CFAES Research Forum and Poster Competition

The College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) translates cutting-edge research for stakeholders across the state. By engaging with our stakeholders, we provide research, technology, and knowledge to support safe, sustainable, and viable agricultural practices across Ohio and the world. Each spring, the research done by our students and research scientists is put on display at the CFAES Research Forum.

Celebrate with us at the 2024 CFAES Research Forum Poster Competition!

Eligible participants include currently enrolled or recently graduated students, post-docs, and research staff working on CFAES-supported projects. The competition encompasses separate categories for Master’s students, Doctoral students, Post-doctoral Scholars, and Research Assistants/Associates/Scientists (also referred to as Research Staff). Participants must submit their abstract and PDF poster by Monday, March 18, 2024.

Events include poster presentations on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, followed by a presentation of awards and luncheon on Thursday, April 11, 2024. On Thursday, transportation from Wooster and lunch will be provided for all attendees.

Awards of $500, $300, and $150 will be given for first, second, and third place in each category of the graduate and professional levels. Additionally, all attendees to the poster sessions will be able to vote for their favorite poster to win the People's Choice Award. The winner of the People's Choice Award will receive a gift bag and certificate. At least two awards will be selected, one from each poster session (Undergraduate/ Graduate & Professional).

Full poster preparation guidelines can be found at the link below.

If you have any questions about the Undergraduate competition levels, p lease contact Dr. Pat Whittington (Whittington.6@osu.edu) or Susie Sheller (sheller.1@osu.edu).

2024 Competition winners

Master

First place: Nicole Volk, Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership, advised by Dr. Annie Specht & Dr. Joy Rumble
Second place: Saroj Khatiwada, Animal Sciences, Center for Food Animal Health, Entomology, advised by Dr. Scott Kenney
Third place: Sandeep Dhakal, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, advised by Dr. Ajay Shah


Ph.D.

First place: Courtney Anderson, School of Environment and Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Stan Gehrt
Second place: Kush Yadav, Animal Sciences, Center for Food Animal Health, advised by Dr. Scott Kenney
Third place: Veeramani Karuppuchamy, Food Science and Technology, advised by Dr. Osvaldo Campanella Balasubramaniam

Postdoctoral Scholar

First place: Peiyang Li, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, supervised by Dr. Lingying Zhao
Second place: Sachin Naik, Horticulture and Crop Sciences, supervised by Dr. Michelle Jones
Third place: Srishti Gaur, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, supervised by Dr. Darren Drewry

Research Scientist

First place: Rachel Cole, Food Science and Technology, supervised by Dr. Martha Belury
Second place: Emanoella Otaviano, Horticulture and Crop Science, supervised by Dr. Marilia Chiavegato
Third place: Asmita Khanal, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, supervised by Dr. Marilia Chiavegato

Undergraduate
Animal Sciences

First place: Melva Tacuri Vera advised by Dr. Ben Wenner
Second place: Danielle Latif advised by Dr. Alvaro Garcia Guerra
Third place: Molly Cordonnier advised by Dr. Alvaro Garcia Guerra
Honorable Mention: Gabriella Rivera Fernandez advised by Dr. Maurice Eastridge
Honorable Mention: Katherine Jones advised by Dr. Sara Mastellar

Entomology

First place: Addison Copen advised by Dr. Mary Gardiner

Environmental and Plant Sciences

First place: Francesca Pilutti advised by Dr. Andrea Gschwend
Second place: Grant DeBruin advised by Dr. David Barker
Third place: Hannah Bernstein advised by Dr. Virginia Rich
Honorable Mention: Ashley Malenfant advised by Dr. Scott Demyan
Honorable Mention: Henry Schuellerman advised by Dr. Ryan Winston

Food Sciences

First place: Talia Katz advised by Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores
Second place: Rachel Barrett advised by Dr. Jessica Cooperstone
Third place: Eric Armstrong advised by Dr. Luis Rodriguez-Saona
Honorable Mention: Nick Fox advised by Dr. Hua Wang

Social Sciences

First place: Nicole Pickard advised by Dr. Kimberly Cole
Second place: Ryanna Tietje advised by Dr. Margaret Jodlowski
Third place: Sheriden Schuerman advised by Dr. Cara Lawson


People's Choice Awards - poster session attendees voted on their favorite poster for each session

Undergraduate
Danielle Latif, Animal Sciences, advised by Dr. Alvaro Garcia Guerra
Addison Copen, Entomology, advised by Dr. Mary Gardiner
Ryanna Tietje, Social Sciences, advised by Dr. Margaret Jodlowski

Graduate and Professional
Kush Yadav, PhD, Animal Sciences, Center for Food Animal Health, Advised by Dr. Scott Kenney
Jenna Moore, PhD, Plant Pathology, Advisor: Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora

2023 Competition winners

Master

First place: Valerie Anderson, Entomology, advised by Dr. Luis Canas
Second place: Ellen Danford, Environmental Sciences Graduate Program & Entomology, advised by Dr. Mary Gardiner
Third place: Connor Johnson, Plant Pathology, advised by Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora


Ph.D.

First place: Grace Sward, Entomology, advised by Luis Canas
Second place: Rachel Combs-Giroir, Horticulture and Crop Sciences, advised by Dr. Andrea Gschwend
Third place (tied): Hetian Hu, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering , advised by Dr. V. M. Balasubramaniam
Thrid place (tied): Brianda Gonzalez- Orozco, Food Science and Technology, advised by Dr. Valente Alvarez

Postdoctoral Scholar

First place: Javier Campos, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, supervised by Dr. Erdal Ozkan
Second place: Joonbum Lee, Animal Sciences, supervised by Dr. Kichoon Lee
Third place: Srishti Gaur, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, supervised by Dr. Darren Drewry

Research Scientist

First place: Nuris Acosta, Entomology, supervised by Dr. Pete Piermarini
Second place: Ashish Manandhar, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, supervised by Dr. Imed Dami and Dr. Ajay Shah

Undergraduate
Animal Sciences

First place: Hannah Largen advised by Dr. Kim Cole
Second place (tied): Alexandra Incarnato advised by Dr. Alvaro Garcia Guerra
Second place (tied): Kara Flaherty advised by Kush Yadav and Dr. Scott Kenney

Entomology

First place: Sydney Robare advised by Dr. Megan Meuti

Environmental and Plant Sciences

First place: Olivia Marrero advised by Dr. Katrina Cornish and Dr. David Barker
Second place: Keely McQuain advised by Dr. Horacio Lopez- Nicora
Thrid place: Matthew Lincicome advised by Dr. Mazeika Sullivan and Dr. Jason Bohenek

Food Sciences

First place: Gabriella Gephart advised by Dr. Ahmed Yousef

Social Sciences

First place: Michaela Mason advised by Kareem Usher and Dr. Doug Jackson-Smith
Second place: Hayley Milliron by Dr. Amanda Bowling


"People's Choice" Awards - poster session attendees voted on their favorite poster for each session

Columbus Campus Undergraduate
Amanda Ackerman, BS, Animal Sciences, advised by Dr. J. A. Pempek (tied)
Hannah Largen, BS, Animal Sciences, advised by Dr. Kim Cole (tied)

Columbus Campus Graduate and Professional
Daniela Gutierrez Yanez, MS, Plant Pathology, advised by Dr. Francesca Hand (tied)
Eric Hobson, Plant Pathology, MS, advised by Dr. Jonathan Jacobs (tied)

Wooster Campus Graduate and Professional
Carolyn Lee, PhD, Animal Sciences/ Center for Food Animal Health, advised by Dr. Scott Kenney

2022 Competition winners

Master

Third Place: Brandon Shannon, Entomology & Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, advised by Dr. Reed Johnson
Second place: Camila Gutierrez Manriquez, Horticulture and Crop Sciences, advised by Dr. Jonathan Fresnedo Ramirez
First place: Yuan Li, Entomology, advised by Dr. Peter Piermarini

Ph.D.

Third place: Bethany Williams, School of Environment & Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Suzanne Gray and Dr. Lauren Pintor
Second place: Caralee Shepard, Entomology, advised by Dr. Mary Gardiner
First place: Michelle Pham, Entomology & Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, advised by Dr. Mary Gardiner

Postdoctoral Scholar

Third place: Dong-Hwan Kim Animal Sciences, advised by Dr. Kichoon Lee
Second place: Luis Martinez, Entomology, advised by Dr. Sarah Short
First place: Gonzalo-Miyagusuku Cruzado, Food Science & Technology, advised by Dr. Monica Giusti

Research Scientist

Second place: Nuris Acosta, Entomology, Luis Canas and Andy Michel labs
First place: Pat Boley, Animal Sciences, Scott Kenney lab

Undergraduate
Animal Sciences - Health

Third place: Hailey Main advised by Dr. Christopher Hadad and Dr. Christopher Callam
Second place: Elizabeth Ohl advised by Dr. Alvaro Garcia Guerra
First place: Madison Pinkerton advised by Dr. Jessica Pempek

Animal Sciences - Nutrition

Second place: Elizabeth Due advised by Dr. Sheila Jacobi
First place: Sophia Kienzle advised by Dr. Jeffrey Firkins

Entomology

Third place: Nicole Sammons advised by Dr. Reed Johnson
Second place: Isabel Nazarian advised by Dr. Reed Johnson
First place: Aleacia Laird advised by Dr. Francesca Hand

Environmental and Plant Sciences

Second place: Joshua Chaney, advised by Scott Demyan
First place (tied): Lillian Ostrander, advised by Stephen Matthews
First place (tied): Esha Sharma, advised by Andrea Gschwend

Food Sciences

Third place: Thania Ortiz Santiago advised by Dr. Monica Giusti
Second place: Cameron McCurdy advised by Dr. Kichoon Lee
First place: Talia Katz advised by Dr. Chris Simons and Aishwarya Badiger

Social Sciences

Third place: Kiley Holbrook, Callee Aviles, Haley Schmersal advised by Erica Summerfield
Second place: Maddie Allman advised by Dr. Ken Martin & Dr. Joe Campbell
First place: Shanvanth Arnipalli advised by Dr. Feng

2021 Competition winners

Master

Third place: Kushal KC, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, advised by Sami Khanal
Second place: Danielle Voss, Food Science and Technology, advised by Monica Giusti
First place (tied): Dylan Ricke, Entomology, advised by Reed Johnson
First place (tied): Emily Walker, Entomology, advised by Reed Johnson

Ph.D.

Third place: Colby Gregg, Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership, advised by Amanda Bowling
Second place: Molly Mills, Environmental Science Graduate Program, advised by Jiyoung Lee
First place: Lydia Fyie, Entomology, advised by Mary Gardiner and Megan Meuti

Postdoctoral Scholar

Third place (tied): Ashish Manandhar, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, advised by Ajay Shah
Third place (tied): B o Li, Horticulture and Crop Science, advised by Andrea Gschwend
Second place: Carlos Esquivel, Entomology, advised by Luis Canas
First place: Wenshuang Xie, Plant Pathology, advised by Lucy Stewart

Research Scientist

Third place: Anirudh Akula, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, Ajay Shah Lab
Second place: Esha Shrestha, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, Ajay Shah Lab
First place: Erick Martinez Rodriguez, Plant Pathology, Luis Canas Lab

Undergraduate
Animal Sciences - Health

Third place: Andrew Brower & Isabelle Schlachter (team), advised by Kichoon Lee
Second place: Annika Diaz, advised by Maurice Eastridge & Anastasia Vlasova
First place: Hailey Jermolowicz, advised by Benjamin Wenner

Animal Sciences - Nutrition

Third place: Shiling Zhao, advised by Andreas Chavez
Second place: Cameron White, advised by Sheila Jacobi
First place: Antoinette Foliart, advised by Jeffrey Firkins

Entomology

Third place (tied): Valerie Anderson, advised by Christopher Ranger
Third place (tied): Christiana Arkorful-Bondzie, advised by Megan Meuti
Second place: Joseph Urso, advised by Megan Meuti
First place: Olivia Blanco, advised by Megan Meuti

Environmental and Plant Sciences

Second place: Joshua Chaney, advised by Scott Demyan
First place (tied): Lillian Ostrander, advised by Stephen Matthews
First place (tied): Esha Sharma, advised by Andrea Gschwend

Food Sciences

Second place (tied): Anna Carroll, advised by Rafael Jimenez-Flores
Second place (tied): Justyna Korneluk & Anna McSurley (team), advised by Gonul Kaletunc
First place: Peter Kolev, advised by Rafael Jimenez-Flores

Social Sciences

Second place: Milan Pozderac, advised by Tracey Kitchel
First place: Joel Shoup, advised by Ben Brown

2020 Competition winners

Master

Third place (tied): Sarah Scott, Entomology, advised by Mary Gardiner
Third place (tied): Lydia Fyie, Entomology, advised by Mary Gardiner and Megan Meuti
Second place: Kushal KC, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, advised by Sami Khanal
First place: Nicole Lorig, Animal Sciences, advised by Kimberly Cole

Ph.D.

Third place: Dipak Kathayat, Food Animal Health Research Program, advised by Gireesh Rajashekara
Second place: Denisha Parker, Entomology, advised by Mary Gardiner
First place: Yiyun Lin, Horticulture and Crop Sciences, advised by Michelle Jones

Postdoctoral Scholar

Third place: Jie Xu, Food Science and Technology, advised by V.M. (Bala) Balasubramaniam
Second place: Sankar Renu, Food Animal Health Research Program, advised by Gourapura Renukaradhya
First place: Ashish Manandhar, Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, advised by Ajay Shah

Research Scientist

Third place (tied): Erick Martinez Rodriguez, Entomology, advised by Peter Piermarini
Third place (tied): Pat Boley, Food Animal Health Research Program
Second place: Daniela Gutierrez Yanez, Plant Pathology and Food Science and Technology
First place: Linda Michel, Food Animal Health Research Program