Distinguished Alumnus
Class of 2025

Dr. Martin L. Carson
(August 14, 1953 – May 9, 2019)

AHS Class of 1967

Marty Carson’s interest in nature inspired him to earn a doctoral degree in plant pathology. He then gained national and international recognition for his extensive accomplishments in applied research.

Martin L. Carson, the fourth son of Louise Price Carson, an elementary school teacher, and Bob Carson, grocery store owner and operator, was born August 14, 1953, in Moweaqua, Illinois. The family of four boys, Michael, Richard, Robert and Marty, relocated to Arcola in 1958 when Bob became manager at a local grocery store.

At Arcola High School, Marty was an honor student, freshman class Student Council representative, junior class treasurer and a two-year member of Modern Scientists. After graduating in 1971, Marty’s appreciation of the natural world led him to study botany at Eastern Illinois University. Like many graduates, he had trouble finding his place in the world until an EIU botany professor advised him to apply for a graduate assistantship in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Illinois under the guidance of Dr. Art Hooker, who was internationally known as a top breeder of maize for disease resistance.

Following his 1975 EIU graduation, Marty and his wife, Deb Crotchett, were off to the U of I, where she worked as department staff support while he earned his M.S. in 1977 and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology in 1979. Marty had found his niche as he aspired to feed the world like agronomist Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution.

Dr. Carson then joined the Plant Science Department at South Dakota State University at Brookings, where he bred maize and sunflowers for disease resistance. He also taught classes and through his research program, sponsored international graduate students.

In 1989, he joined the Plant Science Research unit for the United States Department of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Service at Raleigh, North Carolina, where he became well known for his extensive accomplishments in applied research on a diverse array of maize diseases and maize germplasm improvement. Marty was instrumental in the successful establishment of the southern Germplasm Enhancement of Maize project, serving as southern regional coordinator from 1995-2002. This project was a cooperative effort of public and private sector maize breeders, representing more than twenty seed companies, USDA-ARS and university scientists. He was also the first to demonstrate and quantify yield losses in sunflower due to several largely unstudied diseases.

In 2002, Marty accepted the Research Director position for the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory, located on the University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul. Under his leadership, the CDL became the epicenter of research, gaining worldwide stature in global efforts to mitigate losses to cereal production due to rust diseases and Fusarium head blight. As research leader, he oversaw a large expansion of the laboratory facilities and new containment facilities for work with foreign pathogen collections. Also under his supervision, seed storage facilities were expanded, environmental controls were updated and the greenhouse controls units were modernized.

During his years with the CDL, Marty was active in the Crop Science Society of America. Additionally, he became an active member of the American Phytopathological Society, serving on the Genetics, Host Resistance and the Germplasm and Collections Committees. With previous experience as an author of numerous research articles in his field, Marty became associate editor of Plant Disease and also associate editor and senior editor of Phytopathology. In recognition of his distinguished contributions to plant pathology, he was named a fellow of the American Phytopathological Society in 2009.

At that time, his biography stated, “Carson’s determination to make plant pathological research useful to solving problems and furthering the science of plant pathology is second only to his compassion for others. His concern and caring for his work and for the people with whom he works makes him a truly special person.”

Marty retired early as Research Director of the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratories on September 30, 2011, due to his advanced Parkinson’s disease. His support and guidance had been critical to the research accomplishments of the scientific staff. Marty’s extensive achievements in applied research had become nationally and internationally recognized with his life’s work taking him to many areas of the U.S., as well as Kazakhstan, Finland, Germany, Kenya and the Netherlands.

With his dedication to fitness, Marty had completed The Iron Man competitions in Hawaii and Florida. He also enjoyed backpacking, biking and swimming. In his retirement, Marty found more time to pursue the natural world. He was an avid gardener, who with the help of his wife, grew and designed species gardens and was also well known for hybridizing rhododendron plants for northern climates.

After sharing his knowledge and love of the natural world with Deb for more than forty-four years, Marty passed away in their Roseville, Minnesota, home on May 9, 2019, with his wife at his side. His scientific expertise continues with the knowledge he shared with his wife, his students and his colleagues, just as his love of nature is carried on in his gardens.