Ohio State professor honored for expertise on ag drainage research

COLUMBUS – A prominent USDA expert and Ohio State University educator of agricultural and water conservation drainage systems was recently recognized for his 43 years of dedicated research in the industry.

Norman R. Fausey has been named the 2002 recipient of the International Drainage Hall of Fame award, a 24-year-old honor that is bestowed upon those who have made significant contributions to the development and use of drainage in agricultural production.

Fausey is an adjunct professor in Ohio State’s Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, as well as a soil scientist and research leader for USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Soil Drainage Research Unit. The facility is located on Ohio State’s agricultural campus.

Nearly 100 family, friends, co-workers and professionals in the drainage, agricultural and conservation industries gathered at the University Plaza Hotel in Columbus, to honor the 22nd recipient of the prestigious award.

Background. Fausey is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on soil drainage in humid regions, as an authority on soil-water flow modeling and the installation of sub-surface drainage systems, as well as a pioneer in the use and management of sub-irrigation and a leader in the management of agricultural drainage systems.

The International Hall of Fame was established in Ohio State’s Department of Agricultural Engineering in dedication of Virgil Overholt, an Ohio State agricultural engineering professor who spent his 42-year career in the education and research of agricultural drainage.

Previous honorees. Former award recipients have included professors, agricultural researchers, contractors, engineers and consultants and advisors. Plaques of the recipients line the lobby wall of the university’s agricultural engineering building.

Two other Ohio State University professors have been inducted into the International Drainage Hall of Fame: agricultural engineering professor Glenn O. Schwab in 1983 and agricultural engineering professor Melville L. Palmer in 1988.