Congratulations to Amanda Kramer, who successfully defended her Masters thesis: “The impacts of cover crop diversity on nutrient availability and crop productivity.” Her major advisor was Dr. Sindhu Jagadamma and committee members were Dr. Lori Duncan, Dr. Debashish Saha, and Dr. Sreedhar Upendram. Amanda is working towards becoming an extension agent.
We are very proud of you Amanda!
Ravi Teja Neelipally, PhD student in Dr. Sindhu Jagadamma’s group, was selected for the 2022 Hans Jenny Soil Field Trip Award from the Soil Science Society of America. In his research, Ravi is developing organic grain rotation systems to meet the needs of Tennessee farmers and facilitate their transition to organic agriculture. This award will fund his trip to the Rodale Institute near Kutztown, Pennsylvania, where the modern Organic Movement began 70 years ago. He is eager to learn about exciting new research and to discuss his own research with professionals and farmers. Way to go, Ravi Teja!
Undergraduate Emily Walker presented her research on the effects of agricultural farming practices on pollinator diversity and abundance at the University of Tennessee’s annual Discovery Day. We are proud of you Emily!
Congratulations to Ashleigh Montgomery, who successfully defended her Masters thesis: “Manganese Geochemistry and Plant Availability in Response to Agricultural Practices.” While at UTK, Ashleigh received numerous awards and recognitions, including travel and presentation awards at the ASA-SSSA-CSSA meeting and the Extraordinary Professional Promise award from UT. Her major advisor was Dr. Sindhu Jagadamma and committee members were Dr. Elizabeth Herndon (ORNL Environmental Science Division) and Dr. Carl Sams (UTK Department of Plant Science). Ashleigh’s research was funded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She has recently moved to a doctoral position at the University of Delaware. We will miss you Ashleigh!
We are excited to announce that Emily Walker has received UT’s Advanced Undergraduate Research Activity (AURA) Award for Summer 2022! Through this award, Emily will receive funding for her summer research which aims to understand the effects of agroecosystem management strategies on pollinator health! Congratulations Emily!
PhD candidate Rounak Patra has received the highly competitive Graduate Advancement Training and Education (GATE) fellowship from the University’s Science Alliance program. Through this fellowship, Rounak will be collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory in his research on microbial mechanisms underpinning soil carbon dynamics. Rounak was one of only 12 graduate students to be selected for this university-wide competition. Amazing job, Rounak!
We are excited to announce that Dr. Jagadamma has received the 2021-2022 Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science department award for Outstanding Research Faculty. Thank you Sindhu for your invaluable work in agricultural management and soil health!
Master’s student Ashleigh Montgomery received the award for Extraordinary Professional Promise for her research on manganese geochemistry and plant availability in response to agricultural practices. This is one of only a few awards given by the Office of the Provost to students in each department every year, and dignifies Ashleigh as a Volunteer of Distinction. We are very proud of Ashleigh for this huge accomplishment!
At the awards ceremony, Ashleigh had the pleasure of meeting Smokey himself.
Our very own Ravi Teja Neelipally gave an outstanding invited talk in UTK’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. He spoke on the role of plant-growth-promoting microbes from cow manure-based organic formulations in mediating the growth of wheat, corn, and soybean. Great job, Ravi!
We are excited to announce that PhD candidate Rounak Patra has received the Ecological Society of America’s Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award. This award will allow Rounak to participate in a virtual Congressional Visit Day, which is a unique opportunity to add his insights into the importance of federal investments in the biological and ecological sciences. Congrats Rounak!
Learn more about the award here!