Daniel Weber joins Penn State Extension as tree fruit educator

Daniel Weber joined Penn State Extension in September as a new tree fruit Extension educator from Adams County.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois’ Department of Crop Sciences in 2014, where his research focused on mapping molecular markers in eastern tetraploid blackberry cultivars for marker-assisted selection in breeding. Prior to joining Penn State Extension as an Extension Educator, he was a faculty member at the State University of New York’s College of Agriculture and Technology in Cobleskill, New York, where he taught courses on pomology and viticulture, plant breeding, and plant physiology and nutrition.

His background includes a B.S. and M.C.S. in Computer Science, also from the University of Illinois and fifteen years of developing and adapting imaging software and technology for interdisciplinary applied research at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

His responsibilities include both extension education and working with researchers at the Fruit Research and Extension Center to strengthen Penn State’s commitment to the tree fruit industry in Adams County and throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. He is interested in assisting growers with the development of novel and easily deployable orchard monitoring tools, and the adoption of technologies for better fruit crop management and increased profitability for industry stakeholders. He hopes to help growers in the industry collect, analyze, and interpret data from their orchards to make informed, wise decisions for efficient use of their resources.

He also looks forward to working with the Young Grower Alliance (YGA). “I believe the next generation of growers will profoundly change how we produce fruit crops in the United States”, says Daniel. “This generation quickly grasps industry innovations and often instinctively recognizes how new technologies can benefit their operations.” He hopes the YGA can continue to be a catalyst for the adoption of new methods of orchard management in Pennsylvania.

Please reach out to Dr. Daniel Weber at daniel.weber@psu.edu or 717-334-6271.

Tara Baugher will continue working part-time on special projects in a phased retirement capacity.