John E. Kaminski, Ph.D.

John currently serves as the Director of the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program at Penn State. He served as the 1st Tombros Early Career Professor and is currently Professor of Turfgrass Science and Associate Department Head of the Department of Plant Science. 

John has extensive experience in the area of golf course turfgrass management and specifically in the management of turfgrass diseases. He has been responsible for or associated with the discovery of four new turfgrass diseases on golf courses. His research focuses on the identification of turfgrass pathogens and the cultural and chemical management of their associated diseases. 

In his role as Director of the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program, John is responsible for mentoring future golf course superintendents in and out of the classroom. He also serves as Co-Advisor for the Penn State Turf Club.

Professional Background:

• Professor, Turfgrass Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 2018-present.
• Associate Professor, Turfgrass Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 2012-2018.
• Assistant Professor, Turfgrass Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 2009-2012.
• Assistant Professor, Turfgrass Pathology, University of Connecticut, 2005–2008.
• Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant, University of Maryland, 2001–2004.
• M.S. Graduate Research Assistant, University of Maryland, 1998–2001.
• Student Intern, Penn State Turf Research Facility, April-August 1998
• Student Intern, Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, MD, May-September 1997
• Student Intern, Desert Mountain Properties, Scottsdale, AZ, February-August 1996

Honors and Awards:

• Tombros Early Career Professor, 2014-2018
• Musser International Turfgrass Foundation’s 2005 Award of Excellence
• Northeastern American Phytopathological Society Student Paper Award 1st Place, 2004
• Crop Science Society of America C-5 Poster Contest Industrial Relations Committee Award 1st Place, 2003
• R.F. Davis Memorial Scholarship, 2003
• Southern Nursery Association Sidney B. Meadows Scholarship, 2003
• College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Outstanding Graduate Student, 2003
• Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture Outstanding Graduate Student, 2003
• Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Watson Fellowship, 2002