Three CANR graduate students awarded National Science Foundation fellowships

April 15, 2015

Three graduate students from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) at Michigan State University have been awarded prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowships.

Forestry students Clarice Esch and Kileigh Browning and entomology student Adam Ingrao were awarded fellowships for research in their respective areas. Katherine Wood, forestry graduate student, received an honorable mention for her application.

The CANR students were among 2,000 chosen from a competitive field of more than 16,500 applicants nationwide.

Esch plans to use her fellowship to continue her research in Costa Rica on sustainable land-use practices in the tropics. She is currently in Costa Rica as part of a 10-month research trip to work directly with farmers to develop sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to conventional agricultural practices.

“This award will allow me to take full advantage of all the resources MSU has to offer and focus wholeheartedly on developing and executing rigorous research studies,” Esch said.

Browning is working on her doctoral degree in forestry. Her research is focused on the influence of climate change on the success of exotic plants. With this grant, she will conduct a statewide experiment that explores plant composition and changes related to temperature, precipitation and herbivore types.

“This fellowship, as well as my time at MSU, will prepare me with a strong background as a researcher in the field of natural resources,” Browning said.

Ingrao’s research explores how arthropod predators and their chemical ecology influence Michigan asparagus fields. He works with Zsofia Szendrei, assistant professor in the Department of Entomology.

Please visit the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship website for more information.