Arkansas Turfgrass Scientist Named Society Fellow

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Michael Richardson, professor of horticulture for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has been selected a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America.

Mike Richardson, professor of horticulture at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has been named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America.

Richardson's teaching and research programs are in turfgrass management for the Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by the society and only 0.3 percent of the society's 3,600 active and emeritus members may be elected for the honor.

"This is really a great honor for me," Richardson said, "but more importantly, it is a great recognition of the commitment to turfgrass science at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. There is no question I would not have reached this milestone without the tremendous support I have received throughout my career from countless faculty, administration, staff, and students."

Richardson's research focuses on the response of turfgrasses to stresses such as temperature, water, and diseases. As a long-timer member of the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program research program, he coordinates much of the turfgrass variety testing in Arkansas. Richardson is considered a national and international authority on turfgrass. He is inventor or co-inventor of 15 turfgrass cultivars and his scientific publications include 80 refereed journal articles and 12 book chapters.

Early in his career, Richardson documented drought tolerance and other benefits in endophyte-infected grasses. He was instrumental in introducing improved seeded warm-season grasses to the transition-zone environment of Arkansas where they have been widely used in a range of turfgrass systems. He and his colleagues also pioneered a digital imaging system now used around the world to measure various turfgrass performance parameters.

Richardson teaches and advises undergraduate students, mentors graduate students and coordinates an internship program for students majoring in horticulture, landscape and turf science.

A former member of the Crop Science Society board of directors, Richardson has been the editor of Applied Turfgrass Science and currently serves as an associate editor for Crop Science. The Turfgrass Management Program received the Division of Agriculture's John W. White Team Award in 2006 and Richardson was also elected Fellow by the American Society of Agronomy in 2011. He recently completed a 6 month position as a visiting scholar at the University of Padova in Italy.

Richardson came to Arkansas from Rutgers University in 1998. He has a B.S. degree from Louisiana Tech University, an M.S. degree from Louisiana State University and a doctorate in agronomy from the University of Georgia.