Recent achievements for the campus community were earned by Madhusudhan Adhikari, Lucia Bonfanti, Deepak Ghimire, Dipesh Giri, Roch Gaussoin, Patricio Grassini, Stephanie Lugo, Patrice McMahon, Laila Puntel, Luzviminda Sazon, Anmol Singh, Christal Sheppard, Rick Stowell and Ng’ang’a Wahu-Muchiri.
Honors
Madhusudhan Adhikari, a master’s student specializing in soil and water science, earned third place in the ASA Graduate Poster Competition in the Nutrients and Environmental Quality Community. His research addresses the persistent issue of groundwater nitrate contamination in Nebraska, largely driven by fertilizer use. His work aims to reduce nitrate leaching through nitrogen stabilizers, optimized timing of nitrogen applications and better crop rotation and summer cover crop strategies.
Lucia Bonfanti received second place in the Crop Science Society's Graduate Oral Presentation in the Crop Physiology and Metabolism Competition. She is a master’s student specializing in crop physiology and production and is advised by Cafaro La Menza. Her research focuses on assessing the effect of nitrogen supply on soybean seed yield distribution within the canopy.
Deepak Ghimire, a doctoral student, was named as an American Society of Agronomy Encompass Fellow and earned the organization's Nelson Yield-Limiting Factors Graduate Student Scholarship, which recognizes leadership and accomplishments in the field of profitable crop production. Ghimire’s research focuses on exploring nitrogen-based advanced fertilizer and precision agriculture technologies to provide decision support tools to farmers to ensure optimized crop production and reduced environmental implications of fertilizer nitrogen, simultaneously.
Dipesh Giri, a master’s student, earned first place in the Soil Science Society of America's Graduate Student Poster and Five-Minute Rapid Presentation in the Soils and Environmental Quality Community. His research focuses on optimizing nitrogen fertilizer use in corn farming to increase yields while reducing environmental pollution and waste. By testing new nitrogen-saving products and methods, he aims to enhance nutrient uptake efficiency and minimize the environmental impacts of farming like water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, published by the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America, selected “A Review of Precision Management for Golf Course Turfgrass,” as the 2024 Outstanding Paper in the Applied Turfgrass Science Section. It was authored by Roch Gaussoin, professor emeritus; Laila Puntel, adjunct in agronomy and horticulture; and alumnus Michael Carlson.
David Gomez, Sedoten Oluwaseun Ogun and Yuchen Yan, all doctoral students in food science and technology, earned Lohr Family Excellence in NFHC Research awards from the Nebraska Food for Health Center. The award recognizes outstanding scholarship, research and collaboration, with a focus on the Nebraska Food for Health Center’s mission.
Patricio Grassini, Sunkist Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, earned the 2024 International Agronomy Award from the American Society of Agronomy. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in research, teaching, extension or administration made outside of the United States by a current agronomist.
Stephanie Lugo, a master’s student, received third place in the Soil Science of America's Graduate Student Poster Presentation in the Forest, Range and Wildland Soils Division. Her research focuses on assessing post-fire soil health in woodlands and grasslands of the semi-arid Nebraska National Forest of Halsey. Her work involves collecting and analyzing soil samples from areas affected by the Bovee fire, which occurred in October 2022. She collected samples at eight, 17, 20 and 22 months post-fire to assess the long-term impacts of fire on soil properties.
Patrice McMahon has been selected for the Bellagio Center Residency program in Lake Como, Italy. The program provides an opportunity for exchange among residents of various disciplines, geographies and backgrounds. McMahon will work on her Ordinary People project during her time in the residency program, which earned funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities in April.
Luzviminda Sazon, a doctoral student specializing in crop physiology and production, earned first place in the American Society of Agronomy's Ph.D. Oral Competition in the Advances in Nutrient Management Community. Her research focuses on understanding the seasonal nitrogen dynamics in high-yield soybean and finding a method to predict yield response to nitrogen fertilizer application.
Anmol Singh, a doctoral student specializing in soil and water science, earned fourth place in the Soil Science Society of America's Ph.D. Poster Presentation in the Soil Fertility-Nutrient Management Division. Singh’s research focuses on identifying optimal nitrogen fertilizer sources and their precise placement to maximize crop yield, enhance nitrogen use efficiency and minimize nitrogen losses through leaching, nitrous oxide emissions and ammonia volatilization.
Ng’ang’a Wahu-Muchiri, associate professor in the Department of English, earned the 2024 Bethwell A. Ogot Book Prize from the African Studies Association for "Writing on the Soil: Land and Landscape in Literature from Eastern and Southern Africa." The award recognizes the best book on East African studies published in the previous year, serving as a prestigious award in the transdisciplinary and international field of African studies. The committee considers books from any field in the humanities or social sciences, and four books were shortlisted this year.
Appointments
Christal Sheppard, professor of law, was invited by the U.S. undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property to become a founding member of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Chapter of ChIPs. ChIPs helps to empower and advance women in technology, law and policy, particularly intellectual property. Sheppard participated virtually in the ChIPs USPTO member launch celebration Dec. 11.
Rick Stowell was named a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Task Force on Agricultural Air Quality Research for 2024-26. Stowell is a professor in biological systems engineering in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The task force, created by the 1996 Farm Bill, brings together experts from across the nation to guide research, recommend practices and explore solutions to the intersection of agriculture and air quality.
This column is a regular feature of Nebraska Today. Faculty, staff and students can submit achievements to be considered for this column via email to achievements@unl.edu. For more information, call 402-472-8515.
