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"Flowers in the Garden" |
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Flowers in the garden features talented individuals that the Southern Plains Area has nurtured and "grown in its own garden". Individuals are pursuing or have completed a degree program (undergraduate and/or graduate) while employed as Agricultural Research Service employees in the Southern Plains Area. Two programs that are excellent resources for "growing your own talent" are the USDA Summer Intern Program (SIP) and the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). These, and other student programs, are described in the Southern Plains Area Student Employment Programs section. Take a look at some of our flowers: |
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Dr. Jesus Esquivel earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Education and General Agriculture, respectively, at Tarleton State University. In 1992 he joined the Areawide Pest Management Research Unit in College Station, TX as a Biological Science Technician (Insects) to provide support to ongoing research investigating the long-range migration of the corn earworm moth. Dr. Esquivel graduated with a Ph.D. in Entomology at Texas A&M University in August 2000. His dissertation documented key aspects of corn earworm dispersal including nocturnal feeding behavior, acquisition of citrus pollen, and adult population dynamics in citrus groves in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and subsequent down-wind distribution of pollen-marked moths in Texas and Oklahoma. Dr. Esquivel's research assignment includes addressing the behavior, reproductive biology, and population dynamics of the boll weevil and Mexican corn rootworm in an effort to develop alternate or enhanced strategies for management of these insect pests. |
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Mr. Derrick Hall is a senior at Prarie View A&M University majoring in Agriculture and Human Science, and is scheduled to graduate December 2002. He is currently in his fourth summer as an intern with ARS under the supervision of Dr. Charles Suh in the Areawide Pest Management Research Unit (APMRU) at College Station, TX. Mr. Hall was initially recruited for the intern position during his freshman year by Dr. John Westbrook. Prior to meeting Dr. Westbrook, Mr. Hall had never worked with agricultural crops and insect pests or even heard of the ARS. Now he has learned the terminology that cotton growers and scientists use, various aspects of cotton production, how to map cotton plants to determine phenological development, and has become quite familiarwith insects pest of cotton as well as other crops. This past fall, Mr. Hall participated and competed in the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANNRS) program by conduction a study examinig the effects of seed storage temperature and duration on cotton seed germination and plant development, which he presented in Portland, OR. Currently, Mr. Hall is working on an insect collection focusing on insect pests and beneficials commonly found in corn, corron, sorghum, and soybeans grown in the Brazos River Bottom production area. Mr. Hall has also had the opportunity to use digitizing software, hand-held global positioning system units, and night vision equipment -- none of which he would likely use at a conventional summer job. After graduation from Prarie View A&M, Mr. Hall's goal is to obtain a permanent full-time position with the ARS as a Biological Research Technician. |
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