December 1999/January 2000 Volume 8 Issue 3 Sparks Is New SSSA President  Dr. Donald L. Sparks, Distinguished Professor of Soil Science and chair of the department of plant and soil sciences, assumed the presidency of the Soil Science Society of America in November at the national meeting in Salt Lake City. A fellow of both the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy, Sparks was one of the youngest recipients of the SSA's prestigious Soil Science Research Award.
Sparks has been instrumental in building the internationally recognized soil science program at UD. His professional credentials are legion, including pioneering research in the kinetics of soil chemical processes; authorship or co-authorship of 145 publications, including two well-received textbooks; and extensive professional service, including service on editorial boards of major scientific journals. Sparks has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the University of Delaware's Francis Alison Award, the highest award a faculty member can receive from the university. He has been awarded the distinction of fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest federation of scientific and engineering societies in the world. | 
