Roundup

Crawfords win top USDA honor

UI microbiologists Don and Ron Crawford received the U.S. Department of Agriculture's highest award at a June ceremony in Washington, D.C. USDA secretary Dan Glickman presented the Golden Plow Honor Award for Exceptional Service to the twin brothers for their "outstanding research efforts promoting production agriculture and environmental protection."

"This is a great honor for the university and the college," said Dean Larry Branen. "It says a great deal about the cutting edge research happening here in Idaho."

Working together and separately, the twin brothers enlist microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi to clean up hazardous wastes in the environment and to keep crops healthy in farmers' fields.

Said Dick Heimsch, director of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, "They have spanned the spectrum of microbiology from its fundamentals to applications that are already being put to use."