Freshman year in college is a time of growth marked by both hardship and joy. For Gabrielle Alli, a freshman from a small magnet school in Freehold whose major is microbiology and food science, growth has meant building confidence through the friendship and mentorship that comes with finding community in the ocean of New Jersey’s […]
Thousands Flock to Cook Campus for Rutgers Day 2025
Thousands of visitors gathered on April 26 for Rutgers Day 2025 on Cook/Douglass Campus for free performances, exhibits, food, and educational demonstrations. Despite rain forcing much of the festivities indoors, the morning spared Ag Field Day, during which agriculture-related programs featured a farm animal exhibition by veterinary science students, a dog show, contests, and many […]
Not Mushroom for Debate – “The Last of Us” Spores Interest in Mycological Research
In the HBO hit series, The Last of Us, a global pandemic fueled by a mutated Cordyceps fungus turns people into zombies – a scenario seemingly realistic to anyone who watched nature documentaries under quarantine. While Cordyceps is a real fungus that affects insects, famously seen parasitizing ants in BBC’s Planet Earth hijacking their brains […]
Elise Schicker (SEBS ’25) Looks to a Future in Neuroscience
Elise Schicker, a biotechnology major from Hillsdale, NJ, is graduating in the spring 2025 with plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. Schicker is currently working in the neurosurgery department at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School researching epilepsy, specifically SUDEP (sudden and unexpected death in epilepsy). She hopes to apply her experience to studying […]
2025 Climate and Weather Day Students Learn From the Best
Students in grades 9–11 from across NJ attended Climate and Weather Day 2025 with the Meteorology program at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences on March 1. The day included a schedule of talks, activities, and demonstrations designed to introduce students to the world of meteorology and atmospheric science. Speakers included Mike Lee, […]
2025 New Jersey Youth Institute Attracts Record Turnout
A record turnout of high school students attended the 9th annual New Jersey Youth Institute on March 7 at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). This event, a partnership with the World Food Prize Foundation engages students in considering critical issues of global food security. A 37 percent increase in attendance from last […]
From Ukraine to Rutgers, Illia Kholiavin (SEBS ’25) Perseveres with Biochemistry Degree
Illia Kholiavin is no ordinary SEBS senior. He’s no ordinary transfer student, either. He came to Rutgers from Ukraine in 2023 after his hometown, located in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, was ravaged by war. Kholiavin was a med school student back home, but his major, like so much in his life, changed suddenly […]
Thomas Molnar (CC’00; GSNB’06): Alumnus, Faculty, Star Plant Breeder
Cook College alumnus Thomas Molnar came to Rutgers University in the 90s, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in plant science in 2000, then a Ph.D. in plant biology in 2006. Now an associate professor of plant biology at SEBS, Molnar has cultivated a reputation for innovative research of hazelnut trees. Ferrero Group, the famed Italian […]
Chi Chen publishes research on the biophysical effects of croplands on land surface temperatures
The academic journal Nature Communications published new research this month authored by Chi Chen, assistant professor and faculty member in the Rutgers University Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. The paper, titled “Biophysical effects of croplands on land surface temperature,” draws on two decades of satellite data to analyze the biological and physical mechanisms […]
Animal Sciences Professor Mike Westendorf to Retire after 31 Years at Rutgers
Dr. Mike Westendorf, Animal Sciences Extension Specialist and Professor, retired on January 1, 2025, after 31 years at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Dr. Westendorf grew up on a small dairy farm in Idaho before studying animal science at the University of Idaho as an undergraduate, then earning his PhD at the […]
