Dukes will receive his award at the 2014 Irrigation Show & Education Conference in Phoenix.
The Excellence in Education Award recognizes a person who is actively teaching irrigation, water management and/or water conservation in affiliation with a two- or four-year institution.
The award honors academics who are playing a critical role in developing educated professionals with the knowledge and skills to create efficient irrigation solutions that will protect water and the environment.
At the University of Florida, Dukes began a research program on landscape irrigation efficiency and recruited students to participate.
Students evaluated smart irrigation controllers and worked with Florida agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Irrigation Association to define testing procedures and standards for these products and other types of irrigation equipment.
In addition to his research and outreach efforts, Dukes has been involved with IA. He has served on the association’s Technical Conference Committee and on the Executive Task Team and Technical Working Group for Smart Water Application Technologies, IA’s national partnership with water providers.
