10/15/14
Two undergraduates botanists in the Department of Biological Sciences at Fort Hays State University won awards for their posters at a national conference and earned mention in the fall 2014 Planet Science Bulletin published by the Botanical Society of America.

Keri Caudle, Hays senior, and Christina Hilt, St. Francis senior, both had presentations in the "poster session" at Botany 2014, this year's version of the annual conference of the Botanical Society of America.

Hilt's poster, "Physiological Responses of Grasses to Drought and Flooding Treatment," won the Li-COR Prize in the physiological section. The Li-COR Prize acknowledges the best presentation made by any student.

Caudle's poster, "Pigment Variation Among Ecotypes of Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) Across a Precipitation Gradient," won the Student Presentation Award in the physiological section.

"There was no category for undergraduate students. This was 'best student award,' meaning they beat M.S. and Ph.D. students to win their awards," said Dr. Brian Maricle, associate professor of biological sciences. "Furthermore, there were no second-place awards. It was winner take all."

Students worldwide entered the poster session, including students from Harvard University, Bucknell University and the University of Toronto.

This year's conference was in Boise, Idaho, with 1,056 botanists from 49 states and 39 countries.