University of Wisconsin - Madison 

Professor Norman was born in Virginia, Minnesota, attended Mt. Iron High School, received a B.S. in Physics (1964) and M.S. in Soil Physics (1967) at the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Soil Physics (1971) at the University of Wisconsin. After a fellowship at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the Department of Forestry, he spent six years at The Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Meteorology, 10 years at the University of Nebraska in the Department of Agronomy, and has been a member of the faculties of the Department of Soil Science and the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science since 1988. The central theme of Professor Norman's career has been studying the interaction between plants and their environment; in this context environment includes abiotic (soil and atmosphere) and biotic (plants, diseases, insects, etc.) factors. Efforts have involved measurements, instrument development and integrative modeling. Because of this broad emphasis, a distinctive feature of his career has been collaborative activity. Much of his research over the past 20 years has been captured in the detailed plant-environment model named Cupid, with applications to agriculture, ecology, forestry and meteorology. These applications have included plant productivity and water-use efficiency, integrated pest management, irrigation water use, grassland and forest carbon fluxes from vegetation and soil, measurements of vegetation canopy architecture and remote sensing. More recent activities emphasize the use of insights gained from years of fundamental research to provide guidance to decision makers. Collaborations with colleagues in space sciences, forestry, meteorology and agriculture have led to the development and distribution of satellite-based products to provide guidance to cranberry growers on the likelihood of frost and potato farmers on the possibility of conditions favorable to the development of potato blight. Current efforts focus on assisting farmers with management decisions that maintain yields and minimize environmental degradation through precision farming techniques. Professor Norman's greatest sense of accomplishment has not come from the 120 refereed publications or 90 invited presentations over the years, but from the rewards of teaching; both in the classroom and the 1:1 experience with 31 graduate students and 9 postdoctoral trainees.