FieldTurf And Penn State In Research Partnership
In big news for the future of synthetic turf sports surfaces in particular as well as the synthetic grass industry in general, a research partnership has been announced between synthetic turf leader FieldTurf and Penn State University. The result of this partnership is expected to be a state of the art facility that will be dedicated to sports surface research. All types of sports surfaces are going to be covered by the facility although 80% of the research effort will be put into synthetic and natural turf systems.
The research facility will be known as the Center for Sports Surface Research and it will be managed by the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. It has been 10 months in the making and the agreement with FieldTurf, who is assisting in the Center’s funding, will be a 5 year agreement.
Associate professor of soil science and pioneer in sports-surface research Andrew McNitt will be heading the research center. According to McNitt work will begin soon, “We hope to break ground relatively quickly,” said McNitt. “We hope to have the first group of plots installed yet this fall.”
Chief executive officer of FieldTurf Joe Fields described some of the benefits that they will be hoping to gain from the partnership, “Our partnership with Penn State brings the global synthetic turf leader together with the global research leader in all types of turf. The original inspiration for FieldTurf was to provide a surface that would enable athletes to attain maximum performance while minimizing injuries, and we believe that this partnership will help ensure that we continue to lead our industry in developing surfaces that deliver unequalled performance and safety to the athletes that we serve.”
The belief is that by combining a wide variety sources from of academic areas of expertise such kinesiology (human movement), soil science, toxicology, field maintenance professionals, etc it will produce the opportunity to accelerate the development of technology and safety in the synthetic grass industry.
The significance of the partnership is the signal from FieldTurf that it is serious about being involved in the development of synthetic grass and sports surfaces that are the best and most advanced surfaces possible. Both the performance of the turf as well as safety, two continuing big issues in the industry, will be closely studied as part of the program.
Importantly, the facility will allow for quantifiable, reproducible data about the performance of various sports surfaces to be produced and closely studied.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
University of Tennessee Partners with AstroTurf on $1.5 Million Research Center
Facility focuses on performance and safety of natural and synthetic turf fields
After more than a year of intense planning, The University of Tennessee has partnered with AstroTurf, the iconic synthetic grass brand, to create the Center for Safer Athletic Fields, which will compare natural grass playing surfaces to synthetic surfaces. With the goal of improving athletic performance and reducing injuries, this initiative will provide the most comprehensive, on-going comparison of synthetic surfaces to natural grass.
Located at the UT Institute of Agriculture’s East Tennessee Research and Education Center in Knoxville, the new turfgrass center’s geographic location will enable scientists to conduct research on a variety of surfaces from both cool and warm season climates.
The unique outdoor research facility will comprise 60 small-scale athletic research fields constructed from a variety of playing surfaces. UT turfgrass scientists will compare the safety and performance of synthetic playing surfaces to natural grass surfaces. Field qualities will range from those employed for professional-level sports to surfaces used by schools, public parks and recreation fields.
While determining the safety and performance of AstroTurf products compared to various natural turfgrass systems, UT turfgrass scientists will also monitor these relationships over time. Additionally, they will evaluate the environmental impacts of each system. The research should lead to the development of new, more accurate methods for testing the safety and performance of all synthetic turf systems.
Dr. John Sorochan, associate professor and turfgrass specialist with the Department of Plant Sciences in the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, has one of the most extensive sports turf research programs in the country with more than 15 years experience. He is a board member of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA).
Dr. Jim Brosnan, assistant professor and turfgrass specialist has developed tools for testing sports turf surfaces. He is the STMA representative to the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). The UT Turfgrass Team is rounded out by Tom Samples, UT Extension turfgrass specialist and Brandon Horvath, a turfgrass pathologist.
Together the team has developed turfgrass management programs for sports field managers and has served as consultants to the National Football League, Major League Baseball and professional soccer teams. They advise and consult internationally with sports field managers for cricket, soccer, football, golf, baseball and Olympic venues.
“This is a pioneering effort in conducting research with an emphasis on athletic field safety,” Brosnan said. “Historically, sports turf research and maintenance have not been well supported. We are honored to partner with AstroTurf, the industry’s leader in product development. Because of our vision for a comprehensive research project, we selected the only partner that controls all facets of synthetic turf manufacturing from polymer development to field installation.”
“Advancing the science behind our products is critical to delivering the best solutions for athletes and the sports turf industry,” noted Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf(R). “This research partnership demonstrates AstroTurf’s commitment to enabling our industry to provide the safest systems for the players and the environment.”
Natural surfaces will be planted with bermudagrass, Kentucky bluegrass and others. Both mechanical and human studies will be performed to create “real play” conditions. Rod Walters, world-renowned in the athletic training industry, helped with the design and provided input on the infrastructure for the research areas to be involved in human performance and biomechanics. The research will be scientifically-based for statistical analysis.
“AstroTurf is taking a leadership role in research in this area,” said Dr. John Sorochan. “They want to know how their product performs — especially compared to natural grass — and find ways to make it as safe as possible for their customers and the athletes that play on it.”
“We are interested in credible, unbiased, fact-based research to test our products,” added Peeples. “Taking the lead in developing standards that do not exist today allows us to develop the best products. When a client says ‘Show me the data,’ we will have what they need to make an informed decision.”
The project will also further education for University of Tennessee students. “At the UT Institute of Agriculture, research, teaching and outreach go hand in hand. This project will enable us to enhance our teaching programs in that we will be able to add another level to our curriculum to train and educate future sports turf practitioners,” Sorochan said.
Construction of the Center will take six to eight weeks with ground breaking to take place this summer or early fall.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture provides instruction, research and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; the UT College of Veterinary Medicine; UT AgResearch, including its system of 10 research and education centers; and UT Extension with offices in all 95 Tennessee counties.
For more information on the UT Institute of Agriculture turfgrass program, visit http://www.turf.tennessee.edu/ or http://www.tennesseeturfgrassweeds.org/Pages/default.aspx
August 10th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Hey there Tim, you’ve just pre-empted my next post. However, seeing as how you’ve given me all of this great content (even if it is PR copy) you’ve saved me the trouble.