July 31, 2002

COLLEGE STATION – Randy Clouse, a Texas A&M University graduate student, has been selected as the recipient of the C. Everett Salyer Fellowship in cotton research.

The fellowship sponsors pre- and post-doctoral research in vital areas of the cotton industry. It was founded at the university to support areas of research, such as genetics and breeding, pest management, mechanization, marketing, computer modeling and developing products from cottonseed.

Clouse's fellowship will help support his research in designing and implementing a variable rate irrigation system for cotton crops.

The research is aimed at optimizing water application to cotton, based on water availability and the cotton's physiological status.

"Randy's research topic will directly address water use efficiency by investigating techniques to optimize water application to cotton at the crop stage and field location where it will do the greatest good," said Dr. Stephen Searcy, professor and associate department head in the department of biological and agricultural engineering at Texas A&M.

"With this topic, Randy will address both the mechanization and computer modeling/decision aids areas specified for fellowship support."

Efficient water use is a critical need for cotton production, especially in Texas where irrigation potential is limited in many areas by availability and cost and, in the future, by urban and industrial competition, he said. The state's overall water demand is expected to exceed supply in the coming years, Searcy said.

The fellowship will sponsor up to three years of Clouse's research and will end in August 2005.

It will also provide funding for Clouse to attend annual Beltwide Cotton Conferences, in which he will be able to share his results with industry leaders.

Clouse is regarded as a person who will make significant strides in this important area, and he is known for his punctuality, dependability and inquisitiveness, said Dr. Donald Reddell, Texas A&M professor of biological and agricultural engineering.

Searcy added, "Randy Clouse has an inquisitive mind that approaches problems in a thorough and complete manner. His success in graduate study after several years in the engineering profession is a result of his maturity and intellectual capacity."

Clouse earned his bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University and a master's at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a cumulative GPA of 3.81. He has worked as a design engineer, a pollution coordinator and a graduate research assistant.