Professor Emeritus Prasanta Bhowmik has passed away in peace after a two-year battle with cancer. The University of Massachusetts Amherst has been proud to claim Dr. Prasanta Bhowmik as part of our flagship faculty for 40 years. During this time, he instructed over 2300 students in the intricacies of weed management across all agricultural systems, including turfgrass systems. In addition to his undergraduate teaching, he served as a graduate advisor to 17 M.S. and PhD students during his tenure at UMass.
Dr. Bhowmik conducted significant research and extension work in weed management for turfgrass systems. His research has been published in over 125 refereed journal articles and several book chapters, 450 abstracts and reports, and 80 extension or popular articles.
Bhowmik worked with countless colleagues in North America and around the world, including trips to France, China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Brazil, Peru, and more. He published a plethora of publications and received numerous honors and awards such as Outstanding Educator Award from the Northeastern Weed Science Society in 2007.
Professor Bhowmik earned his first Master of Science (1966), in Agronomy, in his home country of India. He earned a second Master of Science (1970), in Weed Physiology, from the University of Guelph in Canada. Upon conferral of his PhD (1981) in Weed Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bhowmik was immediately hired to the graduate faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Holding full professor status since 1993, Bhowmik has anchored the weed management focus of the Stockbridge turfgrass programs, teaching advanced courses in weed physiology, ecology, management, and control by organic means. He was a frequent contributor to UMass Turf Research Center Field Day events.
Today, the Stockbridge School of Agriculture offers both an associates degree in Turfgrass Management, and a bachelor's degree in Applied Plant & Soil Sciences which can be focused on turfgrass science, as well as related graduate programs in Plant & Soil Sciences.
Dr. Bhowmik's specialty areas for teaching and research most recently included the biology of invasive weed species, the allelopathic interactions of soil factors, crops and weeds, and the development of sustainable reduced-herbicide weed management strategies for cool-season turfgrass systems.
The Stockbridge School of Agriculture turfgrass program is indebted to Dr. Bhowmik's dedication and work throughout the years, helping to educate and train multiple generations of turf managers, as well as many other agricultural professionals working in the field today.
A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, November 23, 2024, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the Old Chapel on UMass Campus.