Research Grants

Undergraduate Research Grants

Each year, the College of Agriculture offers competitive undergraduate research grants to support the engagement of undergraduate students in faculty-mentored research. Research can be in any area of study in the College of Agriculture, but projects must be under the direction of a College of Agriculture faculty member. Multidisciplinary projects are encouraged. Student investigators should take the lead on proposals with guidance from faculty advisors. Multiple proposals with the same faculty advisor(s) must be independent projects. Faculty mentors may submit a maximum of two proposals. Where applicable, reports from previously funded College of Agriculture undergraduate research grants must be attached, including verification of participation in a College of Agriculture or LSU sponsored poster competition. Grants will be administered in the department/school with the assistance of cost center managers (CCMs). The number of grants awarded will depend on the availability of funds in Millard Perkins endowment.

There are two award types:

Level 1

The College of Agriculture’s Millard Perkins Endowment funds Level 1 awards and is limited to a maximum of $3,000 per grant. Students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA to apply for Level 1 funding. Funds may be used for supplies, operating services, and travel (i.e., any non-personnel expenses). Funds may not be used for salaries or wages for College of Agriculture students. Students may receive academic credit under appropriate research or special topic courses within a unit.

Level 2

The LSU AgCenter will provide additional support to those undergraduate researchers receiving awards. These students can earn a maximum of $4,000 at an hourly wage and schedule, including summer employment, agreed upon by the student and faculty mentor(s). In order to qualify for this support, undergraduate researchers must be a College of Agriculture student, have a minimum LSU GPA of 3.00 with at least 30 hours of earned degree credit and meet the LSU AgCenter hiring eligibility requirements. This is not a requirement to participate in the College of Agriculture’s competitive grant program and students can choose only to receive the research funding without employment. Selection of successful candidates to receive LSU AgCenter Level 2 funding will occur separately (using the same nomination materials) after the College of Agriculture has completed its process.

2024-25 Grant Application Information

Proposals will be evaluated and ranked by a faculty committee. Funding amounts are determined by this ranking. Please see “Evaluation Criteria for College of Agriculture Undergraduate Research Proposals” for guidance (last page). Key dates are listed below:

  • Application Opens: January 1, 2024
  • Application Deadline: February 1, 2024 (submit electronically to College of Agriculture agri@lsu.edu.

  1. Title Page - 1 page
    1. Title
    2. Beginning and ending date
    3. Type of Award: Level 1; Level 2; Levels 1 & 2
    4. Student Investigator(s) Names and Signature(s)
    5. Faculty Supervisor(s) Name, Department, and Signature(s)
    6. Department Head Signature
  2. Project Description - 3 pages maximum
    1. Introduction
    2. Objectives
    3. Procedures/Methodology
    4. Timeline of project
    5. Significance
  3. References Cited - 1 page
  4. Proposed Budget (with narrative) - 1 page
    Level 2: additional budget page and narrative, description of work for student wages
  5. Student Resume(s) - 1 page/student
    Level 2: must include undergraduate researcher(s)’ current LSU GPA and degree credit hours earned
  6. Previous Support - For each person involved in the proposed project, list previous College of Agriculture undergraduate research grants received in the last five years and attach copies of the final reports from these grants.

For Level 2 funding, be sure to include the required information in Parts IV & V above.

  • Final Report - a full report of results, including proposed presentations, publications and possible patents must be submitted to the College of Agriculture, agri@lsu.edu, within 30 days of the completion of the research (ending date of grant).
  • Financial Statement - a complete financial statement must also be submitted with the final report.
  • Poster - a large format, laminated poster of the project is strongly encouraged
    • Poster details will be provided at a later date. Level 1 funds may be used for poster printing costs.
  • Researcher participation in pre & post-research promotional video interviews for College of Agriculture is required.
    • Video footage will be collected and edited by College of Agriculture staff, researcher must have availability to coordinate filming. (Approximately 2 hours total)
  • Researcher participation at a spring event is required (e.g., College of Ag Open House during Spring Invitational or LSU Discover Day). (1-2 hour time commitment)
    • Details about the event will be provided in January of the award year.

 

College of Ag Research Grant Recipients

Name

Major

Ttitle

Faculty Advisor

Corinne Bosch

Nutrition and Food Sciences

Dietary Restrictions and Accommodations and the Effects on College Students at LSU 

Erin Mckinley  / Kritee Niroula

Payton Floyed

Plant and Soil Sciences

Influence of Environmental Conditions on Shelter Tube Construction in the Formosan Subterranean Termite

Qian Sun

Myriel Green

Animal Sciences

Investigation of Menadione as a Wood Preservative Against Subterranean Termites

Qian Sun

Allison Hamilton

Biological Sciences

Functional Characterization of the beta-1,6-glucan Synthase Gene, KRE11,in Magnaporthe oryzae

Ely Oliveira-Garcia

Jack Rogers

Natural Resources Ecology and Management

Avian Niche Partitioning of Rice and Crawfish Agriculture In Southwestern Louisiana

Kevin Ringelman

Alondra Torres

Animal Sciences

Comparing Transfection Efficiency of Different Methods in Two Cell Types Through GFP

Richard Cooper

Aris Williams

Plant and Soil Systems

Organic and Synthetic Nitrogen Rates Impact Processing Quality of Louisiana-grown Tea

Yan Chen

Ashton Dalton

Animal Sciences

Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate for Delivery of a Single Intramuscular Injection of Follicle Stimulating Hormone for Follicular Stimulation in Beef Cattle

Kenneth Bondioli

Samuel Elliot

Marine Biology

The Effects of Fungal Endophytes on the Growth of Phragmites australis 

Vinson Doyle

Lucinda Thorburn

Animal Sciences

Changes in follicular fluid hormones and metabolome in response to intraovarian injection of prolactin in the anestrous mare

Erin Oberhaus

Brennan Ruppert

Plant and Soil Systems

Morphometric cultivar evaluation of greenhouse grown Cannabis sativa (CBD) for essential oil production

Babitha Jampala, Heather Kirk-Ballard, and Samiel des Bordes
 

 

Name

Major

Title

Faculty Advisor

Lauren Hamilton

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Stabilization Analysis of Soilless Substrate for Sustainable Horticulture Applications

Qinglin Wu

Jonathan Simak

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Current water quality conditions in LSU University Lake as affected by urban environment

Yi-jun Xu

Samantha Bertrand

Textiles, Apparel and Merchandising

The Application of Experimental Patternmaking to Increase Utilization and Creative Potential of American Alligator Leather

Casey Stannard

Susan Lindrew

Textiles, Apparel and Merchandising

The Application of Experimental Patternmaking to Increase Utilization and Creative Potential of American Alligator Leather

Casey Stannard

Gabrielle Bellelo

Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology

Within-field variability of spore counts of Cercospora cf. flagellairs, the cause of Cercospora leaf blight of soybean

Casey Stannard

Thomas Murphrey

Nutrition and Food Sciences

Examining if the Eating and Food Literacy Behavior Questionnaire has the Capacity to Distinguish Between University Students Assumed to have High and Low Food Literacy (With and Without Formal Nutrition-Related Training)

Georgianna Tuuri

Mackenzie Trotter

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Examination of the Welfare and Stabilization of LSU’s Population of Community Cats

Michael Kaller

Nicholas Musso

Nutrition and Food Sciences

Reduction of Waste/Byproduct from Catfish Processing: Development and Evaluation of Sensory Liking, Product- Elicited Emotion, and Purchase Intent of Flavored Catfish Crackling (Skin)

Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

 

Name Major Title Faculty Advisor

Barre Lucy

Animal Sciences

Goat as novel model for characterizing male fertility following paternal cannabis exposure

Kenneth R. Bondioli

Bonin Caroline

Animal Sciences

Optimizing the delivery of a DNA-based vaccine for protection against Anaplasma marginale

Richard Cooper

Corsino Robert

Nutrition and Food Sciences

 

Antimicrobial Evaluation of Enhanced Fish Gelatin Combined with Essential Oils

Evelyn Watts

Gremillion Michelle

 

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

 

Quantifying Cytochalasin Metabolites in 75 Isolates of Xylaria necrophora, a Fungus Responsible for Taproot Decline of Soybean in the Southern United States

Vinson Doyle

 

Laville Hannah

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

 

How plant damage influences the dispersal and colonization of the salvinia weevil? Implications for biological control

 

Rodrigo Diaz

 

Little Javen

Plant and Soil Systems

 

Influence of Terroir on the Chemical Profile of Louisiana-Grown Tea

Yan Chen

 

Marshall Heidi

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

 

Using remote sensing to study drought tolerance in bottomland hardwood forests

Brett T. Wolfe

 

Miranda Katie

Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Ecology Of Black-Bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) In Louisiana

Kevin Ringelman

Ngo Kieu

Biological Sciences

Analyzing the influence of menadione on the feeding and tunneling behavior of the Formosan subterranean termite

Qian Sun

Spillman Allison

Agriculture & Extension Education

The Factors Infulincing Minority Students' Erollment In The LSU College Of Agriculture

Richie Roberts/Annabelle Lang

Steudlein Harrison

Plant and Soil Systems

Effects of N Rate and Application Timing on Processing Quality of Louisiana-grown Green Tea 

Yan Chen

 

Tarver Sarah

Plant and Soil Systems

 

Evaluation of plant-based antimicrobial formulation on control of southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) in hemp (Cannabis sativa).

Heather Kirk-Ballard

 

 

Undergraduate Research Projects

Animal sciences mets biological engineering through Ashton Dalton’s undergraduate research project.

Sarah Tarver is a plant and soil system major researching southern blight in industrial hemp.

Katie Miranda, natural ecology and management major, is working with populations of wood duck ducklings.

Heidi Marshall is a natural resource ecology and management wildlife major studying drought tolerance in bottomland forests by measuring cuticular conductance in 20 different plant species.

Susan Lindrew, a senior majoring in textiles, apparel and merchandising, has been working on a research project on experimental patternmaking to use the typically discarded portions of alligator hides in fashion.

Kali Elftman is a natural resource and ecology management major researching how to control the growth of ball moss on LSU’s campus.

Aerial view

LSU Discover

Each semester, LSU Discover funds at least 10 undergraduate student research projects. Students from any major are welcome to apply. With an LSU Discover Undergraduate Research Project Grant, currently enrolled, full-time LSU undergraduate students can receive funding for hourly wages, supplies, and travel related to an undergraduate research or creative project.

More about LSU DISCOVER

Aerial viewStudent by research poster

For more information, contact

LSU College of Agriculture
agri@lsu.edu