University of Kentucky’s Rick Bennett, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, has been honored with the 2024 J. Roger Porter Award by the United States Culture Collection Network (USCCN). This recognition highlights Bennett’s significant contributions to the field and impact on the scientific community. 

The J. Roger Porter Award, which honors the memory of microbiologist J. Roger Porter, is presented annually to a scientist who has demonstrated the importance of microbial biodiversity through sustained curatorial and stewardship activities. 

Microbial diversity helps manage plant diseases by utilizing microbes as biological control agents to suppress pathogens—playing a crucial role in plant health. Microbes are microscopic organisms found in water, soil, air and in the human body. 

“This award recognizes the critical role that microbial collections and microbial biodiversity play in advancing agricultural research,” Bennett said. “It’s a great honor to receive this award for my role to preserve and utilize these valuable resources—advancing efforts by the scientific community to identify novel genes and develop better disease diagnostics.” 

The award further substantiates Bennett’s years of leadership and dedication to the preservation of microbial collections and critical role in protecting these invaluable resources. 

Biography 

Bennett joined the University of Kentucky in 2015. Previously, he was a professor and head of the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Arkansas College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences—directing national and state research and extension programs, as well as built partnerships with state and federal agencies.  

Additionally, Bennett spent 22 years at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)—leading efforts to preserve ARS microbial collections and saving at-risk orphan collections. There, he recognized the essential value of microbial collections for advancing research, along with identifying and validating future disease outbreaks. 

Bennett has consistently advocated for greater resources and coordination to preserve the many plant-associated microbial collections established by government, academic and industry scientists.  

As President of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) and a member of its Public Policy Board, he promoted initiatives to safeguard microbial collections. His advocacy was instrumental in bringing the APS community together to develop a proposal for a national plant-associated culture collections system.  

This led to increased coordination among USDA-ARS supported collections and establishment of the USCCN in 2012. Bennett has helped position USCCN as a leader in the preservation and management of microbial genetic resources. 

Bennett was recognized at the USCCN workshop “Exploring the Value of Microbial Germplasm for Research and Industry,” on Nov.18 in St. Louis, Missouri. 

To learn more about the Department of Plant Pathology at Martin-Gatton CAFE, visit https://plantpathology.ca.uky.edu.