MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Society of American Foresters recently honored Mary Beth Adams, visiting research faculty in the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, with its 2019 Barrington Moore Memorial Award.
The award recognizes outstanding achievement in biological research leading to the
advancement of forestry.
As a research soil scientist for the United States Department of Agriculture Forest
Service, Northern Research Station, Adams’ work includes understanding how water
and nutrients move through forest ecosystems in response to various stressors and
using that understanding to sustain the productivity of forest ecosystems.
Much of her work has been conducted at the Fernow Experimental Forest near Parsons
where she served as research project leader and scientist in charge for 20 years.
During that time, she designed, implemented and managed a long-term project studying
the effects of acidic deposition in the forest’s watersheds. The research is often
recognized as one of the premiere studies of forest ecosystem processes in the
world – and many scientists have adapted their research based on this pioneering
work.
Adams specializes in large, long-term experiments, and has been the principle investigator
or co-PI on grants totaling more than $3 million that have facilitated collaboration
with leading scientists throughout the U.S., and around the world.
The Seymour, Indiana, native is a two-time graduate of Purdue University where
she received both her bachelor’s and master’s in forestry. She went on to earn a
doctorate from North Carolina State University and did her post-doctorate work at
Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee studying the carbon economy of plants.
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law/11/21/19
CONTACT: Lindsay Willey
Interim Director of Marketing and Communications
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
304-293-2381; Lindsay.Willey@mail.wvu.edu