Department of Agronomy and Horticulture doctoral candidates Thomas Butts, Zahoor Ganie, Margarita Marroquin-Guzman, Joshua Miller, Karen Ferreira da Silva, and Guangchao Sun have been named recipients of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Milton E. Mohr Fellowship. These fellowships recognize exceptional graduate students based on academic and scholastic achievement or promise.
Butts' research focus is in weed science and pesticide application technologies. Under the instruction of Greg Kruger at the Pesticide Application Technology Laboratory in North Platte, Nebraska, Butts is currently researching the influence of pulse-width modulation spray application systems on droplet spectrum, spray application parameters, and herbicide efficacy. The precise applications of new herbicide technologies will allow farmers to more effectively utilize drift reduction technologies, increase crop yield potential, and control herbicide-resistant weeds.
Ganie, advised by Amit Jhala, is studying the mechanism of glyphosate-resistance in common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), pollen-mediated gene flow in glyphosate-resistant giant ragweed and integrated management of giant ragweed in corn and soybean.
Marroquin-Guzman’s research aims to understand how nutrient availability and usage facilitates in planta development and rapid host colonization by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. She is advised by Richard A. Wilson.
Miller, advised by Loren Giesler and Gary Hein, is also completing a Doctor of Plant Health degree to further his interdisciplinary knowledge of agricultural systems. His research focus is on using commercially-available sensors to evaluate the crop canopy of soybeans to direct future management and predict relative yield.
Ferreira da Silva’s research involves the use of Lysobacter enzymogenes as a model organism to understand variations of biological control agents in the environment. She is advised by Gary Yuen.
Sun’s research is focusing on the host-microbe interaction, more specifically, the metabolic pathways that are involved in pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. He is advised by Richard A. Wilson.
The Milton E. Mohr Scholarship and Fellowship Awards Program was established in 1989 for students in the College of Engineering or Biotechnology degree programs. The scholarships and fellowships are made possible through an endowment to the University Foundation.
Mohr was described in his lifetime as an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, corporate leader and instrumental in providing key leadership to young adults. In 1938, he graduated highest in his class from Nebraska with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. In 1959, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate of engineering. He was President and CEO of Quotron Systems, formerly Bunker Ramo Corporation, an electrical engineer, corporate executive and philanthropist. He was named America's Most Outstanding Young Electrical Engineer in 1948.