BROOKINGS A unique opportunity has been given to 14 undergraduate students by the South Dakota State University College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The students were awarded grants that will allow them to conduct a research project under the mentorship of a college faculty member.
The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is committed to providing undergraduate students the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills by conducting research projects, Jim Connors, associate dean and director of academic programs, said. This program fulfills SDSUs strategic plan and promise to students to provide a transformative education by offering high-impact opportunities.
Students work with a faculty member mentor to develop their research proposal and application in the spring for research to be conducted in the following school year. The research will be conducted in the faculty mentors lab, allowing them to support the students throughout the research process. This year, all six of the colleges departments are represented by either an undergraduate awardee or their mentor.
All submissions for the Undergraduate Research Program are reviewed by Connors and other college leaders over the summer, and the chosen research projects begin shortly after school starts in the fall. During the spring semester of the research project, students present their work as part of a poster session at the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Day, an annual event celebrating all undergraduate research at SDSU.
In 2024, the colleges Undergraduate Research Program was revitalized, and since then more than $50,000 has been awarded to projects through the program, funded by three different research awards: the Gary and Theresa Lemme Undergraduate Research Award (1), the Orville and Enolia Bentley Undergraduate Research Award (3) and the Dehaan Endowed Program (10).
Getting students involved with research at the undergraduate level allows them the opportunity to learn and grow their critical thinking as well as apply the skills learned in the classroom, John Blanton, associate dean of research for the college and director of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, said. Engaging in research also helps students clarify career goals, strengthen graduate school applications and build a strong foundation for lifelong learning and innovation.
Awardees
Brindy Bolander, Winner; Natural Resource Management
Project: using stable isotopes to determine the effect of hypoxia on Largemouth Bass diets
Mentor: David Coulter, Natural Resource Management
Shelby Brosh, Estherville, Iowa; Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science
Project: High-throughput assay for arabinoxylan quantification in wheat
Mentor: Gengjun Chen, Dairy and Food Science
Gwendlynne Brown, Pillager; Animal Science
Project: Testing the efficacy of 3D bovine placental organoids for in vitro research streams
Mentor: Rebecca Swanson, Animal Science
Claire Galvin, Ames, Iowa; Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science
Project: Dissecting the speciation within Pantonea genus to determine pathogenicity and virulence
Mentor: Madalyn Shires, SDSU Extension
Lily Geffre, Sioux Falls; Natural Resource Management
Project: Evaluating the effects of biochar-based slow-release nitrogen fertilizers on camelina growth and development
Mentor: Yajun Wu, Biology and Microbiology
Brooklyn Goelz, Pipestone, Minnesota; Animal Science
Project: Effects of water-based yeast bioactive supplementation (Maxi-Nutrio) on weaned pig growth and performance and health during the nursery
Mentor: Crystal Levesque, Animal Science
Ethan Gullickson, Sioux Falls; Natural Resource Management
Project: Exploring plant-based rare earth elements extraction from coal mine waste
Mentor: Lan Xu, Natural Resource Management
Micah Hunter, Riceville, Iowa; Natural Resource Management
Project: The old and the new: A comparison of the efficacy of avian point counts and acoustic surveys for the declining Pinyon jay
Mentor: Amanda Cheeseman, Natural Resource Management
Cale Seaton, Iowa City, Iowa; Dairy and Food Science
Project: Effects of a nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug on blood leukocyte count before and after a mastitis challenge in early postpartum dairy cows
Mentor: Tony Bruinj, Dairy and Food Science
Gretta Larson, Lake Preston; Animal Science
Project: Determining the effects of 5-hydroxytriptamine on follicular and luteal growth and function in cows
Mentor: Rebecca Swanson, Animal Science
Gabriel Lee, Irvine, California; Biology and Microbiology
Project: Enhancing UC-C (254 nm) radiation for surface sanitation using LiDAR-based 3D imaging
Mentor: Ren Yang, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Alexis Stolicker, Box Elder; Animal Science
Project: Utilizing the matrix-assisted laser detection ionization time of flight mass spectrometry to identify carbapenem-resistant bacteria
Mentor: David Knudsen, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences/Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory
Chiara Thompson, Forest City, Iowa; Animal Science
Project: Embryo development, cleavage and blastocyst rate affect by sires
Mentor: Jessica Drum, SDSU Extension
Cornelius Zhao Yu Chong, Kajang, Malaysia; Dairy and Food Science
Project: Ecological persistence of salmonella enyterica enteritidis in multispecies biofilks under simulated dairy processing conditions
Mentor: Sanjeev Anand, Dairy and Food Science
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