Steve Young, UNL's new weed ecologist at the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte, will be taking a multi-pronged approach to researching and developing recommendations for weed management in this region.

Young's research and extension work will focus on several areas of weed control:

• Weed competition in cropping systems with limited water
• Invasive plant species in riparian areas, surface waterways, and other non-crop areas
• Ecology of invasive plant species and mechanisms of invasiveness
• Ecosystem services associated with agricultural and managed systems
• Integrated pest management techniques, including automation, GIS and geo-spatial technologies

As with many faculty appointments in UNL's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Young has a joint appointment. His is in the Extension and Agricultural Research divisions.

Education and Experience

Prior to coming to UNL, Young worked in several weed management and research positions as he pursued his education. He received a B.S. in horticulture from Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., an M.S. in plant science from the University of Idaho in Moscow, and a Ph.D. in soil science from the University of California at Davis.

Most recently, Young's post-doctoral research at the Washington State University Center for Precision Agricultural Systems focused on the effects of biofuel crop production on below-ground soil processes, including carbon and nitrogen cycles. His doctoral research in California examined how restored native plant communities were able to resist invasion by yellow starthistle.

During his undergraduate term he worked as a research technician for Syngenta and for his masters research he looked at the impact of weed control timing in sugarbeet. Young also worked as a weed specialist for the U.S. Forest Service in Potlatch, Idaho, where he identified and treated invasive weeds. As a research associate at the University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center he researched various options for controlling roadside vegetation.

Outside the Office

Young said he and his wife were looking forward to living in the Midwest and raising their children in a more rural setting. A longtime baseball fan, Young is also hoping to someday attend the College Baseball World Series in Omaha.