Posted: November 3, 2017

Cameron Stephens, MS in Agronomy, was one of eight graduate students to receive the Steigler Travel Fellowship

At the 2017 Crop Science Society of America annual meetings, Cameron was awarded the Stiegler Travel Fellowship.

About Chris Stiegler

On Dec. 24, 2010, the turfgrass academic community lost one of its brightest young scholars, when Chris Stiegler and his wife, Jenny, were killed in an automobile accident in Texas while travelling to be with their family for the holidays. Chris received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in turfgrass management at Oklahoma State University and worked for a period of time as an assistant golf course superintendent in Wichita, KS and as a Cooperative Extension Agent in Oklahoma. Chris completed a PhD in turfgrass science at the University of Arkansas in May of 2010 and was hired as an assistant professor of turfgrass ecology and physiology at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX.

The Chris Stiegler Turfgrass Science Graduate Student Travel Award was established as a way to honor Chris' major contributions to the Turfgrass Science (C5) Division of the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) as a graduate student and to further encourage future scholars to participate in our meetings.

Cameron had this to say about the honor

"Being awarding the Chris Stiegler Graduate Student Fellowship not only gave me the opportunity to attend the TriSociety annual meeting, but also to represent the great legacy of Chris Stiegler. Chris' contributions to the turfgrass industry have been paramount and it is an honor to carry on his memory through this award. The TriSociety meeting allowed me to improve as a presenter, grow as a scientist, and be inspired by other presentations as I strive towards a Ph.D. This travel award directly impacted my Master's research and has shaped my career trajectory in the turfgrass industry."