In all, nearly nearly two dozen individuals from academia, government and private industry were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the field of weed science, according to a WSSA news release distributed yesterday.
“These are true innovators who are making a significant mark on our profession through their research, teaching, publishing, outreach and development of new best practices,” said John Jachetta, the outgoing president of WSSA.
The news release detailed Al-Khatib and DiTomaso's contributions as follows:
- Kassim Al-Khatib, director of the Integrated Pest Management Program and a professor of weed science at the University of California. His specialty is weed physiology and herbicide resistance. Al-Khatib has led significant grant programs, holds two patents and has authored or co-authored nearly 350 refereed journal articles, abstracts and proceedings, extension and research publications and book chapters.
- Joseph DiTomaso, an invasive plants specialist who is director of the Weed Research and Information Center and cooperative extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis. He has delivered more than 750 extension presentations and has published more than 110 peer-reviewed papers and three books. He is currently president of the Western Society of Weed Science and is editor of the journal, Invasive Plant Science and Management.