CAES graduate students receive E. Broadus Browne awards

ATHENS — Four graduate students in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have been honored with an E. Broadus Browne Award for Outstanding Graduate Research.

Given in honor of the former director of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations, the award is presented to outstanding CAES master’s and doctoral students recognized for both their research and effective communication.

“The research taking place in CAES labs, classrooms and fields in agricultural and environmental sciences keeps Georgia at the pinnacle of these industries,” Harshavardhan Thippareddi, the college’s interim associate dean for research and John Bekkers Professor in Poultry Science, said. “Our incredible graduate students represent the next generation of industry experts and I’m proud to have them here at CAES.”

Lauren Vaccaro took first place in the doctoral category. She is graduating in summer 2023 with a doctorate in poultry science under the guidance of advisor Laura Ellestad. Vaccaro earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

Nathaniel Burner, a second-year doctoral student in the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, took second place in the doctoral category. He said he intends to graduate in spring 2025 under the guidance of Zenglu Li. Originally from Lemont, Ill., Burner holds a bachelor’s degree in crop sciences from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in crop sciences from North Carolina State University.

Stephanie Botton, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Mercer University School of Liberal Arts in Macon, took first place in the master’s category. A third-year master’s student in plant breeding, genetics and genomics, Botton said she intends to graduate in spring 2024 under the guidance of Peggy Ozias-Akins.

Laxmi Pandey moved to the U.S. after earning a bachelor’s degree from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences at Tribhuvan University in her native Nepal. Awarded second place in the master’s category, Pandey said she plans to graduate in December 2023 under co-advisors Bob Kemerait and Marin Talbot Brewer.

The first-place doctoral award consists of a certificate, $2,000 and up to $2,500 in travel funding support to attend a professional meeting. The second-place doctoral winner is awarded $1,000. The first-place master’s award consists of a certificate, $1,000 and up to $2,500 in travel funding support to attend a professional meeting. The second-place master’s winner is awarded $500.

To learn more about graduate programs at CAES, visit caes.uga.edu/students/graduate-programs.html. To learn more about the E. Broadus Browne Awards, visit caes.uga.edu/research/projects/browne-research-awards.

Special Photo: UGA/CAES