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The sun shines down upon rolling mountains on the Armenian countryside

Field Note

Keelin Kelly '20: Tackling climate change alongside farmers in Armenia
Research is something I love and gets to the heart of my curiosity. What drives me is understanding how climate change impacts real people and societies. Research doesn’t just mean sitting in a lab: For my honor thesis project, it meant speaking...
  • Agriculture
  • Climate Change
  • Environment
A large green wine vineyard with a road going up the middle of it

Field Note

Global Partnerships Help Armenian Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
Everything changed when I came to Cornell as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship participant. The Humphrey Fellowship Program provides mid-career specialists from developing countries the opportunity to spend a year at Cornell University learning...
  • Global Development Section
  • Agriculture
  • Food
Two people stand in front of a plant, inspecting the leaves

Field Note

Ali Cala: Helping New York state hemp growers manage plant pathogens
What is the focus of your research at Cornell AgriTech? Since beginning my graduate work at Cornell, I have been involved in several research projects involving various fungal pathogens of hemp. Powdery mildew in particular has emerged as a...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section
Two men stand on either sides of a women

Field Note

Food science startup harnesses the power of fermentation
Recent studies indicate that bioactive peptides, organic substances formed by amino acids and joined by covalent bonds known as amide or peptide bonds, may play a significant role in human health, particularly in the digestive, endocrine...
  • Food Science
  • Food
  • Beverages
Four college students and one man stand in front of a sign for the delegation of Singapore

Field Note

Our common home
While global climate change is an abstract, larger-than-life concept to many, it is deeply personal to me. Nature is universal to all humans, offering no labels, and encompassing everything and everyone as a whole system. Having lived in three...
  • Cornell Botanic Gardens
  • Environment
  • Climate Change
A man wearing a red shirt and baseball hat standing in front of and talking about a green leafy plant

Field Note

George Stack: Cultivating knowledge for New York state hemp growers
What drew you to the program at Cornell AgriTech? I first came to visit Cornell AgriTech for a field trip during my undergrad, and then I spent the summer here in 2018 as part of the Summer Scholars program. Both of those experiences made it...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
Female professor stands in outdoor archway

Field Note

Follow your passion
For years as a molecular biologist I was looking for work that had more meaning and impact. My passions eventually led me to work on cassava and sweet potato, which was interesting but still too lab based. There came a moment where I realized...
  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development

Field Note

International education opens world of possibilities

As an International Agriculture and Rural Development (IARD) undergraduate I had the chance to participate in a vast array of opportunities. Each one taught me something valuable, and all contributed to my future successes. My work on a farm in...

  • International Programs
  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development
A female student standing in front of a large penned farm animal

Field Note

A youth-driven approach to sustainable farming in Thailand
Over the summer I spent my time working on two main projects in Thailand. Most of the work with the Yasothon farming collective revolved around aiding in the creation of a project proposal for alternative cropping for farmers, and permaculture...
  • International Programs
  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development
A female student standing and smiling standing behind a fence in front of a tan building

Field Note

Advice from a CALS student — ‘Be mindful. Be passionate. And be fearless.'
A unique and wonderful experience — that’s what I had this summer [2019]. I had the opportunity to work with Trickle Up, a global non-governmental organization that aims to empower those living in extreme poverty, with a program called...
  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development

Field Note

Making a splash in international agriculture

Agriculture's role as a mobilizer in emerging markets was a core theme of my undergraduate studies in International Agriculture and Rural Development ( IARD). Understanding this concept allowed me not only to engage more deeply with my work but...

  • International Programs
  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development
A female reaching for an apple hanging in a tree

Field Note

Anna Wallis: Helping protect the health of New York state’s apples
What drew you to the program at Cornell AgriTech? Apples! I’ve been working with tree fruit since I was an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, and I was previously a regional apple specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Not only...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Field Note

Capitol Hill experience inspires CALS student to pursue legislative career

McBath traveled to Washington, D.C. with Jan Nyrop, director of Cornell AgriTech, Dianne Miller, senior director of federal relations, and other extension representatives from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). While there...

  • Alumna/Alumnus
  • Prospective Undergraduate Student
  • Cornell AgriTech
A split screen of a male student holding a microphone asking a question of a male presidential candidate

Field Note

Cornell students question candidates on climate change
Marc Alessi ’18, a master’s degree student in atmospheric sciences, challenged Bernie Sanders on his position that dismisses nuclear energy technology. “We’ve got a heck of a lot of nuclear waste, which … will stay around this planet for many...
  • Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Environment
  • Climate Change
Three people sit on buckets and pick beans

Field Note

Michael Rosato: Creating a sustainable & affordable future for NY growers
What drew you to the program with Steve Reiners? I first worked in Steve Reiners’s program at the beginning of my undergraduate years as a summer technician. Steve always took the time to answer questions and helped me explore the world of...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
two young men and young woman stand outside of a barn

Field Note

Dyson alumnus brings lively new energy to Finger Lakes goat dairy
Dave Messmer ’17 has been learning a thing or two about dairy farming since he was six years old. Now, almost 25 years later, he is putting that knowledge to work at a new level as co-owner of Lively Run Goat Dairy in Interlaken, New York. In...
  • Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
  • Agriculture
  • Food
Amanda Rodewald stands in a congressional hearing room

Field Note

Do more for birds, not less, Rodewald tells Congress
Amanda Rodewald, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s senior director of conservation science, testified to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources on the importance of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Woman standing on a street with hands in pockets

Field Note

Rebekah Jones '20: changing lives for people, communities
She was inspired to help people pursue free and safe lives. Her Cornell CALS education made it possible.
Alex Schaef ’20 at Cornell Botanic Gardens

Field Note

Painting on a living canvas: Summer internship reveals creative beauty at Cornell Botanic Gardens
A summer internship at Cornell Botanic Gardens presented an unexpected creative outlet for Alex Schaef ’20.