This Mathematician Made It All Add Up

Ronald E. Phillips was a researcher, a mathematician who spent his career teaching soil physics and researching
no-tillage agriculture.

His accomplishments and accolades accumu-
lated over a 27-year tenure in the Agronomy Department in the College of Agriculture. So when Phillips died unexpectedly last Decemberat age 71, his family, friends, colleagues, and former graduate students took measures to ensure that his memory and values would endure.

The result is the Ronald E. Phillips Graduate Enrichment Fund, the proceeds of which will be used for programs in agronomy and related disciplines, particularly soil science, to enhance the learning experience for graduate students.

“Dad cherished his opportunity to pursue higher education, and then he treasured his privilege to work professionally in institutions of higher learning,” said Gregory Phillips, son of Ronald Phillips and professor of plant cellular and molecular genetics at New Mexico State University. “Everyone in our family is well aware of the value Dad placed on learning and education, and he instilled these values not only in his children and grandchildren, but also among his students,” he said.

According to Gregory Phillips, two concepts have emerged as possible enrichment opportunities. One would provide funding for a recognized scientist to come to the College for a short period of time to present seminars, mentor graduate students, or conduct career development activities. The other would support a professional travel engagement by a graduate student — for example, a trip to a leading laboratory or research location for a few days or weeks to allow students to acquire new skills or technologies in their respective sub-disciplines.

H. Don Scott, professor of soil physics at the University of Arkansas and former Ph.D. student of Ron Phillips, helped establish the enrichment fund. The idea for such a fund evolved from his own positive experiences as a student at similar events conducted in the College by invited speakers.

“I remember that there were some excellent and intense discussions that frequently occurred between the speaker and the faculty, and excellent career-promoting advice given by many of the speakers to the graduate students. The students received long-lasting benefits on how to conduct quality research and how to attack current research problems.
“My hope is that current and future graduate students in the Agronomy Department at UK will be the ultimate beneficiaries and that Dr. Phillips’ life and work will be honored in very special ways during these events,” Scott said.

Ron Phillips is remembered as a consummate mathematician, tough instructor, and good friend. Virgil Quisenberry, now a professor of soil physics at Clemson University, describes one of his earliest encounters with Phillips. “I began working in N-139 (Ag Science Center, Phillips’ lab) in the fall of 1967. I had been working in another lab but they would only pay $1.00 an hour. I had met Dr. Phillips earlier in the year and knew his graduate student, so I went by the lab looking for a better offer. Well, they paid $1.50 so I took the job, entered the lab, and did not leave for seven years.

“In the late spring of my senior year, Dr. Phillips came into the lab and said he needed a graduate student to work on a research project for the next two years. He said he had been unable to find a really good student and he wanted to know if I would be interested,” he said. Despite the implication that Quisenberry was not Phillips’ first choice, he accepted the offer, staying on to earn a master’s and Ph.D. under Phillips.

The two continued to collaborate, even after Quisenberry began working at Clemson. “He made several trips to Clemson, and I spent many days and nights back in N-139 watching water run through soil,” he said.

Quisenberry credits Phillips with helping him formulate his own attitude about their common field. “I don’t think I would see soils and soil physics the way I do if it were not for Dr. Phillips. While the courses and discussions were immersed in math, they were also a great attempt to see what was going on in the system,” he said. “I think I learned to isolate just what it is I am trying to do.”

Scott also was influenced greatly by Phillips, his major professor. “He was the best applied mathematician I have ever met. During my time at UK, he convinced me that I should take at least one math course every semester and that application of mathematics is extremely helpful in defining research problems in the soil and plant sciences,” he said. “I adopted many of his ideas in my own academic program at the University of Arkansas and am passing his philosophy on the use of mathematics to my graduate students,” Scott said.

Scott and Quisenberry both note that Phillips took personal interest in his students, often inviting them to visit in his home at Christmas. The close relationship they enjoyed as students continued throughout their professional careers and into Phillips’ retirement. “He frequently called his former students and inquired about their progress, both professionally and personally,” Scott said.

But the student-teacher relationship was clearly defined, according to Quisenberry. “I never felt like I was a friend when I was a student, but I was amazed at how things changed when I graduated and got a job. Overnight I had become a colleague. Some of his last research effort was spent on projects that I had proposed,” he noted.
Phillips may be gone, but his methods, philosophy, and name live on in memory of a life committed to excellence in education and research.