Geneva summer scholars present agriculture research

A diverse array of students from across the nation spent this summer conducting research with faculty members and their teams at Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) in Geneva, New York. The program culminated in a poster session at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Aug. 1, where the 27 students presented research on topics ranging from sodium reduction in ranch dressing to root rot resistance in pea plants. "One of the skills that every scientist needs is the ability to explain their work both to other scientists and to the public at large," said Christine Smart, associate professor of plant pathology, who helped create the program in 2009. "Having the poster session helps them to build that skill set." The program aims to encourage students to attend graduate school and expose students to agricultural research by conducting their own research project under the guidance of faculty in the departments of entomology, food science, horticulture, and plant pathology and plant-microbe biology. Tina Wu, a rising junior from Iowa State University, worked with plant pathology professor Thomas Burr, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the Goichman Family Director of NYSAES, to untangle the interactions between two types of bacterial pathogens that debilitate grapevines. A microbiology major, Wu was not familiar with the problems caused by these pathogens prior to the program and found this research to be a meaningful way to broaden her interests to plants.