Four students received top awards during the Department of Entomology’s Nineteenth Annual Graduate Student Forum on August 25.
Tyler Raszick received first place for his talk titled ”Boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) population genomics as a tool for monitoring and management” and Jocelyn Holt received second place for her talk “The sugarcane aphid in the continental US”
This year’s competition ended up with a tie, with both winners receiving awards. The winners were Derek Woller for his presentation titled “Exploring the functional frontiers of genitalia morphology via synergistic imaging technologies (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Melanoplus rotundipennis)” and Pierre Lau for his talk titled “Palynological analysis of pollen collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) in developed areas in four regions of the United States”.
The forum allows the Department’s graduate students to present their latest research and to give them an opportunity to practice speaking in public and helps students to improve their skills in preparation for the Entomological Society of America/International Congress of Entomology meeting in September.
“I really appreciate all the hard work from all of our students,” Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale said. “I am proud of all of you and the tremendous amount of hard work you have done in all of your presentations.
Forum chair Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy was impressed with the amount of talent in this year’s speakers.
“I am extremely proud of all of this year’s presentations,” she said. “They all have been excellent. Congratulations to all of you!”