Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) is pleased to announce the Graduate Student Research Grant projects recommended for funding for 2022. Thirty-one projects were selected for a total of $458,042.
Connecticut
Katherine Michels and advisor Amity Doolittle of Yale University were awarded $14,999 for the project, "Vermont Farmers’ Land Ethics: Stories from the Ground Up.”
Ragini Reddyvari and advisor Mary Anne Amalaradjou of University of Connecticut were awarded $15,000 for the project, "Controlling Salmonella on eggs using probiotics and postbiotics.”
Delaware
Thabu Mugala and advisor Dr. Michael Crossley of University of Delaware were awarded $15,000 for the project, "Promoting natural suppression of slugs using local parasitic nematodes."
Massachusetts
Sandra DiDonato and advisor Brian Gareau of Boston College were awarded $13,913 for the project, "Farmer Engagement with Regenerative Agriculture in New England: Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Improve Services and Outreach."
Arthur Siller and advisor Masoud Hashemi of University of Massachusetts - Amherst were awarded $14,955 for the project, "Performance and agronomic management of crabgrass to meet summer forage shortfalls in the Northeast."
Alexandra Smychkovich and advisor Masoud Hashemi of University of Massachusetts Amherst were awarded $14,981 for the project, "Evaluating decomposition trends and effects of fall planted annual CC on spring soil active carbon in the Northeast."
Maine
Katie Ashley and advisor Dr. Jianjun Hao of University of Maine were awarded $14,620 for the project, "Investigating Lobster Byproducts as Soil Amendments for Disease Suppression and Soil Health Improvement in Potato Production."
New Hampshire
Palash Mandal and advisor Richard Smith of University of New Hampshire were awarded $14,997 for the project, "Cutting Management Approaches to Understand Phytoestrogens Accumulation in Forage Legume Species Used in Dairy Production Systems."
New Jersey
Tori Rosen and advisor James Simon of Rutgers University were awarded $14,685 for the project, "Standardizing Farming Practices of Leafy Green Amaranth in the Northeast to Ensure Cultural Availability and Nutrient Density.”
Yahel Ben-Zvi and advisor Dr. Cesar Rodriguez-Saona of Rutgers University were awarded $14,984 for the project, "Monitoring beneficial insects with plant volatiles: a landscape approach."
Katarzyna Madalinska and advisor Anne Nielsen of Rutgers University were awarded $14,969 for the project, "Insecticide Efficacy Trial in Vineyards Against Spotted Lanternfly Adults.”
Michael Monzon and advisor George Hamilton of Rutgers University, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station were awarded $14,859 for the project, "Surveying an insect collection from a 17th-century Northeastern agrarian settlement to determine changes in beneficial insects, pests, and climate.”
Anna Waltman and advisor Anne Nielsen of Rutgers University were awarded $15,000 for the project, "Influences of habitat-level crop diversity on community dynamics of pentatomids and their parasitoids in New Jersey."
New York
Sydney Jewell and advisor Heather Huson of Cornell University were awarded $15,000 for the project, "Epigenetic Inheritance of Maternal Disease Status in Dairy Cattle and Effect on Offspring Performance."
Hongrui Wang and advisor Jason Londo of Cornell University were awarded $14,226 for the project, "Evaluation of tetralone abscisic acid as a novel budbreak delay and spring frost damage mitigation product in vineyards."
Pennsylvania
Max Aleman and advisor Kevin Hockett of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,997 for the project, "Determining the Impact Changing Host Metabolism has on Leaf Associated Microbiomes for Improved Efficacy of Foliar Biopesticides."
Camila Gonzalez Arango and advisor Dr. Juliana Vasco-Correa of Pennsylvania State University were awarded 15,000.00 for the project, "Engineering Design of Pilot Biofilters for Ventilation Air Methane Abatement Via Biological Oxidation."
Chelsea Becker and advisor Elizabeth Hines of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $13,560 for the project, "Evaluating the impact of housing on pork quality and slaughter day stress.”
David Campbell and advisor Joshua Lambert of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,737 for the project, "Characterizing Environmental Drivers of Phenolic Extractability in Wine Grapes."
Magni Hussain and advisor Long He of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,941 for the project, "Robotic System for Green Fruit Thinning in Apple Orchards."
Jorge Luis Jaramillo Gonzalez and advisor Sara Hermann of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,994 for the project, "Understanding the potential for biological control and pest management in industrial hemp cropping systems."
Anne Johnson and advisor Kelli Hoover of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,876 for the project, "Sustainable Management of Spotted Lanternfly by Native and Naturalized Predators."
Zoelie Rivera Ocasio and advisor Charles White of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,889 for the project, "Understanding the Effects of Cover Crops and Nutrient Management on Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency and Nitrogen Mineralization."
Emma Rice and advisor Carolyn Lowry of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,998 for the project, "Balancing weeds, nitrogen, and soil health in cover crop mixtures."
Alanna Staffin and advisor Kevin Harvatine of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,291 for the project, "The Effect of Fat Supplementation on Milk Fat Melting Temperature."
Codey Mathis and advisor Dr. Christina Grozinger of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $15,000 for the project, “Building for bees: the effect of plant arrangement on pollinator communities in managed habitat."
Xinyang Mu and advisor Long He of Pennsylvania State University were awarded $14,999 for the project, "Advancing Robotic Approaches to Precise Apple Crop Load Management."
Rhode Island
Nicole Hagan and advisor John Taylor of University of Rhode Island were awarded $14,990 for the project, "Cultivation of Native Productive Plants in Urban Agroforestry Systems in the U.S. Northeast: Perceptions and Barriers."
Vermont
Jasmine Hart and advisor Eric Bishop-von Wettberg of University of Vermont were awarded $14,999 for the project, “Warm Season Legumes as an Alternative Forage in the Northeast United States.”
Sandra Nnadi and advisor Jeanne Harris of The University of Vermont were awarded $14,938.00 for the project, "Effect of Mycorrhizal Fungi on Blueberry Fruit Anthocyanin Content."
West Virginia
Kelsey Bentley and advisor Scott Bowdridge West Virginia University were awarded $15,000 for the project, "Improving immune competence and disease resistance in sheep by selecting for parasite resistance.”