Stories
March 16, 2021
Q&A With Toyin Jackson
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? The initial reason I was drawn to the University of Missouri was because I was selected to be in the inaugural class of MU Stamps Scholars through the Honors College. I visited campus during my latter years of high school, specifically the food science program and Dr. (Ingolf) Gruen. What stuck out to me during that visit was the program’s level of autonomy and the freedom to carve…
March 16, 2021
Pengyin Chen Honored with American Soybean Association Pinnacle Award
Pengyin Chen, who holds the David M. Haggard Endowed Professorship in Soybean Breeding at the Fisher Delta Research Center, recently received the American Soybean Association’s (ASA) Pinnacle Award, the ASA’s highest honor. Chen was honored during the ASA Awards Program virtual broadcast on Tuesday, March 16. The Pinnacle Award provides industry-wide recognition of individuals who have demonstrated lifetime contribution and exemplary long-time leadership within the soybean family and industry. Chen joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) in 2016. He does a variety of research at the Fisher Delta Research Center, located…
March 11, 2021
A Historic Dedication
On Feb. 24, the 151st anniversary of the founding of our college, CAFNR recognized Henry Kirklin, a celebrated Black farmer and educator who lived in and around Columbia from 1858 until his death in 1938, with the naming of the Henry Kirklin Plant Sciences Learning Laboratory, and the establishment of a scholarship for underrepresented minority students studying plant sciences, in his honor. Nearly a dozen of Kirklin’s descendants were in virtual attendance as leadership of MU and CAFNR, along with city leaders, dedicated the lab, which recognizes the man believed to have been the first Black teacher at the…
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…
March 10, 2021
MU Huerta Sostenible Familiar
MU Agriculture and Environment Extension specialists continue to produce materials with Spanish-speaking Missourians in mind. Huerta Sostenible Familiar: MU Sembrador, a weekly series of online vegetable gardening classes, begins March 17 at 6:30 p.m. All 13 classes will be taught in Spanish. “The webinar series will cover the basics in vegetable production, technical concepts to grow vegetables, safe food preparation and preservation tips, and so much more,” said Estrella Carmona, MU Extension county engagement specialist in nutrition and health. “We will also explain how growing vegetables can positively contribute to the well-being of their families and communities.”…
Feb. 23, 2021
Raising the Research Profile
CAFNR Research Council working to promote researchers and projects.
Feb. 17, 2021
Q&A With Lydia Jefferson
Why did you decide to come to the University of Missouri and major in environmental sciences? What do you enjoy about the program itself? The field of study? I’ve wanted to come to Mizzou since I was in eighth grade, back when I wanted to be a fiction writer. Even though my interests shifted to STEM during high school, my admiration for Mizzou did not. I came in as a biochemistry major but switched to environmental sciences-water because I didn’t want to leave the home I found in CAFNR, but was struggling with my courses. I ultimately decided…
Feb. 16, 2021
Part of the Frontline Discovery Group
When Lauren Eagon came to the University of Missouri to study natural resource science and management, one of her goals was to complete her own research project. With the help of faculty mentors in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), Eagon, who is now a senior, has been an active participant in undergraduate research throughout her collegiate career. She has gained hands-on experience through various research projects, where she has partnered with CAFNR faculty, staff and graduate students. She has also accomplished her goal and conducted her own research. “Providing undergraduates with such…
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.
Jan. 31, 2021
Cheryl Recker Receives CAFNR Above & Beyond Award
Cheryl Recker, senior research and lab technician at Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, was the January 2021 recipient of the Above and Beyond Award from CAFNR Staff Advisory Council. This award recognizes staff who have gone the extra mile in their jobs. She was nominated by Sarah Lovell, associate professor, School of Natural Resources.