DR. RICHARD H. WHITE NAMED TPI HONORARY MEMBER
educating more than 1,000 undergraduates and leading the committees for six PhD students and 13 MS students. Many of his former students have become leaders in the turfgrass industry, as educators, innovators, sports field managers and more.
Dr. White’s area of specialization has been turfgrass physiology and management. In his research program, White worked on cycling composted cattle manure through turfgrass sod as a water quality conservation tool and conducted extensive research work on many new dwarf Bermudagrass cultivars. He also spent considerable time improving water management to enhance the performance of creeping bentgrass in the southern U.S.
Dr. Richard H. White
Dr. Richard H. White has been named an Honorary Member of Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) in recognition of his significant contributions toward the advancement of the association and the turfgrass industry. Dr. White retired from his positions as a professor in the Texas A&M University Soil and Crop Sciences Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Research turfgrass management scientist in College Station, Texas, on August 31, 2018.
He earned his BS degree in Agronomy in 1979 and his MS degree in 1982, both from Auburn University. He earned his PhD in Agronomy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 1985.
Te following information was among the multiple nominations supporting this award included and/or referenced in the nomination packet.
Dr. White came to Texas A&M after working as an assistant professor at Rutgers University-Cook College in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He started as an assistant research scientist in 1989 at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas and then moved to College Station in 1993 as an associate professor.
Dr. White spent more than 33 years advancing the turfgrass industry. He was instrumental in upgrading Turfgrass Science at Texas A&M, from an area of focus in the Agronomy degree to an independent major.
Involved in both research and teaching, Dr. White has impacted students on many levels throughout his career. He taught both graduate and undergraduate courses,
30 TPI Turf News March/April 2019
His research program also focused on the development of information to understand mechanisms of stress resistance in perennial grasses that are used for turf and conservation purposes. Te primary focus of the program was to develop fundamental information for an understanding of mechanisms of drought and temperature resistance in perennial grasses. In addition, his research program contributed to applied programs in irrigation water management and conservation and resulted in the refinement of management strategies that reduce cultural inputs required to maintain turfgrass areas.
During his impactful career, Dr. White developed/co- developed eight cultivar registrations (four zoysiagrass, one bentgrass, one perennial ryegrass and two annual ryegrass). Several of these turfgrass cultivars are used extensively in the green industry, such as Palisades zoysiagrass.
Dr. White worked with the Texas Turfgrass Association, colleagues, and others to create the Texas Turfgrass Research, Education and Extension Endowment at Texas A&M. Tis endowment provides funding for students and research in the study of turfgrass.
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