CAFNR

April 14, 2021

Q&A With Katie Crider

Why did you decide to come to the University of Missouri and major in food science and nutrition? What do you enjoy about the program itself? The field of study? My decision to come to the University of Missouri was a fairly easy one after I visited campus and met with the CAFNR staff. Everyone I met was very friendly and made me feel very welcome. Originally, I was an animal sciences major; however, that was very short-lived when I realized that field was not for me. I quickly switched to hospitality when I discovered that I liked…
University of Missouri Extension specialists and experts work to cultivate and promote an atmosphere of lifelong learning among Missourians. Those specialists and experts work with Missourians of all ages. Here, Eric Bailey, assistant professor in the Division of Animal Sciences and state beef Extension specialist, talks with farmers and producers during a field day at the Forage Systems Research Center, located in Linneus, Mo.. Photo taken pre-COVID.

March 31, 2021

Keeping Missourians Up to Speed

Lifelong learning. It’s an essential part of Agriculture and Environment Extension’s goal of doubling the value of Missouri agriculture by 2030 while sustaining the state’s natural resources. It’s a bold goal where lifelong learning meets real people. When Ron Brown was approached to check out the Missouri Master Gardener Extension Program, he thought the opportunity to expand his already extensive gardening knowledge would only help as he worked in his home garden and a community garden in Ferguson, Mo. Brown wasn’t sure what to expect since he hadn’t been in a classroom in several years. “After…
Cindy Greenwood

March 11, 2021

Q&A With Cindy Greenwood

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? I am the Executive Assistant in the School of Natural Resources. I provide support to our Director, Dr. Patrick Market. I handle his calendar, work with faculty on promotion and tenure, annual reviews, faculty hiring/interviews, event planning, and I am the Building Coordinator for ABNR. I also am a member of the Director’s Staff Advisory Team in SNR and Co-Chair of the CAFNR Staff Council. How long have you worked in CAFNR? I started in SNR on June 1, 2015. Previously…
Faculty in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Department of Biochemistry recently received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to bring a state-of-the-art instrument to the MU campus – a Chirascan V100 circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer. Photo courtesy of Kamal Singh.

Feb. 8, 2021

A State-of-the-Art Instrument

Faculty in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Department of Biochemistry recently received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to bring a state-of-the-art instrument to the MU campus – a Chirascan V100 circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer. The spectrometer is a widely applicable biochemical method for probing the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, and nucleic acids in solution. The instrument will be housed at the Molecular Interactions Core, located in the Bond Life Sciences Center on the MU campus. It will be available for users across Mizzou on a fee-per-use basis.
Pavel Somavat joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Food Systems and Bioengineering (FSB) this year as an assistant professor of food science/biomedical, biological and chemical engineering. Somavat taught courses in food science and researched natural food colors, grain and biomass processing at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley before joining CAFNR. Somavat was at CCS Haryana Agricultural University before joining the faculty at Rio Grande Valley. Photo courtesy of Pavel Somavat.

Dec. 13, 2020

Working to Benefit Society

Pavel Somavat spent four years teaching electrical engineering at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, a land-grant university located in India. Somavat enjoyed the underlying philosophy and offerings of the land-grant system – and when he had an opportunity to take a faculty position at one of the two land-grant universities in Missouri, he jumped at the chance. Somavat joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Food Systems and Bioengineering (FSB) this year as an assistant professor of food science/biomedical, biological and chemical engineering. Somavat taught courses in food science and researched…
Laura outside smiling.

Dec. 10, 2020

Q&A With Laura Friedrich

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? I am a student services coordinator — so I always say my job is to help students (and families) get from where they are today to graduation. Whether that’s advising students, helping them change their major, declaring a minor, withdrawing from classes, or reviewing and submitting graduation plans. I’m also the lucky person who gets to read names at graduation. A more fun part is officially awarding the degrees to graduates in the college based on their submitted grad plans. How long…
Hannah Hemmelgarn speaks during a past organic field day event. Photo taken pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

Nov. 12, 2020

Q&A With Hannah Hemmelgarn

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? As the Center for Agroforestry’s outreach and education coordinator, I develop informational materials like the Agroforestry Podcast and monthly newsletters, and I organize and execute a number of events. The Agroforestry Academy, an annual week-long intensive train-the-trainer program, is one of our most recognized offerings. We’re also looking forward to the upcoming Agroforestry Symposium, which will take place January 28-30, 2021; this year’s theme is Community Health and Resilient Food Systems. How long have you worked in CAFNR? I’ve…
In an effort to offer CAFNR students an international experience from Columbia, Shanon Dickerson and the CAFNR Office of Academic Programs have developed the Go Global! campaign. The main focus of the campaign is on virtual internships and preparing students for future study abroad experiences.

Nov. 10, 2020

Going Global (Virtually)

Being adaptable is a major role for a director of study abroad at a university. Directors deal with program changes, passports that need updated at the last minute and students who miss their flights, among with many other important matters. Shanon Dickerson understands that serving as CAFNR director of study abroad requires her to think outside of the box quite often. That mindset has been even more important as international travel has been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to offer CAFNR students an international experience from Columbia, Dickerson and the CAFNR Office of…
Picture of the faculty of the Department of Animal Husbandry at the University of Missouri taken in 1928 or 1929. Front row (left to right) - Jim Burch, Jim Foster, Frederick B. Mumford, EA Trowbridge, and Fred F. McKenzie; Middle row (left to right) – L.A. Weaver, T.A. Ewing, A.G. Hogan, and D. Chittenden; Back row (left to right) L.E. Casida (PhD student), H. Garlock, H. Moffett, and J.E. Comfort.

Oct. 27, 2020

Reflections: Mike Smith

It has been my privilege to serve on the faculty of the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri for 40 years. In particular, I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Bill Day, who I met as a PhD student at Texas A&M University. He was a member of a review team that evaluated the reproductive physiology program at A&M and he encouraged me to apply for a research/teaching position in beef cattle reproduction in the Department of Animal Husbandry. At the time, I questioned whether I was ready to initiate an independent research program, but…
Awards

Oct. 26, 2020

CAFNR Proud, Column Strong

The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources has honored the 2020 recipients of the CAFNR Column Award for Distinguished Alumni. Although the recognition process looks different for this year, CAFNR’s outstanding alumni were still celebrated for their notable accomplishments. The Column Awards are the highest honor given by the College to recognize outstanding achievements of its accomplished alumni. The awardees represent graduates from each of CAFNR’s six divisions, reflecting the six historic columns at the University of Missouri. Animal Sciences Eldon Cole // MS Animal Husbandry ’63, BS Agriculture ’62 Eldon Cole has been a…