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A spring drive through Minnesota leaves travelers looking at barren dirt fields over rolling hills. Come October, all that remains of the lush summer greenery is broken brown cornstalks and burning wheat fields. In the future that image could change. The Forever Green Initiative aims to make the state green from snowmelt to snowfall through funding a collective of researchers and graduate student working in sustainable agriculture.

As a native of the Twin Cities metro, undergraduate Lauren Innes (B.S. Food Systems ’17) had little interest in agriculture or food systems when she started as a pre-nursing student at the University. Yet, all it took was a class project about Urban Oasis and founder Tracy Sides to completely change her focus. After switching to a major in food systems, her new interest led her to join the University of Minnesota chapter of the Real Food Challenge.

In a world where Google can teach anyone about the aerodynamics of a golf ball or 5 million strangers can see the same Facebook post, it’s hard to imagine that scientists often struggle to process and share their data. Thanks to a fellowship from the University of Minnesota Informatics Institute, Associate Professor Adrian Hegeman is working to create a software platform called Galaxy-M to address this issue in the field of metabolomics.

From a wooden podium in front of a buzzing audience of 900 plus horticulturalists from around the world, Professor Mary Meyer reflects on the essential role plants play in our everyday lives.

The legacies of James Bartz and Harold Pellett will be remembered and celebrated by the department through the continuation of research initiatives begun under their tenure.

If you’ve ever crunched on a salty Frito Lay potato chip or cut into a tender and fleshy RuneStone Gold, you’ve tasted a piece of Christian Thill’s legacy. On August 7, 2014 Christian passed away unexpectedly from a heart-related issue at age 53.

Machete in hand, clad in a pair of work boots, blue jeans, and a black oilskin hat, Alex Susko scans the landscape slowly and methodically for any sign of his quarry. Halfway down along the sloping stream bank, he successfully finds his mark. 

Many children grow up dreaming about taking a trip to Disney World to meet their favorite characters and experience the thrills of an animated world full of music, rides, and spectacular shows. And while scores of people visit the theme park each year (over 52.5 million, to be more precise), few have the privilege of spending an entire summer within Disney’s magical borders.