The 2019 scholarship winners with CAST President Gabe Middleton (far left), BCCA 2018 recipient Dr. Marty Matlock, and CAST EVP Kent Schescke (both far right).

Ten graduate students from the University of Arkansas will receive the 2019 CAST Science Communication Scholarship at the CAST Annual Meeting on October 30. This award aims to encourage students researching agriculture-related topics to engage with nonscientists through creative digital communication.

In total, 27 applicants submitted a short video, podcast, or infographic telling a story about an aspect of their research. Students were also asked to reflect on their submission and the importance of science communication in an essay.

We’re excited to share the names and work of the ten scholarship winners below.

Andrea Sierra Mejia—Blackberry Yellow Vein Disease (BYVD): A Major Threat to Blackberry Production in the United States
Research Area(s): Plant virology, molecular biology, and plant pathology
Media Type: Infographic

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Angela Tacinelli—The Most Important Meal of the Day
Research Area(s): Nutrition
Media Type: Video

Annegret Jannasch—Hidden Hunger
Research Area(s): Carbohydrate chemistry
Media Type: Podcast

Derrick Harrison—Creating Better Soybeans
Research Area(s): Soybean breeding, flood tolerance, and high-throughput phenotype methodology
Media Type: Infographic

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Juanita Gil Bedoya—7 Facts You Need to Know About Food Production
Research Area(s): Plant pathology and fungal genomics
Media Type: Infographic

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Kathryn Haydon—Better Rice with CRISPR 
Research Area(s): Plant science (pathology and biotechnology) and food science
Media Type: Infographic

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Pauline Morin—Anti-inflammatory Properties of Blackberry Volatiles
Research Area(s): Food science
Media Type: Video

Rebecca Bruce—Making Instant Rice from Broken Rice
Research Area(s): Rice quality and processing
Media Type: Video

Thadeus Beekman—Speedy Science Sessions: Sensory Edition
Research Area(s): Food and sensory science
Media Type: Podcast

Zeph Odek—Fissuring Rates of Rough Rice During Drying
Research Area(s): Food science (rice drying and quality)
Media Type: Infographic

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