Graduate School Newsletter - March 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wellness Event: Chair Massages

March 28 from 9:30-1, and March 29 from 10-1:30 Union Room 330

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

Sign up here:

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

Graduate School Friday Fuel Event

March 31, 10-12 noon | Union Dawghouse

Free Chick-fil-a and coffee for graduate students, as well as a reserved space to study

Three Minute Research Pitch

April 14, 1:30 pm | Union Dawghouse

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

• 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:

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

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

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

April/Last GSA General Body Meeting

April 20, 6 PM | Taylor Auditorium, McCool

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

Wellness Event: Hike at the Noxubee Refuge

April 30 from 2 to 4 PM | The Refuge

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!

GSA Spring Semester Reading Day Event

May 3, 2023, 2-4 pm | Wise Center Parking Lot

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

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

TABLE OF CONTENT

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

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 to audit degree applicants and ensure that graduate students are on track to graduate each semester. He achieves this by working closely with each department, assisting with their day-today tasks and deeper problem-solving.

Additionally, he coordinates events for the Academic Programs unit, including the doctoral graduation and hooding ceremony and its reception, which attracts over 600 guests in the Spring and Fall semesters. Furthermore, Brad organizes workshops for graduate staff and faculty. Despite his busy schedule, Brad cherishes working in the graduate school due to the leadership that encourages each member of the team to “own their position.” New ideas are welcomed rather than rejected, and every success is celebrated, and failures are viewed as opportunities for growth.

Building relationships with faculty and staff members from different departments has been a personal highlight for Brad, as he values the personal aspect of his job. Finally, nothing brings Brad more joy than witnessing graduating students receive their diplomas. The Doctoral graduation and hooding ceremony in Spring and Fall are particular highlights of his role where he witnesses firsthand the pride and joy on the graduates’ faces as they are hooded. The reception following the ceremony is a celebration of the graduates’ achievements, complete with delicious food and live music. As Brad loves to plan a party, this reception is always top-notch and creates memories that graduates will hopefully cherish.

Brad Moreland Program Coordinator, The Graduate School at MSU

Congratulations to Our Online Graduate Student:

TRACY MORGAN, A SUCCESS STORY OF PERSEVERANCE AND DEDICATION

Online education has made it easier for students to pursue their graduate degrees while balancing their work and personal commitments. Tracy Morgan, an instructor in the Department of Accounting at Louisiana State University, completed her Master of Professional Accounting with Mississippi State University Online last fall while successfully juggling work and studies and excelling in both.

Tracy enrolled in the online program while working as a full-time teacher, at The Mississippi Virtual Community College, and Mississippi College, juggling her work and personal commitments while pursuing her degree. Despite the challenges, she remained committed

to her studies and excelled in her coursework.

“The online program has been a game-changer for me,” said Tracy. “One thing I loved about this program was the hybrid model. The online section is like a face-to-face section which gave me the opportunity to sit in on the actual class. I was able to see the instructor’s relationships with the students and understand their personalities.”

The Adkerson School of Accountancy (ASAC) is leading the way as one of the first SEC accounting programs with ensuring the quality of ASAC’s online graduate education is as exceptional as that provided on campus, with the investment of a high-tech classroom.

MSU’s University Television Center consulted 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.

“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’s graduation is a testament to the possibilities that online education offers for working professionals. It is a reminder that with dedication, perseverance, and the right support, anything is possible.

- Tracy Morgan

TO INCREASE MISSISSIPPI’S BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

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 in Mississippi.

The three-year NSF grant—“MRI: Acquisition 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

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, 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 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 chemistry and polymeric materials.”

Fitzkee said in NMR, stronger magnetic fields 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

MSU FACULTY GARNER $3.1 MILLION NSF GRANT

Mississippi,” Fitzkee said. “This can lead to improved detection of molecules that are present at very low concentrations. It can also lead to an improved understanding of complex mixtures where many spectral signals overlap.”

Future collaborative research projects will explore how microorganisms attach to surfaces, understand how ion channels are regulated in the heart, characterize the mechanism of metal-ion-based gene regulation and monitor how small molecules respond to changes in metabolism.

MSU’s Vance said, “The enhanced sensitivity of the new NMR and its specialized probes will allow us to identify concentration changes in key metabolites in biological samples. These metabolites are important biomarkers, and the new NMR will help us understand how organisms respond to disease agents or stressors.”

hands-on training on the instrument.

Students will be able to access the new instrument firsthand through university course offerings, including Theory of Solution NMR Spectroscopy and Environmental Chemistry, which will feature instrument installation and helium use.

A total of 19 investigators, 64 graduate and 72 undergraduate students, and seven postdoctoral trainees will be directly impacted by this project, in addition to other users who benefit through MSU classes and workshops. The instrument also will be available to users throughout the Southeast as a key analytical resource.

Part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the chemistry department was founded in 1878 and hosts the oldest American Chemical Society accredited program in the state.

Chemical researchers will use the instrument to develop new methods for synthesizing polymeric and organometallic materials. Data collected on the new 800 MHz NMR will be shared at scientific meetings and in peerreviewed publications, and undergraduate researchers in chemistry will receive

Complete details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the chemistry department are available at www.cas.msstate.edu or www.chemistry.msstate.edu.

MSU GRADUATE STUDENTS, CATCHOT HONORED AT NATIONAL COTTON CONFERENCE

Six Mississippi State students and a faculty member are recent award winners at the 2023 Beltwide Cotton Conference, known as the world’s largest cotton technology transfer conference.

Coordinated by the National Cotton Council, the event includes 12 technical conferences, including the Beltwide Cotton Insect Research and Control Conference, where MSU demonstrated a strong showing.

students, who all are from the entomology program in the university’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“We are proud to have six students place out of the eight categories we participated in,” Crow said. “These students have all taken the time to practice and ask for assistance in improving their public speaking and scientific communication skills to prepare a high quality presentation.”

Whitney Crow, assistant professor of 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)

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.

We'’d be jambalayin'’ if we said

MARDI GRAD OPEN

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

said we didn’'t have a good time!

OPEN HOUSE 2023

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

GSA WELLNESS EVENT

The Graduate Student Association designed the Wilderness Wellness Event at the Sam D.

Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge to promote the physical, and emotional wellbeing of graduate students at Mississippi State University.

Students enjoyed a day full of hiking, journaling, building connections, and creating a sense of community.

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

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

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.

Mississippi State University’s Graduate School held its first

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!

IMAGE RESEARCH

OF RESEARCH

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.

Spring GRADUATE SYMPOSIUM

RESEARCH

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.

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.