… their advisor and the Graduate School staff. April 1-5 is Graduate Student Appreciation Week, a great opportunity to highlight a few graduate students at SDSU and the work they are accomplishing. Cierra Sazue, Alexis Barnes and James Okechukwu Kemeshi each have a unique story and path leading to SDSU. Their research, passions and goals are made possible with the academic … Master Gardeners would get so excited talking to grad students,” Barnes said. Alexis Barnes Barnes and her research were also featured in the February edition of Vegetable Grower News magazine. She points to the experience and expertise of her advisor in the field of sustainable horticulture as a benefit of her graduate education. She sought to learn more about …
… been researching how different agricultural byproducts, like banana and avocado peels , can be utilized to create biodegradable films — plastic-like packaging materials that will decompose in the environment. One of the biggest challenges with petroleum-based plastic — the most common type of plastic — is its lack of decomposition. For example, plastic packaging, … something that may one day replace petroleum plastic as the dominant food packaging material. Janaswamy, left, preparing lignocellulosic solution from the banana residue for film preparation with one of his graduate research assistants, Sumi Regmi, pictured right. From peel to "plastic" The research team first turned the used peels into a bran using a blender. … the film's properties were tested. "The films are strong and transparent, and more importantly, biodegrade within 30 days at 21% soil moisture content," Janaswamy said. "The finding opens up new possibilities for banana peel and other fruit processing byproducts in designing and developing plastic-replacing biodegradable packaging." Transparency is one of the …
… Cover crops contribute to soil health, study shows Worldwide, farmers are being challenged with a variety of issues, including growing populations, a changing climate and soil degradation, among many others. To combat these challenges, researchers are looking for solutions and have begun to focus their work on the viability of sustainable agriculture practices, like cover crops. "One of … field experiment. Cover crops Experimental research on cover crops is widespread with over 61 peer-reviewed cover crop studies having been completed and digitally available through May 2022. The challenge—as Joshi points out—is that the studies do not always provide a clear answer on the benefits of cover crops. "There are numerous studies conducted about …
… SDSU team advances in global Hult Prize contest A business plan developed by four South Dakota State University students — to manufacture biodegradable, single-use plastic bags out of soybean hulls — has earned them a chance to advance in an international contest with the next stop Nairobi, Kenya. The SDSU students are among 360 teams that advanced out of 10,000 teams entered in the global Hult Prize competition, which is considered the Nobel Prize for college students, according to team member Hunter Eide of Gettysburg. Other members are Nicole Schilling, of St. Peter, Minnesota; … activity. The students kept meeting and digging into more complex issues. “It’s very rare and very exciting to see a group of students go beyond like this. … That’s some of the real magic behind this group of students. They are so tenacious and so deeply motivated to understand the world around them and to figure out how to make a positive impact on some of our …