The CIAS Mini-Grant Program provides funding for graduate students to conduct research and outreach projects over the course of a single summer. In 2022, nine graduate students will receive funding to conduct the research and outreach projects listed below. Recipients will learn how to manage a grant, participate in leadership activities and present their findings to their peers. Visit our site next fall to learn what they discovered, and apply for research support for summer 2023 when the Request for Proposals is released in spring.
The preservation of traditional Ch’orti’ agroecological practices through multimedia resources in Chiquimula, Guatemala
Student researcher: Meg Baker, CALS-Agroecology
Faculty advisor: Julie Dawson, CALS Department of Horticulture
Clallam Growers Collective: A case study of solidarity economies in agroecological movements
Student researcher: Elena Bird, CALS-Agroecology
Faculty advisor: Nan Enstad, CALS Department of Community and Environmental Sociology
Adapting to Climate Change: Community-based perspectives from smallholder farmers in Southern Zambia
Student researcher: Colleen Henegan, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Faculty advisor: Chris Kucharik, CALS Department of Agronomy
Understanding the effect of thermal heterogeneity on pollinator visitation in agroforestry systems
Student researcher: Grace Melone, Entomology
Faculty advisor: James Crall, CALS Department of Entomology
Wisconsin’s “Biological Ferrari”: Marbled Grassfed Wagyu Beef
Student researcher: Mpumelelo Ncwadi, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Faculty advisor: Randy Jackson, CALS Department of Agronomy
Denaturalizing the nuclear family: relationality on farming cooperatives
Student researcher: Emma Richmond, School of Human Ecology
Faculty advisor: Jennifer Gaddis, School of Human Ecology-Civil Society and Community
Influence of rye cover crop on microbial activity
Student researcher: Monica Schauer, CALS-Agroecology
Faculty advisor: Matt Ruark, CALS Department of Soil Science
The effects of grazing management and intensity on grassland butterfly abundance and diversity
Student researcher: Anna Skye-Harnsberger, Entomology
Faculty advisor: Claudio Gratton, CALS Department of Entomology
Culinary evaluation of experimental Corn
Student researcher: Alexa Wilson, Agronomy
Faculty advisor: Bill Tracy, CALS Department of Agronomy