I am excited to introduce and welcome the new members of the Wisconsin Cropping Systems Weed Science (WiscWeeds) Program: Maxwel Oliveira, Ryan DeWerff, Sarah Striegel, Victor Ribeiro and Nikola Arsenijevic.
Maxwel started at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Weed Science Postdoctoral Research Associate in January 2018 in Dr. Werle’s program. Maxwel was born in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He earned his B.S. in Agronomy and M.S. in Weed Science from the Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys, Brazil under Dr. Jose Barbosa dos Santos. He received his PhD in Weed Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in December 2017 under Dr. Stevan Knezevic. Maxwel is interested in investigating the distribution and management of herbicide-resistant weeds in Wisconsin, and evaluating weed management strategies in corn, soybeans and small grains. Maxwel is responsible for training the Badger Weeds Team, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in the WiscWeeds program, and assist with the Wisconsin Herbicide Evaluation Program.
Ryan started at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Weed Science Research Specialist in March 2018. Ryan grew up in central Illinois, where he was actively involved in the production of corn and soybean on his family’s farm. He received his B.S. in Crop Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Fall 2011. Ryan earned his M.S. in Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014, where he specialized in weed science under Dr. Vince Davis. As part of his thesis, he researched how current soybean planting date and seeding rate recommendations affect weed management decisions in Wisconsin soybean production systems. Ryan manages the Wisconsin Herbicide Evaluation Program and provides technical assistance for ongoing WiscWeeds program and graduate student research projects.
Sarah started at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an MS student in Agronomy in April 2018, specializing in weed science under Dr. Rodrigo Werle. She was awarded the R. Gordon Harvey Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Weed Science and the O.N. Allen Graduate Scholarship to support her studies. Sarah grew up in southern Iowa on a row crop corn and soybean farm. She earned her B.S. in Agronomy, Crop Management and Business at Iowa State University in December 2017. Her graduate research focuses on the evaluation of dicamba’s effectiveness as a tool for weed control in resistant crops and managing the risk of off-target movement.
Victor will spend one year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a visiting M.S. graduate student under Dr. Rodrigo Werle. Victor comes from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He is currently an M.S. student in Crop Production at the Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys, Brazil, under Dr. Jose Barbosa dos Santos, where they are studying the fate of 2,4-D and dicamba in soil. Victor earned his B.S. in Agronomy at the same institution in March 2018 and was an active student in Dr. Barbosa’s weed science program throughout his degree. As a visiting M.S. graduate student at UW-Madison, Victor will study the fate of dicamba in soil and also participate in several projects conducted by the WiscWeeds Program.
Nikola will start at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an MS student in Agronomy this summer, specializing in weed science under Dr. Rodrigo Werle. Nikola grew up in a small town in central Republic of Serbia. He received his B.S. in Crop Protection at University of Belgrade, Serbia, in Fall 2017. As an undergraduate student, he conducted weed science research under Dr. Sava Vrbnicanin. His graduate research project will focus on the impact of soil-applied PPO and PSII herbicides on early season soybean development and Palmer amaranth control. Part of Nikola’s MS research was conducted in Western Nebraska during his senior internship at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under Dr. Werle.