April 26, 2017
Three K-State graduate students to attend U.S. Borlaug Summer Institute on Global Food Security
Three K-State doctoral students – Narinder Singh, plant pathology and interdepartmental genetics; Joseph Weeks, soil and environmental chemistry; and Tesfaye Tadesse, grain science and industry — are among the 40 students who have been selected nationally to participate in the U.S. Borlaug Summer Institute on Global Food Security.
The institute is an annual two-week learning program for graduate students attending U.S. institutions who are interested in developing a holistic understanding of the conceptual challenges around global food security. It is organized by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. This introduction to world food security provides students with a working knowledge of these issues, with a focus on cross-disciplinary problem solving of real-world development challenges.
Narinder's research focuses on mining novel genetic diversity in wheat wild relatives for crop improvement to strengthen food security. Weeks is working to find ways to improve phosphorus fertilizer use efficiency in calcareous soils, such as those found in western Kansas, and acid soils of more tropical parts of the world. Tadesse is researching alternative insecticides and technologies on postharvest loss reduction for the smallholder farmer's commodities.
At the institute, students will participate in several group discussions, engage in conversation with experts in science, policy and business, present a poster, and draft and submit a grant proposal to the audience.