Ernst Cebert, longtime faculty member at Alabama A&M University, passed away on March 21. He was 71 years old.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dr. Cebert immigrated to the United States at a young age, settling in Connecticut. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served five years as a Weather Specialist, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. Dr. Cebert went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in plant and soil science from Alabama A&M University and his Ph.D. agronomy from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
After earning his doctorate, Dr. Cebert returned to Alabama A&M University, where he would ultimately serve as a research associate professor and director of the Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Center. Throughout his three-decades-long tenure at the HBCU, Dr. Cebert led and expanded research programs in bioenergy and industrial crops, including canola, hemp, miscanthus, and barley. He was instrumental in establishing a winter canola breeding program for the Mid-South and in launching Alabama A&M’s hemp pilot program. Dr. Cebert retired in 2024, but remained actively involved in research and workforce development initiatives.
