Symposium Agenda
The 2026 PSS Student Research Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23rd in the Texas Tech University Dairy Barn. In the agenda below, click into each oral and poster session for a detailed breakdown of the time slots and topics being presented.
Students, use the Presenter Guidelines to brush up on the logistics of your presentation before the big day.
2026 PSS Student Research Symposium Agenda
7:50 AM | Registration and Coffee Social
8:20 AM | Introduction and Keynote Speaker
8:55 – 10:00 AM | Oral Session 1
| TIME SLOT | SPEAKER |
| 9:00–9:12 | Amir Shahin Shamsabadi |
| 9:12–9:24 | Anjana Chakkalakkal Sabu |
| 9:24–9:36 | Muskan Tiwari |
| 9:36–9:48 | Christian J. Stephens |
| 9:48–10:00 | Madeline Jordan-Hadaway |
10:00 - 10:10 AM | Break
10:10 – 11:00 AM | Oral Session 2
| TIME SLOT | SPEAKER |
| 10:12–10:24 | Derseh Yilie Limeneh |
| 10:24–10:36 | Seth Cope |
| 10:36–10:48 | Faisal Rahman |
| 10:48–11:00 | Houra Farkhondehnia |
11:00 – 12:00 PM | Oral Session 3
| TIME SLOT | SPEAKER |
| 11:02–11:14 | Mahjabin Ferdaous Mim |
| 11:14–11:26 | Erin Fielding |
| 11:26–11:38 | Manpreet Singh |
| 11:38–11:50 | Mayank Pratap Singh Bangari |
| 11:50–12:02 | Emily Kuykendall |
12:00 - 1:00 PM | Lunch Break
1:00 – 1:55 PM | Poster Session
| SPEAKER | RESEARCH AREA | POSTER TITLE | |
| #1 | Seth Cope | Crop and Forages | Development of Panicle-RootScan3D: A Platform for Integrated Phenotyping of Root and Panicle Architecture in Sorghum |
| #2 | Amir Shahin Shamsabadi | Fiber and Biopolymer | High-pressure carbon dioxide treatment for surface area enhancement of dried cellulose gels from cotton linters |
| #3 | Andrea Caprini Sagiorato | Weed Science | Can Reduced-Input Herbicide Programs Control Palmer Amaranth in West Texas Cotton? |
| #4 | Avinash Dhar | Environmental Microbiome Sciences | Influence of Local Sources on Grassland Aerobiome Structure and Function |
| #5 | Diego Arcelay-Sanchez | Soil Science | Impacts of wet and dry cycles on a playa lake's soil carbon and microbial community |
| #6 | Chakri Voruganti | Crop Science | Integrative Morpho-Physiologicaland Biochemical Responses Reveal Chilling Stress Mitigation by a Lignin-Based Molecular Heater |
| #7 | Erin Fielding | Crop Science | Effects of Weed Control Timing on Conventional and Wide-Row Cotton Production |
| #8 | Matthew Woolard | Weed Science | Do WSSA Group 15 Herbicides, Topramezone, and L-Glufosinate Tank-Mixtures Increase Axant Flex Cotton Response? |
| #9 | Faith Alonge | Soil Science | Asssesing the Effieiency of Wastewater-Derived Struvite in Enhancing Soil Phosphorus Dynamics Using Soil Incubation Assays |
| #10 | Nilesh Sagwal | Agronomy | Phenotyping Texas cotton cultivars for heat and drought stress tolerance using field-based heat tents |
| #11 | John Kohler | Weed Science | Residual Control of Palmer Amaranth with Pyroxasulfone-Coated Fertilizer in Cotton |
| #12 | Pranav Kumar | Microbial Ecology | Abiotic Stress Influences Microbial Community Assembly in the Rhizosphere of Boreal Tree Species |
| #13 | Md Shahabuddin Ahmed | Crop Science | Reduction of seed coat nep formation and improvement of fiber quality in drought-stressed cotton via acetic acid and ethanol-priming technology |
| #14 | Sai Krishna Lekkala | Plant Biotechnology / Plant Transformation | Comparative Regeneration Capacity of Modern Cotton Cultivars and Coker 312 Using RUBY-Based Transformation |
| #15 | Srijana Bharati | Plant and Microbial Ecology | In vitro screening ofVanilla planifoliagenotypes for PEG-induced osmotic stress tolerance: physiological and biochemical responses |
| #16 | Shishir Kanti Talukder | Crop Physiology | Integrating semi-hydroponic phenotyping and genome-wide association approaches to dissect salt tolerance in cotton and sorghum |
| #17 | Taylor Smith | Soil Science | Impact of Compost Applications on Soil Microbiomes and Cotton Productivity |
| #18 | Shraddha Tomar | Horticulture | How Rootstocks Influence Grapevine Responses to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi |
| #19 | Vaishnavi Deshmukh | Plant Molecular Biology | Functional Analysis of an Inflorescence Development Gene Involved in Sorghum Spikelet Patterning and Fertility |
1:55 – 3:12 PM | Oral Session 4
| TIME SLOT | SPEAKER |
| 2:00–2:12 | Charles Naapoal |
| 2:12–2:24 | Md Mehedi Hasan |
| 2:24–2:36 | Anagha Sunil |
| 2:36–2:48 | Md Mobinul Haque Adon |
| 2:48–3:00 | Md. Monjurul Huda |
| 3:00–3:12 | Pradeep Kumar |
3:12 – 4:30 PM | Oral Session 5
| TIME SLOT | SPEAKER |
| 3:16–3:28 | Gaganjot Singh Sodhi |
| 3:28–3:40 | Paolo Tagaloguin |
| 3:40–3:52 | Reshma Panackal Shibu |
| 3:52–4:04 | Sandesh Bhatta |
| 4:04–4:16 | Shishir Kanti Talukder |
| 4:16–4:28 | Teja Saddapalli |
4:30 PM | Break
| 4:45 PM | Awards Ceremony |
|---|
An enormous thank you to the organizers whose efforts have made this year's symposium possible!
Student Organizers
- Anjal Nainabasti
- Elizabeth Brzozowske
- Hamza Fokar
- Megan Singletary
- Priyambada Khadka
- Taylor Smith
Faculty Organizers
- Dr. Rosalyn Shim
- Dr. Matthew Siebecker
- Dr. Lindsey Slaughter
- Dr. Sanjit Deb
- Dr. Daniel Hirmas
- Dr. Scott Longing
Department of Plant and Soil Science
-
Address
Texas Tech University, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.2838 -
Email
plantsoilscience@ttu.edu