MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station recently honored several members of the Mississippi State University faculty, staff and student body for outstanding research, service and facility maintenance.

Fei Yu, a MAFES scientists and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received the 2014 Excellence in Research Award sponsored by Mississippi Land Bank. Yu also received the MAFES Grantsmanship Award for amassing more than $4.5 million in grants.

Yu’s research in conversion techniques for biofuels is nationally and internationally recognized. He has three patents pending, and his technology for converting syngas to diesel or jet fuel shows tremendous commercial potential.

Raja Reddy, research professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, received the Outstanding Scientific Publication Award. Published in the Agronomy Journal, his article describes a mathematical approach to measuring corn growth and development in relation to environmental conditions.

Brett Rushing, a research associate in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, received the Research Staff Award for his outstanding scientific contributions. Rushing is the coinventor of three native grass varieties under evaluation in alternative fuel development studies.

Jesse Morrison and Hillary Clements won student research awards. A doctoral student in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Morrison is coinventor of five native grass varieties. Clements, an undergraduate student in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, is heavily involved in the MSU undergraduate research program.

MAFES presents outstanding research awards annually. Many of the faculty members have joint appointments with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the MSU Extension Service.

In addition to outstanding scholarship and outreach, MAFES also draws special attention to its facilities and the people who work to maintain them. The Experiment Station has 16 branch stations throughout the state and multiple on-campus facilities.

The Northeast Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Verona was awarded for being the most improved facility. Honored individuals were Mark Shankle at the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station; Barzinia Smith, Bryant Howard and Wayne Sykes of the Black Belt Branch Experiment Station in Brooksville; and Peter Hudson with the Trucks Crops Branch Experiment Station near Crystal Springs.