Two UF/IFAS faculty members honored for international work, influence

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Nan-Yao Su, right, is congratulated by Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. Click here for high-res image.

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Clyde Fraisse, right, is congratulated by Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. Click here for high-res image.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Termite control pioneer Nan-Yao Su and climate expert Clyde Fraisse of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences were honored for their international work this week, receiving a pair of annual awards.

Su, an entomology professor at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, received the International Fellow Award; Fraisse, an associate professor with the agricultural and biological engineering department in Gainesville, received the UF/IFAS International Achievement Award.

Both were recognized Thursday at a meeting of top UF/IFAS administrators. Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, and Walter Bowen, director of UF/IFAS International Programs, formally presented the awards.

Su and Fraisse were selected from a pool of nominees based on their international research collaborations and efforts to increase international awareness among students.

The International Fellow Award was established in 2004 to recognize outstanding international endeavors by senior UF/IFAS faculty members. The International Achievement Award was added in 2006 to recognize junior, recently tenured or untenured faculty.

A UF/IFAS faculty member since 1984, Su is best known for his leading role in developing the first commercial baiting product for subterranean termites, the Sentricon system. He designed laboratory screening criteria and field procedures that have been used worldwide to develop new termite baiting systems and test their efficacy.

The Sentricon system has been marketed in 18 countries and protects more than 3 million homes. The technology has also been used by foreign governments in large-scale projects. In 2005, Su traveled to Valparaiso, Chile to take part in a government-funded project to fight termite infestations affecting about 15,000 homes. And from 2007 to 2011 he gave expert advice for a program to fight termites in China, reducing pesticide use by 240 metric tons.

Fraisse’s work focuses on developing and providing information to help agriculture, forestry and water resource managers cope with risks associated with climate variability and change. A Southeast Climate Consortium member, his expertise includes agroclimatology, crop growth modeling, precision agriculture technology, irrigation and geographic information system-based decision support systems.

Fraisse was educated in Brazil, Belgium and the U.S. and has been a program director for a UF student exchange program with Brazil. He’s an affiliate member of UF’s Center for Latin American Studies and in February will chair a discussion on energy and climate change at the center’s Emergent Brazil Conference in Gainesville.

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Contacts

Writer: Tom Nordlie, 352-273-3567, tnordlie@ufl.edu

Sources: Nan-Yao Su, 954-577-6339, nysu@ufl.edu

Clyde Fraisse, 352-392-1864, ext. 271, cfraisse@ufl.edu

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Posted: January 11, 2013


Category: Agriculture, Crops, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Work & Life
Tags: Clyde Fraisse, Entomology And Nematology, International Achievement Award, International Fellow Award, International Programs, Jack Payne, Nan-yao Su, Walter Bowen


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