The Irrigation Association presented its annual awards at the 2011 Irrigation Show’s General Session on November 7 in San Diego, CA. These awards recognize individuals and organizations for their efforts to advance irrigation practices, technologies and the industry overall.
Industry Achievement Award
IA named two recipients of its Individual Achievement Award which honors individuals whose careers demonstrate outstanding contributions to the advancement of the irrigation industry and its products in both landscape and agriculture.
Rene Evelyn-Veere of Rain Bird Corporation (Tucson, AZ) was the recipient for turf/landscape. He joined Rain Bird in 1976, brought on to design the hardware for the company’s first computer as well as the software architecture that became the basis for Rain Bird’s MAXI program. MAXI was designed to give golf course superintendents more control over their irrigation systems. He has since led the charge on successes such as SmartWeather, Stratus II and Freedom Pad. Evelyn-Veere is also recognized for his patents, many of which stem directly from his work with Rain Bird.
National Water and Energy Conservation Award
The National Water and Energy Conservation Award honors significant achievement in the conservation of water and energy relating to irrigation procedures, equipment, methods and techniques.
The USDA-ARS Water Management Research Unit in Fort Collins, CO, led by Thomas Trout, PhD, continues to research irrigation methods and has contributed to dam development, flow metering, irrigation control structures, evapotranspiration, crop water use, center pivot energy management and sprinkler irrigation design and evaluation. The unit’s current research is focused on developing management practices that can help sustain irrigated agriculture in the Great Plains and throughout the western U.S. with declining water supplies. The research is helping to develop better understanding of how crops respond to deficit irrigation and how to maximize productivity with limited water.
