College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

New Funding – Busov, Gailing and Yordanov

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Associate Professor Victor Busov, Assistant Professor Oliver Gailing and Post Doc Yordan Yordanov received the following news that their recent proposal has been funded: The review panel of the AFRI Biology of Agricultural Plants Program has announced that  that your proposal  entitled “Role of Lateral Organ Boundary Transcription Factors in Regulation of Wood Formation in Poplar, has been recommended for funding by the review panel. We will be able to fund the proposal at 100% of your request at $499,916 for three years.

It was selected in one of the toughest nation-wide competitions ever in the history of the program  with over 400 submitted proposals.

Congratulations Victor, Oliver and Yordan!

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Students Earn Award at SAF

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Congratulations to Master of Forestry students Eric Dunnack, Conor Bell, Ken Kettler, Kara Oikarinen, Mike Premer, Joanna Rogers, for winning the second place award for their poster titled Varying Levels of Known Causal Factors and the Possibility of Epicormic Branching on Acer saccharum.

Picture with their award-winning poster are (from left to right): Kara Oikarinen, Mike Premer, Ken Kettler and Conor Bell

This group of  students presented their poster at the Society of American Foresters National Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii in November 2011. The project was funded by McIntire-Stennis. They are advised by Professor Jim Pickens.

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Rolf Peterson receives Certificate of Distinction

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Research Professor – Robbins Chair, Rolf Peterson has received the  2012 Certificate of Distinction from the Purdue Ag Alumni Association.  The Certificate is the highest recognition conferred by the Association.

Rob Swihart, Professor and Head of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources said, “Notably, in my 20 years at Purdue, this is the first occasion of which I’m aware in which an alumnus in wildlife has been recognized!  By any measure, your achievements certainly warrant such recognition, and I know that our faculty, staff, and students will be thrilled with the news. ”

Congratulations to Rolf!

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Excellent Teachers

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Congratulations to Michael Falkowski, Shekhar Joshi, Linda Nagel, and Tom Pypker for ranking in the top 10% of the student evaluations for the question: “Taking everything into account, I consider this instructor to be an excellent teacher.”
They received scores from 4.89-5.00 on these evaluations for spring semester, 2011. Great job!!

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Joe Kovach – 1987 (MS)

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The School of Forest Resources is saddened to learn of the recent passing of our alumnus  Joe Kovach (1958 – 2011)

This obituary and picture was published in the Wausau Daily Herald on November 1, 2011

Joseph A. Kovach

Joseph A. Kovach, 53, Wausau, died Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, at Aspirus Hospice House in Wausau.

He was born Jan. 19, 1958, in Livorno, Italy, to Alexander and Virginia (Beatty) Kovach. Joseph’s father was a military man and, therefore, Joseph was able to travel the world as an army child. He was a graduate of both Penn State University(undergrad) and Michigan Tech where he completed his masters.

Joseph was married and divorced. He spent much time in Ecuador. He first went there as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1981 to 1983. He enjoyed it so much he later returned to work there as a forester for Baltek Corp. for eight years. It was at this time that he met and married the mother of his two children. They later settled in Wausau. Joseph worked in the Forestry Division for the DNR for 18 years as a forest ecologist and silviculturist.

He is survived by his mother, Virginia (Beatty) Kovach, Roy, Utah; son, Jesse Kovach, Wausau; daughter, Alexis Kovach, Madison; sisters, Judith Kovach, Wausau, and Kitty Kovach, Roy, Utah; nephew, David Kovach; and other loving family and friends.

Service with visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, at John J. Buettgen Funeral Home, Schofield.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Society of American Foresters and the Foresters Fund.

John J. Buettgen Funeral Home is assisting the family.

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