He earned the ISU Student Alumni Association Outstanding Academic Advising Award in 1982, the Louis Thompson Award for Scholarly Achievement in Teaching in 1985, the Iowa State University Foundation Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Teaching in 1991, and the Regents' Faculty Excellence Award in 1995. He also received the Soil Science Education Award from the Soil Science Society of America in 1992. Loynachan's research focuses on organismal ecology in soil, including the establishment, persistence, and environmental interactions of introduced organisms. As a teacher, I have to have good students because I don't spend a lot of time in the lab. Loynachan encourages his students to become independent thinkers by giving them room to make their own mistakes.
Optimism is contagious and pessimism is too. . .
I like to be optimistic. Give them lots of flexibility and give them the resources to work. Stay out of their way. As for future plans, Loynachan looks forward to working with students in agronomy for many more years. Compiled from information in the ISU Parks Library Archives, Agronomy Department files, and personal interviews with Agronomy Department personnel in the Summer 1999.