Auburn University has officially hired Dr. Aaron Tucker to be their new Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Management, starting in August of this year. Dr. Tucker, a Mississippi native and graduate of the Mississippi State University turfgrass program, has a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Virginia Tech.

“In high school, I learned to play golf. But my father is an ag teacher, and I’ve always grown up around agricultural related things. We showed cows, and my brother wound up becoming a vet. I’m curious, so I like science. I didn’t want to teach golf for a living so I looked for an avenue that would encompass both golf and agriculture, and turfgrass is right down that alley. I chose to go into turfgrass at MSU and I’ve been fortunate to be provided great opportunities along my journey.”

Several factors played into Aaron’s decision to continue his education at Mississippi State after earning his Bachelors’ degree there. “Mississippi State is one of those places that has a rich tradition in our family, but also oftentimes you tell folks, ‘When it comes to your career path, choose what you love, and let the rest fall into place.’” Aaron earned his Bachelor of Science in Agronomy in the field of golf and sports turf management, and then began work on his Master’s degree, honing his area of interest in plant pathology.

As he was finishing his undergrad degree, Aaron was offered the chance to do research with Dr. Christian Baldwin (then an MSU professor) focusing on plant physiology. This work planted the seed of pursuing further study in turf pathology.

“Turf pathology made sense naturally,” Aaron says. “I reached out to Dr. Maria Peterson, since there are a lot of plant interactions that happen in turf pathology between plants and fungi, etc. She already had an idea in mind for research, so we just went with it.”

Read the full article in the Summer 2025 issue of Alabama Turf Times magazine – https://theturfzone.com/ata/?ascat=71&sub=issue&issue_id=9389&rti=true&rel=4