Burras, C. Lee

I contribute to ISU through teaching, advising, and research. I work on-campus, around Iowa & internationally. As a teacher and adviser I seek to foster scientific understanding, career preparedness and lifelong learning. My research examines natural soil formation, human-induced soil transformations, and inherent soil productivity. I share my findings through scholarly journal articles, soil survey interpretations, professional reports and outreach presentations.

I joined the Department of Agronomy in 1995 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor and Professor in 2001 and 2007, respectively.  I was awarded Morrill Professor in 2020.   I came to ISU from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where I was an Assistant Professor (1990 to 1995).

Selected Awards

  • The Milkman Family Mentorship Award, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Student Council, 2022
  • Faculty Escort at Commencement for Student Marshal Payten Watson, 2022.
  • Team Award (Uganda Program), College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, 2020
  • Senior Marshal, Iowa State University, 2017
  • Team Award (Master Gardener Program), College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, 2016
  • Patriotic Employer, Secretary of the Department of Defense – Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve, 2015
  • Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, 2013
  • Women in Agronomy Mentoring, ASA-CSSA-SSSA, 2012
  • Excellence in University Teaching, USDA, 2011
  • Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching, ISU, 2010
  • Soil Science Resident Education, SSSA, 2009
  • Agronomy Resident Education, ASA, 2008
  • Excellence in Academic Advising, ISU, 2007

Roth, Richard

Dr. Richard Roth is an Assistant Professor and Extension Soil fertility Specialist at Iowa State University.  He joined the Department of Agronomy and at Iowa State in September 2023. His primary responsibilities are nitrogen and sulfur management. Dr. Roth’s research and extension work focuses on engineering and optimizing nitrogen and sulfur management strategies to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of cropping systems in the Midwest. He is dedicated to enhancing the agronomic, economic, and environmental performance of these systems.

Todey, Dennis

Dr. Todey is a native Iowan with his BS and PhD from Iowa State in Meteorology and Agricultural Meteorology. He has spent two stints in South Dakota, first completing his MS at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and most recently as Associate Professor and State Climatologist for South Dakota at South Dakota State University. He is well known regionally as a speaker and media source on various climate issues and is the former president of the American Association of State Climatologists.

Ebrahimi, Elnaz

Portrait of Dr. Elnaz Ebrahimi

Elnaz Ebrahimi is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Agronomy. She serves as the course instructor for Agronomy 3920: Systems Analysis in Crop and Soil Management, Agronomy 5010: Crop Growth and Development, and Agronomy 5310: Crop Ecology and Management. She leads The System’s Hidden Half lab, and has developed the Smart Rhizobox system to advance root dynamics research. By integrating her work into teaching, she provides hands-on experiences that connect theory with real-world agricultural applications.

Hornbuckle, Brian

Dr. Brian Hornbuckle grew up in Shenandoah. After graduating from Brown University, he taught high school chemistry and physics in Clarksdale, MS, as a member of the Mississippi Teacher Corps. As a graduate student at the University of Michigan he earned degrees in electrical engineering and atmospheric science. He has been at Iowa State since 2003. Besides working in the Department of Agronomy, he holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. He teaches courses in environmental physics, conducts research on the use of remote sensing in agricultural systems, and mentors both undergraduate and graduate students.   Dr. Hornbuckle is the Director of Graduate Education for Agricultural Meteorology, a member of the department’s advisory council, and represents the department on the Iowa State Faculty Senate. He and his wife Jalene have three children and live in Nevada.

Salas-Fernandez, Maria

Maria Salas Fernandez is a Professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University (ISU). She received a B.S. in Agricultural Production Engineering from the Argentine Catholic University, an M.S. in Plant Physiology from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Cornell University. Before her appointment in the academia, she worked in the private sector in Argentina, at the R&D Department of American Cyanamid Company and as a sorghum breeder junior at Nidera SA. She initiated and leads a sorghum field breeding program at ISU to develop germplasm for forage and biofuel production adapted to the Midwest. Her research program is also focused on the use of genomics and high-throughput phenotyping technology to identify genetic mechanisms controlling traits such as plant architecture, photosynthesis, photoprotection and cold tolerance at germination. Dr. Salas Fernandez is a member of the R. F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding at Iowa State University and has been selected as a Plant Sciences Institute Scholar for Predictive Phenomics at ISU.

Awards:

  • 2013 American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Early Career Professional Award.
  • 2014 National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) Early Career Award.
  • NSF CAREER grant for her novel research in photosynthesis and photoprotection.
  • 2019 Baker Agronomic Excellence Award, Iowa State University.
  • 2024 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Inclusive Excellence Award, Iowa State University.