New Faculty

Brandon Horvath

Brandon Horvath joined the department as an assistant professor of turfgrass pathology in January 2006. He received his masters and Ph.D. in turfgrass pathology from Michigan State University. He received his bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University in agronomy with a minor in plant pathology. He has worked at several championship golf courses and his research program focuses on important turfgrass diseases in Virginia. His research and Extension efforts strive to enable turfgrass managers to maintain healthier turfgrass stands while reducing the environmental impact of pesticide, fertilizer, and irrigation water inputs. He is located at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

Steve Rideout

Steve Rideout joined the department in November 2005 as an assistant professor and Extension specialist in plant pathology. He grew up on a tobacco, peanut, and cattle farm in Dinwiddie County. He received a B.S. in botany from North Carolina State in 1995 and earned his M.S. in plant pathology from Virginia Tech in 1998. His research on the virulence and host range of the tobacco cyst nematode (Globodera tabacum solanacearum) was conducted at the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center. His doctoral research at the University of Georgia focused on the epidemiology of Sclerotium rolfsii in peanut, and he earned his Ph.D. in plant pathology there in 2002. He worked as an R&D scientist with Syngenta Crop Protection in Mississippi from August 2002 through October 2005. He is located at the Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center where his research program focuses on improved control tactics and epidemiology of vegetable diseases.

David G. Schmale III

David G. Schmale III joined the department as an assistant professor of mycotoxicology and fungal plant pathology in March 2006. He received his B.S. from the University of California Davis and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cornell University. His research program bridges concepts in plant pathology, aerobiology, food safety, and biosecurity. The ultimate goals of his research program are to enhance the protection and safety of the nation’s agriculture and food supply and develop new strategies to anticipate, prevent, and respond to agricultural threats of high-risk plant pathogens. He routinely conducts training demonstrations for growers, producers, county agents, government officials, faculty members, and students. He teaches the undergraduate Mysterious Mushrooms, Malicious Molds course and a graduate course in fungal plant pathology.