* K-State was one of 16 universities nationwide recognized for bioenergy initiatives by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Bio Energy Awareness Days in Washington, D.C., June 19-22. K-State won a Grand Challenge award for a vision paper, "Food, Feed, Energy and Ecosystem Services: A Role for American Agriculture." Co-authors are agronomy professors Charles W. Rice and Scott Staggenborg, and Richard Nelson, associate professor and head of the Kansas Industrial Extension Service. The Grand Challenge is the major award made during the event, and promotes the development of a vision that the winning universities will contribute in the emerging bio economy. June 2008
* The K-State Soil Judging Team won first place overall at the 2008 National Soil Judging Contest. It is the first time K-State has won the national contest. The event was hosted by the University of Rhode Island and had 21 teams competing. The team is coached by Mickey Ransom, professor of agronomy. Team members, all agronomy majors, who placed individually in the competition include Leah Ferdinand, second place; Paul Hartley, sixth place; Ryan Cyr, 14th place; and Adam Heitman, 20th place. May 2008
* The K-State Crops Team won third place overall at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Crops Contest April 18 at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. The team also placed second in identification and third in the lab practical phases of the contest. Fifteen teams from two- and four-year colleges and universities participated in the competition. The K-State team is coached by Gerry Posler, professor of agronomy. April 2008
* K-State researchers Randy Phebus and Dick Oberst have been tapped by the U. S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center in Natick, Mass., to ensure what soldiers eat and drink is free of pathogenic microorganisms or biological toxins. Since 2005, Phebus and Oberst have taken tests used in the food industry to detect pathogens and evaluated them relative to the military mission. With about $1.7 million in research funding to date, they've looked at a few different methods and used them on about a dozen food types. April 2008
* Wheat researcher and university distinguished professor Bikram Gill is one of the most influential in his field, according to the Web site ISIHighlyCited.com. Gill is listed as one of the world's most influential researchers in the plant and animal science category. According to the site, his work was cited 2,177 times, which put him among the top half a percent of publishing authors. April 2008
* Lakshmikantha Channaiah, a doctoral student in grain science at K-State, was recognized for a research paper he presented at the Missouri Valley branch meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, March 14-15, in Liberty, Mo. His paper, "Antibiotic resistant and virulent enterococci in animal feed," was co-written with K-State's Subramanyam Bhadriraju, professor of grain science and industry, and Ludek Zurek, assistant professor of entomology. The paper received second place in the oral presentation category. April 2008
* Research and publications by faculty members in 2007 earned the department of plant pathology a top 10 ranking in The Chronicle of Higher Education's annual assessment of scholarly productivity. The department ranked eighth among all U.S. research universities. February 2008
* Ted T. Cable, a professor of park management and conservation, was selected for a monthlong Fulbright senior specialists project at the University of Bamako in the West African country of Mali. Cable, who also is assistant head of the department of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources, is spending the month of May training students, private-sector tour guides and Peace Corps volunteers in ecotourism and heritage tourism. January 2008