THOMAS APPOINTED TO STONEVILLE GIN LAB
Archie Tucker, the Director of the Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area, is proud to announce the appointment of Joe Thomas as the Research Leader of the Cotton Ginning Research Unit at Stoneville, Mississippi. “Joe brings over 45 years of ginning industry experience and a long history of collaboration with ARS to the lab,” said Tucker “Joe knows both the cotton ginning industry and ARS and will provide effective leadership to the gin lab.” Thomas comes to ARS after a 45 year career in the cotton ginning industry, most recently he served as the Chief Technologist of Lummus Corporation in Savannah, Georgia and has served in various leadership roles within the cotton industry including as a National Cotton Council Foundation Trustee, Advisor to the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee, a member of the University of Georgia Agricultural Visioning Committee, and a Charter Member of the Advisory Council for the Texas A&M University Cotton Engineering, Ginning, and Mechanization Endowed Chair. Thomas will focus his research on process control, lint cleaning, and high-speed roller ginning but will also focus on recruiting, mentoring, and developing gin lab personnel and researchers to continue the legacy of the Stoneville Gin Lab.
“We launched a broad search for the best candidates to oversee the gin lab and it was clear to the interview committee that Joe was the absolute best candidate for the job,” said Chris Delhom, research engineer with ARS who had been serving as the acting-research leader. “The gin lab had a rough couple of years with funding issues and vacancies, but with the support of stakeholders like the Delta Council, those issues are behind us and Joe represents a new day for the lab,” said Tucker.
Thomas brings not only extensive ginning industry experience, but familiarity with ARS having worked closely with all of the ARS cotton ginning laboratories over the years. “The familiarity with the needs of the industry and ARS has allowed Joe to move quickly to make an impact, despite the operational restrictions due to COVID-19,” said Tucker, “as Joe and Chris have worked together to bring in two new research scientists and get final approval on a new five-year research plan.”
Thomas is rapidly making his mark on the gin lab. “Joe’s coming on-board, not only coincided with the major impacts of COVID-19, but also with several major events in the cotton industry such as high levels of seed coat fragments in the southeast and concerns from the industry about several new cotton module wraps, so when the phone started ringing, the Stoneville lab was ready to answer the call,” said Delhom, explaining how Thomas was able to rapidly respond and provide guidance to the ginning industry on not only seed coat fragments but also collecting data on the performance of new module wrap materials and communicating that information out to the cotton industry. “Joe’s industry contacts and experience are enabling the Stoneville Gin Lab to quickly respond to research needs,” said Tucker.
Dr. Cody Blake and Dr. Sean Donohoe have also joined the Cotton Ginning Research Unit as research scientists. Dr. Blake received his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in Sustainable Bioproducts and will focus on field detection of plastic contaminants prior to harvest using drone technology, reduction of energy consumption during ginning, and by-product utilization. Dr. Donohoe received his Ph.D. from the University of California- Davis in Mechanical Engineering and will focus on gin automation, process control, and contamination detection and removal during the ginning process. “The hiring of three new researchers at the Gin Lab in the last few months demonstrates the commitment ARS has to the ginning industry, but we aren’t done yet” said Tucker as the lab continues to work on hiring another researcher and several support staff.
Archie Tucker, the Director of the Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area, is proud to announce the appointment of Joe Thomas as the Research Leader of the Cotton Ginning Research Unit at Stoneville, Mississippi. “Joe brings over 45 years of ginning industry experience and a long history of collaboration with ARS to the lab,” said Tucker “Joe knows both the cotton ginning industry and ARS and will provide effective leadership to the gin lab.” Thomas comes to ARS after a 45 year career in the cotton ginning industry, most recently he served as the Chief Technologist of Lummus Corporation in Savannah, Georgia and has served in various leadership roles within the cotton industry including as a National Cotton Council Foundation Trustee, Advisor to the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee, a member of the University of Georgia Agricultural Visioning Committee, and a Charter Member of the Advisory Council for the Texas A&M University Cotton Engineering, Ginning, and Mechanization Endowed Chair. Thomas will focus his research on process control, lint cleaning, and high-speed roller ginning but will also focus on recruiting, mentoring, and developing gin lab personnel and researchers to continue the legacy of the Stoneville Gin Lab.
“We launched a broad search for the best candidates to oversee the gin lab and it was clear to the interview committee that Joe was the absolute best candidate for the job,” said Chris Delhom, research engineer with ARS who had been serving as the acting-research leader. “The gin lab had a rough couple of years with funding issues and vacancies, but with the support of stakeholders like the Delta Council, those issues are behind us and Joe represents a new day for the lab,” said Tucker.
Thomas brings not only extensive ginning industry experience, but familiarity with ARS having worked closely with all of the ARS cotton ginning laboratories over the years. “The familiarity with the needs of the industry and ARS has allowed Joe to move quickly to make an impact, despite the operational restrictions due to COVID-19,” said Tucker, “as Joe and Chris have worked together to bring in two new research scientists and get final approval on a new five-year research plan.”
Thomas is rapidly making his mark on the gin lab. “Joe’s coming on-board, not only coincided with the major impacts of COVID-19, but also with several major events in the cotton industry such as high levels of seed coat fragments in the southeast and concerns from the industry about several new cotton module wraps, so when the phone started ringing, the Stoneville lab was ready to answer the call,” said Delhom, explaining how Thomas was able to rapidly respond and provide guidance to the ginning industry on not only seed coat fragments but also collecting data on the performance of new module wrap materials and communicating that information out to the cotton industry. “Joe’s industry contacts and experience are enabling the Stoneville Gin Lab to quickly respond to research needs,” said Tucker.
Dr. Cody Blake and Dr. Sean Donohoe have also joined the Cotton Ginning Research Unit as research scientists. Dr. Blake received his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in Sustainable Bioproducts and will focus on field detection of plastic contaminants prior to harvest using drone technology, reduction of energy consumption during ginning, and by-product utilization. Dr. Donohoe received his Ph.D. from the University of California- Davis in Mechanical Engineering and will focus on gin automation, process control, and contamination detection and removal during the ginning process. “The hiring of three new researchers at the Gin Lab in the last few months demonstrates the commitment ARS has to the ginning industry, but we aren’t done yet” said Tucker as the lab continues to work on hiring another researcher and several support staff.