Honored Students
Aggie Team Wins Soils Judging Contest
- A team of students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University has won the Southern Regional Soils Judging Contest. The event was held Oct. 22-23 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Team members Graves and Kolb are agronomy majors in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Details.
2009 AACC International Best Student Research Paper Competition
The Master student Liyi Yang, working with Dr. Joseph Awika was awarded second place in the 2009 AACC International Best Student Research Paper Competition held in Baltimore, Maryland. The title of her presentation was "Effect of Sorghum 3-Deoxyanthocyanin Structure on Esophageal Cancer Cell Proliferation". There were six finalists at the meeting and three were selected for awards. Liyi won $500 cash and a $300 travel grant. Congratulations!
Soil and crop sciences graduate student receives TWRI grant
Takele Dinka and Yujin Wen, graduate students in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, both have received a grant of up to $5,000 from the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) to support their research. Takele’s proposal is titled “Influence of Land Use and Terrain on Surface Hydrology in Shrink-Swell Soils,” and his advisor is Dr. Cristine Morgan, assistant professor of soil science. Yujin’s proposal is titled “Regulated Deficit Irrigation Application and Cotton Production in SW Texas,” and his advisor is Dr. Joe T. Cothren. Read More.
Graduate Students Poster Competition
- The PhD student Vladimir da Costa, working with Dr. Cothren, was awarded with the 1st place during Graduate Students Poster Competition and also the Session Winner at the 12th Annual SRW this past March. Last January, Vlad also won the 3rd place prize during the Cotton Agronomy and Physiology Conference at the 2009 Beltwide Cotton Conferences held in San Antonio, TX, with the poster entitled ‘Drought Effects on Physiological Traits of 1-MCP Treated Cotton Plants’.
Ceres Annual Scholarship
Luke Manning, Senior, Soil & Crop Sciences Department has begun his working in the popular biofuel industry even before his expected graduation in May 2008. He is a Research Assistant with Ceres, Inc., a plant genetics/breeding company based in California. Ceres is constructing a new research facility in College Station. Luke says, “The goal of the project is to grow sorghum and switchgrass on about 200 acres for biofuels research.” Ceres intends to develop improved cultivars for large-scale production and sell seed in the future. Ceres has established two annual scholarships for undergraduates in the Soil & Crop Sciences Department. Luke was awarded one of the first scholarships in 2007. For more information about Ceres you may contact Luke. If you are interested in applying for a Ceres scholarship, contact Mark Hall .
2008 Beltwide Cotton Conference Awards
- The PhD. students Vladimir da Costa and Josh Bynum were awarded with the third and second places, respectively, during the Graduate Students Poster Competition at the 2008 Beltwide Cotton Conference in Nashville, Tennessee last January. Vlad’s poster was entitled ‘Effects of 1-MCP on Late Season Cotton Fruit Set’. Josh’s poster was entitled ‘Physiological Applications for Diagnosing Cotton Water Use Efficiency’. Their proud advisor is Dr. Tom Cothren.
2008 Southern Weed Science Society Graduate Student Paper Contest Awards
- Sam Willingham won first place in the 2008 Southern Weed Science Society Graduate Student Paper Contest. His presentation was entitle “Propanil effects on absorption and translocation of penoxsula in Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides)”. Sam’s advisor is Dr. Mike Chandler.
2008 Cotton Improvement Conference Awards
Kolbyn Joy won first place in the Graduate Student Speaking Competition at the 2008 Cotton Improvement Conference in Nashville, TN. Kolbyn is a Master of Science candidate with Wayne Smith in Cotton Breeding. His presentation was entitled "Spinning Performance of Extra Long Staple Upland Cotton," which was co-authored by Wayne Smith, Peggy Thaxton, Chris Souder, Steve Hague, and Eric Hequet.
Kolbyn is from Artesia, NM where his parents, Jack and Diana, farm approximately 400 acres of cotton and 450 acres of alfalfa. He received his BS degree in Plant Science from Lubbock Christian University in 2007.
2007 Student Research Week Award
- Hway-Seen Yeung, a graduate student in the Soil & Crop Sciences Department was awarded First Place Prize and Second Place in Poster Design from the University Writing Center during Student Research Week 2007.
- Sheetal Rao, was awarded Third Place Prize at the Student Research Week 2007. Title of Poster: " Effects of Hypobaria (Low Pressure) on the Growth of Arabidopsis thaliana as Determined by Gene Expression and Leaf Anatomy Studies".
2007 Gerald O. Mott Meritorious Graduate Student Award
Polly Longenberger, a graduate student of Soil & Crop Sciences Department has been named to receive the 2007 Gerald O. Mott Meritorious Graduate Student Award in Crop Science.
This annual award recognizes to-notch graduate students pursing advanced degrees in crop science disciplines.Departments select students based on academic achievements, research and teaching contributions, leadership accomplishments, service activities, and personal qualifications.
Graduate Student Physiology Presentation Winners 2007
Ronnie Schnell, a 2006-2007 TWRI Mills Scholarship recipient, was awarded first place in the graduate student poster competition at the 2007 Texas A&M Agriculture Conference for his poster "Effects of Composted Municipal Biosolids and Nitrogen on Turfgrass Establishment and Sod Harvest."Schnell's research, funded by a TWRI Mills Scholarship, the International Turf Producers Foundation and the Texas Turfgrass Research, Education and Extension Endowment, demonstrated that cycling composted biosolids through turfgrass sod can provide organic carbon and nutrients, enhance turfgrass growth, reduce soil bulk density and improve soil water retention. Reduced sod weight and increased water content will aid in transport of sod as well as conservation of water nutrients on urban soils after transplanting. Results also demonstrated that a large percentage of applied nutrients could be exported with sod harvest. Cycling of composted biosolids through sod production effectively uses urban waste streams as a resource and contributes to sustainable development and management of agricultural and urban landscapes in Texas.
Stanislav’s research, funded by the Texas Cropping Systems Initiative, Cotton Incorporated, and TAES, demonstrated the feasibility of precision management and harvest for cotton lint quality using a proximal sensing tool, the EM38. Stanislav’s award-winning poster was co-authored by Dr. Cristine Morgan and Mr. Josh Bynum of the Soil and Crop Sciences Department and J. Alex Thommason of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. In Feburary, Scott was invited to give his talk at the annual Texas Soil and Water Conservation Society meeting in June.
Scott Stanislav, a junior Agronomy major in the Soil and Crop Management Option, was recently awarded the following two honors: 1) second place in the undergraduate student poster competition at the 2007 Texas A&M Agriculture Conference for his poster titled, "A Precision Harvest of Cotton Lint Quality to Maximize Profits," and 2) Second place in the graduate and undergraduate oral presentation contest at the Soil Survey and Land Resources Workshop for his talk titled, "Applying the EM38 to Manage Cotton Fields in the Brazos River Floodplain."
Schnell's award-winning poster was co-authored by Drs. D.M. Vietor and R.H. White of the Soil and Crop Sciences Department and C.L. Munster of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. More than 50 students submitted posters for the student research poster competition.
Graduate Student Paper Competition 2007
- Nilesh Dighe, a Soil & Crop Sciences Graduate student, won first place and $200 in the 2007 Beltwide Cotton Improvement Technical Conference’s Graduate Student Paper Competition which was held at the 2007 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans, LA. Dighe’s winning presentation was “Reniform Nematode Resistance - Marker Development and Cytogenetics of Gossypium longicalyx Introgression Products.”
- Polly Longenberger, a Soil & Crop Sciences student, won second place and $100 with a presentation on “Chlorophyll Fluorescence as an Indicator of Plant Water Status in Cotton.”
Graduate Student Physiology Presentation Winners 2007
Justin Scheiner, a Soil & Crop Sciences Graduate student, won the second place and $200 for his oral presentation in the Outstanding Student Presentation Awards competition at the recent 2007 Beltwide Cotton Physiology Conference in New Orleans, LA. Scheiner also captured the $300 first place award in the poster competition.- Josh Bynum, a Soil & Crop Sciences student,won the $200 second place award in the poster competition.