Dr. Michelle Jones Receives the CFAES Distinguished Graduate Student Mentor Award

11 April 2023 – Congratulations to Dr. Michelle Jones on receiving the CFAES Distinguished Graduate Student Mentor Award!

Dr. Jones is the DC Kiplinger Floriculture Endowed Chair + a Professor and Floriculture Extension Specialist here in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science (HCS). She grew up in Iowa and was introduced to floriculture during an undergraduate internship program at Iowa State University (where she received her BS). She then went on to receive her PhD in Horticulture from Purdue University. Dr. Jones has been involved with floriculture education and research ever since.

Dr. Jones has been privileged to mentor exceptional graduate students while at OSU, including her two current advisors, Evili Martins (pursuing her MS) & Juan Quijia Pillajo (pursuing his PhD). In her own words “the most rewarding part of my career has been watching them [graduate students] grow into independent researchers and educators”.

Her current research and extension programs focus on the use of beneficial bacteria and biostimulants to increase nutrient use efficiency and improve disease and environmental stress tolerance in floriculture crops. Additionally, she also works with “greenhouse growers to identify and remediate ethylene damage in production greenhouses and improve the shelf life of flowering ornamentals”.

Source : https://hcs.osu.edu/