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The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation has selected James Rutledge of Purdue as the recipient of the 2010 Musser Award of Excellence. The award, which carries a stipend of $25,000, was announced earlier this year at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, Calif. Rutledge earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from North Carolina State University, and has just passed the final requirements for his PhD at Purdue. James will be starting in May with Bayer CropScience and will be responsible for the development of new herbicide active ingredients and continued expansion of existing registered products.
Rutledge’s award-winning doctoral research at Purdue focused on understanding the morphology and physiology of roughstalk bluegrass. His work uncovered information on how this weed shifts resources to its stolons for survival during heat stress. His work not only helps us understand all stoloniferous turfgrasses and weeds, but should lead to more effective and therefore environmentally responsible control with selective herbicides. Rutledge was active in other areas of the turf program at Purdue, publishing three scientific journal articles outside of his PhD thesis research, authoring a number of extension publications, and serving as a teaching assistant. The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation is dedicated to fostering turfgrass management as a learned profession. Named in memory of turfgrass scientist H. Burton Musser, The Foundation acknowledges and rewards those individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the doctoral phase of their turfgrass science education and research. |