91成人

The College of Agriculture at 91成人 (TSU) partnering with Alabama A&M University, Southern University, Florida A&M University, and Langston University to host The 1 890 Center of Excellence for Land, Water and Resource Management (COE-LWRM). The COE-LWRM will be housed in the Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (IAGER) at 91成人.

The 颁翱贰-尝奥搁惭鈥檚 primary goals and thrust areas are, 1) Natural Resource Management, Conservation and Forest Health, 2) Precision Agriculture and Artificial Intelligence (AI), 3) Ecosystem Health and Water Quality, and 4) Workforce Training and Development.

These four multi-disciplinary thurst areas 听will coordinate and unify participants via scholarly research, teaching , and Extension activities, and provide collaborative opportunities among 1890 institutions to tackle contemporary environmental issues that impact terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We will take a One Health approach to evaluate the collective impacts of environmental change, land-use patterns , and water resource availability on ecosystem 听integrity .

The 1890 Center of Excellence in Land, Water and Resources management (COE-LWRM) at 91成人 is partnered with following Institutions.

• Alabama A&M University
• Florida A&M University
• Fort Valley State University
• Langston University听
• Lincoln University
• Prairie View A&M University
• Southern University
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore
  
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COE-LWRM News

Congratulations to mentored by Dr. () for winning the 2026 Grant A. Harris Research Award from METER Group.

鈥婬er research on Decoupling Matrix Repellency from Macropore Flow in Forest Soils is pushing boundaries here at the 91成人, TSU College of Agriculture. This work is supported through the COE-LWRM grant, advancing research in soil and water processes within natural resource systems.

The COE-LWRM at 91成人 hosted a special session at the 2026 ARD Biennial Research Symposium in New Orleans on 31st March 2026, highlighting collaborative research across the 1890 land-grant network. The session featured 26 oral and 18 poster presentations from faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, showcasing advancements in natural resource management, forest health, precision agriculture and AI, ecosystem health, water quality, and workforce development.

Kaya Mitchell from 91成人, mentored by Dr. Tom Byl, earned third place in the Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment category for the undergraduate oral presentation competition. At the same time, our colleague from Langston University celebrated exceptional success with students advised by Dr. Kamal Gosh, where Tremar Ivey received first place and Jasmine Price earned second place in undergraduate oral presentations.听

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Announcements

Summer Internship Opportunities 鈥� COE-LWRM

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The RANGE Summer Research Experience is a four-week residential program for motivated high school students interested in agriculture, environmental science, natural resource management, and STEM careers. Participants conduct mentored research, take field excursions, and present their final work at a summer research symposium.

PROGRAM SUMMARY

The听Research and Applied Natural Resource Growth Experience (RANGE)听is a听4-week residential summer research program听hosted by the 91成人 College of Agriculture as part of the听Center of Excellence for Land, Water, and Resource Management (COE-LWRM). Supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions Program, RANGE provides rising high school juniors and seniors with hands-on training in environmental science, agriculture, natural resource management, and emerging technologies that drive sustainable ecosystems. RANGE students engage in immersive research guided by faculty from TSU.

Participants explore research areas including:
鈥� Soil health and carbon dynamics
鈥� Water-quality monitoring and watershed resilience
鈥� Land-use change, erosion control, and habitat restoration
鈥� Forest and wetland health and biodiversity
鈥� Precision agriculture, drones, sensor networks, and decision-support systems

Students live on campus, conduct supervised research, attend workshops, tour field sites, and present their work at a research symposium.

Dates:听June 14 鈥� July 10, 2026
Location:听91成人, Nashville, TN
Eligibility:听Rising juniors and seniors, minimum 3.0 GPA
Cost: Fully funded (housing, meals, supplies included)

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:
鈥� Be a rising high school junior or senior or recent high school graduate (entering 11th or 12th grade in Fall 2026 or high school class of 2026)
鈥� Have a minimum cumulative听3.0 GPA
鈥� Demonstrate interest in agriculture, natural resources, environmental science, ecology, or related STEM fields
鈥� Commit to full participation from June 14 鈥� July 10, 2026

1. Online application form
2. Official or unofficial transcript
3. Career Interest Essay听(~ 500 words)
4. One of recommendations听(STEM teacher preferred)
5. School counselor endorsement form
6. Parent/guardian consent

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated on:
鈥� Academic performance
鈥� Essay quality
鈥� Demonstrated interest in STEM and natural resource fields
鈥� Strength of recommendations
鈥� Commitment to full participation

Program Expectations

Selected students must:
鈥� Attend all classes, workshops, labs, and field activities
鈥� Reside on campus for the full duration
鈥� Present their research at the final symposium
鈥� Follow all TSU and program policies

THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS NOW CLOSED - APPLICATIONS NO LONGER ACCEPTED

Download the required forms.听

1. Parent Consent Form

2. Counselor Endorsement Form

Graduate Student Research Opportunities 鈥� COE-LWRM

The Center of Excellence for Land, Water, and Resource Management (COE-LWRM) at 91成人 is pleased to announce the recruitment of student researchers for the upcoming academic terms. COE-LWRM supports interdisciplinary training and research aligned with its three core thrust areas.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs)

• Total Positions: 15

• Level: Masters

• Focus Areas: Aligned with the three COE-LWRM thrust areas

• Application Status:

  • Spring 2026 applications are now closed

  • Future-term opportunities will be announced as they become available

Graduate Research Assistants are expected to engage in funded research projects, contribute to publications and presentations, and work closely with faculty mentors.

Undergraduate Work-Aid Positions

• Total Positions: 15

• Level: Undergraduate students

• Focus Areas: Research, fieldwork, data collection, laboratory support, and outreach activities aligned with COE-LWRM thrust areas

• Application Status:

  • Recruitment is ongoing and positions are filled on a rolling basis

Undergraduate Work-Aid positions provide hands-on research experience and professional development opportunities while supporting ongoing COE-LWRM projects.

For additional details regarding eligibility, expectations, and application procedures, please refer to the COE-LWRM website or contact the Center directly. For more information .

Our Goals

1. Natural Resources Management, Conservation and improve Forest Health

2. Precision Agriculture and use of Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture

3. Ecosystem Health and Water Quality

4. Workforce Training and Development

Natural Resources Management, Conservation and Forest Health

Coordinators/Thurst Area Leaders 鈥� Dr. William Sutton and Dr. Yong Wang

• Dr. Bharat Pokharel: Predictive Mapping of Plant Species as an Indicator of Forest Ecosystem Health
• , , and : Forest and Wildlife Responses to Forest Management and Forest Structure and Vegetation Dynamics
• and : Forest management impacts on carbon and nutrient turnover rates in hurricane-affected ecosystems under evolving environmental conditions
• , and : Estimation and modeling of forest carbon storage dynamics disturbed with prescribed and forest thinning
• : Forest Ecology and plant-soil feedbacks as a mechanism for shaping community composition, structure and productivity of temperate and tropical forests

Precision Agriculture and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Coordinators/Thurst Area Leader: Dr. Chandra Reddy

Canola: Lead Scientist - Dr. Jason de Koff

Sweet Sorghum: Lead Scientist - Dr. Ahmad Aziz

Switch Grass: Lead Scientists - Dr. Dafeng Hui

Precision Agriculture: Lead Scientist - Dr. Clement Akumu

Crop Nutrition: Lead Scientist - Dr. Dharma Pitchay

Crop Adaptation: Lead Scientist - Dr. Mathew Blair

Livestock Adaptation: Lead Scientist - Dr. Richard Browning

Precision and autonomous agricultural machinery, AI, ML - Dr. Chenchen Kang

Aquaculture Adaptation: Lead Scientists - and

Small Ruminant Genomics and AI -

Forages/Small Ruminant Parasite Control and AI/ML- Lead Scientists - and

Ecosystem Health and Water Quality

Coordinators/Thurst Area Leader: Dr. De鈥橢tra Young and

Soil Organic Matter, Soil Health, Carbon Sequestration and Soil Science- Lead Scientists - Dr. Jianwei Li, and Dr. Resham Thapa

Soil Physics, Hydro Geo-Physics, Soil Water Dynamics in Agriculture systems - Lead Scientist - Dr. Felix Ogunmokun

Root Systems Biology and interactions between plant roots, soils, and symbiotic soil microbes - Lead Scientists - , and

Impact of Urban Forests for Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Reduction 鈥� Lead Scientist 鈥�

Prediction, early reporting, and impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms - Lead Scientist - Dr. Tom Byl

Environmental Change and its Impacts to Water Quality and Quantity - Lead Scientist -

Geospatial Analysis and Bioremediation: Lead Scientist - Dr. Reginald Archer

Soil Contamination: Lead Scientist - Dr. Sudipta Rakshit