Updated April 8, 2024
I am a soil and turfgrass scientist. I earned my PhD at Penn State in 2023, with a focus on engineered soil mixtures for baseball fields. I also worked as a sports turf manager for several years before returning to graduate school. While earning my PhD, I learned and demonstrated all the skills required of a modern scientist: conduct novel experiments, write in academic and popular formats, speak to a variety of audiences, teach and mentor students, build software, and obtain external funding. I currently work as a Senior Engineer at Biocore LLC, where I facilitate research on high-performance athletic fields.
Charlottesville, VA
University Park, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Madison, Wisconsin
Flushing, New York
University Park, PA
Mascitti, E.C., McNitt, A.S., and Serensits, T.J, 2017. Divot resistance of thick cut sod as influenced by preharvest nitrogen and sand topdressing. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal. 13: p. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.2134/itsrj2017.01.0010
Mascitti, E.C., McNitt, A.S., and P.J. Drohan. 2024. Atterberg limits of baseball infield soils containing over-size particles, Part I: effect of particle size. Soil Research 62, SR23029. https://doi.org/10.1071/SR23029
Mascitti, E.C., McNitt, A.S., and P.J. Drohan. 2024. Atterberg limits of baseball infield soils containing over-size particles, Part II: Effects of sand angularity and uniformity. Soil Research 62, SR23030. https://doi.org/10.1071/SR23030
Mascitti, E.C., and A.S. McNitt. 2024. A laboratory method to measure deformation of baseball infield soil surfaces using cleated footwear. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology (online only). https://doi.org/10.1177/17543371241237588
Mascitti, E.C. and McNitt, A.S. 2024. Effect of particle size distribution and clay mineralogy on behavior of drying baseball infield soils. In preparation; planned submission to Sports Engineering.
Mascitti, E.C. and McNitt, A.S. 2024. Using the unconfined compression test to measure toughness of fine-grained soils. In preparation; planned submission to Applied Clay Science.
Mascitti, E.C. What is clay? SportsField Management Magazine. October issue. https://sportsfieldmanagementonline.com/2021/10/12/what-is-clay/13123/
Mascitti, E.C. and McNitt, A.S., 2021. Dissecting infield playability. SportsField Management Magazine. March issue. https://sportsfieldmanagementonline.com/2021/03/15/dissecting-infield-playability/12504/
Mascitti, E.C., McNitt, A.S., and Serensits, T.J., 2016. Lean and mean: Sod production for in-season field replacements. SportsTurf Magazine. https://sportsfieldmanagementonline.com/2016/05/31/lean-and-mean-sod-production-for-in-season-field-replacements/8035/
SOILS 921a, Turfgrass edaphology - Spring 2023 (Instructor rating 7/7)
SOILS 102, Introduction to Soils
TURF 434, Turfgrass edaphology - Fall 2021
TURF 235, The Turfgrass - Fall 2012
Rational mix design for baseball infield soils. ASA, CSSA and SSSA Annual Meetings (Baltimore, MD). November 8. [Recording link]
Design and performance of soil mixtures used on baseball infields. Penn State Department of Ecosystem Science and Management Seminar (University Park, PA). April 25.
The effects of pre-harvest cultural practices on the divot resistance of thick-cut Kentucky bluegrass sod. Master of Science thesis defense. Presented in partial fulfillment for a Master of Science degree in Agronomy: Penn State University, University Park, PA. December 13. 2017
Divot resistance of thick-cut sod as influenced by pre-harvest cultural practices. ASA, CSSA and SSSA Annual Meetings: Long Beach, CA. November 4.
Turf with an Attitude: Sod Production for American Football Fields. Plant Science departmental seminar: Penn State University, University Park, PA. April 18.
Temporal controls of tufa deposition, southwestern Wisconsin. Undergraduate thesis defense. Presented in partial fulfillment for a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology: Beloit College, Beloit, WI April 26.
Using water to study rocks: temporal controls of tufa deposition, southwestern Wisconsin. 36th Annual undergraduate research symposium: Beloit College, Beloit WI. April 12.
Infield construction and renovation. Siteone U: St. Louis, MO. February 15.
NFL surface testing update. Professional Football Field Managers Association: Houston, TX. March 20.
Infield soil performance: measuring and achieving the cleat-in/cleat-out effect. Carolina Sports Field Managers Association Annual Conference: Myrtle Beach, SC. November 14.
Infield soil selection and managemen. Wisconsin Sports Field Managers Association summer Field Day: Wisconsin Dells, WI. June 22.
New lab tests for infield soils. Mid-Atlantic Sports Field Managers Association Spring Education event: Laurel Park Racetrack, Laurel Run, MD. March 2.
Infield skin construction and renovation. Mid-Atlantic Sports Field Managers Association Spring Education event: Laurel Park Racetrack, Laurel Run, MD. March 2.
High-performance infield soils. Major League Baseball Grounds Managers Symposium: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO. November 29.
Soil science on the infield. Penn State Landscape & Ornamentals Field Day: Medlar Field, University Park, PA. July 29.
Infield maintenance and materials. Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization Field Day: White Township, Indiana, PA. June 22.
The Performance of Infield Soils - From Materials Selection to Proper Maintenance. Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization: East Earl, PA. February 18.
Novel lab tests for baseball and softball infield mixes. Sports Field Management Association: Savannah, GA. January 18.
Infield skin construction and maintenance. TURF 434 guest lecture (Prof. Andy McNitt). Nov. 3.
Dissecting infield playability. FieldTurf sponsored webinar. April 7.
Penn State turfgrass science alumni panel. Live stream via Penn State College of Agricultural Science. Oct. 22.
Engineered soils Q & A. Live YouTube broadcast by Beacon Athletics and DuraEdge Products. May 5. Recording available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW4q4CZ1v-c
Snacks, soil, and surface area. SOILS 071 (Environmental Sustainability) guest lecture: Penn State University. January 21.
History of the STMA and baseball field dimensions. Penn State STMA Student Challenge training: University Park, PA. January 13.
What’s grad school all about? Beloit Collge Advising Day: Beloit, WI. March 24.
Student-athlete alumni panel. Beloit Collge Advising Day: Beloit, WI. March 24.
Safe baseball infields. Cornell Turfgrass Show 2021: Episode 10. [Recording link]
What makes a quality infield mix? Fresh Cut Grass: Season 1, episode 9. [Recording link]
Applied turfgrass and soils research; design of experiments; method development
Expertise in soil physical properties
Proficiency with a variety of computer software including languages for data science (R, Python, Bash, SAS, SQL), markup and
typesetting (Markdown, LaTeX, Pandoc), pipeline automation (GNU Make), version control (Git), basic web design (HTML5, CSS3), and
Microsoft Office
Effective communication through oral, written, and graphical means. Basic Spanish language competency
Personnel management, including hiring, training, scheduling, and payroll
Management of cool-season and warm-season turfgrass
Laser grading/construction/renovation/maintenance of infield skin, pitcher’s mound, and home plate areas
Andrew McNitt Graduate Fellowship (Penn State University, 2019-2023)
Dr. James Watson Graduate Scholarship (Sports Field Management Association, 2022)
C. Reese Berdanier Endowed Award (Penn State University, 2019)
Penn State Graduate Student Assistantship- full tuition remission plus stipend (2012-2014)
Waddington-Harper Scholarship - awarded to outstanding students who plan careers in sports turf management (Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization, February 2014)
Joe Kobylka Award – given to a student-athlete who has best exemplified the qualities of sportsmanship and team spirit throughout their career (Beloit College, May 2012)
Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society (Beloit College, May 2012)
Eagle Scout Rank (Boy Scouts of America, 2006)
Sports Field Management Association (2012-present)
American Society of Agronomy/Crop Science Society of America/Soil Science Society of America (2014-present)
History and philosophy of science
Fitness
Cooking
Outdoor adventures
Franchise name later changed to Gwinnett Stripers↩︎