In this annual forum, 99 graduate students fromeight colleges and over 25 academicprograms presentedposters of their research and shared why it is important to lawmakers and citizens of Kansas. Ten presenters were selected to represent K-State at the annualCapitol Graduate Research Summit(CGRS) held in the spring at the State Capitol Building, where graduate students present their posters to state legislators and the public.
These presenters were selected for their outstanding presentations to receive an award from K-State’s chapter of Sigma Xi.
Alireza Monavarian, PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering Modeling the suitability of maize cultivation under future climate scenarios
Olusola Olagunju, PhD in Grain Science VRI-YOLO11: An Optimized YOLO-Based Model for Automated Hard Red Winter Wheat Grading
Avery Neer, Masters in Regional Community and Planning Engaged Urban Design and Planning: Student Learning Outcomes and Service-Learning
Selected for Capitol Graduate Research Summit
These presenters were selected for their outstanding presentations to receive an award from the Graduate School and to represent K-State at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit on March 24, 2025.
Amy Winstead, Masters in Biology Soil and grass quality are impacted by fire and grazing.
Vydehi Gadiparthi, Masters in Agronomy Beneath the Surface: How Farming Practices Influence Soil Health and Microbial Life
Md Suzauddula, PhD in Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health Bioengineered Purple Tomato-Derived Anthocyanins Reduce Colorectal Cancer Progression
Kelechi Igwe, PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering Closing the Water Budget Gap: Leveraging Satellite-Based Insights for Accurate Irrigation Water Use Estimation across the Western U.S.
Mohsen Davoudkhani, PhD in Pyschology Odor Identification and Blood-Based Markers Reveal Early Signs of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Mia Reyes, Masters in Agricultural Education and Communication Growing Pains: The Entrepreneurial Journey of Kansas Agritourism Operators
Nayara Mota Miranda Soares, PhD in Agriculture Effects of graded levels of red sorghum bran on processing parameters and palatability in dry dog food
Vidya Nadar, PhD in Chemistry Small Molecules, Big Impact: Building the Next Generation of Cancer and Antibiotic Drugs
Dylan Couch, PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering Improving brain cancer detection rates using a quantum computing framework
Asmita Mahara, PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering The Ultimate Future of Wastewater Treatment: Harnessing nature’s remedy to Tackle the Untreatable
All currently enrolled graduate students from any discipline are invited to participate in Research and the State. Ten students will be selected to participate in the Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS), which takes place in the Spring 2026 semester. These ten students must be enrolled in a K-State graduate program in the Spring semester to be eligible for participation in the CGRS.
Requirements for Research and the State participation:
Present work that you completed at K-State as a graduate student.
One presentation per student, and only one presenter per poster.
Give a new presentation. If you have previously participated in Research and the State or the K-State GRAD Forum, you can present on a similar topic/project as you did previously, but you are expected to have new data to share in this forum.
Include results/findings in the abstract and in the poster presentation.
Consult with major advisor/faculty member supervising the research and all co-authors before registering and submitting an abstract.
Use the ABSTRACT TEMPLATE (.doc) to submit an abstract of your poster presentation and a summary of how your research relates to issues of interest to the Kansas legislature. You will upload your abstract at the end of the registration form.
Write your abstract and poster presentation for a diverse audience who are NOT experts in your discipline. Help understand and appreciate your work!
Posters for Research and the Statemust not exceed 4 feet in width and 3 feet in height.These are the dimensions that will be required for posters selected for the Capitol Graduate Research Summit.
Posters will be displayed on portable walls and push pins will be provided. Presenters just need to bring their poster!
Mounting posters to foam boards and attaching three-dimensional objects to posters is discouraged because these materials can make it difficult to attach the poster to the portable walls.
Presenters are expected to prepare a3-minute oral presentationof their poster for the judges and should be prepared to answer questions.
Help everyone understand and appreciate your work! Posters should be designed and presentedin a way that can be understood by a broad audience. You will be presenting your work to an academically diverse audience, so you should not present your work in the same way that you would for experts in your field.
View videos of Three Minute Thesis competition winners and utilize Three Minute Thesis preparation resources to prepare the three-minute oral presentation of your poster.
The Writing Center is an excellent resource for helping students effectively communicate their research to a broad audience. Presenters are encouraged to contact the Writing Center to schedule an appointment with a tutor.
The following are topics that are of interest to Kansas legislators. However, participation in the poster session is NOT limited to research/scholarly work in these areas. All participants
Topics of interest: sustainable water supply; economic development and job creation; workforce development; plant and animal health; food safety: from farm to fork; health conditions impacting the health of Kansas including cancer, obesity, diabetes, and other conditions; health care costs; alternative health care; community development and quality of life in rural communities; alternative and sustainable energy sources; education: student achievement and student testing; business attraction in the state. Also refer toKansas House and Senate standing committeesto identify areas of interest to state legislators.
Poster judging will occur between 10:00am-noon and 1:30-3:30pm. If you are available for at least 1-1.5 hours during these time period, you may serve as a judge.
You are welcome to volunteer for one or both sessions.
Faculty who have students presenting may serve as a judge. You will not be assigned to evaluate your own student(s).
The GSC Research Forums Committee will contact volunteers in mid- to late-October with notification of their judging assignment or to inform them that they are not needed to serve as a judge
Evaluating posters in diverse disciplines
Judges may be assigned to evaluate posters in an area of research very different from their own research/scholarly background. Graduate students participating in Research and the State are competing for selection to represent K-State at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS) where they will have the opportunity to share their work with state legislators. It is important that students participating in the CGRS are able to effectively communicate their research to the general public. To provide an evaluation of poster presentations from this perspective, some judges will be assigned to evaluate posters in an area of research very different from their own research/scholarly background.
Judging related questions may be directed to the Graduate Student Council ategsc@ksu.edu.
Your abstract must be written in a way that students and faculty from a variety of academic disciplines and the general public can understand. Please DO NOT prepare a technical abstract as you would for an audience of experts in your field.
INCLUDE headers for the broad sections in your abstract (e.g., Background, Method, Results, and Conclusion).
Your abstract must not exceed 250 words. Title, author information, and section headers are not included in the word count.
Author names – Include first and last names of all authors in the order determined appropriate by the authors. DO NOT include professional titles (e.g., use “John Smith,” NOT “Dr. John Smith”). Bold the name of the presenting author.
Author affiliations – For K-State authors, list the author’s department. For others from other institutions, list the department and the university.
Use numerical superscripts to distinguish authors with different affiliations. Superscripts are not needed if all authors have the same affiliation.
Refer to Sample abstracts - For abstract samples of proper formatting, refer to the "Previous abstracts and award recipients" section below.
Review and proofread your abstract. Please make sure your abstract is free of grammatical errors.
Save the document using the following file name format: Last Name, First Name.docx (e.g., “Smith, John.docx.”).
Upload your abstract at the end of the online registration form. You must receive approval of all co-authors prior to submitting your abstract.
Registration is now closed
Questions about Research and the State may be directed to the Graduate School at grad@ksu.edu or 785-532-6191.
