His turfgrass research at Rutgers is the stuff of legend, his project at Rutgers becoming the largest turfgrass breeding program in the world.  As of February 23, 2009, Reed has received nine plant patents and 166 plant variety protection certificates (PVPs). Nine more plant variety protection certificates are still pending approval. As of the same date, Reed has published 653 technical papers in peer-reviewed journals and in research reports published by Rutgers, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and other organizations.

Reed has been the recipient of numerous accolades including: “Man of the Year” by l982-83 Oregon Seed Trade Association; “Man of the Year” by Landscape and Irrigation magazine, 1985; Distinguished Service Award for Agricultural Research from the United States Department of Agriculture, 1990; “Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award,” Crop Science Society of America, 1990; the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1991. Reed was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991, and in 1994 he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences from Utah State University. He has been written up in numerous trade publications, as well as The New York Times and US News and World Report. His colleagues have consistently praised him.

Reed has been well rewarded with royalties from his numerous PVPs and plant patents. He has donated these royalties to many productive causes. The turfgrass royalties support the turfgrass-breeding program at Rutgers and the excess funds have been used to help fund other research projects at Rutgers. Reed has also funded numerous germplasm collection actives in the countries of Central Asia, Russia, and in other surrounding nations. The Uzbekistan Academy of Science awarded Reed the status of “academism” for his many contributions to plant-breeding research in Uzbekistan.  Reed is very generous and has financially supported many people while they attended college.

As Reed rose to become the most successful turfgrass breeder in the world, he helped many of his students rise with him.

When Reed reached retirement age, he turned over the management of his turfgrass-breeding program to one of his former graduate students and then directed his plant research efforts on a much larger task: the improvement of hundreds of different species of perennial plants for the benefit of all the people of the earth. Improving trees through breeding was not a new idea to Reed.  As a child on a dairy farm, Reed had watched his father experiment with grafting Carpathian walnuts (a variety of Persian walnuts) onto black walnut rootstock. The goal was to develop a cold-tolerant and productive nut tree that would thrive in northern Utah.  As a young scientist, Reed had read Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture, by J. Russell Smith, an emeritus professor at Columbia University. The book advocates the genetic improvement of trees as a way to prevent soil erosion and increase food production on land unsuitable for annual crops.

Reed has already changed the world. It’s estimated that he is responsible for developing between 70-80 percent of the types of grasses that cover all lawns in the United States. Those who work with him at IPPFBE believe that he can change the world again. 

List of Awards and Accolades:

1. Graduated with highest average grade, School of Agriculture, Utah State Agricultural

College, 1952 (Now Utah State University)

2. Scholarship A, Utah State University, 1955

3. New Jersey Turfgrass Association, Achievement Award, 1976

4. Faculty Merit Award, Rutgers University, 1977

5 Lawn Institute Achievement Award, 1977

6. Distinguished Service Award, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America,

1979

7. Research Award, Northeast Section of the American Society of Agronomy, 1979

8. Green Section Award, United States Golf Association, 1980

9. Invited to present keynote address to the Breeding and Cultivar Evaluation Section of

the Fourth Research Conference, International Turfgrass Society, July l, l98l

10. Merit Award, Rutgers University, l98l

11. Invited to join a select group of Americans for a visit to The Netherlands to

commemorate the 200th Anniversary of unbroken diplomatic and trade relations

between the United States and The Netherlands, l982

12. Listed in Who's Who in America (1982 and subsequent editions)

13. Listed in Who's Who in the World (1982-1983 and subsequent editions)

14. New Jersey Turfgrass Association Hall of Fame Award, 1982

15. Named Man of the Year for l982-83, Oregon Seed Trade Association

16. Fellow, American Society of Agronomy, l984

17. Fellow, Crop Science Society of America, 1984

18. Named Man of the Year by Landscape and Irrigation magazine, 1985

19. Honorary Board of Directors, Musser Foundation, l985

20. Turf Master Award, Grounds Maintenance Magazine, l986

21. Research Award, New York Farmers, l986

22. Research Award, Seed Research of Oregon, Inc., l986

23. Presidential Award, Turfgrass Council of North Carolina, 1987

24. Invited to present the first keynote address to the 6th International Turfgrass Research

Conference, International Turfgrass Society, Tokyo, Japan, July 31 - August 5, 1989

25. Received Distinguished Service Award for Agricultural Research from the United

States Dept. of Agriculture, 1990

26. Named "Jerseyan of the Week" by The Newark Sunday Star Ledger, June 24, 1990

27. Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award, Crop Science Society of America, 1990

28. Inducted into New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, 1991

29. Recipient of the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research at Rutgers, The

State University of New Jersey, 1991

30. Faculty Academic Service Increment Award, Rutgers University, 1991

31. Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1992

32. Research Excellence Award, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Cook

College, Rutgers University, 1992

33. Medal of the Garden Club of New Jersey, 1992

34. Annual Seed Achievement Award, Canadian Seed Trade Association, 1992

35. Honorary Degree of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Utah State University, June 1994

C. R. Funk 7

36. Invited to present the second annual Walter Wilkie Lectureship in Turfgrass Science at

Michigan State University, March 1, 1995

37. The C. Reed Funk turfgrass equipment storage building was dedicated and donated to

Rutgers University by the New Jersey Turfgrass Association, July 31, 1996

38. Distinguished Service Award, Golf Course Superintendents Association of New

Jersey, 1997

39. Elected to Membership (Honorary) in the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of

Uzbekistan, July 15, 1999

40. Faculty Merit Award, 1999

41. Turfgrass Breeders Association named their award “The C. Reed Funk Achievement

Award”

42. June 2000. Selected by Turf News as “Editor’s Choice: Green Industry Pioneers”.

This profiles four individuals whose accomplishments in the 20th Century greatly

influenced the direction of the turfgrass industry at the beginning of the 21st Century

43. Faculty Merit Award, 2001

44. Elected to Membership (Honorary) in the Kyrgyz Academy of Agricultural Sciences,

April 2001

45. Inducted into “Hall of Distinguished Alumni”, Rutgers University, 2002

46. Named George Hammell Cook Emeritus Professor, 2003

47. Lifetime Recognition for Distinguished Leadership - Cook College, 2004