The Ohio State University

Each year the Buckeye Sports Turf Program has an awards program that recognizes leaders in the sports turf industry. One of the awards given is the "Buckeye Sports Turf Award for Excellence on a Global Scale". The award is presented to a professional that has made a major contribution to the advancement of the sports turf industry worldwide.

The 2008 recipient is Dr. Stephen Baker from the STRI in England.  Dr. Baker was chosen because for the last twenty eight years he has conducted cutting edge and practical research culmulating in numerous books and publications. His area of expertise is in soil physics and his most recent book is entitled "Rootzones, Sands and Topdressing Materials for Sports Turf".   His research on rootzone construction and amelioration through processes like sand dressing and sand slitting has provided solutions for native soil playing fields all over the world.

During the recent turfgrass study tour to England, the students were able to visit STRI and present Dr. Baker (middle) with his award.

Previous recipients include: Martyn Jones (NTF), Mike O'Keeffe (International Internship Program), and Dave Saltman (Pitchcare.com)