FIU plantsman Amir A. Khoddamzadeh was selected as one of nine science beau for the U.S. Department of Agriculture ’s E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program .
The programme offer mental faculty from Latino - Serving Institutions and Hispanic - Serving School Districts the opportunity to work collaboratively with USDA to put on insight into the federal politics and to construct a more diverse pipeline into public table service and the agricultural sector .
The 2024 cohort — including education , high shoal , and skill fellows — spent one week in Washington , D.C. , this summer to watch how USDA serve and programme can gain them , their students , and their communities . They also each got to pass an extra week at a position of their selection to collaborate with top scientists from USDA ’s Agricultural Research Service , Food Safety and Inspection Service , or the U.S. Forest Service .
Khoddamzadeh chose to go to Riverside , California , and work with the USDA Agricultural Research Service ( ARS ) in the Agricultural Water Efficiency and Salinity Research Unit . That connection will pay off off for the agroecology grad students working on salt emphasis adaptations and regenerative agriculture in his Conservation and Sustainable Horticulture research laboratory as he bring in them to the ARS scientists he take on out west . Next year , Khoddamzadeh will host members of USDA bureau on campus so they can interact with students and late graduates concerned in internships and other chance .
Mr. Khoddamzadeh
" This fellowship has bring home the bacon me with invaluable opportunity to enhance our research collaboration and to foster the exploitation of our students , " Khoddamzadeh said . " I am deeply abide by to be part of such a imposing program and look forward to bring to our shared goal by inform the students about the gravid opportunities and internship with different agencies at USDA . "
The E. Kika De La Garza Fellows Program is a key factor of USDA ’s Latino - Serving Institutions National Program , dedicated to supporting a twenty-first - century agricultural men through professional and workforce development . In partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities , the program has ply high - quality internship experience to more than 3,000 medical intern since 1994 .
" This class ’s socio-economic class of fellow is the largest so far and a will of the program ’s success , " said Lisa R. Ramírez , manager of USDA ’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement .
For Khoddamzadeh , this company is another way to give his scholarly person chance for success . Earlier this year , he spent his sabbatic at the USDA ARS Subtropical Horticultural Research Station in Miami . Now , there are six graduate and five undergraduate FIU ground and surroundings students work on projects link to climate change and version on various decorative plants and food crop .
Source : FIU .
