The Ohio State University

October 1st was a monumental day at The Ohio State University.  Not only did Dr. Gordon Gee start his tenure at as the 14th President of OSU, but Aneta Studzinska was named the first recipient of the James B and Harriet Beard Graduate Fellowship.  The fellowship is awarded to a Ph.D. student in the area of turfgrass science with an emphasis on stress physiology.  Aneta was born in Boleslawiec, Poland.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Planning and a Master of Science in Agriculture from the Agricultural University of Wroclaw.  Her M.S. thesis was evaluating the quality of turf on soccer fields.  Aneta had previously been to the United States on a turfgrass internship at the Broadmoor Country Club in Colorado Springs, CO. 

The objective of the fellowship recipient is to conduct research at either the molecular or whole plant level to provide better insight into how turfgrass plants respond to abiotic or biotic stress.  Aneta's studies will look at the plant responses to low light (shade) stress.  Her co-advisors are Drs. Karl Danneberger and David Gardner.  The prestigious Beard fellowship is awarded on a biennial basis.  Aneta was chosen from a national and international search.  The fellowship is open to students seeking a Ph.D. program at The Ohio State University in the Departments of Entomology, Plant Pathology, Horticulture and Crop Science, and The School of Environmental and Natural Resources studying in the area of turfgrass science.

The James B and Harriet Beard Graduate Fellowship Fund in Turfgrass Physiology and Biochemistry was stablished in 2003 through the Ohio State University Foundation from an intitial gift by James B and Harriet Beard.  The major donors to the endowment to date include James and Harriet Beard, The Scotts Company, Troon Golf, LESCO/John Deere, Bayer Environmental Science, Syngenta Corporation, The Ohio Golf Course Owners, Miami Valley Golf Course Superintendents, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dr. Bruce Augustine, Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Mr. Karl Kisner, and the turfgrass faculty and staff.  The interest generated from the endowment supports the fellowship.