Get to know the
CSES Graduate Students
Department of Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences /
Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences Graduate Student Profiles
Learn more about some of our Auburn Ag Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences graduate students by reading their bios and stories below. Visit the Graduate Student page for the full contact list of CSES grad students.
Andrew (Andy) Ahlersmeyer
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Weed Management (Row Crops & Forages)
- Advisor: Dr. Aniruddha Maity and Dr. Andrew Price
CONTACT
- aja0100@auburn.edu
- Office: CASIC 352A
EDUCATION
- M.S., Soil Fertility, South Dakota State University
- B.S., Agribusiness, Purdue University
Tunde Lanre Akanbi
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Weed Science
- Advisor: Dr. David Russell
- Research Work: Tunde’s research interests and thesis fall within the broader area of Weed Science and Agronomy, with particular emphasis on integrated weed management in human managed environment. Tunde’s research takes an inter-disciplinary approach in addressing knowledge gaps by integrating tools and knowledge from a wide range of disciplines.
CONTACT
- tla0021@auburn.edu
- Office: CASIC 352A
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from University of Ibadan, Nigeria
- Diploma Certificate in Wood and Paper Technology
- Higher National Diploma degree in Horticulture and Landscape Technology
Sushant Bhandari
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Soil Chemistry
- Advisor: Dr. Yaniv Olshansky
- Thesis: Effects of Prescribed Fires on Carbon Cycling and Chemical Properties in Hurricane-Impacted Coastal Forest Ecosystems
CONTACT
Mark Philip Castillo
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Plant Breeding and Genetics
- Advisor: Dr. Marnin D. Wolfe
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.S., Biology, Central Luzon State University, Philippines
Gourav Chahal
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Plant Science, Weed Science
- Advisor: Dr. Andrew Price
- Research Work: Integration of cover crops and herbicides for weed control in field crops
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.Sc. Hons. in Agriculture Science from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, India
Sri Mounika Daruvuri
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Crop Science, Weed Science
- Advisor: Dr. Scott McElroy
- Research Work: Studying gene expression with herbicide safener’s.
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences, India
Issa Diaz
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Soil Physics
- Advisor: Dr. Thorsten Knappenberger
- Thesis: Irrigation effects on corn (Zea mays) and soybeans (Glycine max L.) yield in clay soils in the Alabama Blackbelt region
CONTACT
EDUCATION
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B.S., Zamorano University, Honduras
Pablo Roberto Duarte Hernandez
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Precision Agriculture
- Advisors: Dr. Brenda Ortiz, Dr. Audrey Gamble and Dr. Eros Francisco
- Thesis: Irrigation effects on corn (Zea mays) and soybeans (Glycine max L.) yield in clay soils in the Alabama Blackbelt region
CONTACT
EDUCATION
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Escuela Agricola Panamericana El Zamorano, Honduras
Chera Howard
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Environmental Science (Crop, Plant, Soil Fertility)
- Advisors: Dr. David Han
- Thesis: Decreasing Leaching and Soil Movement(Erosion) Using Natural Biodegradable Fibers
CONTACT
EDUCATION
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B.S. in Social Science and Liberal Arts, Auburn University at Montgomery
Bridgette Johnson
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Weed Science
- Advisor: J. Scott McElroy
- Thesis: “The Identification of Foramsulfuron and Sulfentrazone Resistant Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) Populations”
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.S., Environmental Science, Auburn University
Annu Kumari
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Weed Science
- Advisors: Dr. Andrew Price and Dr. Steve Li
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.S., CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana, India
Sudhanshu Kumar
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Ph.D. in Earth System Science and M.S. in Data Science and Engineering
- Advisor: Dr. Di Tian
- Research Areas: Hydroclimatology, Data Engineering
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- M.Tech, Earth System Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India
- B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering, IIT BHU Varanasi, India
Kyle Lesinger
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Hydroclimatology
- Advisor: Dr. Di Tian
- Dissertation: Machine Learning and Deep Learning Methods for Understanding and Improving Subseasonal Predictability of Flash Drought
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.S. Auburn University at Montgomery
- M.S. Auburn University
Francis Manze
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Plant Breeding
- Advisor: Dr. Marnin Wolfe
CONTACT
EDUCATION
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B.S., Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship, Uganda Christian University, Uganda.
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M.Sc., Plant Breeding and Seed Systems, Makerere University, Uganda.
Livia Ianhez Pereira
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Weed Science/Pesticide Application Technology
- Advisor: Dr. Steve Li
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- Agronomic Engineering at Sao Paulo State University, Brazil
Fritzner Pierre
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Crop Physiology and Genomics
- Advisor: Dr. Alvaro Sanz Saez de Jauregui
CONTACT
EDUCATION
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M.S., Tropical Sustainable Agriculture at Zamorano University, Honduras
- B.S., Plant Sciences at Haiti State University, Haiti
Nisith Nishank Purohit
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Weed Biology and Ecology
- Advisor: Dr. Aniruddha Maity
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- MSc., Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India
- BSc., Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh, India
Taufiq Rashid
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Environmental Sciences
- Advisor: Dr. Di Tian
- Dissertation Title: Combining Deep Learning and Physics-based Modeling for Improved Remote Sensing-based Evapotranspiration and Land Surface Temperature Estimates
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- M.Sc., Environmental Engineering, University of Georgia
Claudia Ann Rutland
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Weed Science
- Advisor: Dr. J. Scott McElroy
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.S., Microbiology, Auburn University
Maryam Saeed
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Plant Science
- B.Sc. (Hons) Agriculture, Pakistan
- Advisor: Dr. Rishi Parsad
CONTACT
Vaibhav Balasaheb Shelar
ABOUT
- Master’s Student
- Discipline: Plant Science
- Advisor: Dr. Rishi Parsad
- Thesis: Understanding the Nitrogen Mass Balance and Cycling in Cropping Systems
CONTACT
EDUCATION
- B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India
FELIX SATOGNON
ABOUT
- Ph.D. Candidate
- Discipline: Plant Nutrition
- Advisors: Dr. Dexter B. Watts and Dr. Rishi Prasad
- Research Focus: Impacts of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) when applied with poultry litter on hay production and quality if it is a thesis or dissertation.
CONTACT
EDUCATION
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2022-2023: One Semester of M.Sc. program in Desert Studies, specializing in Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands at French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Ben Gurion University, Israel.2019 – 2021: M.Sc. in Soil Science at the Department of Crops, Horticulture and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Egerton University-ISO 9001:2008, Njoro, P.O.Box 536-20115 Njoro, Kenya.2018 – 2019: One year of M.Sc. in Science and Technics of Plant Production, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526 Cotonou, Republic of Benin.2014–2017: BSc. in Agriculture, option: Sciences and Technics of Plant Production, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Republic of Benin.