Botany & Plant Pathology

2023 BPP Research Showcase

  • December 7, 2023

program-cover.pngHeld on November 15 at the Beck Agricultural Center, the 2023 Research Showcase highlights findings that fuel the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology's mission to protect the environment, improve plants, and manage natural resources. Over 70 graduate students, post doctoral researchers, visiting scholars, and undergraduate students had the opportunity to present their research to several faculty, staff, and industry partners. In addition to the poster presentations, we had several talks from our Weier award winners, post doctoral researchers, and graduate student lightning talks.

Weier Award Winners: 

  • Sandra Gomez Gutierrez - Outstanding PhD Graduate Student
  • Juan Diego Rojas Gutierrez - Outstanding Graduate Leadership

Undergraduate Poster Awards: 

  • First Place: Jonathan Lu
  • Second Place: Morgan Murff
  • Third Place: Molly Kosiba
photo of organizer introducing meeting Department Head Tesfaye Mengiste gives opening remarks
student presenting poster Visiting Scholar Alex Acosta explains his research to Dr. Mengiste and colleagues
audience listening to remarks The audience at the Beck Center
student presenting poster Second place Undergraduate Poster winner Morgan Murff outlines her research for Dr. Christopher Oakley
student presenting poster Graduate student Muhammad Haroon presents his poster
student presenting poster to professor Graduate student Hunter Medenwald discusses his research with Dr. Sharon Kessler
department head and dean Department head Tesfaye Mengiste and Dean Bernie Engel
student presenting poster Undergraduate student Keila Jellings explains her poster for Dr. Bryan Young
student standing in front of poster Graduate student Abbie Rogers with her poster
row of posters along wall Over 70 posters were presented at the Beck Center
student with poster Marcelo Zimmer, Weed Science Program Specialist and PhD student, presents his poster
audience listening to presentation The audience listens to a lightning talk presentation
Students with awards First place (Jonathan Lu, right) and second place (Morgan Murff, left) winners of the Best Undergraduate Poster contest.
student presenting in front of audience Lightning talk with Marcelo Zimmer
student accepting award Sandra Gomez Gutierrez accepting the Weier Award for Outstanding PhD Student from Dr. Sharon Kessler
student accepting award Juan Diego Rojas Gutierrez accepting the Weier Award for Outstanding Graduate Leadership from Dr. Sharon Kessler

Featured Stories

Steve Dahnke, Jack Ward and Larry and Janet White
Four inducted into Indiana Livestock Breeders Association Hall of Fame

Steve Dahnke, Jack Ward and Larry and Janet White join the ILBA Hall of Fame.

Read More
yellow agave flower sprout from the giant flower stalk against a clear blue sky
The death bloom of a century plant

Agave americana, also known as the century plant, has evolved for a dry desert life. For 30...

Read More
Two Purdue students compete in the Jack and Jack double buck competition at Midwest Conclave 2026
FNR Students Experience Midwest Forestry Conclave

The Purdue student chapter of the Society of American Foresters participated in the 69th Midwest...

Read More
The Ecology of Natural Disturbances class stands in front of the Smoky Mountains.
Disturbance Ecology Comes to Life on Spring Break Trip

Every other year, the FNR 53600/53601 Ecology of Natural Disturbances class takes a spring break...

Read More
The state fair midway, featuring crowds of people and a ferris wheel.
Meet Purdue Animal Sciences' 2026 Indiana State Fair Animal Ambassadors

Meet the Purdue Animal Sciences students educating visitors at Animal Town.

Read More
4 students stand in front of marshall porterfield, all in different space and NASA shirts, one carrying a plastic jug with a white fungus growing over a mycoponics tube inside. Grow tents line the background on each side.
Mushrooms in space: Purdue researchers invent mycoponics to cultivate fungi for Earth, the moon and beyond

Porterfield founded MycoGravity — the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology...

Read More