Tatiana Kardashina, a New Mexico State University graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, won the poster presentation contest at the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America International annual meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.
The ASA, CSSA, SSSA International annual meeting is a gathering for networking and collaboration of environmental sciences innovations to advance agronomic, crop and soil sciences.
The presentation, “Comparison of Remote Soil Moisture Sensing Methods,” researched the accuracy of soil moisture sensors on golf courses to manage irrigation needs. It was awarded first place in the graduate student poster contest, which had more than 50 posters presented. It was a collaborative project between the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering and the Department of Extension Plant Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
“It was unexpected and I was very surprised,” Kardashina said. “While my project supervisor believed my poster had a good chance due to the innovative technology we utilized, I never anticipated winning. This achievement holds great importance for me. I hope that it brings increased attention to our project and the technologies employed. Winning inspires me to maintain my motivation and continue contributing to the project.”
This work was presented by Kardashina, along with Borys Drach, mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor; Bernhard Leinauer, Regents Professor and Extension turfgrass specialist; and Ciro Velasco-Cruz, Extension plant sciences senior research scientist.
“At first I was somewhat surprised, as it doesn’t happen often that a student representing NMSU’s turfgrass program wins first place at an international meeting,” Leinauer said. “Tatiana’s poster presentation summarized her findings with the necessary scientific vigor while still making the material clear and easy to understand for those not familiar with the field. The results of her work in irrigation water conservation were considered novel and interesting, earning her first place over all other poster presentations. We are proud of Tatiana.”
For more information on the ASA, CSSA, SSSA International annual meeting, visit https://www.acsmeetings.org/.
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