Turfgrass at the Olympics

It only took us a few days into the Olympic fortnight (sorry for the big word) to find a connection between our industry and the games being contested in Beijing.

Turns out the turfgrass folks at Michigan State are lending their expertise to the "portable athletic turf" surface that has been installed in the "Bird's Nest," the unofficial name for the National Stadium which has already hosted the opening ceremonies and later will host track and field competition as well as the closing ceremonies. Building on a reputation that began with their work on turfgrass modules that were installed over the artificial turf field at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., for the 1994 World Cup, MSU has been supervising the installation and care of the Kentucky bluegrass pods in Beijing, a process that began back in May.

While in Beijing, Michigan State professor Trey Rogers and Ph.D. student Alec Kowalewski are blogging about their experiences. You can follow them throughout the fortnight (there's that word again) by clicking here.