Ferri, Lancaster, Maris, Priess Earn Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Student Awards

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Honors student Jacob Maris, an environmental, soil and water science major, received the Tri-Societies National Student Recognition Award, given by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America to an undergraduate student who exemplifies high academic achievement.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Several students were recognized for outstanding achievements this year at the recent annual awards ceremony held by the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Alyssa Ferri was named the top senior for 2019, Lawson Priess the top master's degree student, Zachary Lancaster the top doctoral student and Jacob Maris the winner of the Tri-Societies National Student Recognition Award.

Ferri has a 3.99 grade point average in environmental, soil and water science. An honors student, her research project is "Quantifying Population Sizes of Native and Exotic Earthworms in Areas of Varying Management in Northwest Arkansas," under the guidance of professor Mary Savin and clinical assistant professor Lisa Wood.

Ferri has presented her research at American Society of Agronomy meetings, finishing first and third in separate competitions. She also participated in the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates in North Carolina with her project focused on tomato root colonization to a specific soil fungus. Ferri is president of the CSES Undergraduate Club and is a Bumpers College honors program mentor.

Priess' thesis is "Impact of Herbicide Injury on Soybean Growth and Development." He has published 19 abstracts, nine of which he was first author, and given seven oral presentations and five poster presentations. He placed first in the poster contest at the Beltwide Cotton Conference this year and was third in 2018. Priess was third in the Arkansas Crop Protection Association master's student speaking contest in 2017 and was the high individual in the symptomology portion of the Southern Weed Contest in 2018.

Priess served as the crops representative for the CSES Graduate Student Club in 2018, is vice president of the Southern Weed Science Society Graduate Student Organization and will serve as president in 2020.    

Lancaster is currently working on his Ph.D. in weed science and his dissertation is "Evaluation of Thiencarbazone-methyl for Soybean Production Systems." He has four senior-authored refereed papers, and is either author or co-author on eight research series reports. He has given 28 scientific presentations and authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific abstracts.

Lancaster has placed first or second in 10 speaking contests and won two poster contests. He has ranked as high individual in several categories of the Southern Weed Contest, such as Farmer Problem, Math Calibration and Weed Identification, and won the overall contest twice. He has been recognized as the high individual at the Weed Olympics, received the Doctoral Academy Fellowship, served as graduate student organization president of the Southern Weed Science Society and as president of the CSES Graduate Student Club. He has served as student representative to the SWS Board of Directors and in 2018 was recipient of the SWS Enrichment Scholarship.

Maris has a 3.83 grade point average in environmental, soil and water science. An honors student, his research is "Evaluating Rice Straw as a Substitute for Barley Straw in Inhibiting Algal Growth in Farm Ponds." He presented findings at the ASA meeting in Baltimore last year and placed second. He currently serves as a volunteer for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks and the Brother Paul's Soup Kitchen. Maris is also an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

The Tri-Societies award is given by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America to an undergraduate student who exemplifies high academic achievement.

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 2.7 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.