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Stephen Ippolito is an assistant professor at the LSU AgCenter domiciled at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center in Alexandria. He is an extension weed scientist with responsibilities in corn, cotton, soybean, peanuts, wheat and oats. Ippolito completed his bachelor’s degree at Willamette University in 2017 after which he went on to complete his master’s degree and Ph.D. under the direction of Katherine Jennings at North Carolina State University. He is working to develop new weed management strategies for controlling troublesome weeds in agronomic production such as prickly sida, johnsongrass and ragweed parthenium. His appointment is 75% extension and 25% research.
Anna Orfanou is an assistant professor of agronomy at the LSU AgCenter based at the Macon Ridge Research Station in Winnsboro. Her research program focuses on optimizing agricultural management practices to increase crop productivity, improve resource-use efficiency and reduce operational inputs and costs. Her expertise in simulation modeling was developed through a combination of intensive field experimentation and predictive modeling research conducted during her doctoral and postdoctoral training. Orfanou earned her Ph.D. in crop and soil sciences from the University of Georgia, where she calibrated and validated the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) CERES-Maize model for high-input corn production systems using extensive field data. She later expanded her modeling expertise during postdoctoral appointments at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Woodwell Climate Research Center, where she contributed to the advancement of the Agro-IBIS and RangeStar models, respectively.
Dimitrios Pavlou is an assistant professor and irrigation agronomist with the LSU AgCenter, based at the Macon Ridge Research Station in Winnsboro. His research and extension program focuses on improving irrigation scheduling, water use efficiency and nutrient management in Louisiana row crop systems through precision agriculture, advanced sensing technologies, decision support systems and simulation modeling. Before joining the LSU AgCenter, Pavlou served as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he enhanced the capabilities of the Agro IBIS model to simulate turfgrass water dynamics. He earned his Ph.D. in crop and soil sciences from the University of Georgia, where he integrated field based measurements with crop and soil water simulation models to assess how different irrigation strategies influence yield and water quality outcomes in corn systems. Pavlou’s program combines applied field research with data driven tools to support producers and promote environmentally sustainable water management across Louisiana’s major cropping systems.
Leandro “Leo” Vieira is an assistant professor and soil fertility specialist at the LSU AgCenter, based at the Macon Ridge Research Station in Winnsboro. Originally from Brazil, he grew up on a fourth-generation family ranch, which shaped his interest in agriculture. Vieira holds a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina and Oregon State University, a master’s in soils and plant nutrition from the University of São Paulo, and a Ph.D. in soil and water sciences from the University of Florida. Prior to joining the LSU AgCenter, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in conservation agronomy at Clemson University. His extension and applied research program focuses on soil fertility, nutrient management and soil health, with an emphasis on delivering practical, field-ready solutions that help farmers and consultants make confident decisions, optimize input use and achieve consistent, high-performing crops across Louisiana.
