News Release
For Immediate Release — March 14, 2011
UT AgResearch Turfgrass Specialists Honored with
National, State Awards
Dr. Jim Brosnan
Dr. John Sorochan
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The next time a quarterback playing football anywhere in Tennessee is slammed to the ground by a blitzing linebacker and his landing isn’t as rough as it could have been — he could very well have these guys to thank.
For their efforts in turfgrass research and sports field safety, two turfgrass specialists with University of Tennessee AgResearch have been named winners of prestigious awards by their peers from Tennessee and across the country.
Dr. John Sorochan was selected the national winner of the Dr. William H. Daniel Award (formerly the Excellence in Research Award) given by the Sports Turf Management Association. This honor recognizes an individual who makes significant contributions to the sports turf industry through research, teaching and outreach. Dr. Sorochan received the award recently at the group’s meeting in Austin, Texas.
Dr. Jim Brosnan was recently awarded the Tennessee Turfgrass Association’s Professional of the Year Award, the highest honor given by this organization. This award recognizes deserving individuals who contribute to the turfgrass industry around the volunteer state. Dr. Brosnan received the TTA Award at an event in Franklin.
Rather than talk about themselves, the two colleagues preferred to compliment each other on these honors. Brosnan says of Sorochan, “Few people could be more deserving of this award than John. He has created one of the country’s top undergraduate turfgrass education programs with an emphasis on sports turf management. I can’t think of any person who has done more on a research basis than John.”
Said Sorochan about his friend Brosnan, “Jim has made such an impact in the sports turf industry and in our program here at UT. In less than three years, he has positively influenced the turfgrass industry so much. This recognition was well-deserved.”
Dr. Sorochan is an associate professor in Turfgrass Science with the Department of Plant Sciences at the UT Institute of Agriculture. His appointment involves both teaching and research, and his research areas include athletic fields, golf courses, residential, commercial and municipal turf applications, and turf management. He is also responsible for the department’s academic turf programs at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Dr. Sorochan holds all his degrees, including his Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
Dr. Brosnan is the head of the turfgrass weed science research and extension program at UTIA. His research focuses on effective and economical strategies for weed control on golf courses, athletic fields and residential landscapes. He also does research regarding the effects of plant growth regulators on both warm and cool season grasses. He holds a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University and master’s from the University of Massachusetts.
Both Sorochan and Brosnan are part of UT AgResearch’s “Turf Team” and are heavily involved in the new Center for Safer Athletic Fields, housed at the UT AgResearch Center in Knoxville. Here researchers seek safer and more stable playing surfaces by growing experimental turf varieties and comparing those to artificial surfaces. The UTIA team works closely with corporate partner AstroTurf and have also worked with former Tennessee Vol All-American Eric Berry, now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.
Speaking of big-time football, Sorochan and Brosnan have also consulted UT on its turf at Neyland Stadium and the Haslam practice field, and have also helped with the playing surfaces of the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles. Sorochan has also served as a turf consultant for numerous golf courses around the state and country.
While growing up in Calgary, Canada, Sorochan was a huge fan of former Tennessee Vol Condredge Holloway - when Condredge was a Toronto Argonaut!
For more information about UTIA’s turf program, go to http://www.tennesseeturfgrassweeds.org
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Contacts:
Dr. John Sorochan, 865-974-7324, sorochan@utk.edu
Dr. Jim Brosnan, 865-974-8603, jbrosnan@utk.edu
Chuck Denney, UTIA Marketing and Communications Services, 865-974-7367, cmdenney@utk.edu