Updates 2009
WSU-Mount Vernon NWREC welcomes new director, Stephen S. Jones. He assumed the director’s role on May 15, 2009, bringing with him many plant breeding projects 
including low-input wheat, perennial wheat, organic wheat and improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants. Dr. Jones looks forward to expanding his research in areas relevant to the agricultural diversity in the Skagit Valley and surrounding areas and provide help to people from home gardeners to large scale operations. He was a molecular cytogeneticist for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service at the WSU campus and joined the WSU faculty in 1995. His research has been featured in The New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Audubon, and National Geographic. He has written the wheat entry for World Book Encyclopedia, and co-authored the entry for sustainable agriculture with Dr. Carol Miles, who also works at the NWREC. Dr. Jones received his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Chico; he also has a master’s in agronomy and a doctorate in genetics from University of California, Davis.
New Staff:
Jamie Anderson has been employed as a Fiscal Technician since September, 2008, in the NWREC Administrative Office. She is a welcome addition and has previous fiscal experience working for Skagit Pediatrics and other local businesses in Mount Vernon. Jamie is a long time Mount Vernon resident who is very familiar with the area which is a great asset and is appreciated by visitors to NWREC who require directions or ask for information about the Skagit Valley. We are very fortunate that Jamie has joined our staff, she is a quick study, professional, and a pleasure to work with.
Ashley Bentley joined the General Administration department as the new Office Assistant in June, 2008 after working as a temporary employee in the following departments: General Administration, Vegetable Seed Pathology, and Weed Science. Her knowledge of these programs is a great benefit to her position in the front office and her expertise in administrative operations has been welcomed. As well as being a new staff member she is also relative newcomer to the state of Washington having moved here from Arkansas with her husband and dog in July 2006.
Matthew Reichlin started working in the new Farmer 2 position in March, 2008. Matt is a graduate of Mount Vernon high school, and has previously worked at Pleasant Valley Farms, Delta Breeze Farms and Staffanson Harvesting in the Skagit Valley. He has experience operating and maintaining farm machinery, and doing a wide variety of farming and food production tasks. NWREC is very pleased to have him join the GA staff.
New graduate students:
Jennifer Niem, an M.S. student in plant pathology, has joined Debbie Inglis and Babette Gundersen in the Vegetable Pathology program. Ms. Niem obtained a B.S. degree in Agriculture with a plant pathology major from the University of The Philippines at Los Baños in 1999. From 1999-2001 she worked at the Volcani Center in Israel on a CDR-USAID project preventing post-harvest decays in subtropical fruits. Following, she held a position with UPLB, researching diseases of banana. Currently, she is enrolled in classes in Pullman, but will be arriving at our research center in May. Her thesis project will be on the effects of flooding on survival of soilborne pathogens of potato, and is part of The Nature Conservancy’s Farming-for-Wildlife project.
Ana Vida Alcala ('Avi') joined the Vegetable Seed Pathology program in January 2009, and will be doing her PhD project on seed treatments for organic vegetable production. Avi is taking classes in Pullman in the spring and fall semesters of 2009, but will be at the NWREC this summer and full-time next spring to work on her PhD research project. Avi completed her BS degree in agriculture followed by an MS degree in Plant Pathology, both from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños. Avi worked on the control of a postharvest disease caused by Colletotricum gloeosporioides on mango (Mangifera indica) for her MS thesis. Afterwards, Avi worked as a researcher on biological control of soilborne diseases of vegetables in the tropics, and management of postharvest diseases of paddy rice at the Philippine Rice Research Institute.
Emily Gatch joined the Vegetable Seed Pathology program in fall semester of 2008, and is working on a PhD program in plant pathology. Emily grew up on a farm in eastern Iowa, and had an early introduction to the world of seed through summer jobs detassling corn and working for a prairie seed company. Emily obtained a B.S. in biology from Harvard University, followed by an M.S. in plant pathology at Iowa State University. Emily’s MS thesis project examined the interaction of Bt corn hybrids and stalk rot, caused by a complex of fungal pathogens that includes several species of Fusarium. After finishing her degree in 2001, Emily worked for three years as a research associate at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center, reporting to both the horticulturalist and plant pathologist in the vegetable crops division. Emily later moved to New Mexico where she held a position as greenhouse and pathology coordinator at the research farm of Seeds of Change, an organic vegetable, herb, and flower seed company. In her efforts to assess and manage seedborne disease challenges for the company, Emily became aware of the research program of Lindsey du Toit, and joined Lindsey’s lab at the WSU Mount Vernon NWREC as a Ph.D student in August 2008, investigating management strategies for control of Fusarium wilt in spinach seed crops.
Jessica Gigot is a new PhD student in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Jessica received her B.A. in biology and anthropology from Middlebury College in Vermont in 2001. Following graduation she returned home to Washington to pursue her interest in agriculture. After working on various farm and garden projects in the northwest she completed an internship, funded by the Kellogg Foundation, at S&S Homestead on Lopez Island, a WSU-Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources demonstration farm. In 2006, she completed her M.S. degree in plant pathology from WSU and her thesis work was focused on the survival and transmission of Phytophthora infestans on volunteer potatoes. Jessica is interested in plant health management and defining soil quality parameters in both annual and perennial cropping systems. Her doctoral research project is related to sustainable management of Phytophthora rubi and nematode communities in raspberry systems.
Lucas Patzek joined the Plant Breeding and Pathology groups as a PhD student in the spring or 2009. Growing up he spent nearly equal portions of his life in Texas and California. From an early age his parents nurtured in him a love of Nature and exposed him to the magical worlds of biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics. He began his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz in Physics, and took coursework in that direction for three years. Ultimately he decided on a life sciences degree, and in 2005 received a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. After graduation he went to work at the Harvard Medical School where he researched Alzheimer's disease. Wanting to return to plant science (and Berkeley) he then studied the ecological and social impacts of oil palm plantations, and held the managing director position at the Green Century Institute, an educational non-profit operating in green urbanism. While working in the non-profit sector, Lucas helped organize numerous public debates, teach-ins, the 7th International Ecocity Conference, and a green urbanism design competition. His current research at NWREC addresses the design of low-input agricultural systems, especially from the stand-point of reduced nutrient and fungicide inputs, and the improved integration of such systems with urban centers. His planned research spans the fields of pathology, genetics and sociology.
Karen Hills joined the Plant Breeding program in 2009 as a PhD student. She earned a BS in Rural Sociology at Cornell University in 2000 and a MS in Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont in 2007 (thesis title: Disease Suppression and Soil Quality Indicators after Organic Amendment to Two Soils with Differing Management Histories.) Since 2007, she has been employed by University of Vermont Extension in the agronomy and nutrient management program. In this position, Karen has been involved with farmer nutrient management education for dairy and vegetable farmers, including the creation of an extension publication (Digging In: A Nutrient Management Curriculum for Farmers) and the modification of existing nutrient management tools for use with diversified vegetable farms. She has been a collaborator on two SARE-funded projects investigating oilseed crops and their by–products as alternative crops for Vermont farmers (Seedmeal as an Amendment for High Value Crops; Oilseeds in New England: A Farmer to Farmer Exchange) and is currently conducting a study of nitrogen release rates from amendments commonly used by organic vegetable producers in New England. Karen’s interests include production issues faced by diversified and sustainable farmers, including soil fertility, crop disease management, and minimizing the environmental impacts of agriculture.
Undergraduate student internship:
Lindsey du Toit and Lori Carris (WSU Mycologist in Pullman) received $2,000 each from WSU Associate Dean, Kim Kidwell, for a “Translational Internship” for WSU freshman, Katie Reed, to create an opportunity for Katie to gain direct experience working in research programs in Pullman and at Research and Extension Centers while an undergraduate student. Katie completed a 1-day "Job Shadow" in Lindsey's program in winter 2007-08, and then expressed interest in studying plant pathology at WSU. Katie is working on a molecular spinach project for Lindsey and Pat Okubara (USDA ARS pathologist in Pullman) together with Lacey Hulbert, another former "Job Shadow" high school student in Lindsey's program who is completing a BS degree at WSU.
Megan Twomey, an MS student at Western Washington University, completed an internship in Lindsey du Toit's program in the summer of 2008. Megan recently accepted a position working on hops diseases at Hopsteiner, SS Steiner Inc. in Yakima, WA.
Students graduating and finding jobs
Former MS student in Lindsey du Toit's vegetable seed pathology program, Jaime Cummings, took a position in soybean pathology with Monsanto Corp., St. Louis, MO.
MS student, Deron Beck, University of Idaho, completed his thesis on 'Management of Botrytis neck rot of onion' and graduated in June 2008. Lindsey du Toit served on Deron's MS thesis committee.
Awards and Honors:
The awards process at WSU recognizes individuals that distinguish themselves and their programs as being truly excellent. In most cases only one award per year in each category is presented. This year six members of NWREC were given individual or team awards. Congratulations! This number confirms what we have all known; we have a great group of researchers and staff here at NWREC.
Jeanne Burritt received the 2009 President’s Employee Excellence Award. As the center awaited a new director, she graciously handled many director duties as well as her own as administrative manager. Her extra efforts were greatly appreciated by the center staff.
Mike Derie received the 2009 WSU CAHNRS Academic Professional Excellence Award. He has demonstrated tremendous skills, aptitude and leadership in over 20 years at WSU.
Debra Inglis received the 2009 CAHNRS Women’s History Recognition Award for Profes-sional and Academic Leadership. She served as interim director and assistant dean for four years, overseeing the expansion of facilities and programs at the center.
Stephen Jones received the 2009 CAHNRS Faculty Excellence in Research Award. He de-veloped six successful wheat varieties in 12 years and was the only U.S. scientist in a $9 million European Union grant effort to improve nutrient efficiency in crops.
Tim Miller was a member of the Urban Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Safety Education Team which received the 2009 CAHNRS Team Interdisciplinary Award.
Lindsey du Toit received the 2009 Kenneth J. Morrison Extension Award for numerous outstanding contributions to the improvement of Washington State’s seed production.
Visitors:
On April 8, 2009, a reception was held at NWREC for WSU’s new director of the Viticulture and Enology Program, Thomas Henick-Kling. 12 local wineries and vintners brought samples of their wines and over 70 local business and community members attended the reception. Henick-Kling toured all of Washington’s wine regions, noting that there is good opportunity for growth in this industry for the state.
The vegetable seed pathology program provided 4 days of lab training for Matthew May, Research Associate II from Seminis Vegetable Seeds in Woodland, CA on Verticillium wilt of spinach and bacterial blight of carrot, 6-9 April 2009. In addition, the VSP program provided 2 days of lab training for Vicki Hallowell, seed analyst at STA Laboratories, Inc., on assaying spinach seed for necrotrophic fungi, 17-18 September 2008.
Carol Miles served as host for three Borlaug Fellows from Africa who were completing 3 month internships at WSU on organic agriculture. The individuals spent a week at the WSU Mount Vernon NWREC in October 2008, including time with each of the Vegetable Horticulture, Vegetable Pathology, and Vegetable Seed Pathology programs.
2009 Anniversaries WSU
— years of service
Gary Moulton 30 years
Babette Gundersen 20 years
Jacky King 20 years
Heading using the h3 tag
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