The University of Maine System (UMS) received a $259,000 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Higher Education National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants program (CFDA 10.210). The goal of this five-year grant, starting on February 1, 2025, is to recruit and train four outstanding new graduate students in climate-smart agriculture. The interdisciplinary training program will immerse the fellows in a collaborative environment with co-mentorship from faculty with expertise in areas such as crop physiology, artificial intelligence, sensors, remote sensing, robotics, biochar, and nanomaterials. The fellows will conduct research in sustainable forest-based products, precision agriculture, improving crop resilience, and social/economic analyses related to climate change mitigation. The grant also aims to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in climate-smart agriculture education and the agricultural workforce by strategically recruiting students from traditionally underrepresented groups.
Generated 3/4/25, 6:15 AM