Tifton Campus: News & Events
Perry named head of UGA irrigation research park
Calvin Perry
July 17, 2008 — Joe West, the assistant dean of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Tifton Campus, has announced that Calvin Perry will be the new superintendent of the C.M. Stripling Irrigation Research Park.
Since January, Perry has been the interim superintendent of the park, which is located in Mitchell County in southwest Georgia. CAES faculty and staff, along with those from other organizations and institutions, use the park's 133 acres and equipment to conduct research and provide training programs on irrigation and water and how the two contribute to the economic viability of the region.
"We are extremely pleased to have this first-rate research facility under the management of Mr. Perry," West said. "His training, experience and skills will help the research park achieve its mission of providing cutting-edge research and outreach programs in the area of irrigation and efficiency of water utilization."
Perry has been involved in several projects at the park since it opened in 2001.
"I look forward to working with the staff and scientists involved with the research and outreach that deals with agricultural irrigation," Perry said. The Stripling park has done much in this area, and I want to lead it forward as we strive to make the park truly a state-of-the-art irrigation research and education center."
A Colquitt County native, Perry has been a CAES agricultural engineer since 1989. For the past six years, he has been a public service faculty member with the UGA Cooperative Extension.
He received his associate degree in agricultural engineering from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the UGA CAES.
He is a founding member of the CAES Precision Agriculture Team and has been part of a team that received a patent for the Peanut Yield Monitoring System. He is active in the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
He and his wife, Suellen, have two children, Heather, 19, and Cole, 16.