DPH Newsletter - July 2019
Check out the latest issue of the DPH Newsletter!
Summer 2019 Internship - Jacob Nikodym
Jacob is working at Midwest Research, Inc. in York, Nebraska. He is gaining experience in all technical aspects of conducting applied research, the application of ARM for data collection and analysis, and the practices and complications associated with research requiring the use of GLP. He is assisting with establishing and maintaining trial areas, collecting trial data and samples, and monitoring trials for changes.
Summer 2019 Internship - Lindsay Overmyer
Lindsay is working in North Dakota with DPH alumnus, Lee Briese. She is doing field assessment and construction of management recommendations, diagnosis of biotic and biotic problems in the field, expanding her knowledge of pesticide use and application and developing science-based educational videos for farmers. She will also be collecting field observations, quantifying and assessing crop health, and learning route planning and time management.
Summer 2019 Internship - Emily Stine
Emily is working at UNL’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff. Her focus this summer is on developing a science communication media campaign. The campaign hopes to take scientific and technical information and translate it into actionable and comprehensive statements for the public. She will work with current production techniques to produce videos and podcasts for UNL Extension.
Summer 2019 Internship - Amy Hauver
Amy is working with DPH alumnus, Justin McMechan, with his UNL extension and research work with the soybean gall midge. Amy helps to create extension publications, videos, and articles. She is learning to develop agronomic solutions and deliver those solutions and management strategies to growers and record weed species that are present at soybean gall midge field locations.
Amy is also experiencing different techniques and strategies involved in designing and implementing entomological research, assist other graduate students with their data collection and field work, and investigate the relationships between soybean gall midge, plants, and abiotic factors.
Dr. Lee Briese
Dr. Lee Briese
Final DPH Seminar
Science Communication in Agriculture: the Role of the Trusted Adviser
You can watch it here:
(photo credit: Craig Chandler - UNL Office of University Communication)
May 2019 Commencement
Congratulations to our most recent DPH graduates!
Dr. Christopher Wynn, Dr. Lee Briese, Dr. Sarah Blecha, & Dr. Salvador Ramirez II
(photo credit: Craig Chandler, Office of University Communication)
Striegel receives Holling Family Award for Teaching Excellence
Adam Striegel, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln Doctor of Plant Health student and an agronomy master's student specializing in weed science, received a Teaching Excellence Award.
The award is one of ten Holling Family Awards for Teaching Excellence given to Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources senior faculty, junior faculty and teaching assistants each year. All three award categories honor outstanding teaching with an emphasis on imaginative and creative teaching efforts in carrying out IANR educational programs.
Full story at: https://agronomy.unl.edu/news/striegel-receives-holling-family-award-teaching-excellence
2018 Summer Internships
Salvador Ramirez IISalvador Ramirez II—USDA-NRCS, Lincoln, NE
Salvador will be working with the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) for the summer of 2018. He will split his time working in the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory conducting chemical, physical, and biological soil tests and shadowing State Soil Scientist Neil Dominy. He plans to create a set of lectures describing soil test methodology and interpretation to either enhance existing UNL undergraduate soil and soil fertility courses, or design a course himself, drawing from his extensive teaching experience as a graduate student.
Emily StineEmily Stine—Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, CO
Emily Stine is working at Denver Botanic Gardens as the Doctor of Plant Health Horticulture Intern. Her duties include collecting data for the Arboreal Arthropod Diversity Study, hosting a weekly Plant Health Science Chat in the Science Pyramid, along with surveying and diagnosing pathogen, arthropod and nutritional concerns, including assessing tropical plant nutrition protocols in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory within the Gardens. She will be providing support to Master Gardeners along with posting regular Plant Health Highlights on the Gardens’ blog highlighting her experiences and developing resource sheets for common issues found within the Gardens. Beyond all of these tasks, she will be participating with the other interns learning about horticulture in Colorado with field trips and guest lectures. She is excited and ready to learn as much as she can over this summer.
Christopher WynnChristopher Wynn—Centrol Ag Consulting, Edgeley, ND
Chris is working with DPH student Lee Briese this summer scouting fields for weeds like kochia, pigweed, common lambsquarter, dandelion, Canada thistle, and more. He’ll also be checking for plant emergence and taking stand counts in corn and soybeans. They will also be setting and checking wireworm traps to see what kind of pressure they may have moving forward. With all this information they will create recommendations for the growers.
Chris reported: “The other day I had a shining moment. While scouting a field I noticed an area that didn't look right. I was able to quickly diagnosis the issue as herbicide damage. Further investigation led me to know that it was a growth regulator herbicide that wasn't fully rinsed out of the sprayer tank. How did I know it was from the sprayer? The affected area was around the border of the field and approximately 120 feet across, the size of the boom for many sprayers out here. Because of the DPH and the extensive training and learning we go through I was able to piece together what was going on. Knowing that we found this area, we'll keep a close eye on it and we'll see how the crop will react moving forward. There's a good chance this area will be a complete loss”.
Lee and Chris usually start their work day at 7:30am and run all day long until about 8pm or until there’s not enough light on the field to properly see what's going on-too many shadows.
Sarah Blecha Interning in Morocco
DPH student Sarah Blecha is in Morocco doing her internship with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
Sarah's plan of study includes: disease scoring wheat, visiting and helping with wheat pathologist and entomologist, help with wheat selection, wheat quality lab, learn more about pulses such as crossing and diseases, attending part of a 20 day wheat training (other breeders from around the world tour the facility and fields) and finally attend the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGIR) in Marrakech. Sarah will also give a 30-40 minute presentation about her studies and research in the US to the trainees and/or ICARDA staff towards the end of her time there.