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Kurt Steinke, Ph.D.Assistant Professor
584D Plant and Soil Sciences Bldg. |
Dr. Kurt Steinke is an Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Ecology in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University. He joined the MSU Turfgrass Team from Texas A&M University, where he held a similar assistant professor faculty position since 2006. Dr. Steinke is a native of Illinois and received a B.S. in Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1999 while doing research in vegetable crop production. Attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he earned an M.S. in Horticulture (2002) studying turfgrass physiology and thereafter worked in the green industry before returning to the University of Wisconsin to obtain his Ph.D. in Horticulture and Soil Science in 2006. His dissertation research focused on environmental impacts of turfgrass ecosystems and stormwater management.
Dr. Steinke's research interests include evaluating the environmental impacts of turfgrass and urban ecosystems, managing phosphorus-enriched stormwater runoff, turfgrass environmental stress physiology and management, drought and water management including water quantity and quality issues, and evaluating new turfgrass species and varieties. He has completed a long-term ecological research study evaluating the effects of turfgrass and prairie buffer strips in reducing stormwater runoff and phosphorus loading. Other noteworthy projects include comparing water use between turfgrass and alternative types of urban vegetation and investigating the drought survival of warm-season turfgrass cultivars relative to induced municipal water restrictions. His work has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals.