Portrait of Taylor Miller

Taylor Miller Reflects On Graduate Experience within the Herbert College of Agriculture

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    Taylor Miller, a recent graduate student, sat down for an insightful interview with the Herbert College of Agriculture to share her remarkable journey and experiences during her time in graduate school. In the interview, Miller recounted her favorite memories and classes that left a lasting impression. Graduating from the Herbert College of Agriculture was not just an academic achievement for Taylor; it was a testament to her unwavering dedication and the invaluable impact of her alma mater. To read Miller’s interview, visit Achieving Academic Excellence at Herbert: Taylor Miller.    

a pollinator pollinating a flower in the gardens

University of Tennessee to Host “Garden Buzz: The Celebration of Pollinators” in Honor of Pollinator Week

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    The University of Tennessee Bee Campus Committee, a group comprised of UT faculty, staff and students, in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and UT Gardens, invites communities across the state to celebrate Pollinator Week at a series of pollinator events, Garden Buzz, on June 20, 2023. Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health, initiated and managed by Pollinator Partnership. Garden Buzz will offer participants opportunities to learn more about pollinators in Tennessee through educational sessions and to fill their gardens with locally grown plants that attract pollinators. “Garden Buzz is an example of the great events the University of Tennessee offers across the state through Extension, AgResearch and other UT Institute of Agriculture programs,”

Mark and Karen Windham

Professor Emeritus Mark Windham Awarded the Joseph and Marion Klima Medal for Excellence

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    Professor emeritus Mark Windham was awarded the Joseph and Marion Klima Medal at the 2023 ARS National Rose Convention in Shreveport, LA on May 6, 2023, by the American Rose Society (ARS). The award recognizes Windham’s many contributions to the American Rose Magazine and ornamental plant pathology and outreach to rosarians. “I am honored. I would also like to thank Sara Collins, a research associate within the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, as she was instrumental to the success of the resistance work at the Plateau Station,” Windham said. The Celebration Awards Banquet, which took place during the National Rose Convention, was attended by more than 300 attendees. At the banquet, Windham gave an address on “A

Kathleen Coffman and Sydney Crowe speak with students and adults at "May the Bugs Be with You".

“May the Bugs Be with You” at STEAM night in Oak Ridge

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    Undergraduate students, Kathleen Coffman and Sydney Crowe, attended Community STEAM night at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, TN, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm EDT on Thursday, May 4, 2023. With more than 30 displays/booths, STEAM night brought together STEM and ART into a fun, educational evening! The theme of the night was “May the Fourth Be with You”. Therefore, Kathleen Coffman and Sydney Crowe spent the evening educating more than 500 students and adults at their booth named, “May the Bugs Be with You”.

2023-2024 Burley and Dark Production Guide

The 2023-2024 Burley and Dark Tobacco Production Guide is Available Online

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    Burley and dark tobacco growers in the U.S. make hundreds of decisions that impact the yield and quality of the crops that they produce. The 2023-2024 Burley and Dark Tobacco Production Guide will aid growers as it provides specific recommendations regarding management decisions. The information and recommendations provided in this guide have been developed and reviewed by tobacco production specialists and scientists at the University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State University. To review the 2023-2024 Burley and Dark Tobacco Production Guide, visit http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ID/ID160/ID160.pdf.    

5 people sitting at a plated table

2022 EPP Winter Awards Banquet

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    On Friday, December 16, 2022, the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology held its Annual Winter Awards Banquet at KoPita Authentic Mediterranean in downtown Knoxville. The banquet, which featured a game of trivia and White Elephant, provided EPP students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to celebrate the 2022 year. The event honored graduates Ryan Kuster and Sandra Pena for their achievements and announced the 2022 departmental award winners for their accomplishments and contributions. The list below details each category and award presented at the event: Russell and Bobbie Bull Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate Student Award in Entomology – Kassie Hollabaugh and Matthew Longmire Outstanding Ph.D. Graduate Student Award in Plant Pathology – Shelly Pate Distinguished Alumni Award in Entomology

collage of 2022 Entomological Society of America participants posing for photos, one photo of the city, and one photo of a dragon boat

EPP Attends Entomological Society of America 2022 Joint Annual Meeting in Vancouver

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    Several entomology graduate students, staff, and faculty attended the Entomological Society of America 2022 Joint Meeting in Vancouver, which was held November 13 – 16. Everyone in attendance networked with others, attended professional development sessions and presented research of their own. We are pleased to announce that students within our department were presented with awards during the conference. Please join us in congratulating each individual! Julian Cosner, a graduate student in the Grant lab, won second place in the Grad P-IE: Biocontrol – Parasitoids section of the student competition. Corey Day, a graduate student in the Trout Fryxell lab, won first place in the MUVE: Vector Surveillance section of the student competition for his presentation titled: “Associations Between

Hadziabdic Guerry Lab members standing in front of a window

Entomology and Plant Pathology Professors Serve Veterans

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    The Common Ground, a newsletter of the Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, featured members of a task force aimed to serve veterans. The task force all began with associate professor Denita Hadziabdic Guerry. Hadziabdic Guerry operates a fungal pathogen research lab. As an advocate for providing undergraduates with research opportunities, Casey Richards, a Marine student veteran in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, joined the lab as an undergraduate research assistant. As Richards neared graduation, he recommended two veteran students, Ivan Perez and Justin Kosiewska, to the research lab. “Opportunities for veterans to have secure jobs or steady income can be limited. A challenge facing former service members

Dr. DeWayane Shoemaker and Holly Brabazon in Belize

Graduate Student Studies Cacao Pollination in Belize

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    The summer of 2022 was different for one entomology and plant pathology graduate student. Holly Brabazon, a doctoral student pursuing a concentration in bioinformatics, genomics, and molecular interactions, found herself over 2,500 miles away from Knoxville, TN, researching the pollination of Theobroma cacao, or the cocoa plant, in Belize. Cacao is mainly pollinated by biting midges, flies that are around the size of a pin head. Despite being a main pollinator of cacao, the midges often do a poor job pollinating cacao trees. “Successful cacao pollination is problematic in many regions. Only around 10%-20% of the flowers produced by a cacao tree are successfully pollinated” stated DeWayne Shoemaker, department head and professor in the Department of Entomology and

Cavendar Award Winners standing with UTIA leaders

Cavender Outstanding Award for Best Publication

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  The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture recognized some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual awards and promotions luncheon on August 16, 2022. The ceremony, which was hosted by UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Carrie Castille, celebrated the accomplishments of many faculty, staff, and students. The Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology is excited to announce that during the awards ceremony, Rebecca Butler, Jennifer Chandler, Rebecca Trout Fryxell, and Karen Vail were presented the Cavender Outstanding Award for Best Publication. To view their publication, visit Managing Ticks on School Grounds (PB 1895). If you would like to view the entire list of award winners, visit UTIA 2022 Awards & Promotions.