Stockbridge alumni know Dr. J. Scott Ebdon as a kind, funny, warm, and knowledgeable mentor.  Today Ebdon is a gentleman and a scholar who has earned a well-deserved retirement, and emeritus status with the University of Massachusetts. Scott received his PhD from Cornell University and joined the faculty of what was then called the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences way back in 1997, when Hanson's song "Mmm-Bop" was popular, and the first Harry Potter book saw its release. Undistracted by popular culture, Ebdon focused on the well-being of turf grasses, identifying cultivars capable of tolerating both biotic and abiotic stress.  By studying how different types of turf grass interact with both natural and cultural environments, Ebdon's work has helped to develop more sustainable practices for keeping turf grasses healthy. Turfgrass majors, and others at Stockbridge, will remember his teaching style from classes such as Turf Management (Intro and Advanced), Applied Calculations in Turf, and Integrated Turf Management, where he could often be seen teaching in his favorite T-shirt "I played on grass at UMass."  We're fairly sure that his shirt referred only to the research of grass tennis courts at the Joseph Troll Turf Research Center, the longest-running turf grass research center in the country.