FORT PIERCE, Fla.—Fort Pierce native and career scientist Audrey Beany stands alone for recognition in the UF/IFAS’s Health Care and Physical Sciences category for a Superior Accomplishment Award announced this week by university officials.
Recognition for superior work in IRREC Plant Root Biology Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Lorenzo Rossi
The achievement is the result of Beany’s “outstanding and meritorious service” at the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center’s (IRREC) Plant Root Biology Laboratory.
Third generation St. Lucie County agricultural heritage
Beany is a member of a third-generation heritage cattle industry family, and her passion reflects richly in her work, said her-then supervisor, Lorenzo Rossi. Rossi notes Beany’s role as a St. Lucie County thought leader and as a public affairs event representative at the Florida State Capitol in 2024.
Mark Kistler, Beany’s current supervisor, director and professor of IRREC, said Beany’s devotion to the center spans three decades and is characterized as a stand-out employee.
“Beany’s performance has helped me realize the difference a great biological scientist can make in a robust scientific laboratory,” Kistler wrote in his nomination letter for his successful bid for Beany’s award. Kistler imparts five examples for Beany’s work on field research projects and laboratory operations.
Inititation of new IRREC olive research grove
Kistler points to Beany’s initiation of an experimental olive grove on the research campus and her travels throughout Florida and to Alabama olive production operations involving data collection for more than 5,000 trees as examples of Beany’s exceptional performance.
Bob Adair, executive director of The Florida Research Center for Sustainability in Vero Beach, often collaborates with UF/IFAS researchers.
Citrus research design
“Audrey designed a comprehensive 2-year study involving 200 trees in my research grove,” Adair said. “Over the course of several data collection sessions, Audrey’s professionalism and reliability were evident—she became a leading authority on groundcovers.”
Adair summarizes Beany’s ability to lead a major research project, schedule, provide updates, and report analyzed data in an organized, efficient manner. For their shared research effort, Beany presented the project and its valuable findings to members of the American Society for Horticultural Science at their annual meeting held in Honolulu in late 2024. Also, in Honolulu, members of the statewide olive research team garnered a national award for a video they produced to promote the possibility of the alternative crop for Florida. The video was elevated to “Best in the Nation” with an “Extension Materials Award.”
While Beany’s work to leading research at IRREC is high-profile and high-quality, her ability to support others who strive to advance local youth development and complete higher education credentials is equally admirable.
Local 4-H involvement
Beany’s involvement in local 4-H has been a part of her life since her youth and continues to bring her personal fulfillment. Susan Munyan, who led the UF/IFAS St. Lucie County Extension 4-H program for three decades, recounts Beany’s tireless work as a volunteer to assist the youth skill-building program. “I knew I could count on her to assist youth raising a pig or a goat. I saw here help youth learn new tasks and develop into resourceful, confident agriculturalists,” said Munyan.
Lab associates and graduate student support
During Beany’s last year, she interfaced with 15 Rossi laboratory associates. The team members included an associate professor, post-doctoral research associate, visiting scientists, interns and graduate students at master’s and doctorate levels. Lukas Hallman completed a Ph.D. late last year. Hallman said Beany collected meticulous, well-organized data from his research so that he could participate in a 2-month-long internship in Zürich, Switzerland, early in 2024.
Education credentials
A graduate of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) and the University of Florida, Beany holds an associate in science in animal science from ABAC. She completed a bachelor of science in animal science with a minor in food resource economics and a master’s in extension education from the University of Florida.
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