Complete Story
05/07/2008
OSC Foundation Announces Scholarship Winners for the 2008-2009 Academic Year
Contact:
Jamie Butts
Communications Director
614-476-3100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2008
OSC Foundation Announces Scholarship Winners for the 2008-2009 Academic Year
COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the Ohio Agricultural Science and Bioproducts Research Scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year. Undergraduate scholarships of $3,000 each have been awarded to Laura Bruner, Kate Gearhart, Jason Greve, Brian Herringshaw and Kara Riggs, and a Graduate scholarship of $5,000 has been awarded to Margaret Ellis.
This is the first year for the OSC Foundation's Ohio Agricultural Science and Bioproducts Scholarship Program, which was created to encourage undergraduate students to pursue careers in agricultural science and to support ongoing graduate-level research on soy-based bioproducts. The scholarships were awarded on a competitive basis to full-time students enrolled in an Ohio college or university who demonstrated a desire to pursue a career focused on the application of science and technology to agriculture.
''We were very pleased with the level of academic achievement the scholarship winners have already had in science and agriculture,'' said Kirk Merritt, OSC Foundation Director of Outreach and Programs. ''These students hold great promise to accomplish even more that will benefit many sectors of agriculture.''
Laura Bruner of Wauseon is majoring in Plant Health Management at The Ohio State University (OSU) and will be a junior in the fall of 2008. She is a member of Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honors Society, and has served as vice president and president of the Plant Health and Resource Management Forum at OSU. She was the OSU College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Top Scholar in 2006, and won third place at the International Science Fair in the area of Horticulture Science. Bruner is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology with an emphasis on genetics and molecular biology.
Kate Gearhart of Chillicothe is majoring in Plant Health Management with an area of concentration in Agronomy-Crop Science at OSU and will be a senior in the fall of 2008. She has served as secretary and vice president of the Plant Health and Resource Management Forum, and worked as a field scout for Crop Production Services, scouting 5000 acres of soybeans bi-weekly. She has also worked on a project with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, helping to screen soybeans for resistance to Phytophthora sojae. Gearhart is interested in pursing a Master's degree in Plant Pathology or Crop Science and becoming a crop consultant.
Jason Greve of Anna is majoring in Crop Science with an area of concentration in Agronomy at OSU and will be a junior in the fall of 2008. He serves as a representative on the OSU College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Student Council, and is the president of the Crops and Soils Club. During the summer of 2007, he worked as an intern with the Horticulture and Crop Sciences Department, helping to conduct glyphosate and ALS resistant Giant and Common Ragweed herbicide experiments. Greve is interested in pursing a Master's degree in Agronomy and becoming an independent crop consultant.
Brian Herringshaw of Bowling Green is majoring in Agricultural Engineering with a concentration in Mechanical studies at OSU and will be a senior in the fall of 2008. He is a member of Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honors Society, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and is currently the secretary for the Alpha Epsilon Honors Agricultural Engineering Group. He is also a representative on the OSU College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Student Council. Herringshaw has proposed a senior capstone project on methane biogestion technology, and is interested in pursuing a career as an agricultural engineer.
Kara Riggs of Sunbury is majoring in Plant Health Management with an area of concentration in Research Science, Plant and Pathogen Interactions at OSU and will be a junior in the fall of 2008. She is a member of Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honors Society, and was a Featured Student of the OSU College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She was awarded first place in the 12th annual Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum in the Division of Agriculture, and a Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Young Scientist winner. Riggs is currently pursuing research on the interactions between the spores of Phytophthora sojae and soybean roots.
Margaret Ellis of Wooster is a Ph.D. candidate in Plant Pathology at OSU. She earned her B.S. degree from the University of Illinois and her M.S. degree from Michigan State University. Her current research focuses on developing resistance in soybeans to Phythium and Fusarium, soil-borne pathogens that hinder soybean germination. Ellis is pursuing her Ph.D. with the primary focus on soybean seedling diseases.
The scholarship recipients were chosen by a scholarship selection committee, which included several OSC board members.
''This has been an exciting project for the OSC Foundation,'' said Allen Armstrong, OSC board member, OSC Foundation scholarship selection committee member and Clark County soybean farmer. ''These scholarships are great for the students, and they also help strengthen the future of Ohio's soybean industry.''
The OSC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of the Ohio soybean industry through the support of scientific research and education.
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