Since starting as director of the North Willamette Research and Extension Center (NWREC) this past summer, Steve Young has been marveling at the world-class research occurring at the Aurora, Oregon, site.

Steve Young, who started June 16 as director of the North Willamette Research and Extension Center, said he is looking forward to working with researchers and stakeholders while helping facilitate research at the center.

“We are having a global impact,” Young said during a break in the OSU Blueberry Field Day, held July 23 at the center. “This is world-class research going on here, and we need to not undervalue it. I don’t think enough people know about what we do, and I want to raise the visibility of the center.”

“I’m here to help carry the water,” he said.

Young, who started at the center on June 16, comes to Oregon State University after serving most recently as national program leader with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, where he was overseeing research that was spread across the country and even internationally.

One of the big attractions to the NWREC position for Young was the ability to work more closely with researchers than he has in the past.

“This position allows me to be more creative, and I get to work closely with researchers and stakeholders on a daily basis,” he said. “I am excited to be here and feel privileged to be able to lead and support a phenomenal unit with a very diverse and highly engaged clientele base,” Young said.

Prior to his post at ARS, Young was director of the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center at Cornell University, where he led regional efforts to support sustainable agriculture through science-based pest-management solutions.

Young earned his Ph.D. in soils and biogeochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He secured his master’s degree in plant science from the University of Idaho and a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Washington State University, near where he grew up in Yakima.