The Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics will celebrate the 2026 Hayes Phillips and Distinguished Alumni awardees Thursday, May 28, in Borlaug Hall. (See the schedule below.)
Navjot Singh has been named the 2026 Hayes Phillips Award winner. (Navjot is also the recipient of the first Tabare Abadie Leadership and Excellence [TALE] Award, named in honor of Tabare Abadie, a distinguished scientist and APG alum, which he received at the 18th Annual Plant Sciences Symposium in April.)
Singh is a PhD candidate in the Applied Plant Sciences program. His advisor is Debalin Sarangi. Singh received his BSc degree in plant pathology and phytopathy from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. He received his master’s degree in plant sciences at the University of Minnesota in 2023.
The Distinguished Alumni Award goes to three people this year: Lee Dehaan, who leads the Kernza domestication program at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, and has worked extensively with APG’s Forever Green Initiative; Sandra Milach, chief scientist at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); and Pete Dotray, Rockwell Chair of Weed Science in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University.
Here is the itinerary for the Hays Phillips Awards activities:
Land O’Lakes Room
8:30 a.m.: Gather for light breakfast and coffee
9 a.m.: Panel discussion with APG Distinguished Alumni Awardees Lee DeHaan, Pete Dotray and Sandra Milach
306 Borlaug Hall
10 a.m.: Opening remarks with Kevin Smith and welcome from CFANS
10:10: Remarks from APG Department Head Gary Muehlbauer
10:15 a.m.: Awards and talks from Alumni Award recipients
10:55 a.m.: Lightning talks from Hayes Phillips Award runners up
11:15 a.m.: Advisor introduction of Hayes Phillips awardee (Debalin Sarangi)
11:20 a.m.: Hayes Phillips Award presentation and talk (Navjot Singh)
11:40 a.m.: Closing Remarks
The Hayes Phillips Award began as the Hayes Award in 1974 and is now named after two distinguished faculty members in the department: H. K. Hayes, a faculty member from 1915 to 1952, and Ronald Phillips, a faculty member from 1968 to 2010. The award is given annually to an APG graduate student who has excelled in academics, research, teaching, leadership and service.
The Distinguished Alumni Award began in 2021, and in 2024, the department expanded the award by honoring alumni from both academia and industry. This year, Milach and DeHaan are noted for their work in global nonprofits, and Dotray is being honored for his work in academia. Milach received her PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 1995. Dotray received his PhD in Agronomy in 1993. Dehaan received his PhD in Agronomy and Crop Science in 2001.
