Celebrating Growth and Achievement

Merits and Merriment

On Friday, April 19th, members of Michigan State’s Plant Biology community gathered in the atrium of the Molecular Plant Sciences building for the 2024 PLB Awards and Poster Session. This event, organized to highlight the outstanding achievements of Plant Biology students, returned for the second year under the leadership of department chair Andrea Case. 

Throughout the afternoon, attendees mingled over lunch, graduating PLB seniors presented posters on their research, and leaders from across MSU bestowed awards on members of the Plant Biology department. 

Case, alongside Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies Tammy Long, presented awards to the department’s undergraduate and graduate students in recognition of academic achievement, excellence in research and teaching, and contributions to the department and to Michigan State University. 

“We are exceedingly proud of our graduate and undergraduate students for their dedication and achievement,” said Case. “The strength of our programs and the support of the PLB academic community becomes so clear when we celebrate each other. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to foster such excellent and talented plant biologists early in their careers.”

Outstanding Undergraduates 

“This was an exceptional cohort, especially in regards of how they interacted; their collaborative efforts, especially their support of one another, were inspiring,” Long said of the department’s graduating seniors. “Seeing their growth, and how they’re pursuing various paths after graduation, makes me proud. It should make the whole department proud.” 

Katie Philipps received the Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award and travel funds from the Norman Good Fund for Research Support. Long noted that Philipps “has done a tremendous amount of work during her time here and demonstrated excellence in undergraduate research.”  

Phillips will use funds from the Norman Good Award to travel to the 2024 American Society of Plant Biologists conference in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, where she will present her research as a 2023 ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship awardee.

Alyssa Molema received the Outstanding Service in Plant Biology Award. "Alyssa has been an integral part of the department and been an important liaison between the undergraduate students and the rest of the department,” Long said, adding that Molema helped revitalize the Plant Biology Club and served on the undergraduate committee. 

Jordan Zapata was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award and the Michigan Garden Club Award. “Jordan demonstrated both research excellence and service to the department,” Long said. “He’s was a Beal scholar and worked in the Beal Botanical Gardens and the MSU Herbarium, and helped found the memorial herbarium collection dedicated to the students lost in the campus shooting in 2023.”  

Kate Scott, an undergraduate member of the Walker Lab, will use her Norman Good Award funding to support travel-related costs for an internship at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. Berkley Walker, Prinicpal Investigator of the Walker lab in which Scott works as an undergraduate research assistant, said that Scott, “embodies a self-driven nature, technical proficiency, and unwavering research integrity." 

Alongside the accolades presented to the department’s graduating seniors, two continuing undergraduate students received travel support from the Norman Good Fund. Norman Good awards provide financial support for travel to upcoming internships, research presentations, and educational opportunities.

Recognizing Graduate Excellence

Diane Ebert-May, a University Distinguished Professor and the Graduate Program Director in Plant Biology, noted that, “our graduate students' commitment to and passion for their research and the community contribute to the aspirations of Plant Biology. These awards illuminate the excellence of our department's rising stars.” 

Among the awardees in the graduate cohort was Luke Gregory, who received the Bessey Award for best Publication. Gregory, a PhD student in the Walker Lab, was lead author on the 2023 publication “Increased activity of core photorespiratory enzymes and CO2 transfer conductances are associated with higher and more optimal photosynthetic rates under elevated temperatures in the extremophile Rhazya stricta” in the journal Plant, Cell & Environment. Berkley Walker, Gregory’s PhD advisor, who nominated him for the award, noted that, "Luke has demonstrated extraordinary scientific achievement that has greatly aided his work using on-line measurements of stable isotopes and biochemical measurements of photorespiration to infer novel gas exchange mechanisms in vascular plants."

Emily Conway, a PhD student in the Brudvig Restoration Ecology Lab, received the Bessey Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Research.  

“Through her research, Emily has made important headway on a pressing environmental issue: the restoration of natural ecosystems in urban areas,” said Lars Brudvig, a professor of Plant Biology and one of Conway’s advisors. “She has also been a key member of the Plant Biology community and we're all very proud of her.” 

Kate Wynne, a PhD student in the Sullivan Plant Ecology Lab, also received the Bessey Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Research. Lauren Sullivan, an assistant professor in Plant Biology and one of Wynn’s advisors, said of Wynn’s work, "Kate's dissertation was a beautiful combination of really interesting observational work. She gathered the preliminary data to design an elegant test of ecological theory on priority effects,” the hierarchy that forms in an ecosystem based on species’ order of arrival. Sullvian explained that Wynne’s work had a range of applications across basic and applied research, and praised Wynn's quantitative skills, noting that, “Kate is an excellent applied statistician.” 

Riley Pizza, a graduate student in Plant Biology, received the Fields Award for Outstanding Teaching and a Paul Taylor Endowment. They were also a recipient of the Excellence-in-Teaching Citation during the All-University Awards.  

Pizza, who joined the Department of Plant Biology in 2020 and became a graduate teaching assistant in 2021, has been a TA in multiple courses at MSU over the past few years. “I co-taught plants of Michigan with Lars Brudvig, which was a wonderful experience! But even though I love teaching plant science, my heart is teaching introductory biology classes,” they remarked.  “To be recognized for my teaching is really special. I think it says a lot about Plant Biology as a program that teaching, and the importance of teaching in this graduate program, is recognized.” 

Additionally, twenty-two graduate students also received funds for research support from the Paul Taylor Endowment, which may be used to pay for travel expenses, educational or collaborative opportunities, and other endeavors. 

An Unexpected Twist 

During the event, President Kevin Guskiewicz made a surprise appearance to award Tammy Long the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award – a prestigious recognition of a faculty member whose creation of innovative environments enable student learning, “within, and across, disciplinary, cultural, and ethnic boundaries." 

 “When the President showed up, at first, I was confused — and then excited that our students had garnered his attention. My first reaction was to get out of the way,” Long remarked. 

Instead, Long took center stage, accompanied by Case and other members of university leadership, to accept the award. Phillip Duxbury, Dean of the College of Natural Science, and Mark Largent, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of Undergraduate Studies each gave remarks recognizing Long’s longtime service to MSU and her continuing excellence as an educator. 

“This award honors one educator who demonstrates a passion for teaching and enthusiasm for engaging with students to foster a sense of curiosity and excitement about learning and Dr. Long certainly honors the spirit of this award,” Largent said.  

Long is recognized as a leader in the teaching and learning of biology, with research focusing on model-based learning in introductory biology. Students who take Long’s classes are provided with the infrastructure needed to thrive with skills that are useful in the classroom, along with the knowledge of how to excel and find success outside of it. 

Long was later acknowledged alongside Pizza and other All-University Award winners from across MSU at a ceremony in May. In turn, she acknowledged the role of the department’s staff in making the Plant Biology Awards Ceremony a success: 

“I want to extend my thanks to the office staff: Heather Stallone, Kelley Rose, Sara Kraeuter, Krystal Witt, and Trevor Simmons, for helping make the event run smoothly.” 

Supporting Student Success

All of our awards are made possible by generous donations to our endowments.  

“As we celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of our students,” Case noted, “we equally celebrate and acknowledge the generosity and support of our alums and benefactors.”  

To learn more about these awards or to make a donation, please visit our awards page. 

For a full list of award winners from the Plant Biology Awards, see the list below. 

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