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Dr. Taryn Bauerle Lab Director |
Dr. Michela Centinari
Visiting scholar
I'm a visiting scholar from Italy where I received my Ph.D. from the University of Bologna in 2008. My doctoral research focused mainly on water management in the vineyard with specific regard to the effects of floor management (cover crop, tilled soil) on total vineyard water use.
My research was designed to determine the reliability of available methods used to study cover crop water use, to analyze the relationship between vineyard cover crop water use and the climatic factors that drive evaporative demand, and to investigate the effect mowing has on the cover crop in terms of water use.
My research interests also involved the effects of floor (cover crop vs. tilled soil) and crop management (early defoliation, cluster thinning) on grape yield and quality and on the physiological processes of the vines. My current position with Dr. Bauerle is concerned with further understanding the mechanisms by which rootstock vigor influences the scion growth and anatomical development including xylem vessel development and relative propensity for embolism production with an emphasis on the role of whole plant water relations on this phenomenon.
Dr. Cyd Hamilton
Post-doc research associate
Broadly, I am interested in symbiotic interactions, how they evolve, what maintains them, and what determines their outcome (mutualistic versus antagonistic). It is the diversity of foliar fungal endophyte symbioses and the complex ecological consequences of these endophyte-host interactions that capture my attention. I seek to explore fungal endophyte-host interactions by incorporating population and ecological genetics as well as evolutionary theory. My dissertation research centered on foliar fungal endophytes in the genus Neotyphodium and their grass hosts. This symbiosis is dynamic, responding to various abiotic and biotic parameters which change the interaction from mutualistic to neutral to antagonistic. My research findings in addition to others support the inclusion of these diverse ubiquitous community members when considering plant population, community, and ecosystem level processes. Foliar fungal endophytes are important components in the context of agronomy, invasive species, and community conservation.
Vinay Pagay
Ph.D. candidate
I am currently pursuing a doctorate in viticulture with a focus on grapevine stress physiology. I am interested in investigating the effects of environmental stresses, water stress in particular, on the physiological development of grapevines as well as the effect of these stresses on grape and wine composition and quality. I am also keen on understanding the role of global and regional climate change manifested in elevated temperatures and droughts that influence vine performance, grape yield, wine aroma and flavor components and consequently wine quality.
Prior to commencing my doctorate degree, I completed a Masters in viticulture in 2008, also at Cornell, during which time I looked into the characterization and management of variability in the vineyard, working primarily with two commercially important grape varieties in New York: Concord and Cabernet Franc.
Following the Masters degree, I received the Dreer Award for International Horticulture Research from Cornell's Department of Horticulture. As part of this award, I had the opportunity to travel to and study viticulture and climate change in China, India and Australia for a period of one year in 2008-2009. (View my Dreer Award presentation.)
In my current research, I am working on the development of a xylem-embedded microsensor that will have the ability to measure the water status of grapevines and other plants and trees in real-time. The grapevine is particularly sensitive to water stress, which is reflected in the vegetative performance of the vine as well as the quality of fruit and resulting wine. The measurement of water status in grapevines and other plants has hitherto been done indirectly using a pressure chamber ("pressure bomb") or by measuring soil moisture via a number of different techniques. The only direct method to date is a cell pressure probe developed by Ulrich Zimmermann in Würzburg, Germany. This device measures the pressure potential of individual cells adjacent to xylem vessels thereby approximating the water status of the whole plant. However, these probes are tedious to use, inconvenient for field-studies to the large amount of equipment needed, and have a limited range of measurement. An embedded microsensor based on the tensiometer principle will allow growers and scientists to measure the water status of the vine or plant in real-time with an unprecedented range of (negative) pressure and accuracy. No such sensors for long-term, continuous and direct measurement of plant water status currently exist.
To develop a prototype for the microsensor, I am currently working in the lab of Dr. Abraham Stroock in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and also using the clean room of Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility for microfabrication of the sensor using conventional photolithography that is widely used to manufacture microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices. More information about our project can be found in articles in the Cornell Chronicle, Science Daily and Wines and Vines.
I have been a teaching assistant in 'Viticulture and Vineyard Management' (HORT 4430) and 'Analytical Methods for Plant Systems' (HORT 6170).
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Bryan Emmett Ph.D. candidate |
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Alex Paya I never thought my fascination with plants would take me as far as Cornell University. |
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Maria Smith M.S. candidate
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