. Clark also shares in extension and research activities as well as being Executive Director of the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation. His research interests include weed biology and control, and the fate of fungicides in the turfgrass environment.

Rick Latin is a Professor of Plant Pathology with extension and research responsibilities in the area of turfgrass disease management. His research activities involve the investigation of environmental influences on infectious disease, and the development of weather-based systems for scheduling fungicide applications. He also teaches BTNY 520 (Turfgrass Pathology), a course designed to introduce students to the identification and management of cool-season turfgrass diseases.

Zac Reicher is an Assistant Professor of Agronomy and is the Turfgrass Extension Specialist. Zac spends most of his time working with the professional turf managers in Indiana, but also advises undergraduate students and teaches Professional Turfgrass Management, the senior level class for Turfgrass Science majors. Zac serves as Associate Director for the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation and coordinates educational programming for the Foundation. Zac’s research interests include water quality management on Purdue’s Kampen Course, cultural and biological control of turfgrass diseases, managing yard wastes, and improving turfgrass establishment and renovation.

Don Fassnacht is manager of the William H. Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center. Don is responsible for providing turf areas for researchers in the Departments of Agronomy, Botany and Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Horticulture. Don oversees the general maintenance of the turf areas as well as schedules meetings and seminars in the research building, and gives tours of the Daniel Turf Center.

Dan Weisenberger is a Turfgrass Research Agronomist. Dan's main responsibility is organizing and implementing Dr. Throssell's research ideas. He also helps coordinate the Turfgrass Field Day and the Turfgrass Conference. Dan is editor of the Turf Alumni News and maintains the Purdue Turf Science World Wide Web pages.

Von Sigler is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Agronomy investigating the microbial ecology of environmental systems. Specifically, he is researching the impact of pesticides and biological control organisms on bacteria at a molecular level. This research is being conducted because bacteria are becoming useful in both the biological control of plant pests and for remediation of polluted sites. Von is also involved in studies to determine the environmental fate of these applied organisms.

We are making great progress on the William H. Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center. As many of you saw at the Field Day in July, we had about 9 acres of turf plots established and have added another 4 to 5 acres since then. Included are 1 acre of USGA specification green, 1 acre of native soil green, over 3 acres of fairway height turf, and 4 acres of home lawn or rough-height turf. All of our newly initiated research is located at the Daniel Turf Center or on the Purdue Ackerman or Kampen Courses. However, we still have a few long-term projects at the Agronomy Research Center which will continue through summer of 2000. Projects that have been initiated at the Daniel Turf Center and/or the Kampen Course include investigating biological control of turf diseases, control of red thread in lawns, biology of take-all patch, turfgrass establishment, control of Poa trivialis, fine-leaf fescue cultivar evaluation, native species testing, and creeping bentgrass cultivar evaluations.

As was promised at Field Day, the educational facility has been started and is probably 60-70% finished. The building is now finished to the point of being weather-proofed and the contractors are currently installing drywall. The finish date on the educational facility will be no later than April 9, 1999. Thus by next summer and fall, we will be holding undergraduate classes at the Daniel Turf Center as well as extension events. The educational facility will include a classroom capable of holding 70 people, a large open office for graduate students and other research personnel working at the Center, a room to harvest and dissect plants, an office for the facility manager, a small shop, and equipment storage. We are very excited to move all of our turfgrass research and educational operations to the Daniel Turf Center and invite the Indiana turf industry to the 1999 Field Day on July 27.

Clark Throssell	Turf Science	765-494-4785
Zac Reicher	Turf Science	765-494-9737
Rick Latin	Turf Pathology	765-494-4639
Tim Gibb	Turf Entomology	765-494-4570
Mike Dana	Ornamental Grasses	765-494-5923
Bev Bratton	Secretary	765-494-8039
Don Fassnacht	Daniel Turf Center Manager	765-427-4373
Glenn Hardebeck	Research Agronomist	765-494-8087
Dan Weisenberger	Research Agronomist	765-494-8087
Von Sigler	Graduate Research Assistant	765-494-8039
Eric Kohler	Graduate Research Assistant	765-494-8039
Turf Office FAX number		765-496-6335

Last updated 1/19/99