Congratulations to University of Guelph student William Kramer on winning first place for Best Student Presentation at the joint Weed Science of America and Canadian Weed Science Society Annual Conference held on February 22 – 24, 2022. The award comes with a $500 cash prize sponsored by Bayer Crop Science.
Kramer is a Master of Science student in the Department of Plant Agriculture and a 2021 recipient of a Food from Thought conference bursary. His presentation, Impacts of low R/FR light environments on nitrogen assimilation in corn (Zea mays), discussed the results of his Food from Thought-funded research focusing on understanding how far-red enriched environments can impact the nitrogen assimilation cycle. His study aims to go beyond the traditional approach to understanding weed-crop competition for nitrogen and begins to highlight the physiological mechanism associated with this response. Ultimately, he hopes that understanding this relationship will help improve crop nitrogen capture, thus improving the yield potential of corn.
Kramer recently defended his M.Sc. thesis under the supervision of Food from Thought researcher Dr. Clarence Swanton. He appreciates the CWSS-SCM conference for offering a platform for students to communicate their research to industry and academic professionals and is grateful to be awarded first place in the Student Oral Presentation category. This recognition will further strengthen his determination to make valuable contributions to weed science research.
Kramer has recently enrolled in a PhD program at Colorado State University. He hopes to continue discovering novel mechanisms associated with weed-crop relationships and looks forward to more opportunities to present his research to a Canadian audience.
