Rachel Veenstra, doctoral student in agronomy and a member of the Ignacio Ciampitti lab, was awarded first place at the Crop Science Society of America societywide student competition at the International American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America annual meeting in Salt Lake City.
Veenstra presented her poster and oral presentation on the topic "Corn Tillers: Rethinking the "Sucker" Theory" authored by both Ciampitti and herself and part of her doctoral research program at K-State, sponsored by Kansas Corn and Corteva Agriscience.
This is the third year of this competition, and it is the most relevant event for all graduate students to showcase their research across all crop science disciplines, said P.V. Vara Prasad, past president for Crop Science Society of America, and Ciampitti, former chair of the societywide student competition and elected Crops Science Society of America board member.
"It is evident that Rachel Veenstra’s hard work, dedication and determination to her research has paid off by placing first at the CSSA societywide student competition," said Prasad, who alsi is director of the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab and university distinguished professor at K-State. "It is so rewarding to see the young scholars who are committed to conducting outstanding research and have excellent presentation skills. Her research on tiller development and yield responses in corn is extremely useful to producers in developing best management practices to improve yields."
The competition was held on the final day of the annual meeting. This event holds all participating divisions for crop science ranging from breeding genetics to plant physiology, management and turfgrass. Each top student participates in the competition by presenting a poster in addition to a five-minute rapid oral presentation.
This award is the highest recognition for a graduate student in crop science. There were numerous competing students from across the country who did an excellent job representing each division of the Crop Science Society of America.
The societywide student competition will continue at the international annual meeting Nov. 6-9 in Baltimore.
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