College of Ag Inducts Alums into Hall of Honor

An inventor of precision scientific instruments, a distinguished rangelands scientist and a pioneer in computerization of dairy records, all alumni of Utah State, were recently recognized for their contributions to society by induction into the USU College of Agriculture’s Hall of Honor.

In a ceremony held as part of the college’s annual spring awards and recognition dinner, Gaylon C. Campbell of Pullman, Wash., Lynn F. James of Hyde Park, Utah, and the late Bliss H. Crandall became the sixth class of inductees into the hall, which recognizes outstanding alumni of the 117-year-old college. Noelle Cockett, vice president of University Extension and dean of the College of Agriculture, and COA Alumni Association President John W. Diamond of Clinton, Utah, made the presentations.

 

Campbell, a Logan, Utah, native, graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1965 and earned a master’s degree in soil science from USU in 1966. He completed a doctorate degree in soil science from Washington State University, where he subsequently served on the faculty from 1968-1998.

 

Campbell has designed and developed dozens of precision scientific instruments used throughout the world in agricultural and remote sensing applications. His expertise led to his involvement in founding four manufacturing firms specializing in data measuring instrumentation, including Campbell Scientific, Inc., Logan, Utah; Decagon Devices, Inc., Pullman, Wash.; Campbell Scientific, Ltd., Shepshed, England; and Juniper Systems, Inc., Logan. An instrument he designed that is produced by Decagon Devices will be used to search for water on Mars during the Phoenix Mars Scout Mission in 2007.

 

James graduated from Utah State with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1950. He returned to Logan several years later to work in the then fledgling USDA Poisonous Plants Laboratory, and earned a master’s degree from USU in 1957 followed by a doctorate degree in 1966.

 

In the ensuing years, James, who served as a longtime director of the lab, became recognized as a national authority on poisonous plants affecting North America’s rangelands. His prolific research has yielded more than 400 research publications on the effects of poisonous plants on livestock and, more recently, the plants’ chemical impact on humans.

 

Last year, James’ persistent efforts led to the construction and dedication of a new, state-of-the-art poisonous plants laboratory. At age 81, he plans to continue his research and his support of the livestock industry, to which he’s been devoted since his childhood on a ranch in northwestern Utah.

 

Crandell graduated from USU, then known as the Agricultural College of Utah, in 1937 with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. In 1950, as assistant director of USU’s Statistical Laboratory, he collaborated with Cache County Extension Agent Lyman Rich to develop the first automated method of tabulating dairy records. Equipped with early IBM computers using 10-key punch cards, the pair developed a system for keep precise computerized dairy records that captured critical data previously kept on handwritten notes. The innovation enabled dairymen to collect meaningful data that could be used to measure production within dairy herds. 

 

To manage the growing amounts of data, Crandall founded DHI Computing Service, which grew from managing performance records of 10,000 Utah dairy cows in 1952 to managing records from more than three million cows from all over the United States. The service expanded to 11 computing centers throughout the nation.

 

Crandall passed away April 7, 2001, at the age of 88.

 

Campbell, James and Crandall join 14 other members of the college’s Alumni Hall of Honor, which was established in 1999. Other members are the late C.A. “Tony” Ernstrom, dairy food scientist; potato pathologist Robert Kunkel of Pullman, Wash.; the late George B. Caine, USU professor and dairy breeding pioneer; the late Doyle Matthews, former College of Agriculture dean; former Iranian foreign minister and ambassador to the United States Ardeshir Zahedi of Montreux, Switzerland.

 

Members also include pioneer artificial organ veterinary surgeon Don B. Olsen of Salt Lake City; ag chemist and philanthropist Dale W. Young of Brigham City, Utah; former U.S. Bureau of Land Management administrator Robert Nielsen of Aptos, Calif.; U.S. Agency for International Development agronomist John E. Osguthorpe of Salt Lake City; horticulturalist Sylvan Wittmer of Logandale, Nev.; L. Page Teichert, International Division president emeritus, Kraft Foods, of Poway, Calif.; Gary H. Richardson, former USU food science professor, of Logan, Utah; John E. Butcher, former USU livestock professor and nutrition researcher, of Portland, Ore.; and biotechnologist Niranjan R. Gandhi of River Hills, Wis.