Cole Thompson joined the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture faculty July 1 as the new integrated turfgrass management specialist and assistant professor. Thompson comes to UNL after working for two years as an assistant professor of turfgrass and landscape physiology at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. In this previous position, Thompson had a primary teaching role, but he said he is excited to get back to his extension and research roots.
According to Extension Turfgrass Specialist Bill Kreuser, Thompson's expertise in applied turfgrass pathology and weed science, compliments the existing skills of the UNL Turf Program.
A native of Beloit, Kansas, Thompson received his advanced degrees from Kansas State University. His master’s degree research focused on silvery-thread moss control on putting greens and creeping bentgrass cultivar susceptibility to dollar spot. His Ph.D. research focused on management and control of rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis) — a challenging weed to control in turf. Thompson’s applied industry experience comes from his previous work as an assistant golf course superintendent and an internship with the United States Golf Association.
“Thompson has a positive, resourceful and congenial attitude and will be a great addition to the UNL turf program,” Kreuser said. “We are very excited to have him at UNL where he will jump right in and make a positive impact on our turf extension, research and teaching programs.”
Thompson officially started July 1, so many will have the opportunity to meet him at the Nebraska Turfgrass Research Field Day on July 20, at the new UNL East Campus Turf Research Center in Lincoln.
By Bill Kreuser, Assistant Professor, Extension Turfgrass Specialist
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/acy2