Bumpers College Graduate Students Earn Honors in National Turfgrass Science Competition

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Bumpers College students attending the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America meeting included (front) Dan Sandor, (back, left to right) Travis Russell, Michelle Wisdom, Paige Boyle and Eric De Boer.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Three graduate students from the University of Arkansas' Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences recently earned recognition in national competition at the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America meeting in Phoenix.

Michelle Wisdom, Dan Sandor and Paige Boyle claimed first, second and third place honors, respectively, in the Turfgrass Science division competition.

Wisdom won first-place poster presentation honors and Sandor was second in the oral division of the Turf Ecology and Management category, and Boyle was third in poster competition in the Golf Turf category.

Wisdom and Boyle are master's students in horticulture, and Sandor a doctoral student in plant science.

Wisdom's poster was "Evaluating Spring Bulbs in Warm Season Lawns." Sandor's presentation was "Evaluation of Irrigation Sensors for Lawn Turf and Potential Water Savings." Boyle's poster was "Sand Topdressing Effects on Earthworm Activity in Warm Season Golf Course Turfgrass."

Wisdom earned her bachelor's degree in horticulture, landscape and turf sciences, and Boyle her bachelor's degree in environmental, soil and water science, both from Bumpers College. Sandor is a doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant who previously studied and worked at Western Kentucky University.

The November meeting drew more than 4,000 scientists, professionals, educators and students.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.