Dwayne G. Westfall
Degrees Awarded
- B.S. University of Idaho – 1961
- Ph.D. Washington State University, 1968.
- Years at CSU – 1978-2010
Awards and Recognition
- Fellow American Society of Agronomy, 1986
- Agronomic Achievement Award – Soils” American Society of Agronomy, 1987
- Fellow Soil Science Society of America, 1988
- Distinguished Service Award by the Great Plains Conservation Tillage Task Force, 1990
- Werner L. Nelson Award by National Fertilizer Solution Association, 1990
- Honorary Member Award by Agricultural Retailers Association, 1992
- Soil Science Applied Research Award Soil Science Society of America, 1993
- Faculty Award of Merit by Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society, CSU Chapter, 1994
- Researcher of the Year by the Fluid Fertilizer Foundation, 1995
- Robert E. Wagner Award by The Potash and Phosphate Institute, 2005
- Great Plains Soil Fertility Leadership Award, 2006
- Leadership Award Western Nutrient Management Conference, 2009
- College of Agricultural Sciences Distinguished Career Award, 2010
Dwayne Westfall was born in Aberdeen Idaho and grew up on a potato /grain farm. After high school, he enrolled at the University of ID in Moscow where he received his B.S. degree. Dwayne served as 2nd Lieutenant/1st Lieutenant, U. S. Army Chemical Corp, U. S. Army Biological Laboratory, Fort Detrick, MD from 1961-1963. He then received a “National Defense and Education Fellow” grant to study Soil Science at Washington State University. Upon completion of his Ph.D. he joined the faculty of Texas A&M University and was located at the Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Beaumont, TX. His research included soil fertility and chemistry for rice and pasture production and the pollution from irrigation water return flow. Dwayne left Texas A&M in 1973 and joined the Great Western Sugar Company, Longmont, Colorado, as Senior Plant Nutritionist, where he was responsible for research and educational activities in soil fertility and N plant nutrition of sugar beets in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and Ohio.
In March 1978 Dwayne joined the CSU faculty and was posted in Lahore, Pakistan on a two-year assignment with the On-Farm Water Management Development Project. Upon his return to CO he began his outstanding career in Soil Fertility at CSU. Dr. Westfall is regarded as one of the “Deans” of nutrient management across the United States, and he is highly recognized by his international peers. Throughout his career he focused on efficient management of nutrients within cropping systems with the end goal of helping producers increase their bottom line. He has always believed that the success of an applied research program depends on a close link between the researcher, industry, growers, and Cooperative Extension.
Dwayne had a reputation as an excellent, but demanding teacher. His experiences in field and laboratory research made him highly credible in the eyes of his students. In addition to his undergraduate teaching, he advised/co-advised 31 M.S and 19 Ph.D. degree students. He did his best to instill in them the importance of the technology transfer step and that “research is wasted” if doesn’t get to the user in printed form! In 1985, Dr. Westfall became a co-leader of a research team that developed the highly productive “Dryland Agroecosystem Project”. He also helped build an interdisciplinary, interagency, precision agriculture team at CSU. Dwayne also provided excellent service and leadership in scientific journal editing. He served in the roles of Assoc. and Tech. Editor for Agronomy Journal and the Soil Science Society to America Journal for more than 10 years and as Editor of Journal of Production Agriculture, for an additional 6 years. He truly is a Legend of our Department.