2024 Spudman Impact Awards – Tim Waters

Tim Waters

Professor and regional specialist, Washington State University

As a professor and regional specialist at Washington State University, Tim Waters is no stranger to the potato industry. In his role, he gets “to use science to try to solve real world problems.”

At WSU, Waters is proudest of his work with insect integrated pest management in potatoes.

“We have been able to work with the potato industry to learn how to manage insect pests with reduced risk insecticides and significantly reduce the number
of insecticide applications required to produce a quality potato crop,” he said.

Mentors including the late Dallas Batchelor and Doug Walsh have helped steer Waters’ career.

Batchelor frequently checked in on Waters early in his career, providing pertinent feedback “without a filter,” Waters said.

Walsh, who understood the value of public speaking, advised Waters to never turn down an invitation to make a presentation.

Waters’ favorite potato variety is Clearwater Russet because its long growing season in the Columbia Basin provides ample opportunity to conduct research projects, “since we cannot predict how early or late some of the insect pests we work with will arrive,” he said. “It also produces very consistently shaped potatoes even under environmentally stressful conditions that we sometimes purposely cause in our test plots.

“Even researchers want to have nice looking potatoes at the end of the season.”