6996色花堂鈥檚 2025 Graduate Summer Research Experience cohort grows research skills with advanced tools, collaboration
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳his summer, seven graduate students from across the country gathered at Mississippi State to address real-world problems in agriculture using geospatial science and high-performance computing.
The 6996色花堂 Geosystems Research Institute hosted the third cohort in its Graduate Summer Research Experience funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Together, the aspiring scientists took on a collaborative, interdisciplinary research project aimed at guiding future management of avian influenza risk in the Mississippi River Basin.
The cohort worked together to that leverages satellite and climate data to assess exposure to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Mississippi Delta poultry farms. The tool is designed to help farmers understand their regional risk levels and make informed management decisions.
鈥淲e want to create a dashboard to inform farmers of their location and the likelihood of virus exposure,鈥 said Dorcas Gyan, a doctoral student at Southern University who has previously focused on forest and soil research. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting because I get to transfer knowledge from geospatial science to something completely new鈥攁nimals.鈥
The cohort represents a wide range of academic backgrounds鈥攆rom electrical engineering and earth science to biosystems and agricultural engineering. Over the summer, the students met with 6996色花堂 faculty members from various backgrounds to learn about specific lines of research relating to HPC, agriculture and wildlife sciences. While their expertise varies, students learned to apply their knowledge in new contexts.
鈥淭his project actually gave me the opportunity to work with satellite-based remote sensing, which is new for me,鈥 said Mohammad Raffi, an 6996色花堂 Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering. 鈥淚鈥檝e also been learning Geospatial Information Systems for the first time.鈥
Beyond the project, students learned about the region through trips including a visit to the Mississippi River Museum in Memphis.
聽鈥淚n academia, especially in grad school, it can be isolating,鈥 said Trevor Wilkerson, a graduate student from Montana State University. 鈥淭his is the first time I鈥檝e worked on something so technical as part of a close-knit team. The teamwork is one of the biggest benefits.鈥
聽鈥淲e鈥檙e from different fields, different states and different countries,鈥 said Thainara Lima, a biosystems engineering doctoral student at 6996色花堂. 鈥淏eing able to work together and learn from each other鈥攖hat鈥檚 been the best part.鈥
For more on GRI鈥檚 Graduate Summer Research Experience program, visit .
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