This month's graduate student spotlight features Steve Hong, in Chris Williamson's lab. Steve hails from Taejon, South Korea, where he was born and raised. Steve received his bachelor's degree (1995) from the Department of Horticultural Science at Chung-Nam National University in Taejon. Steve went on to receive his first master's degree (1999) from the Department of Plant Science at Nova Scotia Agricultural College through Dalhousie University. Steve also received his English nickname in Canada; family and friends in Korea call him by his given name, Seung-Cheon.

Here in Madison, Steve's master's research focused on the effects of host plant selection, targeted insecticide treatments, and cultural manipulations as alternative approaches to golf course management, specifically on the black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon), a noctuid pest of turf grasses. He received his second master's degree this past May.

Steve has a three-pronged focus for his doctoral thesis. The first is an extension of his master's research with the black cutworm, which is a very serious pest on golf course putting greens. Some Kentucky bluegrass species have shown a resistance to black cutworm, although the mechanism(s) of this resistance are not known. Steve is investigating the possible mechanism(s) of this resistance, especially on allelochemics, in addition to plant tissue toughness.

The second aspect of Steve's research involves evaluation of soil amendments on earthworm activity on golf courses. Earthworms are plentiful on soil with relatively high moisture and an organic matter food source, and there is no shortage of either on the average golf course. Therefore, earthworms often colonize greens, tees, and fairways. High populations of earthworms can cause problems on turf areas. They can be a major nuisance on golf courses by creating soil mounds, called castings, on closely cut playing surfaces. Earthworm casting on golf courses is becoming one of the most challenging management issues to superintendents. Extensive earthworm casting on fairway interferes with the playability of the turfgrass and the overall appearance of the golf course. Specifically, Steve is examining products such as Black Jack and Amber Jack. Black Jack is a specially fractionated and dried coal slag product. It is very hard, sharp, highly angular and black in color. Amber Jack is a by-product of the paper industry. It is inert, highly angular, extremely hard, and considerably lighter in color, ranging from almost clear to reddish amber.

Lastly, Steve is cooperating in a study with the Hogg lab on the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines), recently discovered in North America (in 2000). The soybean aphid (SBA), native to East Asia, may have a serious impact on yields of soybean. SBA may cause damage by sucking plant sap and transmitting viruses during the feeding process. Since the SBA has not historically been a problem in the United States, very little information on the pest has been published. Steve is studying the effect of different planting dates on aphid populations on soybean plants. He is also examining movement of aphids on a soybean plant plotted against season (time).

Upon completion of his graduate studies, Steve anticipates finding a post-doctoral position somewhere, and then ultimately pursuing a career as a research scientist. Steve's first choice would be to return to Korea, but would be happy to accept a job just about anywhere.

Steve and his wife, Jin-Hee Kim, welcomed a daughter to the world this past September, and taking care of baby Jenny is number one on Steve's list of activities outside of the department. However, Steve does find time to play tennis and competitive soccer during the summer.

Steve says that his favorite part of living in Madison is living on a lake in a medium-sized, clean, crime-free city. He doesn't mind the cold winters, but he could do without the snow, and overall, winters are too long here in Wisconsin!