After nearly 35 years of employment and service, Dr. Mark Loux, Professor and Weed Science Extension Specialist, has retired from The Ohio State University.
In his time at Ohio State, Mark led an applied research and extension program focused on weed management in agronomic crops. Known for his quick wit and no-nonsense attitude, Mark was a foundational part of OSU's Agronomic Crops Team. Mark traveled all over the state delivering weed management information at field days and workshops.
His ability to relate to growers and deliver information that was both educational and entertaining was admired by many of us in extension. His research evaluating herbicide efficacy and weed management best practices led to timely recommendations for growers. Mark led the editing and production efforts for the Weed Control Guide for Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, along with countless contributions to the CORN newsletter, fact sheets, and media features.
Over the course of his career, he earned several awards including honors for outstanding papers and service to our weed science societies. Beyond his research and extension duties, Mark was a dedicated employee and contributed a great deal of time and effort to service on various committees for the department and college.
Mark has served as my boss, academic advisor, and mentor for nearly a decade. I will miss having him just down the hall for a cup of (high quality) coffee and a chat. Lucky for me and unfortunately for him, I have his number. On behalf of the OSU weed science program, I'd like to say thank you to Mark for being our fearless leader and friend, and backpack spraying with us until the very end. We wish you the best and offer sincere congratulations on your retirement.
P.S. Mark only agreed to let me write this article under the condition that he got to choose the title. We always thought he more closely resembled Brian May of Queen, but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
Categories: Ohio, Crops, Education, General