Eight Department of Agronomy and Horticulture graduate students and a plant biology major were honored with awards from the Nebraska Center for Biotechnology, Agricultural Research Division and the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
The Nebraska Center for Biotechnology awarded Ryleigh Grove, a junior plant biology major, with the Milton E. Mohr Biotechnology Scholarship award. Alyssa Hall, agronomy and horticulture doctoral candidate, received the Milton E. Mohr Biotechnology Fellowship Award.
The Milton E. Mohr Biotechnology Awards program recognizes outstanding undergraduate and graduate students in the sciences of biotechnology and engineering based on their academic performance and potential for accomplishments in their specific field. This program was established in 1989 for students in the College of Engineering or biotechnology degree programs. The scholarships and fellowships are made possible through an endowment to the University Foundation.
Grove is advised by Christian Elowsky, agronomy and horticulture assistant professor of practice. She plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in December 2025. Having been involved in research with agronomy and horticulture professor James Schnable’s lab since high school, she plans to pursue a doctoral degree through Nebraska Complex Biosystems beginning January 2026. Her dream career involves research in comparative genomics between environmental conditions on Earth versus outer space.
Hall’s research focuses on integrated crop-livestock systems looking at how grazing cattle on corn stalks and cover crops impact the soil and plant characteristics in the cropping systems. She is advised by agronomy and horticulture professor Daren Redfearn and will graduate May 2025. She plans to use her passion for agriculture and education to help farmers make the best decisions possible for their operations.
Hall, Bridget McKinley and Vipin Kumar received the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Milton E. Mohr Fellowship in Agriculture. This fellowship recognizes exceptional graduate students based on academic and scholastic achievement or promise.
McKinley, agronomy and horticulture master’s student, is advised by agronomy and horticulture associate professor Andrea Basche. Her research centers on a cover crop variety trial, examining both aboveground and belowground productivity. By evaluating different cover crop varieties, this study aims to uncover insights that can enhance soil health, optimize biomass use and support sustainable agricultural practices. McKinley will graduate December 2024 and plans to pursue a career in agricultural outreach and community education.
Kumar, agronomy and horticulture doctoral student specializing in weed science, is advised by agronomy and horticulture professor and associate department head Amit Jhala. His research focuses on evaluating fall and spring-planted cover crops for weed suppression and their effect on soil properties in corn and soybean. Kumar plans to graduate December 2025 and continue working with farmers while pursuing weed science and integrated weed management research.
Dipesh Giri, a master’s student, and Luka Milosevic, a doctoral student, received the Agricultural Research Division John and Louise Skala Fellowship. This award recognizes exceptional graduate students engaged in research in areas relating to new industrial uses of agricultural products.
Giri’s research focuses on optimizing nitrogen fertilizer use in corn farming to increase yields while reducing environmental pollution and waste. By testing new nitrogen-saving products and methods, he aims to enhance nutrient uptake efficiency and minimize the environmental impacts of farming like water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. This work supports sustainable farming practices and protects the environment while meeting the growing demand for food and industrial crops. Ghimire is advised by agronomy and horticulture assistant professor Javed Iqbal and plans to pursue a doctoral degree after graduating May 2025.
Milosevic’s research focuses on enhancing crop productivity through hormesis – an adaptive response of cells and organisms to a moderate stress – and developing innovative weed control strategies to address modern agricultural challenges. He works closely with industry and Nebraska farmers to expand current practices and explore novel applications of alternative weed control methods such as propane flame weeding. Milosevic will graduate August 2025 and is advised by agronomy and horticulture professor Stevan Knezevic.
Yuvraj Chopra, a master’s student, received the ARD Widaman Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award. This award is for graduate students with high scholastic merit and research potential conducting basic research in agriculture.
Chopra’s research focuses on modifying cell wall composition of plants to see if it can improve biofuel production and animal feed quality. He also works to understanding the molecular basis of these growth changes and to study how sorghum lines with lignin modifications respond to water limitation. He is advised by agronomy and horticulture professor Harkamal Walia and USDA Research Molecular Biologist Scott Sattler. Chopra will graduate December 2024 and will begin working as a junior specialist in research at the University of California Riverside.
Caleb Wehrbein, a doctoral student, received the ARD Shear-Miles Agricultural Fellowship. This award is given to students with high scholastic merit and research potential in basic agriculture and are conducting either basic or applied research in agriculture.
Wehrbein works with biodegradable mulch applications and integrating cover crops into specialty cropping systems. He has explored using biodegradable mulches that crops can root through, using cover crops as windbreaks to improve mulch durability and crop yields, and exploring spatial resource competition between living mulches and mulched crop production. Wehrbein is advised by agronomy and horticulture associate professor Sam Wortman. He will graduate May 2025 and hopes to work in the cut flower industry.
Noshin Ara Tunazzina, a master’s student, received the ARD Widaman Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award. This award is for graduate students with high scholastic merit and research potential conducting basic research in agriculture.
Tunazzina, a master’s student, is advised by agronomy and horticulture professor Humberto Blanco. She plans to pursue a doctoral degree after graduating in May 2025. Her research focuses on optimizing cover crop management in the western Corn Belt's vulnerable soils – sloping or sandy croplands – to enhance soil ecosystem services. This includes evaluating early planting of cover crops and its effects on soil properties and crop yields, using nitrogen models for regional impacts, and conducting economic analyses of planting and termination dates. The goal is to develop evidence-based strategies that promote sustainable agricultural practices.
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/eh3q