Virginia Tech graduate students earn awards for weed science research

A diverse group of Virginia Tech graduate students from across the globe – Honduras, India, South Korea, and the United States – earned international and national awards for turfgrass research under the leadership of Shawn Askew, professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Askew manages the Turfgrass Weed Science Lab, where he leads the development and evaluation of new herbicides, organic and cultural weed control, diagnostic and application technology, and environmental effects of weed management in turfgrass.

Graduate students in Askew’s lab work on research projects including using lasers to eliminate weeds, determining how herbicides change the way insects behave, and measuring the force it takes to eliminate weeds with specialized tools.

Four School of Plant and Environmental Sciences graduate students who work in Askew’s lab were recently honored with the following awards:

John Peppers, a postdoctoral researcher from Snead, Alabama, received the 2024 Award of Excellence from the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation. This international honor, granted to only one student per year, was accompanied by a $45,000 honorarium.

Navdeep Godara of India received second place at the Tri-Societies International Meeting in St. Louis for his research poster on glyphosate residues within zoysiagrass turf canopies during rainfall. Godara also earned second place for his oral presentation on turf protection product impacts.

Daewon Koo of South Korea claimed second place at the Northeastern Weed Science Society annual meeting in Boston in the scientific poster competition.

Juan Romero of Honduras took first place at the Southern Weed Science Society and Weed Science Society of America Joint Meeting in San Antonio for his poster on the use of thermal energy and organic chemicals for weed control in turfgrass.

This team of four students has completed over 200 research trials; delivered approximately 30 Extension presentations; published 53 abstracts from scientific presentations at 12 scientific conferences in Canada, Denmark, India, Thailand, and the U.S.; and contributed to 18 peer-reviewed publications. Collectively, they have won over 60 awards, scholarships, or travel grants since 2022.

“Each student brings their own unique skills and disciplinary focus to enhance the diversity of outcomes in my lab," Askew said. "I’m very proud of what our team has accomplished.”