Plant and Environmental Sciences Interdepartmental Graduate Program

Dr. Halina Knap, Graduate Coordinator
272 Plant & Animal Science Building, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0315 Telephone: 864-656-3102     E-mail: hskrpsk@clemson.edu

Robert Tompkins - Ph.D. Student, PES, restoration ecology

Manuscript entitled “A Newly Documented and Significant Piedmont Prairie Site with a Helianthus schweinitzii Torrey & Gray (Schweinitz's Sunflower) Population", has been accepted (with revision) by The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society

Allison Rick - Ph.D. Student, PES, soil chemistry

has been selected by the Association of Women Soil Scientists (AWSS) as the 2009 AWSS Travel Scholarship recipient for travel to the Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting to present the results of her research. The 2009 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings is being held in Pittsburgh, PA.

Robert Tompkins - Ph.D. Student, PES, restoration ecology

Manuscript entitled "Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Poaceae) populations in the Carolinas" has been accepted for publication in Rhodora.

Robert Tompkins - Ph.D. Student, PES, restoration ecology

Robert, who teaches biology at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC, has just co-authored a book with Don Beagle, Dir. of Library Services at Belmont Abbey. The book, entitled The Life and Art of Ralph Ray, Jr., showcases Ray's extensive understanding of the nature of birds and their habitats, which can be seen in page after page of his realistic paintings. Ray's art helped spark environmental consciousness during post-World War II America.

Ernesto Robayo - M.S. Student, PES, ornamental crops and trees

Albert Paulus Student Travel Award to attend the 2009 American Phytopathological Society (APS) Annual Meeting in Portland, OR.

Zhen Fu - Ph.D. Student, PES, nematology

Dow AgroSciences graduate student travel award to attend the 2009 annual meeting of the Society of Nematologists (SON) in Burlington, VT.

Elspeth Murday - Ph.D. Student, PES

2009 Wade Stackhouse Fellowship

Megan Leach - Ph.D. Student, PES, nematology

Tuition scholarship to attend the Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, Summer 2009.  The cost of tuition for 3 modules and travel will be covered.

Kevin Parris - Ph.D. Student, PES

1st place Ph.D. category in the 2009 Southern Nursery Associations' Bryson L. James Student Research Competition at the 54th Annual SNA Research Conference in Atlanta, GA, February 12, 2009. Kevin's paper, coauthored by Tom Ranney, N.C. State University, and Vance Baird and Halina Knap, Clemson University, was entitled "Ploidy Levels and Genome Sizes of Magnolia Species, Hybrids, and Cultivars".

Margaret Miller - M.S. Student, PES, forage management
Jason Schmidt - M.S. Student, PES, forage management

2008 Wade Stackhouse Fellowships

Prashant Jha - Ph.D. Student, PES, weed biology and ecology

2008 Gerald O. Mott Meritorious Graduate Student Award in Crop Science offered by the Crop Science Society of Ammerica (CSSA).

Prashant Jha - Ph.D. Student, PES, weed biology and ecology

was nominated by the College of Agriculture, Forestry, & Life Sciences for the 2008 Clemson University Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award.

Margaret Miller - M.S. Student, PES, forage management

2008 Agronomy and Soils Endowment Award

Prashant Jha and Mayank Malik - Ph.D. Students, PES, weed biology and ecology

will share the 2008 Dr. & Mrs. H.P. Cooper Agronomy Scholarship

Jason Schmidt - M.S. Student, PES, forage management

2008 John R. Wigington Memorial Endowment in Agronomy

Ernesto Robayo Camacho - M.S. Student, PES, diseases of ornamental crops and trees

2008 George Miller Armstrong Plant and Environmental Sciences Foundation Fellowship

Megan Leach - Ph.D. Student, PES, nematology

2008 George Miller Armstrong Plant and Environmental Sciences Foundation Award to pay for supply purchases to support her dissertation research.

Inga McLaughlin (PES '07) - Research Associate, Plant Pathology

2008 George Miller Armstrong Plant and Environmental Sciences Foundation Award to pay for travel to present her thesis research at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Phytopathological Society.

Desmond Layne - Assoc. Professor, Environmental Horticulture
Greg Reighard - Professor, Environmental Horticulture
Guido Schnabel - Assoc. Professor, Entomology, Soils, & Plant Sciences
Simon Scott - Professor, Entomology, Soils, & Plant Sciences

2007 Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service Team Award (Peach Team)

Xiaoyu Liu - Ph.D. Student, Environmental Horticulture

The American Pomological Society awarded Xiaoyu Liu 1st Place for a paper entitled, "Peach Rootstock Identification by DNA-fingerprinting with Microsatellite (SSR) Markers." The paper will be recognized in the Journal American Pomological Society in 2007, Volume 61, Issue 4. It was co-authored by G.L. Reighard, G.A. Swire-Clark and W.V. Baird.

Xiaoyu Liu - Ph.D. Student, Environmental Horticulture

Poster selected as finalist for graduate student poster session for the Charlotte Biotechnology Conference. Competition will be held October 12, 2007 at UNCC.

Dr. Yuji Arai - Assistant Professor, Soil Science

A recent mercury paper, published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, has been selected for “science highlight” by the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory is a division of Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and is operated by Stanford University for the Department of Energy.

Dr. Mary Haque - Professor, Environmental Horticulture

Along with Lolly Tai, Gina McLellan and Erin Knight, received the Honor Award for Communication by the American Society of Landscape Architects South Carolina Chapter for the book, Designing Outdoor Environments for Children.  2007.

Dr. Mary Haque - Professor, Environmental Horticulture

Along with Lolly Tai, Gina McLellan and Erin Knight, received the President’s Award for Communication by the American Society of Landscape Architects Pennsylvania/Delaware Chapter for the book, Designing Outdoor Environments for Children: Landscaping School Yards, Gardens, and Playgrounds. 2007.

Dr. Mary Haque - Professor, Environmental Horticulture

Her student, David Warren, won first place in the American Society for Horticultural Science Southern Region for his presentation, “Landscaping for Water Quality: Designing a Demonstration Garden for the Friends of Lake Keowee Society Headquarters”. 2007.

Dr. Mary Haque - Professor, Environmental Horticulture

Her student, David Warren, won first place in the Clemson University Natural Resources Undergraduate Competition for his presentation, “Landscaping for Water Quality: Designing a Demonstration Garden for the Friends of Lake Keowee Society Headquarters”. 2007.

Dr. B. Merle Shepard - Professor, Entomology

Along with Roger Francis and Powell Smith, received an Award for Excellence from the Clemson University Board of Trustees. 2007.

Matthew Cousins - MS Student, Environmental Horticulture

Received the Clemson University Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award “…for good, excellence in maintaining high ideals of living and genuine and disinterested service to others.” This award is named in honor of the first president of the New York Southern Society and it was established by an agreement between the society and Clemson University. 2007.

Matthew Cousins - MS Student, Environmental Horticulture

Received an Alumni Graduate Fellowship for the 2007-2008 academic year. 

Megan Leach - Ph.D. Student, Entomology, Soils, & Plant Sciences

Received a Clemson University Graduate Dean’s Fellowship award for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Robayo, Ernesto - MS Student, Entomology, Soils, & Plant Sciences

Received a Clemson University Graduate Dean’s Fellowship award for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Inga McLaughlin - MS Student, Entomology, Soils, & Plant Sciences

Dr. Steve Jeffers' student, Inga McLaughlin, was awarded a travel grant to attend the 4th IUFRO Meeting on Phytophthoras In Forests and Natural Ecosystems at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA on August 26-31, 2007.  IUFRO is The International Union of Forest Research Organizations that sponsors a number of different forest working groups.  Her paper entitled, Survival of Phytophthora cinnamomi in Soil After Prescribed Fire in a Southern Appalachian Forest, was presented. Her abstract may be viewed at: http://nature.berkeley.edu/IUFRO2007/phytophthora/abstracts/24_mclaughlin.pdf 2007.

College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences -- Public Service and Agriculture (PSA)

Contact -- Halina Knap -- Telephone 864-656-3102

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