Suat Irmak s a recogniized international expert in agricultural science, soil and water resources engineering, and the impact of climate change on water resources and agroecosystem productivity. (Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Suat Irmak, professor and head of agricultural and biological engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences, has been elected to the latest cohort of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.
Irmak is a recognized international expert in agricultural science, soil and water resources engineering, and the impact of climate change on water resources and agroecosystem productivity. The association honored him for his contributions and accomplishments in soil-water resources, irrigation engineering, evapotranspiration and surface energy and water vapor fluxes, climate science, technology transfer to citizens, and implementation in agricultural production fields, as well as for educating next-generation scientists.
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate Dr. Suat Irmak’s election as an AAAS fellow, a well-earned recognition of his pioneering contributions to agricultural and biological engineering,” said Troy L. Ott, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. “His groundbreaking research in water management, precision agriculture and sustainable food systems has had a profound impact on global agricultural practices and environmental stewardship. At Penn State, we are fortunate to have his leadership and vision driving innovation that benefits society and is helping to shape a more sustainable future for generations to come.”
The author or co-author of more than 400 research publications, including more than 350 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals, Irmak noted that he is both humbled and honored to be selected as an AAAS fellow by his peers to become part of such an esteemed and exceptional group of scientists.
“I have been fortunate to have an outstanding network of national and international colleagues, friends and collaborators as well as many outstanding graduate and undergraduate students, postdocs, research professors, technicians and technologists whom I had the pleasure of funding, supervising and working with over the years,” he said. “As an AAAS fellow, I am honored to be a part of a highly regarded organization that makes substantial contributions to science and makes significant efforts to foster respect for science and its crucial value and role in the betterment of our lives, our environment and ultimately our planet.”
Throughout his career, Irmak has recruited and retrained students from underrepresented minority groups, including Native Americans. Fourteen of his more than 60 former graduate students are now faculty members at universities, and all other former students and postdoctoral scholars are employed by state and federal agencies or private industry.
Some of Irmak’s research products have been implemented into the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national incentive programs and into operational handbooks. Some of his innovative research and education programs and projects have been used by the USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics as examples of signature programs in discussions in the U.S. Congress to justify continuation of Hatch and Smith Lever federal support funds for research and extension at land-grant universities.
Irmak came to Penn State in July 2021 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was named Harold W. Eberhard Distinguished Professor in 2013.
–Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences