UF/IFAS faculty awarded at international meeting

August 7, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three faculty members with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences received international recognition at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annual meeting in Dallas held from July 29 to Aug. 1.

Jim Jones, a distinguished service professor emeritus in UF’s agricultural and biological engineering department and director of UF’s Florida Climate Institute, received the John Deere Gold Medal Award.

He was recognized for his leadership and contributions to teaching, technology transfer, and the understanding of climate change, environmental impacts, and sustainable agricultural systems, said Dorota Haman, professor and chair of UF’s agricultural and biological engineering department.

Wendy Graham, the Carl S. Swisher Eminent Scholar in Water Resources in UF’s agricultural and biological engineering department and director of UF’s Water Institute, received the ADS/Hancor Soil and Water Engineering Award.

She earned the honor as a result of her contributions in the development of innovative hydrologic modeling techniques and in establishing a major interdisciplinary water institute, Haman said.

Kati Migliaccio, an associate professor in UF’s agricultural and biological engineering department and based at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, received the Young Extension Worker Award.

Haman said the award was given to Migliaccio for her contributions in agricultural sustainability, water resource conservation, and water protection as a teacher, researcher and extension specialist.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers works to advance engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. It has some 9,000 members