USDA Honors Soil Scientist with Award for
Outstanding Contributions

Donald L. Sparks

Donald L. Sparks, chair of plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware and S. Hallock du Pont Endowed Chair of Environmental Chemistry, was awarded the Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lectureship Award by the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sparks was chosen because he is an "internationally renowned soil chemist, and a long-time leader in the field of soil physical chemistry," whose techniques in determining soil contaminant species have "revolutionized research in the soil and environmental sciences."

The award includes a $2,000 honorarium, a medallion and expenses to present a lecture on a policy, trend or scientific topic of the lecturer's choice. The lecture is to be presented at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) annual fall meeting in Washington, D.C., in August. The Agriculture and Food Chemistry and Agrochemical divisions of the ACS co-sponsor the lecture. Sparks, who regularly presents his research findings at symposia and universities across the United States and abroad, has not yet chosen a title for this lecture, but plans to speak about the use of molecular scale techniques to predict the form, toxicity and bioavailability of metals and nutrients in soils and water.

"We are trying to understand how metals and oxy anions like phosphates, react in soils, and over time, what happens to them, whether they stay in the soil or move into water and how that impacts soil and water quality," Sparks says. "In a practical sense, this research will allow us to better determine how certain contaminated sites, for example, can be remediated.

Of the lectureship award, Sparks says is a "great honor to receive, not only because it is named after a man distinguished in chemistry, but because he was so gifted in many fields of science."

Hendricks, a scientist who worked for the USDA for more than 30 years beginning in 1928, was a scholar of multiple disciplines, including soil science, mineralogy, agronomy, plant physiology, geology and chemistry. He is best known for his discovery of phytochrome, a light-activated molecule that regulates many plant processes, and for determining the crystal structure of clays. Hendricks was also one of the first scientists to use X-rays to determine clay minerals in soils. Throughout his career he was known for motivating and influencing young scientists and colleagues. The ARS, USDA created the Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lectureship Award to honor the memory of the great scientist by annually recognizing other scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the chemical science of agriculture.

Sparks join the faculty at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources University in 1979 as an assistant professor of soil chemistry, becoming an associate professor in 1983 and a full professor in 1987. He held the position of associate chairperson of Plant and Soil Sciences from 1984-1985 and was named Chairperson of the department in 1989, a position he has held ever since. Over the years, he has been presented with countless awards, been author, co-author or editor of over 226 publications, including two widely adopted textbooks, and served on the editorial boards of seven journals.

The recipient of the Francis Alison Award-the highest award given to UD faculty-and UD's Doctoral Graduate Student Advising and Mentoring award, Sparks is also a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has served as president of the Soil Science Society of America and is currently the president of the International Union of Soil Sciences.

Sparks has raised over $4 million dollars in research grants and contracts from numerous governmental, academic and industrial sources, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the USDA, the National Science Foundation, the DuPont Corporation and NASA, to name a few.

Like Hendricks, Sparks is a man of many disciplines, and holds joint faculty appointments in the departments of chemistry and biochemistry, civil and environmental engineering and marine studies. He has mentored 41 graduate students and 20 postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to pursue esteemed careers in academia, government and industry in the U.S. and around the world, a milestone in his career he considers his highest.

"My greatest success is the success of my students," Sparks says.

In 2002, he and his wife Joy created the Donald L. and Joy G. Sparks Graduate Fellowship in Soil Science, donating $25,000. Sparks says the fund is still growing today, with contributions from former students and colleagues, and he says the first fellowship recipient will be awarded some time in the very near future. The Sparks' started the fund because they felt graduate fellowships were too few and far between and wanted to help students reach their dreams of earning a Master's or Ph.D.

"I am a firm believer that some of the most successful people are those that come from humble beginnings, so someone has to help them," Sparks says.

Sparks says he would not have been able to make it through college without scholarships. The son of a Kentucky farmer, Sparks says he always liked science, particularly chemistry, and at an early age, had hoped to grow up and become a veterinarian. Then he took a soil science course and, "got hooked," he says, fascinated by how practical it was to take basic chemistry and apply it to a natural material, "having no doubts" he wanted to become a soil scientist. He earned his bachelor's in agronomy in 1975 from the University of Kentucky and went on to get his master's in soil science there in 1976. In 1979, he earned his Ph.D. in soil physical chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Looking back, he says, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd come this far or have all these honors or this must satisfaction. It's probably better that way because then you constantly have something to strive for."

"When I first came here, all I could think of is getting promoted," he says with a laugh. "But over the years we have taken a program in soil science, that was obscure to one that is internationally recognized. It's been a wonderful ride and I hope to be continually excited about what we are doing and to be surrounded by bright, creative people."

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