Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

9:05am Welcome and brief introduction by Sam Dennis. Introduction of Dr. Chandra Reddy, Dean of School of Agriculture and Consumer Science. 9:10am Official welcome to Tennessee State University by Dr. Chandra Reddy. Dr. Reddy spoke about the recent flood and how it affected the University. Continued with a brief explanation on the different programs offered at TSU and how they are trying to prioritize programs to reflect the current economic situation. They are hiring 12 new faculty members and building a new biotech building. They are open for collaboration and welcome all scientists to work with TSU faculty. Dr. Constantine Fenderson, Dept. Head (Dept. of Agricultural Sciences), walked in and was recognized by Dr. Reddy. 9:15am Self introductions. 9:25am Kris made a special mention; 1st year he attended was 2001 with Rick Zartman as host. He is glad to be associated with the group. Well recognized group (Tyson S1 Young Scientist Award and Cristine Morgan S6 Young Scientist Award). Several members of this group are Fellows of the Tri-societies. 9:30am Minutes approval from last meeting. Sam mentioned that he had lost his notes due to the flood, but luckily had read the notes a few days before the flood. Most of what was included in the notes he wrote from memory. Sam moved to approve the minutes as presented. Rick 2nd the motion. Motion passed unanimously. New officers: Francisco was elected as the secretary last meeting, and will be president next year. Tefari nominated Tyson for secretary (2011) and president (2012). Tyson accepted nomination. The nomination was approved unanimously. Kris gave an update on the regional project, SDC-333. The unfunded project is in the last step of extramural review. Last year around the same time the project was under review. Jonathan Pote served as contact. Kris made revisions in June. Pote sent the project for another review then. Another set of revisions was available in December without the project having an official review. The Association of Agricultural Research Stations was very interested in this project, but they want some more details. Kris spoke with Bob Hubbard and Cristine to help with revisions. Kris prepared the responses to the reviewers comments with revisions and submitted the project to Pote about a month ago. One issue is the statistical analysis. It needs to be consistent. A statistician from the Univ. of Arkansas was involved in the review process (Pote invited him). The statistician is interested in helping before and after data collection. There is also the possibility to use data from other projects already conducted or in progress and include it in a database. This might be the 1st official approved regional project as far as we know. It appears it will soon be approved. Other discussions regarding the AFRI proposal continued. 10:20am Bathroom break. 10:30am Presentations started, with Maifan Silitonga moderating. Schedule of presentation on agenda provided by Sam Dennis. 12:30pm Lunch break 1:30pm A brief discussion on sampling methods and number of samples was conducted. Presentations continued. The following changes were made to the presentation agenda: Navin Twarakavi (Field Capacity and Soil Texture Classification: A Hydraulic Perspective) presented after Jaehoon Lee. Maifan Silitonga (Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment) presented after Navin. These two presentations were not listed on the agenda, but the opportunity was given to present. Josh Heitman and Aziz Amoozegar will give presentations tomorrow. Francisco Arriaga presented last, which included an invitation to the 2011 meeting to be held in Auburn, AL. 5:15pm Best presentation award decided by secret ballot. Ole Wendroth was the winner. 5:25pm Adjourned May 21, 2010 8:45am Sam Dennis welcomed everyone and gave a brief background on his work. 8:50am Josh Heitman presented some of his research at NC State and Distance Education and Soil Physics Courses. 9:30am Dr. Fenderson, Dept. Head (Dept. of Agricultural Sciences), welcomed the group and wished the group a safe journey home. Sam was recognized for his hospitality by the group. 9:35am Aziz Amoozegar spoke on about his research on fate and transport of chemicals in the vadose zone-groundwater continuum. 10:05am Break 10:20am Kris Brye gave updates on the SDC-333 proposal. Discussion on the AFRI Climate Change proposal followed. 11:45am Sam Dennis provided some closing thoughts and comments. He also thanked everyone for attending. 11:50am Meeting officially ended. A group picture was taken outside; however some of the participants had already left to the airport.