NACPSDM - Speaker Profiles

Niels Andrews has been involved with aerial application in the Salinas Valley of California for over twenty-five years. He has worked extensively with drift and urban encroachment issues on a regional, state and national level. Mr. Andrews has served a President of the National Agricultural Research and Education Foundation and currently sits on their Board of Directors. Mr. Andrews is also the principal architect of PAASS -- Professional Aerial Applicators Support System -- a program that approaches accident and incidents in aerial application from the human error perspective as a partnership approach involving the entire industry.

Dr. Vincent T. Covello is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in risk communications: the art and science of communicating effectively in high concern/low trust situations. He is currently serving as Director of the Center for Risk Communication in New York City.

Over the past twenty-five years, Dr. Covello has held numerous positions in academia and government, including Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Clinical Medicine at Columbia University. Prior to his joining the faculty at Columbia, Dr. Covello was a senior scientist at the White House Council on Environmental Quality in Washington, D.C., a Study Director at the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., Director of the Risk Assessment Program at the National Science Foundation, and a professor at Brown University.

Dr. Dill is a Maine native, receiving both his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Maine. He received his Ph.D. in entomology from Purdue University through the guidance of Dr. John Osmun in 1979.

Dr. Dill is currently the Pest Management Specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. His responsibilities include Pesticide Applicator Training and Integrated Pest Management. He was on Operation Safe certified technician and has conducted some drift studies in Maine under the guidance of Norm Akesson. Previously, Jim worked at Rutgers University.

Roger Downer was born and raised in southern England. His interest in pesticide application was generated during his 20 years with ICI Agrochemicals (now Zeneca) where he was employed primarily as an entomologist but with a significant input and interest in pesticide application. In the early 1980's the development of ICI's electrostatic sprayer took Roger to many parts of the world, including Asia, Africa and the USA, carrying out development field trials primarily against the cotton pest complex. In 1989 Roger joined the team working at the Laboratory for Pest Control Application Technology at The Ohio State University where he has been involved in a wide range of projects involving many aspects of pesticide application including the Impact of Drift Management Adjuvants on Spray Delivery.

Mr. Ellenberger is the Associate Director, Field and External Affairs Division of U.S. EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs and the program lead for pesticide spray drift. As such, he is responsible for regulatory oversight of EPA's spray drift activities, including working with the industry Spray Drift Task Force, the Coalition on Drift Minimization, and labeling and communication initiatives. Mr. Ellenberger also has experience with and current responsibilities for a diversity of national and international pesticide regulatory programs.

Dave Esterly is a Senior Research Engineer, Global Technology with DuPont Agricultural Products. Mr. Esterly joined DuPont as a research engineer in 1974 at the Chambers Works Site in New Jersey and has held numerous positions since then, ranging from plant design, construction and operation.

In 1982, Mr. Esterly transferred to DuPont Agricultural Products Department where he has held assignments in plant design, venture qualification and application technology. Mr. Esterly joined the Spray Drift Task Force in 1990 to assist in the study of atomization and spray systems. This activity lead to the Chairmanship of the Modeling Subcommittee.

In 1992 Mr. Esterly transferred to the Environmental Fate working group to provide environmental fate modeling for new product registrations.

Ted Feitshans graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, in 1986. He also holds a master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree in animal science from Cornell University. He is a member of the North Carolina and New York bars. Mr. Feitshans teaches two undergraduate law courses -- Agricultural Law and Environmental Law and Economic Policy -- and conducts an extension education program on various legal issues in agriculture and the environment.

Before beginning his legal career, Mr. Feitshans served as an economist with the federal government in Washington, D.C. Serving first at the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Feitshans worked on many commodity support and conservation programs. Mr. Feitshans' federal service also included service with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office where he developed means for measuring the impact of automation on the agency's procedures.

Dr. Fox is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. He joined the USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Application Technology Research Unit at Wooster, Ohio in 1968 and is still there. Research areas include: micro-meteorology, turbulent transport of spray droplets, airjets/airblast sprayers, and drift from orchard sprayers.

When asked what he would like to accomplish while in Maine, Dr. Fox replied, "I would like to provide useful information on orchard/nursery crop spraying and to share and learn techniques to reduce drift while spraying orchards."

Dr. Bruce Fraedrich is Vice President of Research and a plant pathologist at Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Fraedrich has been involved with research and extension responsibilities in shade tree disease management and general arboriculture with emphasis on fertilization, pruning, tree growth regulators, hazardous tree evaluation and management, and computerized tree management plans.

The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Co. is a commercial arboriculture firm involved with tree care and utility line clearance. Founded in 1907, Bartlett now operates in approximately 25 states in the Eastern United States, Midwest and California with the corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories is the technical support branch for the Bartlett Company located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dr. Gardisser has worked for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service since 1982 and is currently an Extension Agricultural Engineer, Power and Machinery Specialist. His primary emphasis areas are agricultural chemical applications (pesticides and plant nutrients - aerial and ground), processing (grain storage, drying and handling), precision agriculture GIS/GPS, and agricultural fencing systems. Dr. Gardisser is also president of WRK of Arkansas and responsible for agricultural chemical application research, testing, product development, drift evaluations, training seminars, fly-in clinics, literature development and education.

When asked what he would like to accomplish while in Maine, Dr. Gardisser replied: "Convey that drift is manageable! with proper training and decision making."

Norma Grier is the Executive Director of the Northwest Coalition for Alternative to Pesticides (NCAP), a position she had held since 1983. Norma was active in one of the rural community groups that founded NCAP in 1977.

NCAP is a multi-state grassroots organization that promotes sustainable resource management, prevention of pest problems, use of alternatives to pesticides, and the right to be free of pesticide exposure.

Dr. Hewitt graduated in England with B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in aerial and ground pesticide application technology/spray droplet size research. His spray research employment has been equally divided between industry and academia in the U.S., Europe, Central America and Africa. he has been working for the Spray Drift Task Force (SDTF) for the past four years, at Stewart Agricultural Research Services, Missouri, where his major responsibilities include atomization studies, data analysis, report preparation and co-ordination/facilitation of SDTF Technical Committee activities. Dr. Hewitt is Chairman of the Institute for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems (LASS) Agricultural Sprays Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of ILASS-Americas. Dr. Hewitt is on the editorial board of the journal, Atomization and Sprays. He also leads the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sub-group on laser diffraction techniques within ASTM Committee E29.04.

Dr. Impson is the National Program Leader; Health, Environmental and Pesticide Safety Education, USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) in Washington D.C. He received his Ph.D. in Entomology from Louisiana State University. In 1967 he joined the staff of the L.S.U. Cooperative Extension Service as the Pesticide Coordinator and was instrumental in the state's development of the first PAT program. He also served on the national committee that developed the first private applicator training program.

From 1980 to 1991 he served as State Entomologist and Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. In this position, he was responsible for regulatory programs involving Pesticides, Fertilizer, Feed, Seed, and Horticulture and Quarantine programs. Prior to his move to Washington in 1992, he worked for the Texas Water Commission as manager of agricultural programs. As manager, he was responsible for the development of regulatory initiatives resulting from agricultural impacts of nutrients, animal waste and pesticides on ground and surface water.

Dr. Johnson holds graduate degrees in soils from Iowa State University and crop physiology from the University of Guelph. He spent seven years at the University of Missouri with responsibilities for teaching and research in soybean physiology and production. In 1977, he joined Stewart Agricultural Research Services, Inc., a field research and management company in northeast Missouri. After thirteen years of conducting and managing efficacy and registration studies for agricultural chemical companies, he became the Project Manager for the Spray Drift Task Force. He was responsible for coordinating all Task Force activities, acting as Study Director for all studies, directly supervising the conduct of the field studies, and writing reports.

Mike Kelly is an agronomist for Farmland Insurance of Des Moines, Iowa. Previously, he has worked as a crop management specialist for Farmland Industries of New Sharon, Iowa. Mike also is a member of the National Coalition for Drift Minimization.

Paul E. Kindinger has served as President/CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) since January 1993. He was raised on a farm in Michigan and holds a doctorate in agricultural economics from Cornell University. He was Director of Agriculture for the State of Michigan from 1983 to 1989 until being named Director of Public Affairs and Special Assistant to the Secretary at USDA from 1989 to 1991. Just prior to joining ARA, Kindinger was a lobbyist and governmental relations advisor specializing in agricultural and environmental issues for the California- and Washington-based firm of Kahn, Soares & Conway. Kindinger has and continues to serve on many state, regional and national boards and committees dealing with agricultural and related issues.

Miles McEvoy received a BA/BS from Evergreen State College in 1985 and a MS in Entomology from Cornell University in 1988. Since 1988 he has been working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Organic Food Program which establishes organic standards and certifies over 400 growers, processors and handlers of organic food. Mr. McEvoy works with state and private organic certification agencies to establish common standards for the organic food industry.

Professor Paul Miller leads the Chemical Application Group at Silsoe Research Institute - a group that is involved with many aspects of agricultural chemical application including the Management of spray drift from boom and air-assisted sprayers, nozzle performance, dose control and patch spraying.

Professor Miller is an agricultural engineering graduate and a visiting Professor of Cranfield University in the UK. He has been working with agricultural pesticide application since 1984 and has a wide experience of both research approaches and the link to commercial development.

Chris Riley is Manager of Spray Technology with RPC, a non-government contract research organization based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is a graduate of Cranfield Institute of Technology and has worked extensively with aircraft and the application of silvicultural pesticides. Over that last sixteen years Mr. Riley has evaluated drift from over two hundred experimental and operational spray applications and has worked with Canadian regulatory agencies and the U.S. Spray Drift Task Force.

Dr. Saviello began his professional career as a research forester in 1978 for International Paper. In that position he carried out research for the effective use of pesticides in forestry and established the herbicide program presently being used by International Paper in Maine. In 1991 he moved to IP's Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine as Superintendent, Environmental Services.

Dr. Saviello was appointed to the Maine Board of Pesticides Control in 1983 and has served as chairman since 1990. During Dr. Saviello's tenure with the Board, he has been involved with the adoption of Maine's spray drift regulations (1987).

Dr. Thistle is an engineer and program leader at the USDA Forest Service Missoula Technology and Development Center in Missoula, Montana. He is also a certified consulting meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society.

Dr. Thistle received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Connecticut in Plant Science with a specialization in Forest Meteorology.

David Valcore works as a Senior Scientist with DowAgroSciences, Packaging and Delivery Systems Engineering Lab in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Valcore serves as Co-Chair of the National Coalition on Drift Minimization and as Chairman of the Atomization Subcommittee of the Spray Drift Task Force. He is a member of ILASS and is active on ASAE standard development for Spray Dropsize Quality. Since 1989, Mr. Valcore's project areas have included spray drift studies, chemigation, closed transfer, in-line injection, spray droplet sizing and DowElanco Spray Drift Model development.

Gary Van Ee grew up on an Iowa farm and obtained his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Since 1980, he has held a teaching and research appointment with the Agricultural Engineering Department of Michigan State University in East Lansing. His primary areas of teaching are engineering design and fluid power hydraulics; of research, fruit and vegetable mechanization and air assisted spraying.

Previously, Professor Van Ee also worked for Iowa State University, John Deere and USDA-ARS.

Dr. Robert E. Wolf is an Extension Specialist in the Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Illinois in Urbana. Dr. Wolf splits responsibilities in extension, research, and teaching in the area of chemical application equipment. His major responsibility is with developing training materials and training commercial operators and applicators for certification to apply pesticides in the state.

Dr. Wolf is concentrating his efforts in areas of application and calibration, drift control, electronics, and safety for both the agricultural ground and aerial applicators and turf industries. He has prepared several videos, has helped write several pesticide training manuals, and is involved with the development of computer training modules for pesticide applicators.

Copyright � 1995 University of Maine
Last Modified: 09/12/98
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