The 2026 EduCATE Resilience Action Team Cohort.

The Rutgers Department of 4-H Youth Development and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) formally began their new educator-community climate resilience initiative for the greater Jersey City and Newark areas this past July at Liberty Science Center and the Liberty State Park Nature Center.

The year-long program is designed to support Resilience Action Teams in select middle and high schools. Through school clubs, students will work toward implementing local, community-based projects aimed at making the areas they value more resilient to the effects of climate change.

The inaugural cohort includes Academy I Middle School, Infinity Institute, and William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City; Lincoln Middle School in Kearny; Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology in Newark; and Union Hill Middle School in Union City.

Participants practice a landscape design exercise at the Liberty State Park Nature Center using a map of the surrounding area.

The kickoff brought together educators and administrators from each school, who will collaborate to run their school’s club during the coming school year. With support from the Rutgers Department of 4-H Youth Development and graduate student mentors, the teams will use a co-designed club curriculum centered on fun and engaging activities. The curriculum takes a problem-based learning approach, focusing on analyzing research data and using landscape architecture design processes to develop meaningful projects in their communities. Youth will come to Rutgers University in spring 2027 to share their ideas and results.

The department partnered with various Rutgers-affiliated groups and specialists to provide a robust, multifaceted kickoff designed to prepare educators to guide their students through the initiative.

This included James Shope (Assistant Extension Specialist in Climate Services, Department of Environmental Sciences), who presented on the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center’s State of the Climate report. Additionally, Ashlyn Spector (Environmental Analysis and Communications Group Unit Manager, the Center for Urban Policy Research) walked the teams through NJAdapt, a cache of New Jersey specific climate data visualization tools.

Alayne Toretta (County Extension Department Head and 4-H Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Warren County) and Kaitlin Gannon (Education Coordinator, JCNERR) led team-building activities that emphasized community planning and group problem solving. In addition, Alexis Lo (Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability (CUES) Project Manager and Lecturer, Department of Landscape Architecture), modelled the landscape design activities the teams will lead their students through to construct their project, and Edward Cohen (Associate Director, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education) and Brielle Kociolek (Senior iSTEM Education Coordinator, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education) showcased various problem-based learning methods to potentially use.

These speakers and activities were all complemented by Marissa Staffen (County Extension Department Head and 4-H Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex County) and Rodrigo Sanchez-Hernandez (4-H Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Hudson County), who spoke on how Rutgers 4-H could provide county-level support.

Union Hill Middle School presents some resiliency design ideas with Nesheiwat.

The kickoff also offered an opportunity for the school teams to connect with local civic stakeholders and brainstorm ways to implement projects that can be supported and sustained within their communities.

“We want young people to truly feel like they have the agency to work with their school and community members to see a project through,” said Janice McDonnell, SEBS Associate Dean of Research Impact, 4-H STEM Agent, and co-PI on the initiative.

Community stakeholders at the kickoff included Amanda J. Nesheiwat (Director of Sustainability & Community Outreach, Hudson County Improvement Authority); Christine Morales (Kearny Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability); Kevin Force (Supervising Planner, Hudson County Division of Planning); Marytrine De Castro (Council President, Town of Kearny); Shannon Evans (Kearny Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability, Town of Kearny); Victoria Bruno (Strategic Programs Manager, Newark Office of Sustainability), accompanied by Marilyn Cerrato and Roselyn Muniz (Assistant Gen Green Coordinators, Newark Office of Sustainability).

Other speakers at the kickoff included Caleb Stratton, borough administrator for Atlantic Highlands, and Kevin Lyons, professor of professional practice in the Supply Chain Management Department at Rutgers Business School. Stratton spoke about his experience as the former chief resiliency officer for the city of Hoboken and how select city infrastructure projects were designed with flooding and community culture in mind. Lyons, drawing on his experience as director of both the Center for Local Supply Chain Resiliency and the Rutgers Business School Public Private Community Partnership Program, discussed previous projects in the greater area that leveraged existing supply chain systems to uplift community spaces and rearranged supply chains to become more circular.

Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology practices a landscape design exercise with Bruno, using a satellite map of their school and the surrounding area.

Together, the kickoff sessions gave educators the tools, connections and support needed to help students move from learning about climate resilience to identifying and addressing challenges in their own communities. The initiative will continue throughout the school year as students develop their projects with guidance from their educators, Rutgers 4-H, graduate student mentors, and community partners.

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L-R: Dr. Richard Moses SEBS’12; Dr. Jenice Sabb, Cook College’87, retired Director of EOF; Mr. Frager Foster, retired Director of Cook College EOF; and Dr. Jacqueline Moore, current Director of SEBS EOF.

Four decades after its first summer program, the SEBS Educational Opportunity Fund’s Solid GEMS program continues to prepare students to succeed in science while building a community that extends well beyond graduation

Summer 2026 marked a significant milestone for the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program as Solid GEMS General Education in Mathematics and Science celebrated 40 years of preparing students for success in the sciences.

The anniversary was commemorated on July 26 at the Livingston Student Center, bringing together 66 alumni, current students, faculty, staff, administrators and supporters to celebrate a program whose impact has extended across generations.

Among those in attendance were 34 Solid GEMS alumni whose participation in the program spanned from its earliest years in 1986 through 2026. It was the largest gathering of Solid GEMS alumni at a single event in the history of the SEBS EOF Program and offered a powerful visual representation of the program’s enduring legacy.

For four decades, Solid GEMS has been rooted in a simple but consequential idea: students with talent and potential can excel in rigorous science disciplines when they are provided with the academic preparation, mentorship, community and opportunity to do so.

Alumni panelists at the Solid GEMS 40th anniversary event.

From “Diamonds in the Rough” to Solid GEMS

The history of Solid GEMS dates to 1980, when research and development began on an instructional approach designed to strengthen the performance of EOF students in introductory mathematics and science courses. The first Solid GEMS summer pilot program launched in 1986 through the EOF Program at Cook College in partnership with the Rutgers University Department of Chemistry.

The program’s name reflected both its academic purpose and its philosophy. GEMS General Education in Mathematics and Science represented the program’s focus on building a strong academic foundation, while “Solid GEMS” reflected the belief that students were like “diamonds in the rough”: individuals with tremendous potential who could flourish when provided innovative instruction and comprehensive academic support.

Built on research in student learning, the GEMS instructional model emphasized four stages New Problems, Exploration, Invention and Application designed to move students beyond memorization and toward critical thinking, problem-solving and scientific reasoning.

Solid GEMS was developed to improve achievement in introductory mathematics and science courses, increase retention, reduce attrition and encourage EOF students to persist in science-related majors. Historically, it served as the third component of an EOF student success model that began with a Pre-Freshman Summer Institute and continued with academic support during the first year.

Over time, the program evolved, but its central mission remained: prepare students not simply to pass challenging science courses, but to develop the skills and confidence to see themselves as capable scientists and STEM professionals.

A History Built on Being “Solid”

Mr. Frager Foster, retired Director of Cook College EOF, gave the keynote address at the 40th anniversary.

Frager Foster, who served as director of the SEBS EOF Program from 1981 to 2013, delivered the anniversary keynote address and took attendees back to the program’s beginnings. Foster connected the philosophy behind Solid GEMS to a much deeper cultural history.

“The connection between the Harlem Renaissance and the Solid GEMS Program is both meaningful and intentional,” Foster said. “Since the 1920s, the word solid has symbolized far more than strength. It represented trust, loyalty, reliability, and mutual responsibility.”

For Foster, the word captured what the program was designed to create among students, faculty and staff.

“To be solid meant being dependable, standing by one another, and producing results through consistency and integrity,” he said.

That philosophy became embedded in the culture of Solid GEMS. Students were challenged academically, but they were not expected to navigate those challenges alone. Faculty instruction, peer tutoring, collaborative learning, mentoring and community became integral parts of the experience.

The 40th anniversary celebration also honored the leadership that helped sustain that philosophy over four decades. Foster attended alongside Jenice Sabb-Dumas, who served as director from 2005 to 2021, and Jacqueline Moore, current assistant dean/director of the SEBS EOF Program and Solid GEMS director, who has served the program since 2006.

A presentation at the 40th anniversary event takes a look back at Solid GEMS.

Together with generations of faculty, staff, teaching fellows, tutors and supporters, their leadership represents the continuity that has allowed Solid GEMS to remain an important part of the SEBS EOF experience.

More Than a Chemistry Course

Today, Solid GEMS operates as a summer program, with intensive academic support designed to help students progress through foundational science coursework.

Its continued success was evident during the anniversary summer. In 2026, 12 residential Solid GEMS scholars participated in the 12-week Chemistry program, completing Chemistry Parts I and II. All 12 students successfully passed their courses a 100 percent success rate among the residential participants.

Yet the value of Solid GEMS cannot be measured by course grades alone.

The program combines rigorous coursework with collaborative learning, faculty engagement, peer tutoring and mentoring. Students develop study strategies, learn how to work through difficult scientific concepts and discover the importance of seeking academic support. Just as importantly, they build relationships with peers who are experiencing many of the same challenges.

That combination can change how students view themselves.

A difficult introductory science course can cause students to question whether they belong in a science major. Solid GEMS works to transform that uncertainty into confidence. Students leave the program having demonstrated to themselves that they can successfully complete demanding science coursework.

For many, completing chemistry through Solid GEMS does more than move them toward the next course in their academic sequence. It reinforces their belief that pursuing a science major is not only possible it is the right choice.

That sense of academic confidence and belonging is one of the program’s most important outcomes.

Forty Years of Alumni and Community

The 34 alumni who returned for the anniversary celebration demonstrated another important measure of Solid GEMS’ success: the community created during the program does not necessarily end when the summer ends or even when students graduate from Rutgers.

Over four decades, Solid GEMS alumni have gone on to careers and advanced study in medicine, research, science, healthcare, education and other professional fields. Some have returned to the program as mentors, tutors and supporters for the students coming behind them.

Solid GEMS alumni have developed into one of the SEBS EOF Program’s most established alumni communities, connected not simply by having participated in the same summer program but by a shared experience of perseverance, academic growth and mutual support.

That legacy can be seen in alumni such as Kevin Guerrero, SEBS’19, who previously credited Solid GEMS Biology House with providing his first laboratory experience. That opportunity helped spark his interest in research and contributed to a path that ultimately led him to medical school. Richard P. Moses, SEBS’12, similarly served as a teaching fellow for Solid GEMS Chemistry before going on to medical school and a career as a U.S. Navy anesthesiologist.

Solid GEMS alumni Dr. Esther Exantus ‘2015; Dr. Ashley Woolfork ‘2016; Dr. Jenice Sabb Cook College ‘1987; Mr. Frager Foster; Dr. Jacqueline Moore; and alumna Ms. Francia Noel ‘2015.

Their stories illustrate the long-term impact that an early academic opportunity can have on a student’s trajectory.

Protecting the Next 40 Years

As Solid GEMS celebrates its history, the anniversary also provides an opportunity to consider its future.

The program is now offered during the summer, when students can focus intensively on foundational science coursework and receive the academic support that has distinguished Solid GEMS for four decades. But providing that experience has become increasingly expensive.

The costs associated with summer tuition, housing, instructional support, tutoring, programming, food and other student needs continue to rise. Without sufficient resources, the number of students who can participate and the level of comprehensive support the program can provide can be limited.

Continued institutional, state, alumni and philanthropic support will therefore be essential to sustaining and strengthening Solid GEMS for future generations.

The SEBS EOF Program is grateful to the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the EOF administration for its continued support of Solid GEMS and its role in sustaining a program that has made a meaningful difference in students’ lives for four decades.

The need that inspired Solid GEMS in 1986 remains relevant today. Students arrive at Rutgers with ability, ambition and dreams of careers in science, healthcare, research and other STEM fields. What can make the difference is access to the preparation, mentorship and community that allow those abilities to develop.

In closing the 40th anniversary celebration, Moore reflected on the principle that has sustained Solid GEMS throughout its history: talent exists in every community, but opportunity can change the trajectory of a life.

Solid GEMS provides more than academic instruction. It gives students an environment in which they can struggle with challenging material, learn from those struggles, support one another and ultimately experience success. Through that process, students develop confidence, resilience, belonging and the academic skills needed to continue progressing in the sciences.

Forty years after the first summer pilot program, the meaning behind the name remains remarkably fitting.

The students are the gems. The academic preparation helps them shine. And the community surrounding them remains solid.

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The Kickoff Welcome Event. Top row, left to right: Ari Daniel, Sage Lichtenwalner, Brian Schilling, John Krasting, Kay Bidle, Rachel Thibodeau-Nielsen, Susan Renoe, Ashley Schwab, and Travis Miles. Bottom row, left to right: Mitaali Taskar, Sue Shapses, Janice McDonnell, Petronela Radu, Mónica Bugallo, Margaret Duffy, Christine Kirchhoff, Melissa Libertus, and Nicole Fahrenfeld.

In early August, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) hosted the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) 2026 Research Fellowship Kickoff at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center. Organized by SEBS Associate Dean of Research Impact Janice McDonnell and ARIS Executive Director Susan Renoe, associate vice chancellor for research, extension and engagement at the University of Missouri, the kickoff brought together the 2025 and 2026 ARIS Research Fellows for professional development and science storytelling training.

Oscar Schofield spoke on RUCOOL’s monitoring work.

The ARIS Research Fellowship supports researchers in creating a coherent, leadership-driven strategy that centers why research matters, how it can drive change, and how it can continue to improve society. The 2026 fellows include Nicole Fahrenfeld, Rutgers University professor and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Director; Mónica Bugallo (Stony Brook University); Casey Canfield (Missouri University of Science & Technology, who attended virtually); Erin James (University of Idaho); Christine Kirchhoff (Pennsylvania State University); and Divya Sitaraman (California State University, East Bay, who was unable to attend).

Kevin Lyons spoke on designing projects with impact in mind.

During the kickoff, fellows were guided through their own leadership journeys by Margaret Duffy, executive director of the Novak Leadership Institute at the University of Missouri, who spoke about the power of personal branding and impact mapping. They also explored a Rutgers case study on building a culture of research impact. Department Chair Oscar Schofield led a tour of the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and discussed how the department has cultivated its impact culture, as well as its role within the Rutgers University Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RUCOOL). Fellows also heard case studies highlighting partnerships among communities, universities, and industry from Kevin Lyons, director of the Rutgers Business School Public Private Community Partnership Program.

Fellows also received science storytelling training from Ari Daniel, an independent radio producer whose work has appeared on media platforms including NPR and The New York Times.  James reflected on the importance of storytelling through her unique perspective as a professor of English.

“Training in narrative and emotional literacy makes scientists better tellers and receivers of information,” she said.

“You can’t do science without narrative,” she added. “Even a hypothesis is asking, ‘What if?'”

Ari Daniels (second from the right) and Margaret Duffy (third from the left) mid-discussion during an icebreaker exercise.

The 2026 fellows were joined by last year’s inaugural cohort, which included Kay Bidle (Rutgers University), Melissa Libertus (Case Western Reserve University), Roger Narayan (University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University), Petronela Radu (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), and Rachel Thibodeau-Nielsen (University of Missouri). Having visited Rutgers for their own kickoff last year, they shared insights into the value of the fellowship with this year’s participants.

“ARIS is a state of mind,” said Radu, chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

2026 Fellows Mónica Bugallo and Erin James, mid-discussion.

As part of her fellowship, she collaborated with more than a dozen units across campus through activities that promoted interdisciplinary thinking, including research roundtables, science movie screenings, and experiential learning initiatives. Along the way, she gained an appreciation for the leadership and communication skills required to shift institutional culture.

Libertus also reflected on how the fellowship’s emphasis on leadership development influenced her own career trajectory. Within the past year, she transitioned from professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh to chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

“After the success of the first kickoff at Rutgers, we were so pleased to welcome these fellows again,” said Janice McDonnell, SEBS associate dean of research impact and a member of the ARIS leadership team. “It is heartening to see them grow and embrace new opportunities to change the research impact culture within their disciplines and universities.”

2026 Fellows Nicole Fahrenfeld (left) and Casey Canfield (center, virtual) mid-discussion with 2025 Fellow Petronela Radu (right).

Bugallo, interim vice president for research and innovation at Stony Brook University, reflected that gathering at Rutgers gave the fellows an opportunity to consider what they hoped to accomplish during the fellowship and beyond.

“It is a space without judgment, where we can reflect openly on the opportunities ahead,” she said. “The power in this room is our shared passion for the broader impact of research and for making a meaningful difference in society.”

By the close of the kickoff, both fellow cohorts returned home with plans to remain connected and collaborate throughout the coming year. Their training will continue over the next year, culminating in presentations of their fellowship projects at the upcoming ARIS Summit.

About ARIS
The Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS), formerly the National Alliance for Broader Impacts, was founded in 2014 and is the largest societal impact community organization in the United States. ARIS supports practitioners, researchers, and communities in achieving positive societal impact. With more than 1,800 members worldwide, ARIS offers resources, certifications, and programs that build capacity, strengthen partnerships, and advance scholarship. Visit researchinsociety.org.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Mitaali Taskar, Research Project Coordinator II with Rutgers Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences.

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This Pathfinders session was an agricultural biosecurity activity led by Anna Kimtis, program specialist trainee with the Department of Agriculture (standing at the front of the room). Session presenters also included Dr. Shipra Mohan, director of the New Jersey Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory (standing, at left), and Dr. Kristofer Smith, veterinarian with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (not pictured).

Twenty-two middle school students from the Trenton area concluded five weeks of discovery, innovation, and hands-on learning by showcasing their summer projects during the closing celebration of the sixth annual Rutgers 4-H STEM Pathfinders Summer Academy.

Held from July 13 through August 13 at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County, the academy immersed youth in weekly explorations of public health, cybersecurity, engineering, robotics, and agriculture while introducing them to the people, places, and possibilities that make up New Jersey’s STEM community. The program was led by Yaa Owusu-Mensah, 4-H program associate.

Alanna Weekes-Jackson discusses her experiences in the Rutgers 4-H STEM Pathfinders Summer Academy during the program’s closing showcase on August 13.

The final showcase featured student presentations highlighting projects completed throughout the summer and the skills they developed along the way. Among those attending was Dr. Francine Conway, chancellor of Rutgers–New Brunswick, who met with participants and learned firsthand about their experiences and aspirations.

More than a summer enrichment program, STEM Pathfinders is designed to help young people envision themselves in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By combining hands-on learning with mentorship and real-world experiences, the program helps middle school students build confidence, strengthen problem-solving skills, and develop a lasting interest in STEM fields during a pivotal stage of their education.

Throughout the academy, participants worked alongside Rutgers faculty and staff, 4-H volunteers and teen mentors, and collaborators from industry, government agencies, and partner universities. These interactions allowed students to engage directly with STEM professionals while exploring how classroom concepts translate into real-world careers.

Pathfinders help monitor water quality and the overall health of a stream at The Watershed Institute in Pennington by using keys to identify the types and variety of aquatic organisms they found in a sample of water.

Field experiences have long been a hallmark of the program. Over the years, participants have visited the New Jersey Department of Health’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratories, New Jersey’s Regional Operations Intelligence Center, The Watershed Institute, and research laboratories at Rutgers University, Princeton University, and The College of New Jersey. These experiences provide students with opportunities to explore advanced research environments and connect with professionals whose work addresses challenges in health, technology, environmental science, and engineering.

Established in 2021, the STEM Pathfinders Summer Academy serves as the critical middle school link in Mercer County 4-H’s STEM education pipeline. It bridges two longstanding programs: Tomorrow’s Innovators Science Saturday, launched in 2013 through a collaboration between Rutgers 4-H and Bristol Myers Squibb volunteers, and the Rutgers 4-H STEM Ambassadors program for high school students, established in 2009.

The impact of this continuum is already evident. Several students who have progressed through all three programs credit their 4-H experiences with helping them identify future academic interests and career pathways, demonstrating how sustained engagement and mentoring can shape educational and professional aspirations.

The Rutgers 4-H STEM Pathfinders Summer Academy is supported through the Mercer County Extension budget and Intern Program and the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center, which provide funding for transportation, intern stipends, and STEM instructional materials. Additional technology support is provided through the Apple Community Education Initiative.

By connecting young learners with mentors, meaningful experiences, and a supportive community of educators and STEM professionals, the Rutgers 4-H STEM Pathfinders Summer Academy continues to cultivate the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders.

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Geysers erupt at Yellowstone National Park, whose geothermal landscape includes the hot, acidic springs where ancient red algae support diverse microbial communities. Photo: Debashish Bhattacharya

Rutgers researchers reveal how ancient organisms drive microbial communities and may yield tools for biotechnology

Ancient single-celled red algae that thrive in scalding, acidic waters are emerging as far more than specialized survivors.

Research by Rutgers evolutionary biologist Debashish Bhattacharya and his collaborators show that the organisms, known as Cyanidiophyceae, form the foundation of entire microbial ecosystems, providing new insights into how complex life may have evolved and adapted to some of Earth’s harshest environments.

“They are like a work of art,” said Bhattacharya, a Distinguished Professor with the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “This is a success story a billion years in the making.” 

The work is reshaping scientists’ understanding of the Cyanidiophyceae, which are an ancient branch of red algae whose ancestors diverged from other red algae about eons years ago.

From left, retired Montana State University professor Timothy McDermott; Julia Van Etten, who earned her doctorate at Rutgers and is now an assistant professor at the University of Maryland; and Gabrielle Panayotakis, a doctoral student in Rutgers’ microbial biology program, search for samples at Nymph Creek in Yellowstone National Park. Photo: Debashish Bhattacharya

Bhattacharya is a coauthor of a review published in New Phytologist that brings together findings from his Rutgers research group and scientists around the world. Cyanidiophyceae arose about 1.2 billion years ago, long after the planet’s first cells evolved, so they are not direct representatives of life on early Earth. But the way these algae sustain microbial communities in hot springs may resemble how much older ecosystems functioned, when bacteria rather than algae likely served as the primary producers. 

Bhattacharya said the algae also may hold practical value. Their enzymes evolved to function under heat, acidity and exposure to toxic metals, conditions that disable many ordinary enzymes. He and other researchers hope those biological tools could eventually be used in pollution cleanup, wastewater treatment and industrial manufacturing.

At the center of Bhattacharya’s research is the algae’s role as primary producers, organisms that use sunlight to create food and energy supporting an ecosystem. Through photosynthesis, they release organic forms of carbon that sustains surrounding bacteria and archaea, the latter are single-celled organisms that resemble bacteria but belong to a separate branch of life.

“The algae are the primary producers in these ecosystems,” Bhattacharya said. “Through photosynthesis, they release pulses of carbon over the day-night cycle, and the bacteria and archaea around them respond.”

Yellowstone National Park is a pivotal site for Rutgers evolutionary biologist Debashish Bhattacharya’s research on ancient red algae, which thrive in the park’s hot, acidic springs and help sustain diverse microbial communities. From left are Bhattacharya and his collaborators Gabrielle Panayotakis, Timothy McDermott and Julia Van Etten. Photo: Debashish Bhattacharya

Bhattacharya’s Rutgers group and its collaborators study the algae at Lemonade Creek and other hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. Water emerging from geothermal springs is initially too hot to support them. As it flows downstream and cools to between about 97 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit, Cyanidiophyceae become the dominant life form.

Despite their name, the algae do not appear red. Their ancestors lost phycoerythrin, the pigment that gives many red algae their color, leaving the green of chlorophyll visible. 

The researchers found that two Cyanidiophyceae species divide the habitat by time of day. Cyanidioschyzon merolae is highly active during daylight, using photosynthesis to produce carbon-rich compounds that feed nearby microbes. Galdieria yellowstonensis conducts less photosynthesis during peak daylight and becomes more active at night, consuming carbon already available in the environment.

In ongoing research, Bhattacharya’s team tracked microbial gene activity throughout the day and night. Some bacteria followed the rise and fall of the algae’s photosynthesis, while others became more active after sunset. “The algae are the true drivers of this ecosystem,” Bhattacharya said. “The microbes around them are responding to their photosynthetic activity.”

The Yellowstone sites also reveal how quickly life can adapt. Temperature, acidity, moisture, sunlight and metal concentrations can vary across only a few centimeters among stream water, nearby soil and spaces inside volcanic rock. Each habitat may support a distinct community of algae, bacteria and viruses.

“You end up with this hidden biodiversity within centimeters of each other,” Bhattacharya said.

Genetic analyses by the team show that even populations of the same algal species can begin to diverge in their DNA sequence when one occupies water and another lives in nearby soil, demonstrating how local conditions can drive adaptation over small distances.

Rutgers researchers also explore the algae’s unusual genetic history.

Studies by Bhattacharya and other scientists have shown that the organisms acquired genes from bacteria and archaea through horizontal gene transfer, a process in which genetic material moves between unrelated organisms. Bhattacharya described it as the algae “stealing” useful genes from neighboring microbes.

Those borrowed genes helped the algae tolerate acidity, use new carbon sources and survive exposure to toxic metals, according to the scientists.

In a separate paper published in Trends in Microbiology, Bhattacharya and his colleagues proposed the Integrated Horizontal Gene Transfer Model, which suggests that sharing resources and survival functions within microbial communities may have influenced how the borrowed genes evolved. It could help explain how cells developed new abilities while maintaining small, efficient genomes.

Bhattacharya and his colleagues used arsenic and mercury to illustrate two different survival strategies. Evidence from Yellowstone suggests that different organisms may perform different steps in response to arsenic.

“Arsenic detoxification is a community affair,” Bhattacharya said.

Mercury presents a different challenge, the researchers found. Because it is extremely toxic, organisms cannot safely depend on neighboring species. Individual bacteria and algae instead maintain their own genes for converting mercury into a less harmful form.

Other studies summarized in the New Phytologist review have overturned another long-standing belief about the algae: For more than a century, scientists thought Cyanidiophyceae reproduced only by making copies of themselves through a process known as mitosis. Researchers now know the algae also have a sexual life cycle and can switch between forms with different numbers of chromosome sets. Scientists are investigating which environmental conditions trigger that change.

These days, Bhattacharya is exploring whether the algae and their microbial partners contain enzymes capable of working under extreme heat, acidity and metal exposure. Such enzymes could eventually prove useful in environmental cleanup and industrial processes.

For Bhattacharya, those possibilities increase directly from fundamental research. Scientists first need to understand how the algae grow, reproduce and interact with surrounding microbes before they can determine which of their unusual abilities can be put to work, he said.

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

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Hybridized iris plants at their peak at Rutgers Gardens. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Nearly a century after their first collaboration, Rutgers Gardens and the American Iris Society reunite to celebrate horticultural excellence, student learning, and a shared legacy of iris innovation.

As a demonstration of its place as a garden of horticultural excellence and a nod to its history of showcasing hybridized iris research, Rutgers Gardens was selected as a featured site of the American Iris Society’s 2026 Convention. The AIS provided stunning “guest iris” plants bred by skilled hybridizers that were installed at Rutgers Gardens in 2024 and 2025.

On May 22, a beautiful day filled with blue skies and sunshine during an otherwise rainy week, a large contingent of AIS members and iris enthusiasts spent a full day exploring Rutgers Gardens. Attendees saw the irises in full bloom throughout the display gardens, held a silent auction at the Alumni Pavilion, engaged with student horticulturists, and judged entries in the 2026 Iris Awards. It was the culmination of years of hard work, collaboration, educational experiences, creativity, and the forging of new friendships.  

Visitors appreciate irises during Iris Field Day in May of 1939. Photo belongs to the Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

The connection between Rutgers Gardens and iris plants dates to 1922, when the Iris Display Garden was established in what was then known as Horticulture Farm No. 1. This early iteration of the site that would become Rutgers Gardens was not considered a public botanical garden at that time, but a living laboratory for ornamental horticulture research conducted to benefit New Jersey farmers and nursery industry professionals. This made the Iris Display Garden a singular addition. The garden generated public interest and popular Iris Field Days were hosted annually.

By 1930, Hort Farm 1 featured hundreds of varieties of irises as well as displays of test gardens developed with the AIS. Rising costs for exclusive iris varieties and changing trends in suburban landscape design led Hort Farm 1 to begin transitioning the iris collection in 1963 to a display of annual flowers in 1964. That space is now the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden.

Fast forward from 1964 to 2024, when the AIS was planning its 2026 Convention and selected Rutgers Gardens as one of the featured garden sites. Almost a century after Rutgers Gardens and the AIS first partnered to share horticulture education and a passion for iris varieties with the public, this reunion would amplify the historical significance of irises on display at Rutgers Gardens.

Attendees of the AIS 2026 Convention enjoy the irises in the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden at Rutgers Gardens. Photo by Lauren Errickson.

Lauren Errickson, Director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship, emphasizes how powerful this project has been. “Bringing this garden to a full-circle moment in collaboration with the AIS is very meaningful to me. I am grateful that we have been able to work together to connect the efforts of hybridizers from across the country with the long-standing history of irises at Rutgers Gardens in a way that lets so many people appreciate and learn about the plants,” she shares.

A Northern Blue Flag Iris blooms in the Rain Garden at Rutgers Gardens. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Rutgers Gardens was eager to highlight its historical links to the plant, declaring the Northern Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) the 2026 “plant of the year.” Rutgers Gardens members were given an Iris versicolor plant as part of their membership benefits, as the variety is one of the focal points of the Rain Garden in the spring.

For each annual convention, hybridizers providing guest irises to gardens featured during it’s the tours are required to follow specific rules and timelines for sending their beloved, creatively named rhizomes to the sites entrusted with their care. For two years, Rutgers Gardens staff members and student horticulturists worked to ensure these guest irises not only survived, but thrived, so that Convention guests could enjoy the peak blooms and judge entries in the annual AIS Awards in May 2026.

It was a privilege and a responsibility that Rutgers Gardens staff did not take lightly.

Assistant Director: Horticulture Maxine Marvosa worked with AIS Guest Iris Chair George Hildenbrandt to receive shipments of hybridized bearded and beardless rhizomes in 2024. “George was amazing. He provided labels and spreadsheets and was available for any questions we had. Working with the AIS has been wonderful. They are such a well-organized group who gave us planting information and guidelines that were helpful when installing the irises.”

Installed irises wait for spring. Photo by Moira Keihm.

The first delivery of rhizomes arrived during a particularly hot and dry summer. Marvosa continues, “We kept a close eye on them to make sure they were well watered and cared for. In early winter 2024, we received another shipment of irises to plant and the deer pressure on them was severe. The deer do not eat irises, instead they pull them out of the soil, realize they do not like them, and then drop them. We would search the grounds and collect irises in the snow, then try to replant them according to maps we made during the installation.”    

Marvosa is proud of the team’s commitment and dedication. “In the two years after planting, the beds were maintained by the Rutgers Gardens student horticulturists who fought tirelessly against the weeds and invasive species coming up in between the irises.”

David Ackerman, who began his journey caring for the irises as a student intern and became the full-time Gardens and Grounds Technician by convention time, says, “After cultivating the irises for years with fellow interns, the convention visit gave me an even greater appreciation for their history and the dedicated community that continues to preserve and improve them. Seeing irises incorporated into the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden was a fantastic way to bring back Rutgers Gardens history in a modern context.”

The Donald B. Lacey Display Garden in May 2026, designed by David Ackerman. It featured an alluring mix of spring bulbs such as ornamental allium, newly planted annual flowers, and the irises installed in 2024. The garden continues to transform throughout the bloom season as the irises and spring flowers recede and the annuals fill more of the space. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Ackerman tapped into his skills and creativity as a landscape architecture major to design the 2026 annuals display, which inhabits the outer beds of what is affectionately known as “the DBL.” While the vibrant annuals beckon many visitors to Rutgers Gardens each bloom season, this year would be notable with hundreds of additional AIS Convention guests also viewing the garden. Ackerman ensured that the color palettes, textures, and shapes found in his annuals design paired well with the kaleidoscope of colors in the iris beds to achieve a cohesive yet layered overall display garden.

However, during the 2024 installations, there was no way to know what each hybrid iris would look like when it bloomed. With names like “Stellar Wind,” “Mai Tai Join You,” and “Heaven’s Outskirts,” one could only guess the colors and unique features the iris would eventually present. Danielle Lohrman (SEBS’27), a Rutgers Gardens student horticulturist, admitted that she previously thought “irises only came in yellow.” Two bloom seasons later, she declares, “Now I’m a big fan of iris varieties, and some of them smell so good, like a mix of bubble gum and citronella.”

Marvosa adds, “When the irises were in bloom this year, the response we got from the public was incredibly positive. People were coming to Rutgers Gardens just to see the beautiful iris display at its peak.”

Rutgers Gardens was invited to the 2026 AIS Convention’s welcome dinner at the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott Hotel on May 19 along with representatives of the three additional featured gardens. Moira Keihm, Senior Program Coordinator: Education and Engagement, was warmly welcomed by the convention co-chairs and AIS members. “I was wowed by the enthusiasm, knowledge, and friendliness of the organization’s leadership and its members.”

An AIS Convention guest takes photos of daylilies. Photo by Lauren Errickson.

The dinner also served as an annual meeting. “During roll call,” Keihm continues, “the regional clubs stood up and waved and celebrated, cheering for each other and showing how genuinely happy they were to be part of this community. The attendees’ love for these plants and their devotion to traveling all over the country to see iris displays was palpable.”

The Convention visit to Rutgers Gardens was a resounding success. Andi Rivarola, a 2026 Convention Co-Chair, and immediate past president of the AIS, describes key aspects of their organization’s time in the gardens. “Members of The American Iris Society enjoyed a wonderful visit during the 2026 AIS National Convention. It was a delight to stroll through the gardens and see the irises thriving, displaying a spectacular rainbow of colors that only they can provide.”

Rivarola continues, “We also appreciated the beautiful shade garden, where towering trees and lush foliage created a peaceful retreat. And, according to our youngest attendees, one of the highlights of the visit was discovering frogs hiding among the pond in the iris beds—a memorable adventure that added an extra touch of fun to the day.”

Assistant Director: Horticulture Maxine Marvosa, at right, chats with AIS members. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Staff members were pleased to see their efforts caring for the horticulture displays at Rutgers Gardens rewarded with a triumphant convention visit. “All of the AIS members were so complimentary of the gardens and the iris displays that our team put together,” notes Marvosa. “We are going to stay in contact with many of the breeders who would like to evaluate other new iris varieties out at Rutgers Gardens, including Japanese irises.”

SEBS student and landscape architecture major Lohrman shares how the educational experience impacted her: “It was nice meeting the breeders of the irises I was helping to make the display labels for. It was like encountering a celebrity! Previously, I had no idea how the breeding process worked. I spoke to so many different people who were more than happy to share their knowledge.”

“I found it to be a very educational event as well as a great opportunity to connect with passionate plant people from all over the country,” says Ackerman. As part of the guest iris donation process, Rutgers Gardens gets to keep all the irises and visitors can continue to enjoy them in the display gardens in the future. Ackerman is thrilled that this collaboration has resulted in “the reintroduction of irises at Rutgers Gardens, as they will add beauty and seasonal color in our ornamental spaces for years to come.”

Assistant Director: Horticulture Marvosa looks ahead. “I was so impressed by the convention experience and how welcoming the group was that I joined the American Iris Society as a member the next day. I want to be part of and support an organization that cares so much about what they do and is so willing to welcome new people and share their knowledge with others. I look forward to working with the AIS in the future.”

A version of this article originally appeared in the July 2026 Friends of Rutgers Gardens newsletter. Subscribe to receive monthly updates from Rutgers Gardens here.

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In May 2026, members of the Rutgers food systems research team met with the Federated States of Micronesia’s Honorable Secretary of Resources and Development Elina Akinaga and Assistant Secretary Menoleen Jacob Oswalt (third and fourth from left) to discuss the developing National Agriculture and Food Security Policy.

Green Climate Fund-Supported Policy Review Meetings in Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae Bring Evidence-Based Food Security Frameworks to Communities Most Impacted by Climate Change

A Rutgers University food systems research team has completed a series of in-person stakeholder review meetings in Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) during April and May 2026, marking the completion of the first full cycle of community-led food security policy co-development across all four FSM states.

This milestone work, funded through the Green Climate Fund’s SAP020 project “Climate-Resilient Food Security for Farming Households Across the Federated States of Micronesia” and administered by the Micronesia Conservation Trust, delivered evidence-based, state-specific Food Security Policy Action Items to local stakeholders, not as top-down mandates, but as co-authored frameworks built from the voices and data of the communities they serve.

Building on Years of Collaborative Partnership

The April-May 2026 policy review meetings are the culmination of multi-year participatory action research that began in 2022 when the Rutgers team, led by James Simon, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), was contracted to conduct the baseline assessment for the Green Climate Fund food security project. Since then, the food systems science team-an interdisciplinary research group based at SEBS, representing disciplines spanning agriculture, marine science, agribusiness, ethnobotany, nutrition, climate modeling, anthropology, environmental engineering and science communication has partnered with local NGOs and community organizations to survey more than 1,500 farming families and stakeholders across the FSM’s four states: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae.

The Rutgers Food Systems Science team met with Kosrae State’s food system stakeholders to review and revise Kosrae State’s Food Security Policy Action items in May 2026.

The team has partnered with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Micronesia Conservation Trust since 2021 and has worked on six food security related major projects, including the Green Climate Fund GCF SAP020 baseline assessment; FSM’s Third National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the US Economic Development Administration Food Systems Solutions project; and Pohnpei State’s Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan.

The FSM, a Pacific island nation of 607 islands, faces an urgent food security crisis driven by climate change and a decades-long dependency on imported foods that replaced its once self-sustaining traditional food systems. The Rutgers team’s approach has centered community voice, cultural relevance, and indigenous knowledge at every stage of data collection and policy development. The 2025 Pohnpei State Food Security Policy, developed by the Rutgers science team in close partnership with the Pohnpei State’s Department of Resources and Development, served as a model for the state-specific frameworks now prepared for Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae. All four state policies are structured around nine strategic goals encompassing local food production, food processing and supply chains, food safety and water security, technical training, neighboring island food security, nutrition and cultural awareness, food production policy management, import and investment policies, and community management.

Significance of the Work

Dena Seidel, cultural anthropologist and food systems researcher, and doctoral candidate Tori Rosen met with Yap State farmers Carmen and Augustine Muguy in April 2026.

The completion of state food security policy reviews across all four FSM states represents one of the most comprehensive, participatory, and evidence-based food policy development efforts yet undertaken for a Pacific island nation. The convergence of more than 1,500 mixed methods surveys, focus group and repeated in- person community convenings has produced an unprecedented body of original empirical evidence returned to the communities who generated it.

“So many people in our community have food related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. We started growing our own vegetables because we wanted healthy food for our children and we could not find it in the stores. Now we are growing for our family and for the community and we cannot keep up with demand,” said Carmen Muguy, a farmer in Yap State.

“At the national level, it is our responsibility to address the needs of the communities we serve. We appreciate and value our long-term partnership with the Rutgers team and their approach to working at the local level with stakeholders in all our FSM states,” said Elina Akinaga, FSM’s Secretary of Resources and Development.

“This work exemplifies what it means to do research with communities in support of their environmentally and culturally based food production goals,” said Simon, lead scientist for the Rutgers food systems research team in the FSM. “Data points in these policies came from FSM farmers, fishers, community leaders, and local organizations who generously shared their knowledge, aspirations, and lived experience. Our role is to ensure those voices shape the policies that will determine their food future.”

The nine-goal framework structuring each state’s Food Security Policy Action Items provides both comparability across states and sufficient flexibility to accommodate each community’s distinct agricultural resources, cultural priorities, geographic constraints, and community aspirations. As the final action items are refined through stakeholder review and formally adopted by each state government, they will mark a pivotal step toward climate-resilient, culturally grounded food sovereignty in the FSM and lay the foundation for the next phase of the partnership.

Building upon the four state food security policies, the Rutgers food systems science team is now developing the FSM National Agriculture and Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan 2026-2031 in close collaboration with the FSM National Department of Resources and Development and all four state governments.

Chuuk state stakeholders met with Rutgers researchers for a two-day food security workshop as part of the Food Systems Solutions Project in February of 2025.

About the FSM National Agriculture and Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan 2026–2031

Currently under development, the FSM National Agriculture and Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan 2026-2031 builds directly upon and harmonizes the four state-level Food Security Policies following their formal state approval, translating their shared vision into a coordinated national program of action aligned with the FSM Sustainable Development Plan 2024-2043. The plan’s operational centerpiece is the FSM Food Innovation Infrastructure Network: a nationally standardized, three-tiered system of Food Innovation Centers providing every FSM community with a structured entry point into the local food economy. Grounded in the same participatory action research approach, the national master plan addresses interstate food trade, national food safety certification, coordinated digital market infrastructure and the policy levers needed to attract the investment this transformation requires. The plan sets ambitious but community-validated five-year targets: a 50% increase in locally produced food available to FSM households, a 50% reduction in food import categories that can be produced within FSM, and hundreds of new food system jobs across all four states.

Members of the Rutgers Food Systems Science team met with the Micronesia Conservation Trust in May 2026 to discuss the impact of the Green Climate Fund SAP020 Baseline Assessment to inform the Federated States of Micronesia’s developing food security policies and food production master plans.

The community-led food system development model at the heart of this work reflects the same approach that has guided Simon’s basil breeding program for decades: engaging directly with growers to understand their priorities and challenges. Together, these efforts demonstrate how stakeholder-informed research can generate practical solutions that strengthen food systems, support livelihoods, and build resilience in the face of environmental and economic change.

The interdisciplinary Rutgers food systems research team working in the FSM is co-led by Dena Seidel and Ramu Govindasamy and includes, Oscar Schofield, Yariv Ben-Naim, AJ Both, Roland Hagan, Tori Rosen, Lara Brindisi and Michael Balick (New York Botanical Gardens) and Iris Arbogast (University of Chicago). Additional Rutgers faculty supporting the development of FSM food security policies include James Shope, Dave Bushek, Nolan Lewin and Kevon Rhiney, and undergraduate students Lauren Koo, Olivia Finer, Ankora Sant’Angelo and Eamon Black.

About the Green Climate Fund SAP020 Project

The Green Climate Fund’s SAP020 project, “Climate-Resilient Food Security for Farming Households Across the Federated States of Micronesia,” is the first comprehensive FSM national effort focused on increasing the resilience of the nation’s subsistence farming families, in the face of climate change. The Micronesia Conservation Trust, a Direct Access Entity within the Micronesian Region, oversees the project’s overall technical implementation. Rutgers University was contracted to conduct the project’s baseline assessment and has remained a key technical partner throughout now supporting the development of state and national food security policies.

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Faculty and staff from Rutgers Department of Animal Sciences and Rutgers Gardens gathered with undergraduate and graduate student mentors and incoming cohort of students from LAGCC, OLLU, Texas State, Bergen County College and UPR for USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program on June 22 at Cook Campus Center MPR.

New Sustainable Urban Agriculture track, expanded student cohort and growing institutional partnerships highlight the USDA-funded initiative preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.

The USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program (ANSCId) concluded its third summer on July 10 with a closing ceremony at the Douglass Student Center, Trayes Hall, on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus. The intensive residential experience served 36 students across three experiential learning tracks while bringing together faculty, mentors and leaders from partner institutions across the country, underscoring the program’s growing national reach.

Animal Science Discovery Program students with horse from the RU Teaching Herd.

Now in the third year of its five-year, $4.5 million USDA NIFA NEXTGEN award, ANSCId is a joint initiative between LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC)—a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution within the City University of New York system—and Rutgers University. Through immersive experiential learning, research, and mentoring, the program prepares a highly skilled workforce for careers in agriculture, food systems, veterinary medicine, and related sciences. It creates an educational pathway from New York City high schools to LAGCC and ultimately Rutgers, providing under-resourced students opportunities to pursue careers in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences (FANH) workforce.

“Each year we see students arrive unsure whether there is a place for them in this field, and leave knowing that there is,” said Aparna Zama, ANSCId Project Director and teaching professor and director of the undergraduate program in animal sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). “Watching that transformation happen for a third cohort—and now across three different tracks—tells us that this model works.”

Preethi Radhakrishnan, ANSCId PI/Project Director at LAGCC noted that “this pipeline model has led to the first ever animal science major being established in NYC. Over 200 students are now enrolled in the environmental science major-animal science track at LAGCC.” Ten students have transferred from LAGCC to Rutgers University on ANSCId scholarships with one student graduating in January 2026, three more expected to graduate in Spring 2027, and six others by Spring 2028.

Students participating in cell and tissue culture labs in Foran 104.

ANSCId was launched in 2024 with two tracks—the Summer Experiential Learning Program (SELP) and the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). This year it added a third, Sustainable Urban Agriculture (SUA), expanding its focus to include community gardens, urban food production and food security.

“I’m so glad Rutgers Gardens was able to host the urban agriculture pilot program,” said Lauren Errickson, director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship. “Connecting students and community members around food and gardening is at the core of our work at Healthy Harvest, and it was wonderful to have the LAGCC students make meaningful contributions alongside our team while gaining hands-on learning experience.”

Assistant director, Meagan Terry, added “The LAGCC urban agriculture students jumped right in with our teams on both the Rutgers Gardens Student Farm as well as our Healthy Harvest urban agriculture expansion of both the community garden and in-ground food production. Through rain, extreme heat, and everything-in-between they displayed positivity, tenacity, and grit alongside our crew seven hours each day. We are grateful for their contributions to expand our growing areas with Healthy Harvest, and for participating in all farm activities during their three weeks.  We hope to continue learning from each other and stay connected as they progress in their urban agriculture journey”. 

This summer’s cohort included 29 students in SELP, four in SURE and three in the inaugural SUA track. Participants explored veterinary and human health careers through anatomy laboratories, animal handling and husbandry, cell culture, laboratory and field research, sustainable urban agriculture, community gardens and farmers market operations. All three tracks incorporated USDA workforce development activities, including résumé writing, interview preparation and career exploration.

From left to right, Ed Sanchez (BCC), Aparna Zama (Rutgers), Douglas Morrish (Texas State University), and Chuck Keeton (Vice Provost of Experiential Learning, Rutgers-New Brunswick).

A hallmark of the program’s growth this year was the participation of students and faculty from Our Lady of the Lake University, Texas State University, the University of Puerto Rico, and Bergen Community College. Speakers at the closing ceremony included Doug Morrish, associate dean for Student Success in the College of Science and Engineering at Texas State University and project director of the Texas State RAISE NEXTGEN grant, and Edward Sanchez, project director of the Bergen NEXTGEN Program for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Their participation reflected ANSCId’s growing role within a national network of institutions preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.

Morrish said, “We were honored to participate in the USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program offered by Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. This program provided six Texas State University Department of Agricultural Sciences students with an exceptional experiential learning opportunity. Through hands-on exposure to animal science research, industry innovation, and career development, these students gained valuable skills and professional networks that will help prepare them to become the next generation of leaders in agriculture. This investment by USDA NIFA strengthens our commitment to developing a highly skilled agricultural workforce capable of addressing the evolving challenges and opportunities facing animal agriculture.”

“Animals are special creatures who need special people to understand and care for them,” said Sanchez. “The Rutgers Animal Science Discovery Program successfully united a cohort of students with the compassion to provide that care. They are the next leaders in animal stewardship.”

Morrish and Sanchez were joined by Rutgers leaders Laura Lawson, Executive Dean of SEBS; Ann Gould, Dean of Academic Programs at SEBS; Chuck Keeton, Vice Provost of Experiential Learning at Rutgers–New Brunswick; and Carolyn Moehling, Senior Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education at Rutgers–New Brunswick.

“The students had incredible experiences and learned so much about animal science as a field and a career,” said Keeton. “They worked really hard and flourished thanks to support and encouragement from many Rutgers faculty, staff and students. All in all, this program is a model of immersive, hands-on learning.”

Christopher Nytch, project director of the IINSTAR-AS NEXTGEN Project at the University of Puerto Rico, said, “We are thrilled and appreciative that two undergraduate fellows from the IINSTAR-AS project at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus could participate in the Summer 2026 Animal Science Discovery Program at Rutgers University. The experience provided unmatched practical training in animal sciences, offering a unique perspective that enriches our students’ academic journeys in environmental sciences and directly aligns with the goals of the USDA-NIFA NEXTGEN program.”

With three established learning tracks, expanding institutional partnerships and a growing network of NEXTGEN collaborators, ANSCId enters the second half of its USDA NIFA award positioned to deepen its impact. The initiative reflects Rutgers’ commitment to experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and preparing a workforce equipped to address the future challenges of FANH careers.

“This is bigger than any one campus,” Zama said. “It takes faculty, staff, undergraduate peer mentors, graduate student mentors, community college partners, and now sister programs in other states all pulling together in the same direction. We are grateful for the continued funding from USDA NIFA, which supports American farmers, ranchers and producers while strengthening veterinary education and biomedical research.”

Students holding piglets in front of the farrowing house at the Rutgers Farm.

ABOUT ANSCId
The Animal Science Discovery Program (ANSCId) is a five-year, $4.5 million initiative funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under its “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals” (NEXTGEN) program. A partnership between LaGuardia Community College and Rutgers University–New Brunswick, ANSCId provides paid experiential learning, transfer scholarships, peer mentoring, and career development to build a  pipeline of professionals in animal science and related fields. ANSCId is one of 33 programs funded under the USDA-NIFA NEXTGEN initiative, a $262.5 million investment supporting training for more than 20,000 future food and agricultural leaders nationwide. At Rutgers, the program builds on an articulation agreement that allows LAGCC students who earn an associate’s degree in environmental science with an animal science focus to seamlessly transfer and complete an undergraduate degree in animal sciences. The program also supports its participants through ANSCId scholarships for LAGCC students, reinforcing the transfer-and-completion pipeline at the heart of the initiative.

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Janelle S., Junior Champion (Atlantic County 4-H), wearing the NJ 4-H Egg Champion crown!

First statewide competition helps young people develop egg grading skills while exploring careers in agriculture

Following New Jersey’s strong showing at the 2025 National 4-H Avian Bowl, youth participating in the 4-H Youth Development Program, part of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, are finding new opportunities to build knowledge and leadership in poultry science.

In the spring, the Department of 4-H Youth Development at Rutgers partnered with the Atlantic County 4-H Livestock and Poultry Club to launch the inaugural New Jersey 4-H Golden Egg Contest, introducing young people to the science behind commercial egg production and the rigorous standards used to evaluate eggs in today’s marketplace.

Open to registered New Jersey 4-H members, the contest challenged participants to produce, select and present a uniform half-dozen market eggs that met industry expectations for quality and consistency. Entries were judged using official USDA egg grading standards and the National 4-H Poultry Judging Manual—the same principles used throughout the commercial egg industry.

Suzanna Vaino, Atlantic County 4-H poultry project leader and co-developer of the contest.

“The contest gives youth an opportunity to look beyond simply raising chickens,” said Suzanna Vaino, Atlantic County 4-H poultry project leader and co-developer of the contest. “They learn how eggs are evaluated for quality, gain valuable judging skills and begin to understand the many career opportunities available within the poultry industry.”

Vaino developed the competition with Amelia Valente, 4-H agent of Monmouth County. The contest was modeled after successful 4-H egg judging competitions in states with established commercial egg industries, including Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.

To help prepare participants, Vaino led a six-session Short-Term Exploratory Program (STEP) conducted virtually throughout the spring. The sessions introduced youth to commercial egg production, USDA egg grading standards, poultry judging, oral reasons and career pathways in the egg industry.

The educational series featured guest speakers from the USDA Livestock and Poultry Program, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and the University of Missouri Extension 4-H Youth Development Program. Grace Kreft, an Ocean County 4-H alumna and Rutgers Animal Science graduate, also spoke about opportunities available through Rutgers’ Animal Science bachelor’s degree program.

The inaugural contest attracted 19 youth from nine New Jersey counties, who submitted 42 entries. Six RCE county offices served as collection sites before entries were transported to Atlantic County for judging.

Zoe-Bella C., Junior Honorable Mention (Essex County 4-H).

To ensure fairness, entries were evaluated anonymously by participant number and age division—Cloverbud, Junior and Senior. Judges assessed egg size, shell quality, shell thickness, shape, air cell size, albumen quality and other characteristics that determine market quality, including Haugh Units, the industry standard for measuring egg protein quality.

Top honors were awarded to:

Senior Champion: Megan C., Cape May County

Senior Reserve Champion: Danika C., Cape May County

Senior Honorable Mention: Joel S., Atlantic County

Junior Champion: Janelle S., Atlantic County

Junior Reserve Champion: Ethan G., Cape May County

Junior Honorable Mention: Zoe-Bella C., Essex County

The tools of the egg-grading contest, conveying the rigor of the competition.

The contest also highlighted the collaborative nature of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, with six county offices assisting in collecting entries from participants across the state.

Vaino credited the success of the inaugural event to the many volunteers, educators and partners who supported the effort, including Erin Sharpe, co-leader of the Atlantic County 4-H Livestock and Poultry Club, and Micky Hall, professor emeritus and small poultry flock specialist with Clemson University 4-H Youth Development, whose guidance helped shape the competition.

Organizers are already planning to expand the contest in spring 2027 with new challenges for returning participants.

Meanwhile, New Jersey 4-H’s momentum in poultry science continues. Members of the newly formed Senior New Jersey 4-H Poultry Judging Team will attend Poultry Judging Camp this summer at the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University before representing the state at the National 4-H Poultry Judging Competition in Louisville, Kentucky, this fall.

For more information about the New Jersey 4-H Golden Egg Contest or New Jersey 4-H poultry projects, contact Suzanna Vaino at Starla4270@hotmail.com or Amelia Valente at amelia.valente@rutgers.edu.

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A new teaching garden at Rutgers Gardens honors the memory of OCPE’s Fran Koppell.

When a student confessed he had been going hungry, program coordinator at the Office of Continuing Professional Education (OCPE), Fran Koppell, took money out of her own wallet to help him buy groceries. When a formerly homeless student was struggling academically, Fran made sure he had the support he needed. And when students had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, she opened her home, welcoming them to gather at her dining table as part of her family.

OCPE director Karen Plumley, at left, helps to unveil the new teaching garden in Fran Koppell’s memory.

For 15 years, Fran Koppell was the face of the Rutgers Professional Golf Turf Management Two-year Certificate Program, which brings students from all over the world to Rutgers to learn the science and art of turf management. As she took these students under her wing to help them achieve their dreams of becoming golf course superintendents, Fran became a second mom to many. Sadly, she was forced to step away from the program in 2021 and lost her battle with cancer in 2023.

To honor Fran’s legacy of care and kindness, a new teaching garden was dedicated in her memory on June 22, with her husband, children, grandchildren and extended family in attendance.

“This garden will allow Fran, in some small way, to continue to help and support students who will come to the two-year turf management program in future years,” said Karen Plumley, OCPE director. “Students who will never know Fran will still get to experience her generosity and caring nature.”

The garden was inspired by the vision of SEBS Dean Laura Lawson to create more experiential learning spaces on campus. As OCPE staff considered ways to honor their former colleague, they landed on the idea of creating a teaching garden to provide additional hands-on learning opportunities to the two-year turf management students for whom she cared deeply.

Stephen Kristoph, longtime instructor at OCPE and instructor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, guided the development of the teaching garden that was designed by Danielle Lohrman, landscape architecture junior.

“Fran’s legacy will live on with all of our visitors, and, in particular our students” said Lauren Errickson, director of Rutgers Gardens. “This garden serves as a place to learn about plant identification, proper pruning techniques, landscape design, and all of the technical aspects. It also gives us a chance to learn how to be kind to each other, how to care-take a space, how to become better people, and to grow as we all do on our journey within the gardens, the school, and the community.”

The garden came together through a collaboration between OCPE, Rutgers Gardens, SEBS, and Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations. Under the guidance of Stephen Kristoph, a longtime OCPE instructor and instructor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, the teaching garden was designed by Danielle Lohrman, a junior in that major. The student team the built the garden also included Solana Garcia, Kaitlin Gotting, Addison Cheney, Andy Garcia, Olivia Sheehan and David Ackerman.

Lohrman was excited to take on the challenge. “In the landscape architecture program, a lot of the work we do is hypothetical. This garden is something I got to design and actually see come to fruition. It was nice to put pen to paper, shovel to ground, and plants in soil.”

As a Rutgers Gardens summer intern who will also stay on in the coming school year, Lohrman is happy she will be able to continue working in the space. “I really want to be involved in the maintenance of this garden. It’s my baby!”

The public is encouraged to enjoy OCPE’s Teaching Garden—located in front of the Holly House—on future visits to the Rutgers Gardens.

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