糖心视频

Story written by: Christie Delfanian

鈥淵ou can learn a lot here in a small amount of time.鈥�

That sentiment expressed by Dillon Nelson, an Oglala Lakota College junior, typifies the experiences of five undergraduates who did research this summer at South 糖心视频 State University through a National Institute of Food and Agriculture program.

The Future Agriculture and Science Taskforce Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (FAST REEU) fellowship program provides qualifying students a 10-week laboratory experience the first summer, followed by an industry internship the second summer.

Associate Professor of Biology and Microbiology Madhav Nepal, who coordinates the program, said 鈥淲e want to get our students excited about science and agriculture.鈥� The program, which began this year, is supported by a four-year, nearly $280,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and provides a $6,000 student stipend each summer.

Information about the FAST REEU program.

Working with seaweed extract

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good internship to do,鈥� said Nelson. He worked with carrageenans, long chain sulfated polysaccharides, an extract of seaweed, under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Srinivas Janaswamy in Dairy and Food Science. The polysaccharides can be used to encapsulate nutraceuticals, vitamins, drugs, antimicrobials and flavoring in food products.

Nelson, guided by doctoral student Mohamad Elfaruk, purified the seaweed extract and prepared solutions to stretch oriented fibers. They added different ions and adjusted the drying time to enhance the fibers鈥� encapsulation capacity.

鈥淲orking with these tiny pieces takes lots of patience,鈥� Elfaruk said. 鈥淒illon was highly focused and interested in the research,鈥� Janaswamy added.

鈥淵ou need to be present,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淗owever, unlike with coursework, you can focus on one thing and it鈥檚 a lot more fun.鈥� The Pine Ridge native will complete his bachelor鈥檚 degree in Indian law and an associate degree in pre-engineering at OLC next year. He plans on becoming a mechanical engineer.

鈥淚 would tell my peers to come experience the environment. Everyone here is uplifting and welcoming,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good place to be if you want to focus on your studies and education.鈥�

Learning industrial microbiology

Sha'Teal Pearman, a junior ag business major at SDSU, became more familiar with microscopes, plating and dilutions than she ever anticipated. The Eagle Butte native is a Lakota from the Cheyenne River Reservation. She learned about the FAST REEU fellowship from the American Indian Student Center.

鈥淚 got a glimpse of what really goes on in the lab,鈥� said Pearman. Under the mentorship of Biology and Microbiology Research Assistant Bishnu Karki, Pearman worked on two projects. She helped master鈥檚 student Burgandy Roberts make dried distiller鈥檚 grain more digestible for fish feed and undergraduate biochemistry and biotechnology major Camille Massman extract antioxidants from the grape pomace left from making wine.

鈥淪ha'Teal is always asking questions about what we are doing and what the end goal is,鈥� Massman said. Pearman, who wants to go to graduate school, said, 鈥淚 feel everyone should get a chance to do this as an undergraduate.鈥�

Studying antibiotic resistance

鈥淔AST made me realize I need to figure out what I am doing after graduation,鈥� said sophomore Caroline Kincade. The Minnesota native transferred to SDSU after two years in a vet tech program.

Kincade, who is in the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College, is pursuing a microbiology major with a chemistry minor. She worked with doctoral student Heather Deter on a project to figure out how persister cells contribute to antibiotic resistance, under the mentorship of Assistant Biology and Microbiology Professor Nicolas Butzin.

鈥淒oing research taught me a lot of patience,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚 have to think more about what I鈥檓 doing. In a lab class, we have a procedure. If the experiment does not work, we go on to the next. In research, we have to figure out why it did not work and redo it until it works. When we care about it, we want to learn more.鈥�

Kincade has decided to combine veterinary medicine with microbiology. 鈥淭his experience set me up for success,鈥� she said.

Improving soybeans

SDSU sophomore Kaleb Parajuli, a wildlife fisheries major from Baltic, stretched his horizons by testing the effectiveness of two treatments designed to increase the soybeans鈥� nitrogen-fixing power. 鈥淚 learned a lot working with vegetation in the field that I can use in terms of wildlife habitat,鈥� he said.

鈥淜aleb is well organized and learned a lot about planning a relatively large experiment and collecting data,鈥� said Parajuli鈥檚 糖心视频 mentor, Associate Professor Senthil Subramanian. Parajuli also worked with Agronomy Field Specialists David Karki and Anthony Bly.

Parajuli measured chlorophyll and nitrogen content as well as leaf index weekly and counted the soybean nodules and calculated root, shoot and nodule biomass every three weeks. Graduate student Jesus Loya assisted him with the field work.

Parajuli recommended the fellowship to other students, saying, 鈥淭ake the opportunity鈥攜ou might discover something that can change your outlook.鈥�

Immersed in parliamentary procedure

Wisconsin native Amie Carter had her high school chapter of the National Future Farmers of America Organization in mind when she chose assistant professors Troy White and Laura Hasselquist of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Leadership as her mentors. The junior ag education major at SDSU developed an interactive notebook on parliamentary procedures geared toward middle and high-school students.

鈥淎 self-evaluation this summer showed that my top five strengths fit into the component of parliamentary procedures,鈥� Carter explained. 鈥淒oing this notebook was so much fun鈥攁nd this is something I intend to use in my future classroom.鈥�

White said, 鈥淎mie was passionate about her work.鈥� At a summer conference, he showed Carter鈥檚 notebook to 10 to 15 teachers who gave her feedback. 鈥淭hey were excited about it,鈥� he said. He鈥檒l share it again at a conference this fall. Her notebook will also be available on. 鈥淲e will know whether it is being used,鈥� he said.