2 Professors honored with Musser Awards of Excellence

The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation has selected Joseph Roberts, Ph.D., and Matthew Elmore, Ph.D., as its 2015 Award of Excellence winners.

The prestigious award is given to outstanding Ph.D. candidates who, in the final phase of their graduate studies, demonstrate overall excellence throughout their doctoral program in turfgrass research.

Roberts, assistant professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Maryland, received his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and chemistry from North Carolina State University. He went on to earn his master’s in plant biology — specializing in turfgrass pathology — from Rutgers University. He received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State in plant pathology, specializing in turfgrass pathology, and wrote his dissertation on “Investigating the Cause and Developing Management Options to Control Bacterial Etiolation in Creeping Bentgrass Putting Greens.”

“I am truly grateful to have been selected to receive this award. In joining the ranks of previous awardees, I am excited about my future in the turfgrass industry and hope to make a strong impact in the years to come,” Roberts says.

Elmore, assistant professor and extension turfgrass specialist at Texas A&M University, received his bachelor’s degree in turfgrass science from Pennsylvania State University. He went on to the University of Tennessee to earn his master’s in plant science, specializing in turfgrass weed control, and his Ph.D. in plant, soils and insects, specializing in turfgrass weed control. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on “Alternative Strategies for Weed Control in Creeping Bentgrass.”

“I am honored and extremely grateful to be selected for this award,” says Elmore. “I hold the accomplishments of Dr. Musser and previous award recipients in high regard and I will strive to continue the great precedent of excellence they have established. This is the greatest professional honor I have ever received and one that I will treasure for the rest of my

“The application qualifications are very high for the doctoral candidates that apply for the Foundation’s Award of Excellence so all of the applicants are of the highest caliber,” says Musser International Turfgrass Foundation’s president, Frank Dobie. “We strive to select the one candidate that we feel is the best of the best. This year, we had a virtual tie, so we issued two awards.”