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Keynote Speakers
| Dr. Jordan Booth
United States Golf Association Green Section
Senior Director, Course Consulting Services
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| Dr. Daniel O’Brien
United States Golf Association Green Section
Research Manager |
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| Dr. Michael Kenna |
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| Based in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Dr. Jordan Booth leads the course consulting service and conducts consulting visits in North Carolina. Dr. Booth is a graduate of Clemson University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in turfgrass management. Following a career as a certified golf course superintendent, Jordan worked in research and extension at Virginia Tech, where he also earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in plant pathology, physiology and weed science.
Dr. Daniel O’Brien joined the USGA in 2024 as Green Section Research Manager. In this role, Daniel provides support for Green Section research efforts, including the Mike Davis Program for Advancing Golf Course Management, the 15/30/45 Initiative, and other cooperative and internal research as a part of the USGA’s approximately $2 million annual commitment to turfgrass research across the United States. Daniel earned his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. Prior to joining the USGA Daniel worked as a sports field manager in Maryland and Alabama. During his time in graduate school, he also worked as a research technician. His graduate research focused largely on technologies for evaluating putting green surfaces, and on turfgrass soil surfactants.
Dr. Mike Kenna led the USGA Davis Research Program for 30 years, until his retirement in 2019, during which he managed turfgrass and environmental research, including funding and collaboration with universities, government agencies, and commercial entities. He engaged extensively with universities, conferences, and advisory boards, contributed to water and energy conservation research with the USDA, and edited books on related topics. Dr. Kenna earned degrees in ornamental horticulture, agronomy, and crop science, conducted turfgrass research and extension at Oklahoma State University, and received multiple honors for his contributions to the field. He is currently a contributing science editor for Golfdom magazine and consults through his company, Natural Grass Science. |
| John Hurst
The Toro Company
Director, Center for Technology, Research, and Innovation and Robotics |
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| John leads Toro’s Center for Technology, Research, and Innovation (CTRI) Division focused on emerging technologies, resource optimization, labor, environmental stewardship and robotics. Prior to joining CTRI, John spent over twenty years in the Toro Residential and Landscape Contractor Division leading product development across multiple categories and co-innovating on nine patents. John started his career as a design engineer developing mobile phones after receiving his mechanical engineering degree from the University of Minnesota. He has a strong entrepreneurial spirit as a co-founder of two startups. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children enjoying numerous activities on land, water, and snow. |
CENTERE Updates Speakers
| Dr. Travis Gannon
Professor
Pesticide Fate in Turfgrass Systems
Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences |
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| Travis Gannon is a Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at North Carolina State University and serves as Co-Director of the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education. He leads a comprehensive research program investigating the environmental fate of pesticides, with particular emphasis on understanding their movement, persistence, bioavailability, and potential impacts on optimizing efficacy and environmental quality. Additionally, Dr. Gannon has extensive experience evaluating herbicide and plant growth regulator efficacy, particularly as it relates to turfgrass management. His research and outreach efforts support the development of science-based solutions that balance effective management with environmental sustainability. |
| Rob Austin
Research and Extension Associate
Turfgrass Phenomics
Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences |
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| Mr. Robert Austin is a Research and Extension Specialist in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at North Carolina State University. He earned his M.S. from NC State University and his B.S. from The Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Austin’s work focuses on integrating geospatial tools and spatial data science to improve decision-making in turfgrass and other agricultural systems. His current research combines Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), remote sensing, and machine learning to better measure and characterize spatial variability, helping advance precision management and guide the adoption of digital technologies. |
| Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis
Professor
Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics
Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences |
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| Susana is a Professor and University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at NC State University. Additionally, she currently serves as Co-Director of the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education. Susana’s research program focuses on improving turfgrasses for complex traits such as increased biotic/abiotic stress resistance and reduced input requirements while maintaining superior aesthetic quality. A wide range of techniques are used including conventional breeding, application of DNA markers, and more recently, plant transformation and gene editing. Research also focuses on understanding the genetic control of commercially important traits in different turfgrass species. |
| Dr. Navdeep Godara
Assistant Professor
Turfgrass Weed Science
Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences |
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| Dr. Godara is an Assistant Professor of turf/grasslands weed extension. He obtained his PhD at Virginia Tech, a Master’s at the University of Arkansas, and BS at the CCS Haryana Agricultural University in northern India. Dr. Godara’s research and outreach program focuses on practical weed management challenges in turfgrass, with emphasis on weed biology, ecology, herbicide resistance management, precision weed control technologies, and sustainable management practices. |
| Dr. Joseph Gage
Assistant Professor
Crop Genomics and Genetics
Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences |
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| Dr. Gage’s research program is focused on linking crop genomic and phenomics to understand how to develop more resilient and productive crop varieties. Current projects include studying how sequence variation controls gene regulation; how gene regulation contributes to genotype-by-environment interactions; and novel methods for processing and interpreting high throughput phenotyping data. |
| Dr. Roch Gaussoin
Professor Emeritus
Turfgrass and Landscape Systems
Agronomy & Horticulture
University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
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| Roch Gaussoin, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and an Adjunct Professor at North Carolina State University. A native of New Mexico, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Agronomy and his master’s degree in Crop Science from New Mexico State University, followed by a Ph.D. in Turfgrass Science from Michigan State University. Dr. Gaussoin has conducted academic research for more than 40 years and is a frequently invited speaker at national and international conferences. His distinguished career has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Nebraska Turfgrass Association; the Exceptional Service Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nebraska GCSA; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rocky Mountain Turfgrass Association; the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award; and the USGA Green Section Award. |
LIGHTNING TALKS SPEAKERS
| Robby Andrews
MS student
Pesticide Fate in Turfgrass Systems |
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| Robby is in his second year pursuing a Masters degree at North Carolina State University under the direction of Dr. Travis Gannon, researching the environmental fate and behavior of pesticides. Robby is a NC State local, raised just south of Raleigh earning his Bachelor’s degree here at NC State in Crop and Soil Science – Turfgrass Science. Specifically Robby’s research aims to elucidate influential factors to optimize preemergent herbicide efficacy in turfgrass systems by carrying out terrestrial field dissipation, dose response, and seedling emergence studies focusing on three preemergence herbicides: prodiamine, indaziflam, and simazine and three troublesome weed species: annual bluegrass, crabgrass, and goosegrass. |
| Nirmal Timilsina
PhD student
Precision Turfgrass Management |
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Nirmal is a second-year PhD student in Crop Science at NC State University,
supervised by Dr. Qiyu Zhou. He is originally from Nepal, where he completed his
bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences with a focus on agricultural economics. He earned a master’s degree in Horticultural Sciences from the University of Florida, where he studied the environmental fate and non-target impacts of pre-emergence herbicides. His current research focuses on precision turfgrass management, with an emphasis on developing alternative data-driven fertilizer application strategies (predictive modeling using machine learning). He is working to understand how management practices influence aboveground and belowground turfgrass growth and to develop practical guidelines for maintaining golf course putting greens surface quality, playability, and reasonable belowground growth accumulation. |
| Jack Mascarenhas
PhD Student
Turfgrass Pathology |
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| Jack is a second-year PhD student in turfgrass pathology under the supervision of Dr. Jim Kerns. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Crop and Soil Science and a Master’s degree in Plant Pathology at NC State, where his research focused on fungicide efficacy and application timing for managing sweetpotato diseases while minimizing fungicide residues. His current work focuses on root-knot nematodes in turfgrass, specifically identifying differences in species behavior and nematicide sensitivity, and assessing how these differences should inform management strategies. To address these questions, Jack is conducting species determinations of nematode samples from the NC State Turf Diagnostic Lab, running nematicide efficacy trials in laboratory, greenhouse, and golf course settings, and analyzing how root-knot nematode behavior varies under different temperatures and host species. |
| Balihar Kaur
PhD Student
Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics |
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| Balihar is a second year PhD student in Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics Program. She earned her B.Tech and Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. She joined Turfgrass Breeding Program in summer 2024 to pursue her PhD in Crop Science. She is working on improving seed yield potential of zoysiagrass for better turf establishment and performance. Her current research focuses on understanding the genetic architecture of seed-related traits, and examining physiological mechanisms, relating to seed germination and dormancy, among different warm-season zoysiagrass accessions. |
| Payton Perkinson
PhD Student
Turfgrass Management |
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Payton is a second-year Ph.D. student in Turfgrass Management under the
direction of Dr. Grady Miller. She earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Crop and Soil
Sciences at Michigan State University. Her M.S. research investigated cultivar selection and timing of spring seeding for putting green re-establishment following winterkill. Her current research focuses on organic matter management on putting greens. Specifically, she is conducting novel research that investigates portable and rapid techniques for measurement of organic matter in putting greens, evaluates new equipment and thatch degrading products, and explores how various cultivation practice influence the soil microbiome. |
| Jaswinder Kaur
PhD Student
Turfgrass Genomics |
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| Jaswinder hails from a small town in northern India, where being surrounded by agriculture inspired her passion for the field. She earned her B.Sc. in Agriculture from Punjab Agricultural University and completed her M.S. in Plant Science with a focus on plant pathology. By the end of her master’s program, she realized her keen interest in plant breeding and genetics. Jaswinder joined the Gage Lab in Spring 2024, co-advised by Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis, to pursue her Ph.D. in Crop Science. Her current research focuses on turfgrass breeding and genetics. |
| Dylan Dean
PhD Student
Turfgrass Pathology |
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| Stefano Fratton
PhD Student
Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics |
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| Stefano is originally from a small village in the Alps of Northern Italy. After earning his first Master’s degree in Agronomy from Padua University (Italy) in 2004, he specialized further with another Master’s in AgroBioScience from ENSAT Institute (France) in 2023. Stefano became a member of the Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics team in Summer 2024 to pursue a PhD in plant breeding. His work consists in leveraging high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) platforms to accelerate the selection of zoysiagrass genotypes with enhanced seed production traits. His research integrates HTP, genomics, seed physiology, and traditional breeding methods to develop advanced seeded cultivars with meaningful economic and environmental benefits. |
| Gram Grant
MS Student
Turfgrass Entomology |
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| Gram is completing a Masters degree at North Carolina State University in the Billeisen Turfgrass Entomology Lab. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences with a concentration in Agronomy from Clemson University. His current research investigates the annual bluegrass weevil (Listronotus maculicollis) as a destructive pest of cool-season turfgrass in western North Carolina. The focus of this research centers on enhancing monitoring methods for annual bluegrass weevil infestations. To achieve this, Gram is investigating the use of unmanned aerial systems and computer vision technologies for large scale monitoring strategies. |
| David Toscano
MS Student
Precision Turfgrass Management |
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| David Toscano is in his second semester of his Master’s degree at NCSU under the direction of Dr. Qiyu Zhou. He is originally from Ecuador, with a professional background in environmental engineering. He gained professional experience in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon, addressing socio-ecological challenges. His current research focuses on Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) applied to turfgrass systems, with an emphasis on developing strategies to optimize carbon sequestration. His work aims to understand how this process can contribute to climate change mitigation and the development of sustainable management. |
| Caiwang Zheng
Postdoctoral Researcher
Translational Crop Phenomics |
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| Sayada Momotaz Akther
PhD Candidate
Soil Microbiology |
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Sayada is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Crop and
Soil Sciences at North Carolina State University. She is originally from Bangladesh, where she completed Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Soil, Water, and Environmental Science at the University of Dhaka. Her PhD research focuses on the role of the root microbiome in enhancing drought tolerance. Her work integrates microbial ecology, plant physiology, and metagenomics to understand how root-associated microbial communities contribute to turfgrass resilience under
abiotic stress. Ultimately, she aims to contribute to the development of climate-smart, sustainable turfgrass systems that can better withstand increasing environmental stressors. |
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