Plant Science and Technology

CAFNR Column Award 2025 winners

Nov. 7, 2025

2025 Column Awards recognize outstanding CAFNR alumni

The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources honored six recipients with the 2025 CAFNR Column Award for Distinguished Alumni at an event Thursday, Nov. 6. This is the only award specifically for alumni presented by the college – the highest honor bestowed by the College in celebration of outstanding alumni. The awardee class includes one graduate from each of CAFNR’s six divisions, reflecting the six historic columns at the University of Missouri. 

Cattle grazing.

Nov. 4, 2025

Mizzou researcher receives fellowship to advance pasture management technology for farmers

Bernardo Candido was one of four selected for a 2025 Taylor Geospatial Institute Planet Fellowship.

Richard Turner.

Oct. 29, 2025

Richard Turner

Tiger Garden's jungle refurbish in the Rec.

Oct. 23, 2025

A jungle in the Rec: Tiger Garden brings nature indoors

This past summer, the rec green space underwent a transformation by Hanna Souther, wedding and event coordinator at Tiger Garden, and one of her students.

Showing off the Biosecurity Outreach trailer.

Oct. 22, 2025

Mizzou researchers help farmers prevent and manage livestock losses

University of Missouri researchers have been traveling the state, leading workshops on proper and safe composting methods.

Bish and Barizon pose with award.

Oct. 6, 2025

Jeff Barizon Named Driver to Distinction

Barizon was presented with the award on Oct. 6, 2025.

Emily Althoff smiling.

Sep. 25, 2025

Q&A with Emily Althoff

Emily Althoff is an assistant extension professor and the state extension specialist of urban entomology.

Historic columns in sunlight

Sep. 10, 2025

CAFNR welcomes new faculty for Fall 2025

CAFNR welcomes 12 new faculty members.

Michelle poses with award.

Sep. 8, 2025

Michelle Brooks Named Driver to Distinction

CAFNR Vice Chancellor and Dean Christopher Daubert recognized Instructor Michelle Brooks with the CAFNR Driver to Distinction award during a surprise visit to her classroom Sept. 4, 2025. Heike Bücking, director of the Division of Plant Science and Technology; Debbie Finke, professor and associate director of the Division of Plant Science and Technology; Vicki Bryan, coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group; and David Braun, director of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group, joined Daubert for the surprise. Brooks was honored for her years of service to the Mizzou plant community’s research and teaching needs.

Erik Amezquita

Aug. 26, 2025

Erik Amézquita

I am an Assistant Professor for Data Science at the Division of Plant Science & Technology with an adjunct appointment in Math. I am mainly interested in understanding and modeling plant morphology using topological data analysis (TDA). I am also interested in morphometrics, developmental plant biology, basic image processing, directional statistics, and data science for social justice. I go by he/él pronouns.   I got my Ph.D. from the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (CMSE) at Michigan State University. I worked under the guidance of Dan Chitwood and Liz Munch. Before that, I got my math degree from the Universidad…