Crop and Soil Sciences Facilities

The New Center for Turfgrass Science

Pebble Beach, Oakmont, Augusta, Merion.

These world-class golf courses enjoy their reputations in part because of the Penn State turfgrass science graduates who have served as their superintendents. Industry-standard Penn State grass varieties enhance the playability of courses around the world, and new products such as PennMulch continue to score holes-in-one for Penn State’s internationally renowned turfgrass science research program.

To provide this world-class program with a world-class facility, 45 acres within the Penn State Arboretum have been set aside for the new Center for Turfgrass Science. The $9.4 million center will encompass classrooms and laboratories, offices, conference rooms, dedicated field plots, and the Mascaro-Steinger Turfgrass Equipment Museum.

With support for a new center, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will be able to provide state-of-the-art research, teaching, and outreach capabilities. The improved facilities at the Center for Turfgrass Science will allow the college to:

• provide first-class research facilities for Penn State faculty and students to maintain our position as world leaders in advancing the science of turfgrass management and culture.
• recruit and retain the best faculty, staff, and students in the turfgrass industry.
• facilitate the integration of turfgrass science programmatice missions in teaching, research, and outreach.
• provide a centralized facility housing all the necessary field equipment and laboratory instrumentation needed to conduct research and to train students in methods pivotal to modern turfgrass management.
• offer unprecedented educational opportunities for students through innovative design of teaching laboratories (indoors and outdoors) and facilities for equipment demonstration, use, and training.
• establish a centralized location for outreach activities such as field days and clinics for practitioners from around the world.
• enable program faculty members to conduct research and demonstrate the principles and concepts of sustainable turfgrass management that emphasize environmental harmony.

Given the burgeoning public interest in golf and other sports, the new center will provide Penn State with a tremendous opportunity to illustrate how its turfgrass science and technology research and teaching enhance sports facilities throughout the world. The new facility will give faculty and staff the tools necessary to educate and train the leading turfgrass professionals of the future.