As professor, and GF Sprague Chair for Population Genetics, Bill teaches graduate courses in applied statistics (Agronomy 513), molecular plant breeding (Agronomy 523) and advanced plant breeding (Agronomy 621). His research interests are focused on optimization of the plant breeding process and genetic limits to crop improvements.
Research interest focuses on the effect of cropping systems, tillage systems, and crop residue management on soil health, soil carbon dynamics, and greenhouse gas emission. Also, research interests include the interaction effects of agricultural practices and environmental factors (i.e., climate change) on agriculture systems sustainability and productivity.
Dr. Sawyer is a retired professor and extension soil fertility specialist in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. He provided statewide leadership for extension soil fertility and nutrient management programs in Iowa. His research focus was the study of nutrients in soils and plants, and fertilizer and manure nutrient management related to crop production and the environment.
Sotirios Archontoulis is a professor of integrated cropping systems at the Department of Agronomy. His research aims to predict impacts (e.g. climate change), explain causes (e.g. high/low yields) and design future strategies to improve crop productivity and environmental sustainability across spatial and temporal scales. His approach combines field experimentation and use of agricultural systems process-based models to explain Genotype x Environment x Management interactions and enable prediction and design at scale.
Dr. Ken Moore is Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences and Professor in Agronomy at Iowa State University where he has been a member of the faculty since 1993. He previously held the Pioneer Hi-Bred Agronomy Professorship in Agronomy (2017-21). He holds a B.S. (1979) degree from Arizona State University and M.S. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) degrees in Agronomy from Purdue University. He held faculty positions at the University of Illinois (1983-87) and New Mexico State University (1987-89), and was a USDA/ARS Research Agronomist and adjunct faculty member at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (1989-93). His research focuses on the development and improvement of biomass crops and cropping systems. He served as Project Director for the USDA-NIFA-CAP project CenUSA: Sustainable Production and Distribution of Bioenergy for the Central USA (2011-19). He is the founding director and led the development of the Master of Science in Agronomy distance education program (1995-2017). He served two terms (2010-2017) on the ISU Graduate Council and was its Chair during the 2015-16 academic year. He teaches a graduate course on quantitative methods and the design and analysis of agronomic experiments (Agron 526). He has worked on collaborative research and education projects in Morocco, Costa Rica, and New Zealand where he was a Senior Research Fellow with AgResearch Grasslands in 1998. Dr. Moore served as President of the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA, 2004) and President of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA, 2008). He served on the editorial boards of Agronomy Journal, agronomy, and Crop Science, was the founding editor of the e-journal Crop Management, and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of crops. He is co-editor of Forages Volume I: An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture and Forages Volume II: The Science of Grassland Agriculture. Dr. Moore is a member of Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi and has been recognized with Outstanding Young Scientist and Merit Awards by the American Forage and Grassland Council, the Young Crop Scientist Award and Martin and Ruth Massengale Lectureship by CSSA, and the Agronomic Service Award, Distinguished Service Award, and Carl Sprengel Agronomic Research Award by ASA. He is a Fellow of ASA, CSSA, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Website: https://www.soil-plant.com/
Coordinate the research activities of the Agronomy Shared Lab group. Provide research support and training to faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students who require the use of the shared equipment and facilities.
My general research interest is centered primarily on crops for bioenergy and sustainability. I have been working with biomass crops for 20+ years – starting at age 15!
The outdoors, gardening & home canning, crafting, spending time with family, camping, kayaking, being healthy, and staying active!
2005-2012. Bachelor degree in Agronomy from Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina.
2012-2014. Employee in a seed company. Worked in Marketing & Sales Department in the central region of Argentina assessing different corn hybrids.
2015. Worked as independent researcher conducting field trials for a chemical company.
2016-2017. Research Scholar at Kansas State University. Function: Lab and data collection assistance to graduate students at a soil fertility and wheat and forages lab. I also conducted my owned modeling project in were we assessed different winter wheat morpho physiological traits for drought tolerance using SSM – Wheat model. Advisors: Ph.D. Dorivar Ruiz-Diaz and Ph.D. Romulo Pisa Lollato.
2017-2019. MSc degree in Plant and Soil Sciencies at University of Kentucky. My thesis project focused on how soybean-cover crop rotation can be optimize to improve weed management. Advisors: Ph.D. Montserrat Salmeron Cortasa, Ph.D. Erin Haramoto & Ph.D. Ole Wendroth.
2020-2021. Worked for a no-till farmers organization in Argentina, Aapresid. Functions: coordinate research projects over Argentina (South West Chaco, South Cordoba, Northpatagonia, Santiago del Estero, North Buenos Aires). These projects comprised topics like yield gap assessment, cash crop management, delimitation of environments due to different soil parameters, water and nutrient use efficiency, cover crop introduction into crop rotations.
2021-Present. PhD candidate in the Crop Production and Physiology program at Iowa State University under the advice of PhD Sotirios Archontoulis.
Refereed Journal Publications
Sciarresi, C; Thies, A; Topp, C; Eudy, D; Trifunovic, S;, Ruiz, A; Dixon, P.M; Miguez, F; Burras, L.C; and Archontoulis, S.V. Do newer maize hybrids grow roots faster and deeper?. 2023. Crop Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21208
Gambin, B.L.; Sciarresi, C.; Di Salvo, J.I.; Trifunovic, S; Narvel, J; Zhou, X; Lamkey, K.R.; Archontoulis, S.V. 2022. Maize kernel weight genetic gain is achieved through different mechanisms depending on the hybrid maturity. Field Crop Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.109123
dos Santos, C., Miguez, F. E., King, K.A., Ruiz, A., Sciarresi, C., Baum, M. E., Danalatos, G. J.N., Stellman, M., Wiley, E., Olmedo Pico, L., Thies, A., Puntel, L. A., Topp, C. N., Trifunovic, S., Eudy, D., Mensah, C., Edwards, J.W., Schnable, P. S., Lamkey, K. R., Vyn, T.J., and Archontoulis, S.V. 2023. Accelerated leaf appearance and flowering in maize after four decades of commercial breeding. Crop Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21044
Ruiz, A., Trifunovic, S, Eudy, D, King, K.A., Baum, M. E., dos Santos, C., Danalatos, G. J.N., Sciarresi, C., Elli, E. F., Kalogeropoulos, G., Thies, A., Olmedo Pico, L., Castellano, M.J., Schnable, P.S., Topp, C, Graham, G., Lamkey, K.R., Vyn, T.J., and Archontoulis, S.V. 2023. Harvest index has increased over the last 50 years of maize breeding. Field Crop Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.108991
Madias, A., Niccia, E.; Tibaldi, J.C.; Ruiz, A.; Sciarresi, C; Marzetti, M.: Bedmar, F. 2022. Herbicidas residuales para Vicia villosa: una síntesis de las experiencias en la Argentina. ASACIM. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361516066_Herbicidas_residuales_para_Vicia_villosa_Roth_una_sintesis_de_las_experiencias_en_la_Argentina
Sciarresi, C.; Proctor,C.; Haramoto, E.; Lindsey, L.; Carmona, G.; Elmore, R.; Everhart, S.; Looker, W.; Marroquin-Guzman, M.;, McMechan, A.; Wehrbein, J.; Werle, R. 2020. Evaluating short-season soybean management adaptations for cover crop rotations with a crop simulation model. Field Crop Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2020.107734
Sciarresi, C; Patrignani, A.; Soltani, A.; Sinclair, T.; and Lollato, R. 2019. Plant traits to increase winter wheat grain yield in semiarid and sub-humid environments. Agronomy Journal. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2018.12.0766SELECT