CANR News

Category: Graduate Students

Students participating in the 2022 CANR Research Symposium

Research showcase

March 03, 2022 Written by Dante LaPenta | Photo by Monica Moriak

Symposium puts student research on display

University of Delaware students and post-docs presented their research to faculty and staff at the 2022 edition of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) Research Symposium.

First, in a virtual component, presenters provided succinct and compelling short video poster presentations via the Forager One platform. After reviewing submissions from a field of 28, faculty judges invited finalists to give live, in-person presentations in the Townsend Hall Commons. The symposium’s categories mirrored the college’s five unique strengths, which are:

“Our symposium was a wonderful reminder of the amazing work our students, post-docs, research staff and faculty do in advancing science in the public interest, a key mission for our land-grant university,” highlighted Eric Wommack, deputy dean and associate dean for research and graduate education. “Sessions on each CANR Unique Strength area were thought-provoking and clearly demonstrated the impactful research work we do. I couldn’t be prouder of the college.”

The experience of presenting research to a live audience was a positive one for both graduate and undergraduate students.

“The CANR Research Symposium is always well-organized and features posters and talks from a wide range of disciplines,” emphasized Sean Fettrow, a Ph.D. student in plant and soil sciences. “This allows you to not only learn about new topics, but also to receive feedback on your research from a variety of perspectives. I recommend presenting research at next year’s CANR Symposium not only to learn something new about other research, but to learn something new about your research as well.”

“I have been able to see the research process in action on real world projects outside of the classroom, while connecting and collaborating with professors and other students,” added senior Laura Taylor, a double major in environmental and resources economics in CANR and economics in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. “This experience has been one of my favorite involvements at the University of Delaware, and I have truly enjoyed being able to have the opportunity to present my research findings among so many talented presenters.”

2022 awardees

Climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation

1st – Sean Fettrow: Fe oxide control on lateral exchange of carbon between salt marsh sediment and the tidal channel
2nd – Amanda Crandall: Impacts of climate and anthropogenic change on migrant stopover using weather surveillance radar

Human dimensions of food, agriculture and natural resources

1st – Laura Taylor: Factors influencing use of residential stormwater practices in Delaware and Pennsylvania
2nd – Polina Dineva: Community adaptation to climate risks: Understanding decision making within home buyouts
3rd – Michelle Eshleman: Migration pathways of juvenile eastern towhees

Sustainable food systems, landscapes and ecosystems

1st – Nick Farro: Evaluation of different litter amendments to control ammonia emission from poultry
2nd – Emily Kennebeck: The role of far-red light in stress responses of leafy greens to elevated CO2

Genetics and genomics for plant, animal and ecosystem improvement

1st – Kasey Hobert: Comparing the equine protozoa community based on keeper status
2nd – Rachel Keown: Novel viral DNA polymerases from metagenomes reveal strand displacing biochemical phenotypes

One Health intersections among animal, plant, human and ecosystem health

1st – Liang-en Yu: Delayed post-hatch feeding alters intestinal epithelial stem cells activities, intestinal epithelial population and permeability in broiler chickens
2nd – Xiaojing Liu: Effects of delayed sealing and chemical additives on fermentation of alfalfa silage
3rd – Matthew Hardy: A remote sensing and radio telemetry biosecurity mechanism for the poultry industry

Related News

UD’s animal science graduate degree paves a path to veterinary school

May 12, 2025 | Written by Molly Schafer

When Lexi Roloson decided to become a veterinarian, she had a problem: it was her senior year of college, and she had not completed the coursework or work experience required for competitive veterinary school applications. UD’s non-thesis M.S. in animal science provided the solution. The degree allowed Roloson to gain the necessary experience inside and outside the classroom, and start saving animals before she even received her diploma.
Uncovering Earth’s respiration

April 13, 2025 | Written by Nya Wynn

Elizabeth Smith, a former NSF Graduate Research Fellow and UD Plant and Soil Sciences Ph.D. alumna, investigated soil respiration using machine learning to better understand its role in the global carbon cycle. Analyzing two decades of data from multiple datasets, her research revealed unexpected patterns in national and global soil respiration trends. Now a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech, Smith is expanding her computational expertise to study enhanced rock weathering, a technique for carbon capture in agriculture. Passionate about science communication, she also works to make environmental research more accessible, bridging the gap between scientific discovery and public understanding.
Plant pathology students organize UD’s first Carroll Symposium

February 11, 2025 | Written by Molly Schafer

Graduate students Lauren Irwin, Shiv Singla and Adelaide Mullin planned and organized the University of Delaware’s first Carroll Symposium. The student-led event was possible thanks to a generous donation made in honor of UD’s Bob Carroll, emeritus professor. The event, which included a research presentation competition, also served as a reunion for UD’s Bob Carroll and the plant pathology community.