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North Carolina State University's

Adam Hixson named 2008 Musser Award for Excellence Recipient

"Professor Musser not only directed his energy toward research but also skillfully used it to train and educate the next generation. This Foundation that bears his name is dedicated to continue supporting the next generation of leaders. The Foundation is financed by all factions of the Turfgrass industry and has no obligations to any special interest group. It acknowledges the best Doctoral candidates in the turf world each year for their work and academic accomplishments. The Foundation feels these promising leaders will be the key to our future. Professor Musser did not care about fame but he did care about promoting excellence in those who choose this profession for their life's work. "
- D. Frank Dobie, President, Musser International Turfgrass Foundation

North Carolina State University's Adam Hixson was recently named the 2008 Musser Award for Excellence winner. Hixson was born and raised in the rural central Texas town of China Spring. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Entomology from Texas A&M University in 2000. He then received his Master's degree in Landscape Nematology at University of Florida under the direction of Dr. William Crow where he studied plant-parasitic nematode population dynamics in seashore paspalum. Upon finishing his Master's degree, he decided to broaden his knowledgebase by pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Turfgrass Weed Science with Dr. Fred Yelverton at North Carolina State University.

During his Ph.D., Adam has researched the role of soil organic matter and microbial degradation in determining fate of pesticides in turfgrass systems. Adam has recently taken on the sole responsibility of handling herbicide-soil interaction research with a developmental herbicide looking at correlating soil properties to efficacy, herbicide washoff from crop residues, and comparing relative herbicide soil mobility against commercially available herbicides. His research incorporates agronomy, weed science, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil physics, and herbicide chemistry and used all of these to address major environmental concerns in turfgrass and agronomic systems. Since 2003, he has authored four refereed journal articles in Weed Technology, Journal of Nematology, and Plant Disease, and made over 25 presentations of scientific data at various professional meetings and field days.

Adam Hixson has also been involved in teaching and coordinating the Turf and Ornamental Weed Management laboratory at North Carolina State University where students learned about weed biology, distribution, dispersal, identification, and herbicide application. In 2005, Hixson co-authored an original laboratory manual with identifying characteristics of weeds and herbicide calibration problem sets to facilitate student learning.

Hixson now finds himself in excellent company, NCSU professor of Turfgrass Science Dr. Grady Miller received the prestigious award in 1993 and Dr. Lane Tredway received the award in 2002. Hixson is the 3rd NCSU student to receive the award following in the footsteps of Dr. Rick Brandenburg's student, Sarah R. Thompson, and 2001 recipient Mathew J. Fagerness.

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