UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Graduate students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences were lauded for their achievements during the 2024 Graduate Student Award Celebration, hosted by the Office for Research and Graduate Education and held March 20 on the University Park campus.
Beth Gugino, assistant dean for graduate education, said the awards are made possible by endowments and gifts established by donors to recognize graduate student excellence.
“The awards selection process is rigorous, and I extend my gratitude to the nominators for their dedication in selecting outstanding students and to the reviewers for their invaluable assistance,” she said. We honor these award recipients and applaud their efforts in contributing to positive change in the world.”
Andrew Lefever and Sailesh Sigdel, doctoral students studying agricultural and environmental plant science, were recipients of the C. Reese Berdanier Graduate Program Support in Crop and Soil Sciences. Made possible by a gift from C. Reese Berdanier, the award recognizes graduate student excellence in agronomy and soil science.
Lefever’s doctoral research focuses on validating a new nitrogen recommendation system for corn that accounts for the nitrogen supply from organic matter and cover crops. Sigdel’s research evaluates early-season soil nitrogen corn availability tools to identify which tools most accurately and efficiently determine the need for additional nitrogen fertilizer.
The Evans Family Award for Graduate Student Extension Achievement went to Jessica Brown, a doctoral candidate in ecology. The award, which recognizes a graduate student excelling in extension educational programming, was created with a gift from the late Donald E. Evans, an associate professor of agricultural and extension education.
Brown has been instrumental in building Penn State Extension’s vector-borne disease team, which focuses on delivering evidence-based guidance on avoiding ticks and tick-borne diseases.
The recipients of the Paul Hand Award for Graduate Student Research Achievement were doctoral candidates Abhinay Gontu, pathobiology, and Pradip Poudel, agricultural and environmental plant science. The award was established in 1994 by Paul Hand, his late wife, Georgette, and the Atlantic Dairy Cooperative to enhance and support graduate education in the college. Paul Hand was the cooperative’s general manager and worked closely with Penn State faculty and students.
Gontu’s research focuses on developing broad-spectrum, RNA-based prophylactics and therapeutics targeting variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. Poudel’s primary research explores the agronomic biofortification of microgreens with micronutrients such as zinc.
The recipient of the Paul Hand Award for Graduate Student Teaching Achievement is Marissa Kopp, a doctoral candidate in the ecology program. Established in 1994 from the same endowment by Paul Hand, this award recognizes excellence in graduate student teaching.
Kopp was honored for her efforts to develop and teach a three-credit course in science communication for environmental resource management undergraduates at Penn State.
Emma Rice, a doctoral candidate in ecology, received the Katherine Mabis McKenna Award, which was established in 1983 to recognize an outstanding graduate student in a field that relates to the use of plants for environmental stewardship, especially in stream or watershed conservation.
Rice’s research focuses on developing a molecular-based method using next-generation sequencing to determine the relative root abundance in mixtures of diverse plant species.
Olanrewaju Shittu, a doctoral candidate in plant pathology with a dual-title degree in international agriculture and development, received the Barbara Howell Raphael Educational Equity Graduate Scholarship. Established in 2020, the award recognizes a graduate student who exhibits academic excellence and contributes to supporting and enhancing diversity within the college.
Shittu is the recipient of a Rocky Fellowship from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. This experience has helped inform his research on factors driving the adoption of disease-resistant wheat varieties by farmer groups in the U.S. and Ethiopia.
This year’s recipient of the William J. and Anne E. Scarlett Award in Watershed Stewardship is Sadie Sharma, a doctoral candidate in forest resources. This award was established in 2012 with an endowed gift from William and Anne Scarlett for students exhibiting academic excellence whose research focuses on water conservation and stewardship.
Sharma’s research centers around the complex relationships between land use, environmental sustainability and water resource management.
Krystal Snyder, who is pursuing a master’s degree in agricultural and environmental plant science, received the Penn State Extension Graduate Scholarship, which was established in 2018 through an endowed gift by Zane R. Helsel in honor of Drs. John Shenk and J.D. Harrington. First preference is given to Penn State Extension educators pursuing graduate degrees that focus on production agriculture or applied agricultural field research.
Snyder, whose research examines hydroponic production and the efficient use of fertilizer and water in lettuce production, is a horticulture extension educator based in Northampton County.
The College of Agricultural Sciences Outstanding Dissertation Award recognizes the college’s nominees for the university-level Graduate School Alumni Dissertation Award.
This year’s recipients of the college-level award are doctoral candidates Jamison Malcolm, education, community and economic development; Meredith Persico, horticulture; and Abhinay Gontu, pathobiology, who also received the Paul Hand Award for Graduate Student Research Achievement.
Malcolm works with Ukrainian refugees to examine youth participatory action and the key concepts of “Lerner’s 5 Cs of Positive Youth Development,” empathy, compassion, and demographics. Persico studies how global climate change impacts grapevine cold tolerance and explores adaptation strategies to improve climate resilience in vineyards.