Meet our MANRRS winning team: TSU’s largest group of students gather awards

TSU College of AG’s winning team for MANRRS

By JOAN KITE

Tennessee State University boasted the largest number of winners for Region III in the 2021 MANRRS Regional Cluster Contests sending one doctoral candidate and two graduate candidates to compete in the Three Minute Thesis Contest for their divisions respectively at nationals in April of 2022.

Bhawana Ghimire, 29, won first place in the doctoral division for the Three Minute Thesis Contest by simplifying her thesis titled, “Real time and visual detection of Phytopythium vexans using loop-mediated isothermal amplification,” so the laymen could understand it.

“The competition involved taking the technical and distilling it into the layman’s terms,” Ghimire said, a task she admitted was more complicated than she initially expected it to be.

Graduate candidates Kabirat Nasiru, 27,

“It is the largest number of winners we have had.”

Dr. De’Etra Young Associate Dean of Academics and Land-grant Programs

From left to right are MANRRS winners Kabirat Nasiru, Krishna Neupane, Anita Scales, Bhawana Ghimire, and Ryanna Copeland. Photo by Joan Kite. In the lower right corner is MANRRS winner Emery Minor. Photo courtesy of Emery Minor

TSU College of AG’s winning team for MANRRS

and Krishna Neupane, 28, both placed first in the Three Minute Thesis Contest for simplifying their master’s theses. Nasiru’s thesis was titled, “Sustainable Utilization of Biomass Sorghum and Energy Cane for Biofuel Production in Southeastern U.S. Region.” Neupane’s thesis was titled, “Management of Phytophthora root rot of flowering dogwoods in drought conditions.”

Nasiru arrived at TSU from Nigeria in January or February of 2021. She spoke with her Advisor Dr. Prabodh Illukpitiya.

“I have always been interested in green energy,” Nasiru said. “When I first got here, Dr. Prabodh talked to me about various topics and sorghum and bioenergy seemed like a perfect fit.”

Nasiru admits that being born in Nigeria, which was colonized by the British, gave her an advantage in language.

“English is our first language,” she

Top right, the MANRRS winners take a lighthearted moment to enjoy their spoils. From left, Ryanna Copeland, Kabirat Nasiru, Krishna Neupane, Anita Scales, and Bhawana Ghimire. Not seen is Emery Minor. Photo by Joan Kite

Bottom left, Anita Scales, who is working in Dr. Chyer Kim’s Microbiology Lab at Virginia University, prepares to put bacteria on different media types to analyze their growth. Photo courtesy of Anita Scales.

From left to right are Bhawana Ghimire, Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel, interim dean for research, and Krishna Neupane. Dr. Baysal-Gurel advises both Neupane and Ghimire and said both won first in the competition because they are smart and hard workers. Photo courtesy of Bhawana Ghimire

said. “We learn how to speak the Queen’s English.”

Anita Scales, 29, won second place in the Doctoral Division for the Three Minute Thesis Contest, Ryanna Copeland, 18, won second place for the Industry Interview, and Emery Minor, 18, won second place for the Elevator Pitch competition.

“It is the largest number of winners we have had,” said MANRRS Advisor Dr. De’Etra Young, who helped the entrants prepare for the competition.

The students also had academic advisors to thank as well. “I want to thank Dr. Wendelyn Inman, interim program director for Masters of Public Health,” Scales said. “I had a slide. It was too much. She helped me scale it down. Sometimes, it’s harder to simplify. It made me see my own project in a different light.”

Both Ghimire and Neupane have Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel, as their academic advisor.

“I’m really happy to be in her lab,” Ghimire said about her advisor. “I practiced with Fulya. She gave me the idea on applicability. Dr. Young briefed us about the rules and expectations on delivery.”

Ghimire wants to become a researcher like Baysal-Gurel. After all, she admits that she likes working in a lab to “de-stress.” She likes reading journal papers, too.

Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel said they won because both Ghimire and Neupane are smart and hard workers.

Emery Minor, who is a Farm Bill Scholar, ultimately wants to acquire all the skills necessary to become a sports agent for professional basketball players. She is currently studying to be a registered dietitian, but she said upon graduating TSU, she wants to move onward to the Emory University School of Law or the Nashville School of Law.