In Spring 2016, we will have a record 51 graduate students, including 40 in the MS and PhD program, and 11 students in the professional Master in Plant Health Management (administered by Plant Pathology and Entomology). Highlights from our MS/PhD students include:
- Horacio Lopez Nicora (Ph.D. student) was honored with the prestigious John M. Webster Outstanding Student Award by the Society of Nematology. Lopez Nicora, whose advisor is Terry Niblack, is currently an OSU Presidential Fellow. Lopez Nicora also received the department’s 2015 C. C. Allison award for excellence in research and exemplary service to the department (upper top left photo).
- Anna Testen (PhD student), was awarded an OSU Presidential Fellowship for 2016, which is the most prestigious graduate fellowship awarded by the Graduate School. Testen is currently the chair of the APS Graduate Student Committee and serves on the board of the APS Office of Public Relations and Outreach. Testen, who is studying with Sally Miller, is a U.S. Borlaug Fellow in Global Food Security in support of her work in the development of methods to improve soil health and tomato disease management in Tanzania (upper middle photo). > View blog
- David N. Showalter (PhD student) was awarded the 2015 Charles E. Thorne Memorial Associateship by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), which honors one outstanding graduate student each year. Showalter is investigating mechanisms of ash tree resistance to emerald ash borer. His advisor is Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello. Showalter was also awarded a 2015 Blair F. Janson and Wilmer G. Stover Travel Scholarship by the Department of Plant Pathology (upper right photo). > View video
- Ellie Walsh was awarded a 2015 Blair F. Janson and Wilmer G. Stover Travel Scholarship by the Department of Plant Pathology. She is the chair of the APS Nematology Committee and served on the APS Publications Board (lower left photo).
- Rachel Medina (MS student) received first place in the MS poster competition at the OARDC Annual Research Conference (lower middle photo). Her advisor is Christopher G. Taylor. Wenshuang Xie was awarded second place in the Postdoctoral Researcher category and Therese Miller was awarded third place in the Research Assistants and Associates category. Xie and Miller are both supervised by Taylor. > Read more
- Emmanuel Mgonja (Ph.D. student) was selected as a fellow for the Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (LEAP) in support of his research on rice blast in East Africa. Mgonja’s advisor is Guo-Liang Wang (lower right photo). Mgonja is part of a group of students from Tanzania pursuing graduate degrees in the U.S. as part of the U.S. AID-funded Innovative Agricultural Research Initiative (iAGRI) > View video
Below, left photo, new graduate students at autumn orientation; right photo, spring symposium for first-year graduate students.
