Roughly 80% of Kentucky bluegrass seed is produced in Washington, so it’s logical for the turfgrass seed industry to work closely with the state’s leading scientists. Furthering that relationship, Washington State University recently named Michael Neff as the Washington Turfgrass Seed Commission Professor, a position endowed by the industry.
As we round the end of 2025, I am reflecting on what a truly momentous year it has been for me personally and for the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. On April 1, 2025, I had the privilege of stepping into the role of Acting Director. It has been an honor to serve in this capacity alongside such a talented and dedicated team of faculty, staff, students, and passionate stakeholders and community partners who work tirelessly to advance the land-grant mission here in northwest Washington
This award recognizes faculty systemwide in the early to middle stage of their career who have demonstrated a strong commitment to WSU’s land-grant mission and its scholarship, teaching and engagement elements.
Recipients of this award will have demonstrated outstanding performance and the potential to build on their achievements, thereby enhancing the University’s ability to create positive outcomes for all and meet the future needs of the state of Washington, the Pacific Northwest, our nation, and beyond.
As we bring 2024 to a close, it is always gratifying to look back and reflect on what we have accomplished at WSU NWREC. As you will see in our program updates below, the research and Extension programs at the Center led by our core faculty continue to be strong and productive. Kevin Murphy and Steve Lyons of WSU BreadLab are moving more of their research back to NWREC and are working with our farm and facilities staff to meet their field and storage needs (see Kevin’s program highlight below). We have a new WSU program expanding to NWREC this year: Michael Neff planted turf grass research plots this year and he will be moving his office to NWREC for 2025.
Dr. Carol Miles received the Society Fellow award at the annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) last week in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Madeline Desjardines, PhD student at NWREC and Future Leaders for Food & Agriculture Research Fellow, has placed third in the 2024 FFAR Lighting Talk Competition for her presentation on, “Super […]
While summer is off to a questionable start in regard to weather, our faculty programs at WSU NWREC are going forward with our usual energy and enthusiasm, which you will see in our program updates. It was a quiet winter at NWREC, which allowed us to focus on facility upgrades and improvements.
Kevin Murphy will lead the WSU Breadlab as the new Clif Bar and King Arthur Baking Company Endowed Chair in Organic Grain Breeding and Innovation.
Purnima Puri, MS student at NWREC, has been awarded two prizes in the Art in Phytopathology contest at the American Phytopathological Society in the categories of Nature and Humor.
Annah Young, PhD student in Soil Health, and postdoctoral researcher Luis Reye Rojas attended the Canadian Society of Soil Science conference, where Annah won 3rd place for the President’s Award […]
