2011 AGRISCIENCE AWARDS RECIPIENTS

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the American Farm Bureau Federation are honored to have awarded the achievements of the following 2011 Agriscience Awards Columbus Scholars:

$25,000 Agriscience Distinguished Scientist Awards

	Randall Prather, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Biotechnology Division of Animal Science The University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri
Dr. Prather's research has focused on the early mammalian embryo, and he cloned the first pigs and some of the first cattle, by nuclear transfer, while at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Now at the University of Missouri, his lab has made over 495 cloned pigs representing over 25 different genetic modifications for agriculture and medicine. Dr. Prather is a co-Director of the NIH-funded National Swine Resource and Research Center. Dr. Prather will also receive up to $25,000 in research funds.

	Andrew H. Paterson, Ph.D. Distinguished Research Professor University of Georgia Athens, Georgia
Dr. Paterson is the head of the Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory, and is jointly appointed in three Departments (Crop and Soil Science, Plant Biology, and Genetics). His research uses genomic tools and approaches to study crop improvement, plant biodiversity, and molecular evolution. His lab has contributed to knowledge of sorghum, cotton, sugarcane, peanut, Miscanthus, switchgrass, Bermuda grass, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, rice, tomato, maize and other crops, as well as several major weeds, one nitrogen-fixing bacterium (Azospirillum), and a group of viruses important in poultry. Dr. Paterson will also receive up to $25,000 in research funds.

$10,000 Agriscience Educator Awards

	Michele Sutton Agriscience Educator and FFA Advisor Tompkins Seneca Tioga BOCES Ithaca, New York
Michele left a ten-year career in government to pursue an education degree when she realized she wanted to work with students in the field of agriculture. During her first secondary school teaching position, she transformed an outdated, struggling program of 13 students into a program of more than 100 students in two short years. She is now a teacher of the BOCES New Visions in Life Sciences program for area high school students at Cornell University where she has taught agricultural science for the past six years.

	Melissa Braun Agriscience Educator and FFA Advisor Gillett Secondary School Gillett, Wisconsin
For the last eight years, Melissa has taught agriscience to students in grades 7-12. This Fall she begins a new venture at Shawano High School in the agriculture department. Melissa teaches a wide array of agriscience courses, but has a great interest in the areas of food science, horticulture, and greenhouse management. Her teaching includes many hands-on activities and field trips to reinforce the scientific principles throughout her lessons. She follows an agricultural education model which involves all components--classroom instruction, FFA involvement and a Supervised Agricultural Experience Project.

	Paul Heasley Agriscience Educator and FFA Advisor State College Area School District State College, Pennsylvania
Mr. Heasley has taught Agricultural Sciences in grades 9-12 for 30 years. The program's courses are grouped in Career Paths including: Ag Mechanics, Animal Science, Natural Resources and Plant Sciences. A senior year option includes a "Dual Enrollment" with The Pennsylvania State University's College of Agricultural Sciences and 18 different agricultural science courses provided on campus or through the World Campus. The program has active chapters in the FFA and Young Farmers.

$5,000 Agriscience Student Awards

	Laura Lane Senior, Aztec High School Aztec, New Mexico
Laura's love of science inspired her project to tackle indicators of soil ecosystem health for oil and gas reclamation. One out of every three abandoned wellsite does not reestablish plant biodiversity, leaving thousands of acres of undesirable soil that cannot support grazing. Laura has worked with Habitat for Humanity, and last summer went to Guatemala on a build. In the Fall she plans to attend New Mexico Tech to study pre-medical; and major in biochemistry or chemical engineering. After her undergraduate studies, she wants to attend medical school and become a trauma doctor.

	Bhiravi Rathinasabapathi Senior, Eastside High School Gainesville, Florida
Bhiravi's interests include science, service and literature. She is currently researching the biofortification of crops with iron. Biofortification is the breeding or genetic modification of plants to increase their nutrient content. Bhiravi is examining the effects of the overexpression of a ferritin gene on plants' iron content and biomasses. This research may eventually lead to an iron-biofortified crop. Such a crop would combat anemia, which affects an estimated two billion people worldwide. She will attend the University of California Berkeley in the Fall.

	Stephen Bethel Senior, Lake Brantley High School Altamonte Springs, Florida
Stephen's research "Evaluation of Ubiquitin Promoter Expression Abilities for Potential Use in Transgenic Grape Vine" (Vitis vinifera), explored consumer-friendly genetic alternatives to replace viral DNA currently used in genetically modified produce. Stephen met Nobel Laureate, Dr. Martin Chalfie, a biological sciences researcher who first demonstrated the value of GFP, a luminous genetic tag that Stephen used in his work. This Fall, Stephen will attend the University of Florida Honors Program in Aerospace Engineering.

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