Audrey Young

Biography

Audrey Young is a master’s student in the Crop and Soil Science department of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She is pursuing her degree under the advisement of Dr. Gerald Henry. Audrey completed her bachelor’s degree in Agriscience and Environmental Systems at UGA in 2023. As an undergraduate, she researched common carpetgrass tolerance to post-emergence herbicides.

Current Projects

Painting has been a practice for sports field managers for many years to enhance the appearance of the field…but what does the turfgrass think about it? Audrey is conducting research on sand-based high school football fields to study the effects painting has on turfgrass systems. This involves creating EC maps of the fields to determine sampling sites. From the soil cores, she will be evaluating the root system, re-wetting potential, and infiltration rates. She will also be studying the seeding rate/emergence on soil cores of painted and non-painted areas. Audrey is conducting another study by working with the Kinesiology department to study the effects painting may or may not have on player safety. 

Inspiration

After seeing several posts from the turfgrass community on X (Twitter) about painting concerns, Audrey decided to focus her research on this issue. She is excited to get more answers about the effects of paint and hopefully spur on more research in this area.

Research Interests

Audrey loves all things turfgrass, but she is specifically interested in learning about how different maintenance practices effect the turfgrass stand. She loves being able to work in Dr. Henry’s lab since he conducts various research trials to test new equipment and products. She would love to continue to research different methods of maintenance and be able to share her findings with superintendents and homeowners.

Favorite Quote

“I have learned that the only reason a person may be made strong in this world is to be helpful to the weak.” D.W. Brooks