Research

Silhouette of Electrical worker climbs a pole and uses a cable car to maintain a high voltage line system, Shadow of Electrician lineman repairman worker at climbing work on electric post

Jan. 7, 2025

DASS faculty launch fellowship program to grow public utility policy scholars

Division of Applied Social Sciences faculty members Adrienne Ohler and Michael Sykuta are leveraging a $250,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to create a fellowship program to connect early-career energy economics researchers with energy industry partners while fostering more academics in the public utility policy analysis space. “The goal is to create an ecosystem of people who are doing applied policy analysis work,” Sykuta said of the program. Adrienne Ohler The fellowship program, named the FRI Utility Policy Fellows program, is under the umbrella of CAFNR’s Financial Research Institute (FRI) and aims to bring four early-career energy economics…
corn

Dec. 11, 2024

Farmers gain financial insights through innovative database, personalized education

For more than a decade, Division of Applied Social Sciences faculty Jon Simonsen and Bruce Fowler have been working to create a robust financial database tool for farmers, while also helping producers hone their own financial skills. “The ultimate goal is to be able to go out there and get the best financial information to enable producers to make the best decisions for their farms and their families,” said Simonsen, professor of agricultural education. Jon Simonsen The project makes use of dozens of agricultural education teachers at high schools and technical schools across the Midwest. These teachers offer adult classes…

Dec. 10, 2024

Graduate Student Spotlight: Q&A with Jhonathan Ordinola Diaz

What is your research focus?  My research focuses on energy policy and their implications on the population. Currently, I am conducting research on the public perception of nuclear waste in Missouri, learning from the public’s experience, to approximate the concerns that will occur in a future permanent repository, yet to be defined by the Department of Energy, but needed soon. Jhonathan Ordinola Diaz Why does this field interest you?  I grew up in a small town in northern Peru (Pucala), surrounded by huge sugar cane fields owned by a single company. Our water, air and energy sources were closely affected…
A student poses for a photo in the snow in front of the Columns.

Dec. 9, 2024

CAFNR Senior Spotlight – Q&A with Luke Annin

Annin is a senior graduating in December with a degree in biochemistry.

Dec. 6, 2024

Plant Science and Technology professor named American Society of Agronomy 2024 Fellow

Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by the American Society of Agronomy.
A man with dark hair, brown eyes, and black-rimmed glasses in a black t-shirt with a Mizzou athletic tiger emblem on it stands in front of a public art sculpture in the bond Life Sciences building. He is smiling and leaning on a railing

Dec. 6, 2024

Plant Science and Technology faculty member receives International Engagement Award -Outstanding Faculty Contribution

David Mendoza-Cozatl, associate professor in the MU Division of Plant Science and Technology, was named recipient of a 2024 MU International Engagement Award by MU International Programs. The MU International Engagement Awards recognize the outstanding work carried out by faculty, staff and students to internationalize the University of Missouri. The awards recognize meaningful and sustained commitments to international work, whether directly on campus or brought back to the campus from an engagement abroad. In order to demonstrate their effect upon internationalizing the campus, nominees must clearly indicate the concrete impact made upon scholarship, students or MU programs by their international work. Mendoza-Cozatl is a…
Jafar Tanin stands with arms outstretched in front of a field planted with wheat.

Dec. 2, 2024

MU scholar breathes new life into wheat breeding program

With wheat planting on the rise, visiting scholar Jafar Tanin is revitalizing Mizzou’s wheat breeding efforts for Missouri growers.

Nov. 12, 2024

Animal Sciences graduate student joining National Pork Board’s Real Pork Scholars 2024 cohort

Rachel Self, a master’s degree student in the Division of Animal Sciences, has been selected as a member of the 2024 Real Pork Scholar Cohort through the National Pork Board. This prestigious cohort-based program addresses communication gaps for the U.S. pork industry. It identifies outstanding graduate-level students engaging in value-added experiences while conducting academic work to positively advance U.S. pork production. They will learn best practices for communicating scientific research effectively to multiple audiences, helping answer commons questions about the pork industry, especially related environment, public health, community, animal welfare, food safety and people.  “I wanted to join the Real…

Oct. 30, 2024

Animal Sciences Ph.D. student awarded travel grant for Plant and Animal Genomics Conference

Hunter McConnell, an Animal Sciences Ph.D. student, has been awarded the NRSP8 Travel Award to attend the 2025 Plant and Animal Genomics Conference (PAG32) in January.

Oct. 30, 2024

Uncovering roots of agricultural simplification: NSF grant fuels SNR professor’s mission to transform farming practices, revitalize rural communities

American farmers have cherished their symbiotic relationship with the land they farm for generations. They care for the land, and the land provides a bountiful harvest that feeds the nation in return. But, what if, somewhere along the way, in that effort to care for the land, we got “stuck” and found ourselves in systems that no longer served the land we tend and depend on so much?