The Compost Research & Education Foundation’s (CREF) Board of Trustees has announced the winners of this year’s Compost Research Scholarships for university students. Two students were awarded national scholarships. The Foundation received many worthwhile applications but these two stood above the rest. The CREF annual scholarship is available to students to assist with their current research projects. The goal of the scholarship is to encourage more compost-related research projects, a core mission of the Foundation. The students receive not only a financial award but are also invited to present their finished work at the US Composting Council’s Annual Conference during a CREF research session.
“Our Board of Trustees were extremely impressed this year by the quality of research projects we received. We wish we could have funded all of them. We look forward to following our two winners throughout the year seeing the progress of their research and hearing about their results when their scholarships are completed.” Ginny Black, CREF Trustee Chair
Meet the Two Winners and Learn about their Research Projects
Sai Thejaswini Pamuru is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland College Park. Her project aims to test the synergistic effectiveness of compost-biochar mixtures in reducing nitrogen and phosphorus leaching, and in improving vegetation growth and quality. The study takes a holistic approach to understanding the effects of compost-biochar mixtures on the physical and chemical behaviors of soils, water quality, and vegetation establishment. This study is one of the early efforts in evaluating biochar- and compost-amended soils in a large mesocosm experiment with slope considerations, mimicking roadside embankments. Given the concerns associated with composts (water quality) and wood-derived biochar (vegetative health), this study hypothesizes that a mixture of the two can improve soil fertility, plant uptake of nutrients, and soil hydraulic properties, all while minimizing nutrient losses to infiltrated or surface waters.
The findings of this study expect to delineate practicable recommendations by promoting the safe use of OAs in roadside projects while updating current specifications on soil nutrients. Moreover, a comparative field evaluation of the OA-based products and traditional stormwater management control measures, e.g., topsoil, will be available to engineers, scientists, and landscapers.
Daisy D’Angelo received her MS in Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University in 2014, and is currently pursuing a PhD with OSU’s Food, Agriculture, and Biological Engineering with a focus on compost characterization and utilization. She is also a Horticultural Scientist in Growing Media at Scotts Miracle-Gro. Daisy’s research project aims to examine the role food waste compost (FWC) can serve in establishing and maintaining healthy soils, specifically as a tool for better managing both nutrient and water usage. This research will conduct and execute field trial evaluations to study these effects of amending soil with FWC in two drastically different soil types and climates- 1. FL sand and 2. OH clay-loam. Prior to use in the field study, the composts utilized will be fully characterized as high-quality compost via STA testing, to better gauge appropriate application rates, and so that results can be duplicated by practitioners looking to capitalize on these benefits.
The goal is to further quantify how compost applications can improve nutrient and water management and gain overall confidence with compost end users. She hopes this research will help highlight a valuable resource in diverting food waste from landfills to composting, which could also support both nutrient and water reduction in agricultural systems.