John Foss earns Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award

John Foss,former department head in the University of Tennessee Plant and Soil Science's Department, has earned the University of Minnesota's Outstanding Acheivement Award - the highest award bestowed on alumni at the University. Foss helped create an interdisciplinary field of science that integrated information about soils and archaeology. He authored a soil development - age- related model to help archaeologists "read" a landscape and focus their efforts in areas where there is a high probability for finding artifacts. The model grew out of his expertise in understanding the effect of time on soil mineral weathering and soil profile development. Foss taught at the University of Wisconsin River Falls and the University of Maryland. He later became an administrator at North Dakota State University and the University of Tennessee. In addition to a citation and medallion, Foss's name will be inscribed on the Wall of Honor maintained by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association at the McNamara Alumni Center. The Outstanding Achievement Award honors alumni who have attained unusual distinction in their chosen fields or professions or in public service, and who have demonstrated outstanding acheivement and leadership on a community, state, national, or international level. fewer than one in 500 alumni or former students have earned the award.