by Lana Koepke Johnson | Agronomy and Horticulture
The Agronomy and Horticulture Graduate Student Association in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture hosted the 2025 departmental Elevator Speech Contest Feb. 11.
Graduate students Vipin Kumar, Somdatta Achar and Molly Boyd earned first, second and third place respectively. They will participate in the annual interdepartmental Elevator Speech Contest with the Department of Plant Pathology, the Department of Entomology and the Department of Animal Sciences on Feb. 28 in the Nebraska East Union.
Sai Subhash Mahamkali V. S., Bibash Rokaya, Harshita Mangal and Noshin Ara also competed.
Contestants have three minutes to concisely, yet conversationally, talk about their research.
Kumar’s speech was title “Fighting Palmer amaranth with Cover Crops.” His research focuses on how best to utilize cover crops for control of Palmer amaranth, one of the most problematic weeds for corn and soybean producers across the United States.
Achar’s speech was titled “Evaluating the potential of perennial cover crops in corn-soybean rotations to improve carbon intensity and environmental outcomes.” Her research focuses on growing cash crops in between the rows of perennial cover crops and its potential to provide multiple ecosystem benefits including improved soil health, nutrient retention, erosion control, weed control, carbon restoration and more. Her research also aims at finding out best management practices such as perennial grass suppression, stover removal and fertilizer application for the system to reduce grain yield loss due to competition between the cash crop and the perennial covers.
Boyd’s speech was titled “The marvelous, multi-tasking milpa.” Milpa is an intercropping system that can provide several ecological benefits with little to no maintenance. Her research focuses on soil health improvement, pollinator support and productivity.
Asked why they participated in the contest, all students said it was to enhance their ability to deliver a clear, concise and engaging presentation of their complex research to people from different backgrounds. The contest also gave them a chance to refine their research communication skills and improve their public speaking abilities.
“The actual achievement was to gain the confidence, skill and aspiration on the way to this event,” Achar said.
“The elevator speech contest is a fantastic initiative because it provides students with an opportunity to engage with their audience on a more human level, build confidence, and develop more wholistically as communicators,” said Christine Booth, lecturer and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Science Communication Hub coordinator. “It also requires students to have a very deep understanding of their research and provides an approachable opportunity to really showcase all the great work that is being done across different departments in IANR.”
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/9h67