معرفی
Benjamin Wherley is a Professor of Turfgrass Science & Ecology at Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. His 70%/30% research/teaching appointment focuses on sustainable turfgrass management, irrigation optimization, and ecological resilience. He collaborates across disciplines to address industry challenges and teaches courses like SCSC 302 (Recreational Turfgrass) and SCSC 428 (Advanced Turf Ecology).
Education: PhD in Turfgrass Science from North Carolina State University (2008), MS from Ohio State University (2003). His research explores nutrient management, drought tolerance, and sand-capped fairway dynamics. Key projects include multistate drought resistance initiatives and spent coffee grounds as organic amendments.
Research Interests:
- Developing sustainable irrigation and nutrient practices
- Evaluating biostimulants and organic amendments
- Salinity and sodicity tolerance in warm-season turfgrasses
- Soil physical properties improvement in compacted soils
- Environmental impacts of landscape conversions
Advising & Grants: Mentors students in research projects and oversees grants focused on turfgrass ecology. His lab (Scotts Turfgrass Research Lab) supports applied field studies. Recent work includes machine learning-driven irrigation systems and genotype × environment interactions in turfgrass breeding programs.
Labs/Teams: Lead researcher at Texas A&M AgriLife Research, collaborating with AgriLife Extension and industry partners. His team investigates topics like runoff mitigation, fairway rehabilitation, and urban landscape sustainability.
