Dr. Cale Bigelow
Purdue University
Dr. Cale Bigelow
Purdue University
Dr. Bigelow’s professional career at Purdue follows in the footsteps of the Founder for this award in Dr. Bill Daniel and Cale has continued to play a vital role in the continued growth of the Purdue University turfgrass program, particularly as it relates to undergraduate education. Cale has been an academic leader in Turfgrass Science instruction and research for several years now and is a regular presenter at SFMA conferences for his expertise in transition zone grassing alternatives for sports fields, nutrient management, and water conservation. And he gets invited back again and again because he is such a highly effective communicator to any audience! Cale has recently served SFMA as an academic representative in establishing and expanding communications with national FFA HQ in our efforts to expand turfgrass science as part of FFA state and national student contests, as well as formal classroom instruction that would include SFMA-developed turfgrass educational programming.
Dr. Bigelow has received numerous awards from his department and college as an instructor and counselor, was recognized by the Crop Science Society of America in 2020 with the Crop Science Teaching Award, and has received national recognition as leading one of the best turfgrass social media outreach efforts on Twitter as @BIGTurfTeaching. Dr. Bigelow’s selection for this award will continue the legacy established by Dr. Daniel as a Founder.
| Year | Award Winner |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Dr. Cale Bigelow, Purdue University |
| 2021 | Dr. Nick Christians, Iowa State University |
| 2020 | Bradley Jakubowski, Instructor of Plant Sciences, Penn State |
| 2019 | Victoria Wallace, University of Connecticut |
| 2018 | Pam Sherratt, Ohio State University (OH) |
| 2017 | James Brosnan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee (TN) |
| 2016 | Jason Kruse, Ph.D., University of Florida (KY) |
| 2015 | Mary Owens, University of Massachusetts (MA) |
| 2014 | Brian Scott, Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut (CA) |
| 2013 | Dr. Brad Fresenburg, University of Missouri-Columbia (MO) |
| 2012 | Dr. Beth Guertal, Auburn University (AL) |
| 2011 | Dr. Leah Brilman, Seed Research of Oregon (OR) |
| 2010 | John Sorochan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee (TN) |
| 2009 | Tony Koski, Ph.D., Colorado State University (CO) |
| 2008 | Grady Miller, Ph.D., North Carolina State University (NC) |
| 2007 | Michael Goatley, Jr., Ph.D., Turfgrass Specialist, Virginia Tech University (VA) |
| 2006 | James McAfee, Ph.D., Extension Turfgrass Specialist, Texas A&M (TX) |
| 2005 | Jeff Fowler, Penn State Cooperative Extension (PA) |
| 2004 | A.J. Powell, Jr., Ph.D., University of Kentucky (KY) |
| 2003 | Pam Sherratt, Ohio State University (OH) |
| 2002 | Eric Adkins, CSFM, Michigan State University (MI) |
| 2001 | Coleman Ward, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Auburn University (AL) |
| 2000 | Andrew McNitt, Ph.D., Penn State University (PA) |
| 1999 | Donald Waddington, Ph.D., Penn State University (PA) |
| 1998 | Steve Cockerham, University of California/Riverside (CA) |
| 1997 | James Beard, Ph.D., International Sports Turf Institute (TX) |
| 1996 | Kent Kurtz, Ph.D., (deceased) Cal Poly Pomona (CA) |
| 1994 | Dave Minner, Ph.D., Iowa State University (IA) |
| 1993 | John N. “Trey” Rogers, III, Ph.D., Michigan State University (MI) |
| 1992 | Henry Wilkinson, Ph.D., University of Illinois (IL) |
| 1991 | Steve Cockerham, University of California/Riverside (CA) |
(Note: The William H. Daniel Award was known as the Excellence in Research Award prior to 1997.)
* Facility listed is where employed at time of award. Check Roster for current listing
