Skip to main content

John McMaine

John McMaine

Title

Volunteer Faculty

Office Building

Raven Precision Agriculture Center

Office

136B

Mailing Address

Raven Precision Ag Building 136B
Ag & Biosystems Engineering-Box 2100
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Biography

I develop and share water management tools to better equip agricultural stakeholders with user-friendly practices to address challenges related to water quality and quantity. A key element of my role is translating research products into a public good and using stakeholder feedback to better inform research direction.

Education

  • Ph.D. in biosystems and agricultural engineering | Oklahoma State University
  • M.S. in biosystems and agricultural engineering | University of Kentucky
  • B.S. in biosystems and agricultural engineering | University of Kentucky

Academic Interests

  • Water management
  • Water quality
  • Contaminant fate and transport
  • Streambank stability
  • Low impact development
  • Extension

Committees and Professional Memberships

  • American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (2013-present) - Active committees -  NRES 25/253, NRES 28 chair
  • South Dakota Soil and Water Conservation Society (2020-present) – President (2022)
  • Soil Science Society of America (2021-present)

Extension Responsibilities

John supports the citizens of South Dakota in his role as an assistant professor and SDSU Extension water management engineer at the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings.

Awards and Honors

  1. William Mibra Griffith and Byrne S. Griffith Chair in Agriculture and Water Resources, 2022. Inaugural endowed chair position at South Dakota State University.
  2. Gamma Sigma Delta – Excellence in Extension Award, 2022, Annually given to one extension faculty or staff at South Dakota State University
  3. ASABE Extension Blue Ribbon Award (with Cable Hardin), 2022, Conservation Drainage - Storing Water in the Landscape video series
  4. ASABE Extension Blue Ribbon Award (with Anthony Bly and Keely Moriarty), 2022, Streamlines Podcast - Conservation Drainage Season
  5. SDSU Extension Award for Excellence in Programming and Outreach for Participation and Leadership with Crop Hour, 2021, webinar series in Winter 2020 through Spring 2021
  6. Education and Public Service Award, 2019 as active participant of North Central Region Water Network
  7. U.S. Department of Agriculture - National Excellence in Multistate Research Award, 2018 as active participant of NCERA-217
  8. Second Place, Student Poster Competition – 2017 Oklahoma Clean Lakes and Watersheds Association annual conference, Stillwater, Oklahoma
  9. Purdue Prospective Faculty Workshop – 2017 Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Competitive application process, annually awarded to 30 or fewer Ph.D. and post-doctoral scholars nationwide
  10. Robberson Summer Research Fellowship – 2016 Graduate College, Oklahoma State University
  11. Winning Design, Student Design Competition – 2016 Great Plains LID Research and Innovation Symposium, Omaha, Nebraska
  12. Winning Design, Student Design Competition – 2015 Annual Meeting, American Ecological Engineering Society, Stillwater, Oklahoma
  13.  Blue Ribbon Award – 2014 ASABE Educational Aid, short publication category
  14. Honorable Mention, Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Presentation – 2014 Student Water Conference, Oklahoma State University
  15. Best Poster, Graduate Category – 2013 Environmental & Sustainability Research Showcase, University of Kentucky
  16. Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Presentation – 2013 Student Water Conference, Oklahoma State University

Grants

  1. Filling the Pipeline-Preparing the Next Generation of Watershed Management Extension Professionals. $499,967 (Approximately $102,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), R. Power, J. Houghman, M. Meehan, X. Jia, R. North, D. Downing, A. Schmidt, J. Benning, T. Trooien, L. Edwards, L. Merrifield. 01/01/2021-12/31/2025. USDA-NIFA.
  2. Engaging, Educating, and Empowering Agriculture through an NREC Focused Podcast Season. $12,000 ($12,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), A. Bly. 1/1/2022-12/31/2023. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Education Council.
  3. Roadmap to Water Resilience – Valuing Water as a Resource for Improved Ag Profitability and Downstream Safety. $877,687 (Approximately $450,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), A. Bly, D. Kringen, S. Kumar, D. Kolady, M. Gardezi, K. Blann, L. Fixen, R. Biske. 9/1/2020-8/31/2024. USDA-NRCS.
  4. Cover Crops for Water and Nutrient Management in South Dakota. $419,211 (Approximately $400,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), J. Guzman, D. Kringen, A. Bly. 8/31/2018-12/31/2022. NRCS – CCGA.
  5. Soil Water Function of Established Conservation Systems. $41,979 ($41,979 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI). 9/1/2021-8/31/2023. USGS 104b.
  6. Identifying Nutrient Loss Hot Spots in Tile Drainage. $203,229 (Approximately $200,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), A. Bly. R. McDaniel, D. Kringen. 01/01/2020-12/31/2023. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Education Council.
  7. Engaging the Community with Rainwater Harvesting at Three Different Scales. (Approximately $5,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), J. Bergstrom, D. Burger Jr. 12/02/2019-05/31/2020. US EPA 319 Information and Education minigrant, administered through South Dakota Discovery Center, match from East Dakota Water Development District.
  8. Mitigating Excess Water Quantity Impacts through Improved Soil Health. $24,000 ($24,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), R. McDaniel. 06/01/2019-05/31/2020. USGS 104b and match from Ducks Unlimited.
  9. Filling the Pipeline - Developing an Undergraduate Watershed Focused Extension Internship Program. $14,993 (14,993 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), T. Trooien. 04/01/2019-03/31/2020. North Central Region Water Network.
  10. Precision Controlled Drainage for Reducing Nutrient Loss through Tile Drainage and Improving Yield. $54,285 (Approximately $50,000 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), R. Behnke, T. Trooien, A. Nafchi, X. Yang. 1/1/2022-12/31/2022. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Education Council.
  11. Engaging Citizens in Low Impact Development from Design to Implementation and Beyond. $12,881 ($12,881 to J. McMaine team). J. McMaine (PI), D. Kringen, R. McDaniel. 3/1/2018-2/28/2021.US EPA 319 Information and Education minigrant, administered through South Dakota Discovery Center, match from East Dakota Water Development District.

Work Experience

  • Griffith Chair in Agriculture and Water Resources – South Dakota State University, Brookings (August 2022–present); Supervisor: Dr. Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan
  • Director, Mesonet at SDState – South Dakota State University, Brookings August 2022–present); Supervisor: Dr. Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan
  • Director, South Dakota Water Resources Institute – South Dakota State University, Brookings (August 2022–present); Supervisor: Dr. Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan
  • Associate professor/Extension water management engineer – South Dakota State University, Brookings(August 2023–present); Supervisor: Dr. Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan
  • Assistant professor/Extension water management engineer, South Dakota State University, Brookings (August 2017–August 2023); Supervisor: Dr. Van Kelley, P.E.
  • Graduate research assistant, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater (January 2014–August 2017); Supervisor: Dr. Jason Vogel, P.E.
  • Teaching assistant, ENSC 3233, Fluid Mechanics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater (January 2015-May2015); Supervisor: Dr. Glenn Brown, P.E.
  • Teaching assistant, BAE 5333, Applied Water Resources Statistics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater (January 2014-May 2014); Supervisor: Dr. Dan Storm
  • Graduate research assistant, University of Kentucky, Lexington (August 2011–December 2013); Supervisor: Dr. Carmen Agouridis, P.E.
  • Engineering assistant, Bell Engineering, Lexington, Kentucky (May 2011–August 2011, September 2012–November 2012); Supervisor: John Prince, P.E.
  • Teaching assistant, BAE 103 Energy in Biosystems, University of Kentucky, Lexington (January 2012 – May 2012); Supervisor: Dr. Larry Wells, P.E.
  • Sustainable agriculture intern, University of Kentucky (September 2008–November 2009); Supervisor: Dr. Larry Grabau
  • International Conversation Hour Mentor, University of Kentucky (February 2008–May 2008); Supervisor: Robin David Rice

Department(s)