OSU’s Michael Buser named 2016 Whatley Award recipient

Friday, October 7, 2016

Oklahoma State University’s Michael Buser has been named the 2016 recipient of the James A. Whatley Award for Meritorious Service in Agricultural Sciences.

The award was initiated in 1982 and is presented annually by OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in recognition of outstanding contributions that command regional, national and international respect in applicable career fields.

“Dr. Buser provides valuable expertise to the people, businesses and communities of Oklahoma in the cutting-edge fields of bioenergy and bioprocessing, environmental quality and machine systems,” said Tom Coon, OSU vice president of agricultural programs.

An OSU faculty member since 2009, Buser is an associate professor in the division’s department of biosystems and agricultural engineering with responsibilities in both of DASNR’s state agencies: the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station system and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

Buser coordinates nationally and internationally recognized research and Cooperative Extension programs focused on agricultural air quality issues and efficiently producing, harvesting, transporting and pre-processing biomass feedstocks for the developing bioenergy industry.

Prior to joining OSU, Buser served with the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit from 1998 to 2009. There he developed nationally recognized research programs focused on agricultural air quality, cotton gin by-product utilization and cotton ginning enhancements.

His USDA outreach activities included the National Cotton Ginners’ School, coordinating sessions and teaching classes that provided essential education to owners, management and employees of cotton gins as well as employees of state regulatory agencies, insurance companies, vendors, marketing firms, warehouse, producers and buyers.

A Cowboy alumnus, Buser earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biosystems engineering from OSU in 1995 and 1997, respectively. He earned his doctoral degree in biological and agricultural engineering from Texas A&M University in 2004.

Whatley, in whose name the award is presented, was an animal geneticist who became director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station and eventually dean of DASNR. Whatley served OSU for 41 years.