Our collaborators include university and industry colleagues who are undertaking research on water treatment and management.
Team leaders
- Dr Sarah White
WateR3 Project Director
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University
E-143 Poole Agricultural Center, PO Box 340319
Clemson, SC 29634
Tel. (864) 656-7433
Sarah, WateR3 project director, will evaluate remediation technologies targeting nutrient and pathogen contaminants. - Dr Paul Fisher
Alliance Director and WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Environmental Horticulture Department
University of Florida
2549 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
Gainesville FL 32611-0670
Tel. 352 273 4581
Fax. 352 392 3870
Paul leads outreach efforts for WateR3 and the Water Education Alliance for Horticulture, and undertaking research on filtration and chemical remediation.
California
- Dr Darren Haver
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
South Coast Research & Extension Center
University of California
7601 Irvine Blvd.
Irvine, CA 92618
Tel. (949) 653-1814
Darren will manage the collection of water samples in Southern California, and assist in developing and delivering workshops. - Dr Lorence Oki
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Plant Sciences
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue 1110 Env Hort
Davis, CA 95616-8587
Tel. (530) 754-4135
Lorence studies irrigation and runoff management in nurseries, and effect of water quality on plant growth. - Jim Hessler
WateR3 Advisory Board Member
Altman Specialty Plants, Inc.
3742 Blue Bird Canyon Road
Vista CA 92084
Connecticut
Florida
- Dr Paul Fisher
Alliance Director and WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Environmental Horticulture Department
University of Florida
2549 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
Gainesville FL 32611-0670
Tel. 352 273 4581
Fax. 352 392 3870
Paul leads outreach efforts for WateR3 and the Water Education Alliance for Horticulture, and undertaking research on filtration and chemical remediation. - Dr Laura Warner
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Agricultural Education and Communication
University of Florida
117 Bryant Hall, PO Box 112060
Gainesville, FL 32611
Tel. (352) 273-0202
Laura is part of the sociology team conducting grower perceptions research that will guide Extension materials development. - Dr P. Christopher Wilson
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Soil and Water Science Department
University of Florida
2181 McCarty Hall A, PO BOX 110290
Gainesville, FL 32611-0290
Tel. (352) 294-3151
Chris will evaluate the efficacy of using a treatment train bioreactor system to manipulate oxidation-reduction potentials to target removal of both nitrogen and phosphorus from production runoff. - Dr Phil Harmon
Alliance Contributer
Plant Pathology
University of Florida
Tel. (352) 392-3631 x 340
Phil provides expertise on the biology of pathogens found in greenhouse water, helping to author the Alliance's article on pathogen biology in GMPro. - Maria Paz Kinslow
WateR3 Research Assistant
Environmental Horticulture Department
University of Florida
1533 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
Gainesville, FL 32611-0670
Tel. (352) 273-4522
Maria will undertake research on filtration and chemical remediation, and aid with extension activities including this website.
Georgia
- Dr Alexa Lamm
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication
University of Georgia
132 Four Towers, 405 College Station Road
Athens, GA 30602
Tel. (706) 542-5598
Alexa will be using social science research techniques to identify specific factors that influence growers' decision making, which will guide Extension materials development.
Kentucky
- Dr Dewayne Ingram
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Horticulture
University of Kentucky
N-308F Agri. Science Center
Lexington, KY 40546-0091
Tel. (859) 257-8903
Dewayne specializes in water footprint and carbon footprint of water for the model production system components using life cycle assessment.
Maryland
- Dr John Lea-Cox
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Plant Science & Landscape Architecture
University of Maryland
2120 Plant Sciences Building
College Park, MD 20742
Tel. (301) 405-4323
John will focus on water and nutrient management to reduce contaminant loading into recycled water systems. - Dr Andrew Ristvey
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Plant Science & Landscape Architecture
University of Maryland
124 Wye Narrows Drive
Queenstown, MD 21658-0169
Tel. (410) 827-8056 x 113
Andrew research focus is water and nutrient management in production of container-grown ornamentals. - Dr Cassandra Swett
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Plant Science & Landscape Architecture
University of Maryland
2106 Plant Sciences Building
College Park, MD 20742-4452
Tel. (301) 405-5586
Cassandra will focus on management of latent Phytophthora infections in nursery stock through microsensor-mediated irrigation.
Massachusetts
- Dr Rob Wick
Alliance Contributer
Tel. 413-545-1045
Rob is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts where he supervises the diagnostic laboratory. With a research focus on plant bacterial and fungal diseases, Rob provides expertise in understanding the biology of pathogens found in irrigation water. He has helped author Alliance articles in GMPro magazine. - Rick Yates
Alliance Contributer
Technical Support Manager
Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies
Rick is the Technical Support Manager at Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies. He has been very generous in providing his expertise on chlorine dioxide to the Alliance, helping us both in the planning of workshops and the preparation of articles for GMPro.
Michigan
- Dr Bridget Behe
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Dept. of Horticulture
Michigan State University
1066 Bogue St.
East Lansing, MI 48824-1325
Tel. (517) 355-5191 x 1346
Bridget will conduct consumer research to better understand how plant consumers will react to marketing and merchandising that includes information about a plant’s water use in production and in the landscape. - Dr Bert Cregg
WateR3 Co-Prinicipal Investigator
Dept. of Horticulture
Michigan State University
A214 Plant & Soil Sciences Building
East Lansing MI 48824-1325
Tel. (517) 355-5191 x 1335
Bert is investigating the effects of recycled and remediated water on plant growth, quality and physiology. - Dr Thomas Fernandez
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Horticulture
Michigan State University
A216 Plant & Soil Science Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1325
Tel. (517) 355-5191 x 1336
Thomas will develop a model to manage nutrient and pathogen loads in irrigation runoff, and evaluate water treatment technologies. - Dr Bill Argo
Bill is a Technical Manager at Blackmore with an interest in plant nutrition, media, and water. Bill helped author the Alliance's first article in GMPro magazine, and is helping to coordinate upcoming Alliance workshops in the northeast.
New Jersey
- Dr. Robin Brumfield
WateR3 Collaborator
Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics
Rutgers University
55 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Tel. (848) 932-9130
Robin will focus on the economic analysis of water recycling strategies and developing the economic components of a decision making tool for medium size nursery businesses.
Ohio
- Dr Jim Owen
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Application Technology Research Unit
USDA-ARS
1680 Madison Ave., 215A Williams Hall
Wooster
Tel. (757) 374-8153
Jim will evaluate treatment technologies for remediation of total suspended solids and mineral nutrients under controlled conditions and in commercial ornamental nurseries.
Ontario
- Dr Youbin Zheng
Alliance Contributer
Department of Environmental Biology
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
Canada
Tel. 519- 824-4120 Ext. 52741
An Adjunct Professor at the University of Guelph (Canada), Youbin conducts research on many aspects of greenhouse production, including water disinfestation technologies. Youbin will be an author on several of the Alliance's articles in GMPro magazine.
Oregon
- Dr Jennifer Parke
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
Tel. (541) 737-8170
Jennifer conducts research on management of Phytophthora spp. in nurseries. - Walter Suttle
WateR3 Advisory Board Member
Monrovia
13455 SE Lafayette Hwy
Dayton OR 97114
Walter is the Technical Services Manager at Monrovia’s nursery in Dayton Oregon. In this role he oversees irrigation, fertility and pest management, as well as environmental issues.
South Carolina
- Dr Sarah White
WateR3 Project Director
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University
E-143 Poole Agricultural Center, PO Box 340319
Clemson, SC 29634
Tel. (864) 656-7433
Sarah, WateR3 project director, will evaluate remediation technologies targeting nutrient and pathogen contaminants. - Dr Daniel Hitchcock
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University
P.O. Box 596
Georgetown, SC 29442-0596
Tel. (843) 546-1013 x 236
Dan leads the nursery operation modeling and water management system simulation team.
Texas
Virginia
- Dr Laurie Fox
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Virginia Tech
1444 Diamond Springs Rd
Virginia Beach, VA 23455-3315
Tel. (757) 363-3807
Laurie will assist with coordinating and overseeing the floating Treatment Wetland research in Virginia. - Dr Saurav Kumar
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Virginia Tech
Tel. (703) 361-5606 x 137
Saurav will assist in development and deployment of the online decision support tool to aid growers of containerized crop production systems and also assist in implementing the data management plan for the project. - Dr David Sample
WateR3 Co-Principal Investigator
Department of Biological Systems Engineering
Virginia Tech
1444 Diamond Springs Rd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Tel. (757) 363-3835
David will assist in the development of a decision support tool to manage nutrient, carbon, water, and monetary flows in nurseries and conduct a research study on the effectiveness of floating wetlands for treatment of nursery runoff. - Dr Chuanxue Hong
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Dr. Hong's research program focuses on biology and management of plant pathogens in irrigation water. He has lent his expertise to the Alliance's GMPro articles on chlorination, and his knowledge of Pythium and Phythopthora is an asset to the group.