Drs. Leonor Leandro, Larry Halverson, Gwyn Beattie, and Matt Liebman received a new grant from NIFAAFRI-
foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems on April 1, 2017. The grant is titled “Unraveling the mechanisms underlying beneficial impacts of diversified cropping systems on pest management, soil health and plant productivity” and was awarded $500,000 to be spent over a 3- year period (2017-2020). The long-term goal of this project is to generate a comprehensive, systems-level understanding of how specific agricultural practices can yield environmentally and economically sustainable agricultural benefits.
Dr. Nancy Boury received a 3-year (2017-2020) grant of $182,812 from NSF Division of Undergraduate Education program (DUE). DUE's programs are intended to strengthen STEM education at two- and four-year colleges and universities by improving curricula, instruction, laboratories, infrastructure, assessment, diversity of students and faculty, and collaborations. Dr. Boury’s project “Tools for Assessment in Genetics” will develop educational assessment tools needed to accurately measure student understanding of key concepts in genetics.
In addition to her NSF award, Dr. Boury received a $12,725 Miller Faculty Fellowship Grant for the 2017-2018 Academic year. Every year, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) offers funding through competitive grants programs such as Miller Faculty Fellowship Program. Dr. Boury fellowship grant with the title "Save us Online general microbiology students as post-apocalyptic plague survivors" was designed to teach students the basics of microbial structure and function, microbial genetics, antibiotic resistance, virulence and infection, the immune response and public health using a game-based teaching method where students work through solving complex problems and develop a cure for a fictional civilization-ending plague.