Graduate School Newsletter - March 2023

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THE GRADUATE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

grad.msstate.edu

UPCOMING EVENTS Wellness Event: Chair Massages March 28 from 9:30-1, and March 29 from 10-1:30 Union Room 330

April/Last GSA General Body Meeting April 20, 6 PM | Taylor Auditorium, McCool

Enjoy a 12-minute chair massage to power through the end of the semester. Sign up is required.

The Alumni Association will come and talk about the services and benefits for graduate students. Free food will be provided.

Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/ go/60b0e48ada62eaaff2-gsawellness#/

Wellness Event: Hike at the Noxubee Refuge April 30 from 2 to 4 PM | The Refuge

Graduate School Friday Fuel Event March 31, 10-12 noon | Union Dawghouse

We will go on a group hike, journal and reflect, and do a scavenger hunt! Please email gsa@grad. msstate.edu if you need a ride and would like to carpool, or just meet us there!

Free Chick-fil-a and coffee for graduate students, as well as a reserved space to study GSA Spring Semester Reading Day Event May 3, 2023, 2-4 pm | Wise Center Parking Lot Three Minute Research Pitch April 14, 1:30 pm | Union Dawghouse

Enjoy a free cup of coffee while you take a break from studying or writing!

Undergraduate students compete in a research presentation competition. Join us to learn more about undergraduate research and vote for your people’s choice winner Graduate Student Appreciation Week Saturday, April 15 - April 21

For more information, vist the Graduate School Calendar: https://www.grad.msstate.edu/students/ graduate-school-calendar

• Student Mixer (April 15, 12-3 pm) • Service Sunday at the Humane Society (April 16) • Free Coffee (April 17, 7-10am) • Dinner Etiquette Workshop (April 18, 11:30-1pm) • Ice cream social (April 19, 2-4pm) • Resume and interview workshops, Baseball Game Cookout (April 18, 6pm) • Free headshots, and more!

DEADLINES:

TABLE OF CONTENT S AY H E L L O !

2023 Alumni Association Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Due - March 29 at 5:00 PM

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

TAGGS opens for the July 1st to December 31st, 2023, travel period – April 1, 2023

NEWS

Fall Graduate Teaching Assistant Workshop registration opens – April 5, 2023

EVENTS AWARDS

A NOTE FROM THE DEAN Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Graduate School, Welcome back to campus. We trust that you had a restful and enriching spring break, whether you opted to remain in Mississippi or journeyed elsewhere in search of a sun-kissed beach or snow-capped ski slopes.

It is time to focus on the final push toward completing the semester and the academic year. For many of you this may be your last semester and are looking forward to graduation in May, entering the workforce or continuing your graduate studies either here at Mississippi State University or at institutions in the U.S. or across the globe. Whatever stage you are in, I join with my colleagues in the Graduate School and the Graduate Faculty across campus to wish you every success as you complete your coursework, research projects and the final exams. To our spring graduates, we extend our best wishes for success in all your future endeavors.

Spring is my favorite season of the year as it ushers in new life and growth with the prospects of looking forward to the long warm summer months. This time of the year also marks a record number of students completing their degrees. At present, there are 559 students (MS= 508, EDD= 1, EdS 8, and PhD = 42) who have registered to graduate this May. It is a moment to honor the achievements of these students but also to express gratitude towards the numerous major professors, graduate committee members, academic advisors, and program coordinators who supported them in overcoming the challenges and fulfilling the requirements of their respective degree programs. Without the dedication of the faculty and staff that support the graduate education and research mission at Mississippi State University, the opportunity to embark on a new career trajectory for the soon to be graduates would not be possible.

Please note the dates and times on the Academic Calendar for the spring graduation of master’s and Educational Specialist students. Doctoral students will have a separate hooding and graduation ceremony.

The details regarding the graduation ceremony are available at the following link to the spring 2023 academic

calendar:

https://www.registrar.msstate.edu/calendars/academic-calendar/c/?year[value]

[year]=2023&semester=spring.

Once more, I would like to extend my best wishes to all our graduate students, for a fruitful culmination of your spring semester and the academic year of 2022-2023. By all indications, it has been an exceedingly successful and fulfilling year for graduate education at Mississippi State University.

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

SAY HELLO Staf f Spotlight

BRAD MORELAND Meet

Brad is the Program Coordinator for The Graduate School and is involved in a diverse range of activities and events.

One of his primary responsibilities is

Building relationships with faculty

to audit degree applicants and ensure

and staff members from different

that graduate students are on track to

departments has been a personal

graduate each semester. He achieves

highlight for Brad, as he values the

this by working closely with each

personal aspect of his job.

department, assisting with their day-today tasks and deeper problem-solving.

Finally, nothing brings Brad more joy than witnessing graduating students

Additionally, he coordinates events for

receive their diplomas. The Doctoral

the Academic Programs unit, including

graduation and hooding ceremony in

the doctoral graduation and hooding

Spring and Fall are particular highlights

ceremony and its reception, which

of his role where he witnesses firsthand

attracts over 600 guests in the Spring

the pride and joy on the graduates’

and Fall semesters. Furthermore, Brad

faces as they are hooded. The reception

organizes workshops for graduate staff

following the ceremony is a celebration

and faculty.

of

the

graduates’

achievements,

complete with delicious food and live Despite

his

busy

schedule,

Brad

music. As Brad loves to plan a party,

cherishes working in the graduate

this reception is always top-notch and

school due to the leadership that

creates memories that graduates will

encourages each member of the team

hopefully cherish.

to “own their position.” New ideas are welcomed rather than rejected, and every success is celebrated, and failures are viewed as opportunities for growth.

Brad Moreland Program Coordinator, The Graduate School at MSU

BAC K T O M E N U

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Congratulations to Our Online Graduate Student:

TRACY MORGAN, A SUCCESS STORY OF PERSEVERANCE AND DEDICATION

Online education has made it easier for students

to her studies and excelled in her coursework.

to pursue their graduate degrees while balancing their work and personal commitments. Tracy

“The online program has been a game-changer

Morgan, an instructor in the Department

for me,” said Tracy. “One thing I loved about

of Accounting at Louisiana State University,

this program was the hybrid model. The online

completed

Professional

section is like a face-to-face section which gave me

Accounting with Mississippi State University

the opportunity to sit in on the actual class. I was

Online last fall while successfully juggling work

able to see the instructor’s relationships with the

and studies and excelling in both.

students and understand their personalities.”

Tracy enrolled in the online program while

The Adkerson School of Accountancy (ASAC) is

working as a full-time teacher, at The Mississippi

leading the way as one of the first SEC accounting

Virtual Community College, and Mississippi

programs with ensuring the quality of ASAC’s

College, juggling her work and personal

online graduate education is as exceptional as that

commitments while pursuing her degree.

provided on campus, with the investment of a

Despite the challenges, she remained committed

high-tech classroom.

her

Master

of

MSU’s University Television Center consulted

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

with ASAC to design the room with a studiostyle background and lighting. Classroom cameras feature software that enables them to follow instructors’ every move. The new sound system includes

microphones

above

the

in-person

students’ desks so their online peers can hear their questions.

When asked about the challenges of balancing work and studies, Tracy emphasized the importance of time management.

“I made sure to set aside dedicated study time each week, prioritize my assignments, and projects, and made sure I gave 200%,” she said.

Tracy’s dedication and perseverance paid off. She credits the support of her professors and the online community for her success in completing the program.

“The online program provided me with a supportive community of professors and peers who encouraged me and pushed me to succeed,” said Tracy.

Tracy’s graduation is a testament to the possibilities that

online

education

offers

for

“We always tell ourselves, there’s going to be more time next year, in the next six months, I’ll have more time, it’s not going to hurt anything to apply. Go ahead and take that first class and try it out. Because 10 years go by and you think, oh, man, I’d be finished had I started right now, years ago, or five.

My advice is to apply, try it out, take two courses, take one course, and just see how you like it, and then you can reevaluate, but if you don’t ever try then you won’t ever know if that’s something that you can do,” - Tracy Morgan

working

professionals. It is a reminder that with dedication, perseverance, and the right support, anything is possible.

BAC K T O M E N U

NEWS

contexts—including bacterial infections, heart cells and gene regulation—and understand the molecular structure of materials.

The team is led by Professor of Chemistry Nicholas Fitzkee, the principal investigator of the grant, and includes MSU faculty members Joseph Emerson and Colleen Scott, associate professors of chemistry; Christopher Johnson,

MSU FACULTY GARNER $3.1 MILLION NSF GRANT TO INCREASE MISSISSIPPI’S BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

assistant professor of chemistry; and Carrie Vance, associate professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, and entomology and plant pathology.

“This 800 MHz NMR represents the strongest magnetic field available in Mississippi, and

A Mississippi State research team is the recipient of a $3.1 million Major Research Instrumentation, or MRI, grant from the National Science Foundation to increase biological and chemical research and teaching

represents a significant enhancement in our capabilities,” Fitzkee said. “This instrument will support researchers throughout Mississippi and the Southeast, enabling new research avenues in biomolecular interactions, organometallic

in Mississippi.

chemistry and polymeric materials.”

The three-year NSF grant—“MRI: Acquisition

Fitzkee said in NMR, stronger magnetic fields

of the First 800 MHz NMR with Cryoprobe in the State of Mississippi for Biological and Chemical Research and Teaching”—will fund the installation of a high-field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, or NMR, spectrometer at MSU. The instrument will allow scientists to study the function of molecules in different biological

are desirable because high-field instruments offer “significantly increased sensitivity and spectral resolution.”

“The higher resolution and sensitivity of this instrument will enable biomolecular and chemical research currently not possible in

NEWS

Mississippi,” Fitzkee said. “This can lead to

hands-on training on the instrument.

improved detection of molecules that are present at very low concentrations. It can

Students will be able to access the new

also lead to an improved understanding of

instrument firsthand through university course

complex mixtures where many spectral signals

offerings, including Theory of Solution NMR

overlap.”

Spectroscopy and Environmental Chemistry, which will feature instrument installation and

Future collaborative research projects will

helium use.

explore how microorganisms attach to surfaces, understand how ion channels are regulated

A total of 19 investigators, 64 graduate

in the heart, characterize the mechanism of

and 72 undergraduate students, and seven

metal-ion-based gene regulation and monitor

postdoctoral trainees will be directly impacted

how small molecules respond to changes in

by this project, in addition to other users who

metabolism.

benefit through MSU classes and workshops.

The instrument also will be available to users

MSU’s Vance said, “The enhanced sensitivity

throughout the Southeast as a key analytical

of the new NMR and its specialized probes

resource.

will allow us to identify concentration changes in key metabolites in biological samples.

Part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the

These metabolites are important biomarkers,

chemistry department was founded in 1878

and the new NMR will help us understand

and hosts the oldest American Chemical

how organisms respond to disease agents or

Society accredited program in the state.

stressors.”

Chemical researchers will use the instrument

Complete details about the College of Arts

to develop new methods for synthesizing

and Sciences or the chemistry department

polymeric and organometallic materials.

are available at www.cas.msstate.edu or

Data collected on the new 800 MHz NMR will

www.chemistry.msstate.edu.

be shared at scientific meetings and in peerreviewed publications, and undergraduate researchers in chemistry will receive

BAC K T O M E N U

NEWS

MSU GRADUATE STUDENTS, CATCHOT HONORED AT NATIONAL COTTON CONFERENCE Six Mississippi State students and a faculty

students, who all are from the entomology

member are recent award winners at the 2023

program in the university’s Department of

Beltwide Cotton Conference, known as the world’s

Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology

largest cotton technology transfer conference.

and Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Coordinated by the National Cotton Council, the event includes 12 technical conferences,

“We are proud to have six students place out of

including the Beltwide Cotton Insect Research

the eight categories we participated in,” Crow

and

said. “These students have all taken the time to

Control

Conference,

where

MSU

demonstrated a strong showing.

practice and ask for assistance in improving their public speaking and scientific communication

Whitney

Crow,

assistant

professor

of

skills to prepare a high quality presentation.”

entomology, serves as advisor to many of the

MSU graduate student winners at the 2023 Beltwide Cotton Conference include, left to right, Michael Huoni, Leland; Brett Farmer, Greenwood; Mary Jane Lytle, Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Judge Fortenberry, Calhoun, Louisiana; Thomas Paul, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; and Sawyer Hopkins, Selma, Alabama. (Photo submitted)

NEWS

IN THE THREE ORAL MASTER’S SECTIONS, MSU STUDENT WINNERS INCLUDE: Michael Huoni, of Leland, first place, section one; Judge Fortenberry of Calhoun, Louisiana, first place, section two; Thomas G. Paul of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, first place, section three; Walker “Brett” Farmer of Greenwood, second place, section one; and Sawyer Clayton Hopkins of Selma, Alabama, second place, section three.

In one of two Ph.D. divisions, doctoral student Mary Jane Lytle of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, also placed first.

Angus Catchot, associate director of MSU’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and interim head of the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center, was honored with the Excellence in Integrated Pest Management Award recognizing individuals who have made substantial contributions in this field.

“I am proud of the students who represented Mississippi State so well and their faculty mentors,” said Jeff Gore, professor and head at MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center. “It was particularly rewarding to see Dr. Angus Catchot recognized.”

For more information on MSU’s entomology program, visit www.entomology.msstate.edu.

BAC K T O M E N U

EVENTS

We'’ d be jambalayin'’ if we said

MARDI GRAD OP

We celebrated Mardi Gras the Graduate School way! In the lobby of Allen Hall we off along with masks and beads to all students, staff, and faculty. We were overwhe

d we didn’ ' t have a good time!

PEN HOUSE 2023

fered a Mardi Grad experience to remember with complementary gumbo and king cake, elmed by the turnout and participation from both prospective and current students.

BAC K T O M E N U

EVENTS

Rohini Maram, Ramyasri Veerapaneni, Monika Jayakumar, Tamanna Rashme, Chiquita Price, Lorena Benavides Riano, Akhilesh Sriram, Ruchitha Yadav Prakash, Htet Lin Naing, Shaylin Williams, Casey Iwamoto, Amoni Washington, TatuTaylor, Trey Griggs

GSA WELLNESS EVENT The Graduate Student Association designed

Students enjoyed a day full of hiking, journaling,

the Wilderness Wellness Event at the Sam D.

building connections, and creating a sense of

Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge

community.

to promote the physical, and emotional wellbeing of graduate students at Mississippi State University.

For information on future wellness activities contact Lilli Harris at lharris@grad.msstate.edu

EVENTS

Mississippi State University’s Graduate School held its first

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT AND DIVERSE SCHOLARS DAY (GRADS Day)

on February 27, 2023.

The mission of GRADS Day is to recruit students from underrepresented groups and offer information about graduate programs, admission requirements, and funding opportunities.

The goal of the event is to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for prospective students from diverse backgrounds, including students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, and first-generation students.

The event included a variety of activities such as presentations, panel discussions, networking sessions, campus tours, and meetings with current graduate students and faculty members.

BAC K T O M E N U

EVENTS

EVENTS

EVENTS

ASK A GRAD:

GET READY, GRAD BULLDOGS! Alexis Jackson, a former graduate/master’s student in clinical mental health counseling and a current doctoral student in human development and family science, at Mississippi State University, is hitting the campus streets to ask graduate students about their experiences at MSU. In exchange, The Graduate

School

is

giving

away #AskAGrad merch for student participation.

Follow @msstategrads to be featured and win an Ask A Grad t-shirt!

BAC K T O M E N U

AWARDS

IMAGE RESEAR

OF RCH

Of the 38 submissions, judges narrowed it down to a subset of 15. Of these, winners will be selected in the following categories.

Adonte Knight In Light of the Storm Casey Iwamoto The kaleidoscopic composition of soil Daniel Dillon From Past to Present: Analyzing Social Collapse in Mycenaean Greece Elise Adams Deciphering Structural Violence Through Time Since Death and Demographic Data Haley N. Williams Another Yeast Bites the Must Htet Lin Naing A forest nested in a forest Krista Ruppert The Worth of a Frog in the Hand Lacy Dolan Bear Cub Playground Larra Myron Diboyan Rebuilding Memory in Diaspora: The Yotnakhparian’s After the Armenian Genocide Li-Dunn Chen Life in a Sea of Death Madalyn Stoecker Life blooms amongst regrowth Natasha Murphy First day: An Osprey has hatched Nicholas Fry Fingers of Dewed Slime Mold, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa Zonia Elizabeth Caro Carvajal Ensuring food safety and public health trough microbiological detection of mold Saida Zinnurine Illuminating the unseen First prize: $300 Second prize: $200 People’s Choice award: $150 Honorable mention: $50 Don’t miss your chance to see research in a whole new light and be sure to vote on your favorite. Winners will be announced on March 28 and the exhibition will close on March 31.

BAC K T O M E N U

AWARDS

Spring GRADUATE SYMPOSIUM

g 2023 E RESEARCH M WINNERS

AWARDS

BAC K T O M E N U

AWARDS

2022 3MT

GRAND CHAMPION Sakie Jaladha Arachchige of Sri Lanka, a mathematics and statistics doctoral student in MSU’s College

of Arts and Sciences, was announced the 2022 3MT Grand Champion last fall for her presentation “Risk prediction of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency by an early age among female childhood cancer survivors.” Along with a $750 prize, Arachchige represented MSU against 52 institutions at the Regional 3MT competition at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools in Tampa, Florida on March 3, 2023.

To view her and other finalists presentations click here, https://youtu.be/UT4Kxkgr-hE.

AWARDS

DISTINGUISHED ENGINEERING RECOGNITION BCOE STUDENT HALL OF FAME

Since 2007, the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering has inducted outstanding students into the Student Hall of Fame.

This semester two of the eight were graduate students, Lorena Chavarro Chaux, master’s candidate, civil engineering, specialization in water resources and Shaylin Williams, doctoral candidate, engineering education. Both were selected based on their ability to maintain excellent academic records while engaging in a variety of work experiences and student activities.

BAC K T O M E N U

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