Newsletter Issue 17

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THE GRADUATE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

grad.msstate.edu

UPCOMING EVENTS NEW GRADUATE STUDENT RESOURCE FAIR January 11 MLK DAY OF SERVICE January 16 GRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION January 18 - February 15 REGISTER HERE:

https://www.grad.msstate.edu/students/graduatedevelopment/graduate-research-symposium

SPRING TAGGS DEADLINE February 8 MARDI GRAS OPEN HOUSE February 21 GRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM February 25 IMAGE OF RESEARCH REGISTRATION February 1 - 28 REGISTER HERE:

https://www.grad.msstate.edu/students/graduatestudent-development/image-of-research

GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION ELECTION NOMINATIONS March 1 -10 GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION ELECTION March 22 - 24 IMAGE OF RESEARCH EXHIBIT

TABLE OF CONTENT S AY H E L L O !

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

March 20 - 31

EVENTS FALL TAGGS OPENS ON April 1

NEWS AWARDS

A NOTE FROM THE DEAN Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Graduate School, On behalf of the Graduate School, I commend all faculty, staff, and students for their contributions and collaborative spirit this semester. Because of your efforts, Mississippi State University remains the premier research institution in the state and maintains its national status as a tier 1 research university.

With great enthusiasm, we recognized 73 of our graduates at the Doctoral Commencement and Hooding Ceremony held on December 8th. The very next day we celebrated 11 Educational Specialists, and more than 300 Master’s students received their diplomas. We wish all our graduates every success in their future career endeavors.

As we close out a successful fall semester, we also take time to honor and remember our head football coach, Mike Leach.

His sudden passing has certainly impacted both our campus and community and reminds us to make the most of each day we are given.

We wish you all Seasons Greetings for the Christmas Holidays, safe travels, and enjoy some quiet and relaxing time with family and friends. See you in 2023!

Best Regards, Dr. Peter Ryan Executive Vice Provost and Dean The Graduate School

SAY HELLO! Staf f Spotlight

ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT TEAM

Get to know the team!

Angela (Angie) Campbell •

Angie’s mentor is her mother. She describes her as a tiny 5ft bit of a thing. Sweet and

ANGIE CAMPBELL

quiet. Humble as they come. Loves our Lord and has the largest forgiving nature you will ever see. She was a Nurse through most of her life and cared for many people.

•

She likes to mix up her hobbies, crafting, swimming, reading, decorating, gardening,

RACHEL JENKINS

cooking, and her grand baby - time is super sweet!

“I am inspired by the older-nontraditional students

we

see

coming

back

for

additional education. I am so proud to TIFFANY JOHNSON

see them doing what it is they want to do. Some need a little more help with the application but once you get them started, they do great! I love talking to them.”

CYNTHIA HOWARD

Rachel Jenkins

Tiffany Johnson

•

•

Rachel was a competitive Irish Step dancer for years

•

•

The next place on her travel bucket list is

Tiffany loves art and finds art museums soothing and peaceful

•

Her current favorite show to binge is

Glacier National Park and Denali National

From Scratch on Netflix. She mentioned

Park

she cried from episode 1 – 8.

Her favorite hobby is reading

•

She defines success as happiness. It is that moment when you realize you are

“When I joined TGS, I had just moved

content, relieved, and proud; no matter

back to Starkville after getting married

what you’re doing and how long it took.

and after my first interview, I left

It consists of so much more than just

thinking that I had found my “home” on

meeting a goal. It is looking at yourself

campus – the staff was welcoming, and

in the mirror and understanding that you

I loved what I saw when I walked in the

have done something that once felt out

door!”

of reach.

Cynthia Howard

“TGS has provided a family-oriented

•

Cynthia’s favorite hobby is sewing and DIY

environment full of engaged leaders

old fashion to new fashion.

and motivators who do what they love

•

She is currently binge-watching Ozarks

while presenting themselves in the

•

The next place on her travel bucket list is

most welcoming way. TGS gives me a

Hawaii

home away from home emotion every day. I love being able to extend help to

“I love the people that I work with within

my colleagues and students, all while

this department. I am amazed at how

obtaining new knowledge from all

TGS goes all out in the services they

angles in the department.”

provide for the students. I like being part of a team that is always there for others to help in any kind of way.”

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

CAPT.(RET.)

MATT SAVAGE Graduate, Geoscience

I always wanted to serve in the military, but when 9/11 happened, that’s when I really knew I wanted to be an Army man. My values of freedom, God and country motivated me to go to West Point and serve my country in the U.S. Army for over a decade before my life was altered by an accident. Since I was medically retired and moved back to Starkville, I realized there was no better time or place to get my graduate degree. MSU’s Center for America’s Veterans is the touchpoint between the government and me. They help me with all the paperwork and make sure I’m satisfying the requirements of MSU and the government. They even helped me get my service dog, Scout, registered at MSU. Overall, I have found Mississippi State to be a very supportive and veteran friendly campus - even students just walking by will stop and thank me for my service.

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Lorena Chavarro Chaux

Ms.

Chaux

a

enrolled in STEM degrees who

recognition the chapter received

Assistant

have demonstrated and achieved

from the Office of Student

at the Watersheds and Water

positive

Leadership

Quality Research Lab in the

and extraordinary community

Engagement

Rula

service.

She was also awarded the 2022

Graduate

works

Research

School

of

Civil

as

and

academic

records

and in

Community April

2022.

Environmental Engineering. She

Lorena served as President of

Graduate Student of the Year by

was recognized by the Society

the MSU SHPE Student Chapter

the Mississippi State University

of Hispanic and Professional

from August 2021 to July 2022.

Graduate School. Additionally,

Engineers (SHPE) with the

Her work was fundamental in

she received recognition for

SHE Graduate Scholarship. The

the performance of different

various

SHE scholarship was established

activities led by the chapter

Graduate Symposiums and the

to recognize outstanding full-

(e.g. Stream Clean Up, Se Habla

International Congress of Rivers

time graduate SHE members

Espanol, Science Night) and the

and Wetlands.

presentations

at

the

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Ryan Reynolds

McNair Scholar Feature by Lauren Benton

History Ph.D. candidate and McNair

prepare undergraduate students for doctoral

Scholar, Ryan Reynolds became one of the first

studies through involvement in research and

in his family to attend college.

other scholarly activities. McNair participants

“I did my undergraduate, at Baylor

are either first-generation college students

University in Texas, and they started the

with financial assistance or members of a

McNair program a year before I finished. I had

traditionally underrepresented background in

no idea what it was. I was in a hallway, talking

graduate education who have demonstrated

to one of the staff members that worked in the

strong academic potential.

Veterans Center because I was in the Army. At

The McNair Scholars Program encourages

the time I would have loved to go to graduate

students to embrace the legacy of Ronald E.

school, but could not afford graduate school,”

McNair and to create their own. Throughout

Reynolds said. “I did not know anything about

his collegiate profession, Reynolds began to

stipends or anything like that. I met with the

create his own legacy.

McNair coordinator and mentioned that my

“In comparison to Ronald McNair, my

parents did not even graduate high school. So, I

legacy is not even close to what he has built. In

was the first Reynolds not just to graduate high

terms of my legacy, I just try to do the best that

school, but to finish college.”

I can. I love working with people and helping

The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement

BAC K T O M E N U

Program

was

designed

to

people around me. You know, the whole rising tide raises all ships,” Reynolds said. “That’s

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

really where I am at in my life right now.

specific population of people in the United

That is what I want to do is, I want to be able

States. Every year we do this book drive, to

to connect with people. Especially, I think

send books to incarcerated people. I would

having the opportunity to teach but also,

really like to do something to help improve

that you have an opportunity to show people

conditions in the United States.”

upward mobility through higher education.

In his time here in graduate school

Some of the most joyous moments do not

at Mississippi State University, Reynolds

necessarily come from publishing, sending

presented a paper at the Society for Military

in work for conferences, and all that stuff.

History (SMH) annual conference. The

But being able to see the light click with

Society of Military History Board of

some students, or seeing those students find

Trustees elected Reynolds as the graduate

their voice and confidence.”

student representative for the Journal for

Reynolds’s overall research is focused on strategy, pop culture, and militarized policing/the militarization of the federal police force in the United States.

Military History editorial advisory board, a position he will hold until 2025.

Reynolds was chosen to attend the SMH and National WWII Museum’s first summer

“I am really drawn to human rights work.

seminar in Military History. This summer’s

In my dissertation, I look at militarized

seminar represents SMH’s endeavor to

policing, specifically during the Civil Rights

provide an educational opportunity for

Movement. I look at that through the

future scholars who will teach military

lens of popular culture. I just had a paper

history at academic and service institutions.

published on James Baldwin. The author

“Getting the Ph.D. means a tremendous

and his literature as forms of revolution.

amount to me. Just because like I said, I do

And this sort of research has led me to

not have this history of professional success

look more at how Americans can improve

or academic success. When I was admitted

living conditions across the board and start

to MSU, it really helped me get a jump

dismantling some of these structures in

on research and opened my eyes to how

place,” Reynolds said. “After the Civil Rights

important it is to be a first-generation, low-

Act and Voting Act in 1964 and 1965, you see

income student,” Reynolds said.

a rise in incarceration and especially among a

BAC K T O M E N U

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Shaylin Williams

Frontiers in Education Shaylin Williams, an engineering education doctoral candidate, had the opportunity to travel to Uppsala, Sweden, to attend the Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference.

THE FIE Conference is a major international conference focusing on educational innovations and research in engineering and computing education, leading the world in the development of new research insights and educational approaches.

“This was a great network-building opportunity for me. I loved learning about the different research areas that other people are studying across the world. I was nervous to travel so far but would encourage anyone who was hesitant to go for it because when will you get a chance to do something like this? I am thankful for the travel funding provided through the Bagley College of Engineering to attend and present my research at the FIE Conference.”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

The vice president of the Graduate Student Association, a chemistry doctoral candidate, Chathuranga Rathnamalala has been showcased in the Office of Technology Management’s Inventor Spotlight.

BAC K T O M E N U

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

4 Chemdawgs awarded Advancing Science Grant

by NOBCChE. Four (4) students of the chemistry department

Billups, Maitreyee Rawat, Enock Amoateng,

at Mississippi State University were awarded the

and Raymond Femi Awoyemi, all doctoral

2022 Advancing Science Grant to attend the 49th

candidates in the chemistry department, also had

annual meeting of the NOBCChE (National

the opportunity to present their findings at the

Organization for the Professional Advancement of

event. The topic and the name of the presenters

Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) and for a

are given below:

podium presentation at a conference held at Rosen

Octahedral Iron complexes of Pyrazine (diamine)

Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida on September

pincers – Jaylan Billups

26th-29th, 2022. This grant allowed these

C-H functionalization of Indole with Diazoacetate

Bulldawgs to attend this conference. While there,

catalyzed by CCC-NHC Ir(III) Dimer complex

students were able to network with professional

– Maitreyee Rawat

chemists and chemical engineers who shared their

Intermediate in the metalation/transmetalation

ideas and knowledge with these advancing science

sequence: a mixed valent CCC-NHC Rh(III)/Rh(I)

grant recipients.

complex, synthesis and characterization, and initial

NOBCChE

Advancing

Science

Grant

reactivity. – Enock Amoateng

Recipients are selected based on research activity

Polyaniline analogues for corrosion protection of

and interest in the fellowship. The quartets of Jaylan

AISI 4130 steel – Raymond Femi Awoyemi.

Raymond Femi Awoyemi

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Raymond Femi Awoyemi, a Ph.D. student in Chemistry, was selected to participate in the ACS Bridge Project – ACS Career Kick-Starter (CKS) workshop, which took place in Washington, DC last month.

The workshop was launched in 2018 with a grant from the NSF to provide ACS Bridge Fellows, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who are underrepresented in the chemical sciences with the tools to conduct a successful career search and build a sense of community among participants.

The workshop encourages Black, Latinx, and Indigenous individuals to find their first job in US governmental, non-profit, academic, or industrial organizations. By developing attendees’ interpersonal and communication skills, participants are more knowledgeable on how to communicate in both professional and personal settings.

Raymond said he was excited to have been selected as one of the graduate students to participate in the workshop because it will significantly impact his career in a positive way.

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EVENTS

BAC K T O M E N U

EVENTS

CHIL THRILLE

LLER ERAMA

BAC K T O M E N U

EVENTS

Thank you to all who attended this year’s Halloween Open House, Chiller Thrillerama!

As you can tell from the video, it was full of fun, laughter, and a few frights!

We hope to see you again next year... if you dare.

BAC K T O M E N U

EVENTS

EVENTS

BAC K T O M E N U

NEWS

FALL 2022

PHD HOODING CEREMONY On De c e m be r 8t h , 7 3 p e o p l e p ro u d l y re c e i ve d t h e ir we l l - e a r ne d P h . D .

We h on or al l of t h e new g ra d ua t e s , a nd are prou d o f yo u r h a rd wo r k !

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NEWS

Congrat s ,

, D oct ors!

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NEWS

Rebecca Bracken

MSU GRADUATE STUDENT HONORED WITH

PHI KAPPA PHI NATIONAL LOVE OF LEARNING AWARD

A Mississippi State doctoral student in members nationally to receive its annual Love the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and of Learning Award, a $500 post-baccalaureate Aquaculture is being honored with an award professional development grant. Bracken was from the nation’s oldest and most selective first inducted into PKP during her master’s collegiate honor society.

program at Texas State University in 2014 and

Rebecca Bracken, who soon will defend was reinstated in 2020 during her doctoral her dissertation, is one of 200 Phi Kappa Phi program at MSU.

NEWS

“This is the second award I’ve received

“I

wasn’t

from Phi Kappa Phi, the first being the opportunities

aware

of

offered

the

award

through

Phi

Graduate Research Award last year,” Kappa Phi, but hearing about them from Bracken said. “The monetary support my advisor gave me that push to renew from that award helped me fund outreach my membership,” she said. workshops

for

undergraduates,

and

Rush, a former president of MSU’s

this year I will be able to continue that PKP chapter, thought Bracken would be outreach and also attend an upcoming a strong candidate.

“A lot of graduate students aren’t

conference.”

Originally a pre-vet major at Miami aware of

award opportunities that

University of Ohio, Bracken discovered academic societies offer, so when her enjoyment of working outdoors and someone deserving, like Rebecca, comes decided to shift her academic focus, along, you certainly want to encourage graduating with a B.S. in Zoology and them to apply,” Rush said.

Bracken said she is grateful for

going on to earn an M.S. in Biology.

In her doctoral studies under advisor the recognition and the professional and associate professor Scott Rush, opportunities the award will support.

Bracken has studied the effects of silvicultural working

management

forests

on

in

“It’s always rewarding to be recognized

private for your work, and I will certainly benefit

breeding

and from the financial support, but this also

wintering passerines, or birds that perch. has been a great experience in learning With her research focused on assessing how to market myself,” she said. “When wildlife-habitat relationships, she has you’re honored by people who don’t worked on banding birds over the winter know you and judge you only on your to identify how different species use application, it means a lot.” the forest and to investigate parasite prevalence in overwintering birds.

For more on the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture in

Bracken credits Rush for encouraging MSU’s College of Forest Resources, her to reinstate her membership as a visit www.cfr.msstate.edu/wildlife. doctoral student.

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NEWS

NEWS

Jeremy Montgomery racked up experience as both a graduate teaching assistant in his department and a graduate service assistant for the MSU Graduate School. Knowing his tuition would be fully covered, he said, would be “a big stress reliever.”

Our own Jeremy Montgomery was part of a feautrure in the latest Alumnus Magazine Fall 2022 issue. Please view the full story here.

BAC K T O M E N U

NEWS

MSU PHI KAPPA PHI WINS FIFTH CONSECUTIVE CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE AWARD AS NATIONAL MODEL CHAPTER Mississippi State’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter since the awards program’s inception in 2018 once again is being nationally honored with and has been looked to as a national model by a Circle of Excellence Platinum Award other university chapters across the country. from the nation’s oldest and most selective The 2022-2023 award honors the MSU chapter multidisciplinary collegiate honor society. The as an excellent organization based on several Platinum Award is the highest PKP honor criteria, including its yearly initiation efforts and given to a chapter.

MSU’s chapter has been a Circle of

activities.

MSU’s PKP chapter and members have

Excellence winner for five consecutive years continued to bring recognition to the university

NEWS

with several achievements. Recently, MSU

across 325 college campuses around the

wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture doctoral

country, its territories and in the Philippines.

student Rebecca Bracken was awarded with a

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine,

PKP national Love of Learning Award; and

PKP awards nearly $1.3 million each year to

MSU Professor Missy Hopper, a former PKP

students, members, chapters and institutions

national president who also served terms in

through fellowships, awards and grants.

the president-elect and past president roles,

Membership is open to students, faculty,

was honored with a named dissertation

staff and alumni by invitation only and is highly

fellowship. In recent years, the chapter has

selective. Invitations are given only to the top

received a national Service Project Award,

10 percent of seniors and graduate students

along with additional Circle of Excellence

and 7.5 percent of juniors, as well as faculty,

Platinum and Gold awards, among other

staff and alumni with scholarly distinction that

honors.

qualify.

Peter Ryan, executive vice provost and

For more on the national organization of

dean of the MSU Graduate School, serves as

Phi Kappa Phi, visit https://www.phikappaphi.

current MSU chapter president.

org; for the MSU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi,

The honor society currently consists of

see https://pkp.org.msstate.edu/index.php.

approximately 25,000 members annually

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AWARDS MSU recognizes 41 Graduate Student Research Symposium winners More than 100 students recently showcased oral and poster presentations to a panel of MSU faculty members and researchers during the symposium. Approximately 45 faculty judges and 20 graduate student volunteers assisted with the event. Projects were divided across four categories—education, arts and sciences, and business; forest resources and veterinary medicine; agriculture and life sciences; and engineering. Winners received monetary awards—first place, $150; second place, $75; and third place, $50.

POSTERS

for interactive drought and heat stress tolerance.”

AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES DOCTORAL STUDENTS FIRST—Ramandeep Kumar Sharma, a plant and soil sciences/agronomy doctoral student from India, for “Crop-climate link in the southeastern USA: A case study on oats and sorghum.”

SECOND—Li-Dunn Chen, a life sciences/ animal physiology doctoral student from Omaha, Nebraska, for “A toad is a toad— or is it? Shedding light on the biochemical differences of three anurans using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).”

THIRD—Varsha Singh, a plant and soil sciences/weed science doctoral student from India, for “Weed-suppressing potential of sweet potato varieties under field conditions.”

AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES MASTER’S STUDENTS

Lilli Harris

FIRST—Ranadheer Reddy Vennam, a plant and soil sciences/agronomy master’s student Advisor from India, for “Post-silking water-deficit stress impact on physiology and yield in corn.”

SECOND—Sadikshya Poudel, a plant and soil sciences/agronomy master’s student from Nepal, for “Phenotyping of soybean cultivars

THIRD—Courtney Wynn, an agricultural life sciences/biochemistry master’s student from Hull, Alabama, for “‘Sweet’ silk glands: A glucose-conjugating enzyme is highly expressed in the silk glands of moths.”

EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES, AND BUSINESS DOCTORAL STUDENTS FIRST—Bipin Lamichhane, a physics doctoral student from Nepal, for “Oxidation resistance of atomically flat Cu (111) surface: A First-principles study.”

SECOND—Hashani P. Abeysinghe, a chemistry doctoral student from Sri Lanka, for “Sorption of aqueous arsenic (V) by an iron oxide/rice husk biochar composite adsorbent.”

THIRD—Brantley K. Ballenge, a kinesiology/ exercise science doctoral student from Hoover, Alabama, for “Moderation and mediation of body composition on the relationship between physical activity and arterial health.”

EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES, AND BUSINESS MASTER’S STUDENTS FIRST—Jennifer Ani, an education/school

psychology educational specialist and educational psychology/psychometry master’s student from Pleasant Grove, Alabama, for “The effects of self-monitoring on increasing performance on early numeracy skills.”

SECOND—Moshood Fagbolade, a biological sciences master’s student from Nigeria, for “Examining occidiofungin targeting of fungal actin orthologs using the S. cerevisiae shuffle strategy.”

ENGINEERING DOCTORAL STUDENTS FIRST—Sabyasachi Biswas, an electrical and computer engineering doctoral student from Bangladesh, for “Multi-target activity classification with MIMO radar.”

SECOND—Mahathir Mohammad Bappy, an industrial and systems engineering doctoral student from Bangladesh, for “Morphological dynamics-based anomaly detection towards in-situ layer-wise certification for directed energy deposition processes.”

THIRD—Madhubhashini Lakdusinghe, an engineering/chemical engineering doctoral student from Sri Lanka, for “Nanoscale self-assembly of poly(3-hexylthiophene) assisted by a low-molecular-weight gelator toward large-scale fabrication of electrically conductive networks.”

ENGINEERING MASTER’S STUDENTS FIRST—Lorena Chavarro-Chaux, a civil engineering master’s student from Colombia, for “Best management practices effectiveness on stream water quality in livestock management areas.”

SECOND—Subodh Poudel, a civil engineering master’s student from Nepal, for “Application of the HEC-HMS Model for runoff simulation of Catalpa Creek Watershed, Mississippi: Calibration, validation and model performance evaluation.”

THIRD—Reese Dunne, a mechanical engineering accelerated master’s student from Starkville, for “Development and implementation of a magnesium-based finite element degradation model for hydroxyapatite-coated orthopedic implants.”

FOREST RESOURCES AND VETERINARY MEDICINE DOCTORAL STUDENTS FIRST—Oluwabori Adekanye, a veterinary and biomedical sciences/veterinary medical research doctoral student from Nigeria, for “Carboxylesterase 1 modifies the proinflammatory phenotype of human THP-1 macrophages.”

FOREST RESOURCES AND VETERINARY MEDICINE MASTER’S STUDENTS FIRST—Kyle Dues, a forestry master’s student from Kettering, Ohio, for “A machine learning approach to stand dynamics in a threatened forest ecosystem.”

ORAL PRESENTATIONS AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES DOCTORAL STUDENTS FIRST—Josiane Argenta, a plant and soil sciences/weed science doctoral student from Brazil, for “Effect of melatonin in cotton sprayed with sublethal doses of 2, 4-D.” SECOND—Tingjun Lei, an electrical and computer engineering doctoral student from China, for “An informative planning-based multi-layer robot navigation system as applied in a poultry barn.”

THIRD—Sena Isbili, a life sciences/ entomology doctoral student from Turkey, for “Molecular cloning, mutation frequency analysis, and expression profiling of insect ryanodine receptor in soybean looper, Chrysodeixis includens.”

AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES MASTER’S STUDENTS FIRST—Dylan Lesak, a food science, nutrition and health promotion/food science and technology master’s student from Batavia, Illinois, for “Buffered dry vinegar decreases bacterial growth of refrigerated pork breakfast sausage.”

SECOND—Lovepreet Singh, a plant and soil sciences/agronomy master’s student from India, for “Genotyping-by-sequencing revealed extensive genomic diversity in bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.).”

THIRD (Tie)—Alyssa Lea Miller, a plant and soil sciences/weed science master’s student from Starkville, for “The suppressive ability of different cover crop production systems on troublesome weed species in cotton.”

ENGINEERING MASTER’S STUDENTS FIRST—William Downs, a mechanical engineering accelerated master’s student from Carrollton, for “Examining ULTEM 9085 by fused deposition modelling with a thermomechanical finite element analysis.”

SECOND—Lichang Zhu, a mechanical engineering master’s student from China, for “Two-dimensional simulation of flow in porous media using lattice Boltzmann method.”

THIRD—Javier F. Mendez Monroy, a civil engineering master’s student from Colombia, for “Best professional judgment (BPJ) evaluation considering an APEX uncertainty analysis (UA) in the Mississippi Delta region.”

FOREST RESOURCES AND VETERINARY MEDICINE DOCTORAL STUDENTS

Third (Tie)—Sadikshya Poudel, a plant and soil sciences/agronomy master’s student from Nepal, for “Detrimental effects of high daytime temperature on physiology and yield in soybean.”

FIRST—Ian Pereira Sartorio, a forest resources/forestry doctoral student from Brazil, for “Reacting to hurricane disturbances: Optimizing forest resources with a supply chain model.”

EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES, AND BUSINESS DOCTORAL STUDENTS

SECOND—Emma Schultz, a forest resources/ wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture doctoral student from Jackson, for “On the move: How animal and small unoccupied aircraft system (sUAS) movements influence survey error.”

FIRST—Sapan Luitel, a physics doctoral student from Nepal, for “E17011 experimental setup, and efficiency comparison between simulated and experimental results.”

SECOND—Saja Teeti, a physics doctoral student from Saudi Arabia, for “Rotating proton rich nuclei: the birth of proton bound rotational bands, high-spin giant proton halos and rotation induced extension of nuclear landscape.”

THIRD—Krista Ruppert, a forest resources/ wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture doctoral student from Kingwood, Texas, for “Postbreeding movement and microhabitat selection of Gopher Frogs (Rana [Lithobates] capito) on the Conecuh National Forest.”

FOREST RESOURCES AND VETERINARY MEDICINE MASTER’S STUDENTS

THIRD—Hoang Pham, a chemistry doctoral student from Vietnam, for “Synthesis of a CCC-NHC pincer Re complex: An air stable catalyst for coupling ketones with primary alcohols via borrowing hydrogen.”

FIRST—Maxwell Schrimpf, a forestry master’s student from Beavercreek, Ohio, for “Harnessing the power of CT scanning to identify changes in relative density of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda).”

ENGINEERING DOCTORAL STUDENTS

SECOND (Tie)—Bradly Thornton, a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture master’s student from Savannah, Missouri, for “Modeling avian species distributions in open pine forests in the Southeastern United States.”

FIRST—Jing Yang, an electrical and computer engineering doctoral student from China, for “A hybrid routing method in energy harvesting wireless sensor networks.”

SECOND—Anh Vo, a biomedical engineering doctoral student from Vietnam, for “Impact of lipid composition on mechanoporation and failure of complex bilayer membranes.”

THIRD—Ayantha Senanayaka, an industrial and systems engineering doctoral student from Sri Lanka, for “Similarity-based multisource transfer learning approach for time series classification.”

SECOND (Tie)—Sakar Nepal, a forestry master’s student from Nepal, for “Mississippi’s timber severance tax and its contribution to the economy.”

THIRD—James N. Helferich, a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture master’s student from Broadalbin, New York, for “Effects of climate change on individual growth rates in a threatened pit viper.”

BAC K T O M E N U

AWARDS

Mississippi State doctoral students Shaylin Williams (lef t) and Sakie Jaladha Arachchige (center) and master’s student Namia K. Stevenson (Photo by Grace Cockrell)

MSU Graduate School recognizes

THREE MINUTE THESIS WINNERS

Mississippi State’s Graduate School is awarding The other finalists receiving $200 awards for their eight students for superb research presentations presentations are: during the university’s 10th annual Three Minute —Casey Iwamoto of Seattle, Washington, a

Thesis competition.

The recent 3MT event challenged graduate forestry doctoral student, “Sustainable Pathways students to present their thesis/dissertation topics for Shortleaf Pine in Uncertain Climates.” in three minutes or less. Student presentations were judged by a panel of academic and non-academic —Amanda Mayo of Lawrenceville, Georgia, a professionals with a wide range of expertise.

geosciences master’s student, “Effectiveness of

The judges chose Sakie Jaladha Arachchige Omeka Virtual Platforms for Engaging Dunnof Sri Lanka, a mathematics and statistics doctoral Seiler Museum Audiences.” student in MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, as the new 3MT Grand Champion for her presentation —Luke Tucker of

Tupelo, Mississippi, an

“Risk prediction of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency agricultural and biological engineering doctoral by an early age among female childhood cancer student, “Local Treatment of Chronic Bone survivors.” Along with a $750 prize, Arachchige will Infections.” represent MSU in the Regional 3MT competition at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools in —Macy Gosselaar of Olathe, Kansas, a forestry Tampa, Florida in March 2023.

master’s

student,

“Impact

of

Differentially

Namia K. Stevenson of Tullahoma, Tennessee, Expressed Genes in Monoclonal and Polyclonal a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture master’s student Plantings of Populus deltoids for Agricultural in MSU’s College of Forest Resources, received the Nitrogen Mitigation.”

Grand Champion Runner-Up prize of $500 for her presentation “Saving One Amphibian at a Time: —Elizabeth Esser of Grafton, Wisconsin, a Optimizing the Transferability of ART protocols in forestry master’s student, “Using Plant Secondary Anurans.”

Metabolites to Manage Invasive Cogongrass

The audience voted Shaylin Williams of (Imperata cylindrica).”

Natchez, Mississippi, an engineering education doctoral candidate, for the $300 People’s Choice For more on MSU’s Graduate School, visit www.

Award

for

her

presentation

“Constructing grad.msstate.edu.

Knowledge on Student Motivation and Aspirations in Engineering Education Programs.”

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