MSU Turf Team

John N. “Trey” Rogers III is a turf science professor and international expert on the improvement of athletic fields and golf courses around the world.

He led the MSU team to create the world’s first indoor portable athletic field for the 1994 World Cup in the Pontiac Silverdome, as well as the turf for the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 2004.

His work and research extends to improving golf course turf and to athletic fields for high school facilities. He also is an expert on lawns and has written “Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf from the Guru of Grass.”

Rogers has a degree in agronomy from Penn State and since 1988 has been professor of crop and soil sciences at MSU.

Alec Kowalewski is a doctoral student in turf management at MSU. The son of a resident forester at MSU's Kellogg Forest who literally grew up on MSU soil, Kowalewski has a bachelor’s degree in graphic art (he illustrated Rogers’ “Lawn Geek” book) before earning a master’s in turfgrass management.

He is living in Beijing with his wife, Heidi, through the Summer Olympics to provide daily management consulting of the portable field.

James Crum is a turf management professor who teaches and performs research on turf grass. His work has contributed to the careful selection of high-sand content soils and soil blends used in athletic fields and golf courses. Crum joined Rogers in creating the world’s first indoor portable athletic field in the Silverdome, as well as the turf for the Greece Olympics.

Crum has a master’s degree from Purdue University and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

Weijun Zhao directs MSU's Office of China Programs, building academic ties between MSU and major Chinese educational and research institutions. He has been instrumental in building the partnerships that led to the 2008 Olympic turf project.

Zhao developed the first MSU joint education program with four Chinese universities. Most notably, the turf grass management program has become MSU's model for developing joint educational programs with other international partners. He also oversees MSU's China office in Beijing.

Under his leadership, more than 1,500 Chinese government officials, business executives and technical personnel have traveled from China to MSU to participate in short-term training on subjects such as agricultural production technology, extension and rural development.

Zhao has a master's degree in agriculture and extension education and a doctorate in Resource Development from MSU.

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