Tag: UF/IFAS CALS

Naples Botanical Garden Nursery Interior

Plant Science Major Spotlight: Edilzon Ramirez

by Eva Sailly
September 1, 2026

Edilzon “Edi” Ramirez has become a familiar face around Fifield Hall, home to several UF/IFAS departments and programs, including the Plant Science major, where he is a junior. Carrying homemade cupcakes, welcoming incoming students ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Clubs & Volunteers, Horticulture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Edilzon Ramirez, Environmental Horticulture, Florida Landscaping, Horticultural Sciences Department, Plant Science, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS, Undergraduate
Three-panel image showing a rocket launch, a gloved researcher handling a small plant sample in a laboratory tube, and a ripe passion fruit growing on the vine.

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Garcia Uses Plant Science to Support Future Space Exploration

by Eva Sailly
August 24, 2026

Ellen Garcia is a recent graduate of Horticultural Sciences, earning her Ph.D. in August 2025 and immediately starting as a postdoctoral research associate with NASA at Kennedy Space Center in September 2025.  Her research uses hyperspectral ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth
Tags: Alumni, Alumni-feature, Dr. Ali Sarkhosh, Dr. Ellen Garcia, Dr. Tie Liu, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Ph.D., Postharvest And Handling, Space Science, Student, UF/IFAS CALS
Close up of deep fuchsia hibiscus flower

Plant Science Student Spotlight: Afrifa Amoah-Mensah

by Eva Sailly
August 7, 2026

"My mom’s Jamaican, so I grew up drinking sorrel made with ginger and cinnamon from plants we grew in our backyard. Now I want to bring that same hibiscus into my own breeding projects and see what new varieties we can create. As a plant ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Afrifa Amoah-Mensah, Biodiversity, Horticultural Sciences, Plant Breeding, Plant Science, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS
Triad with Jeffrey Williamson Teaching a pruning course, the middle image showcases blueberries on a branch, and third is a peach on a tree with the stadium in the background

UF/IFAS Professor Retires: Jeffrey Williamson on Florida Blueberries and Mentorship

by Eva Sailly
July 29, 2026

“The very fact that we’re growing blueberries at all is because of UF/IFAS. If we didn’t have those varieties, we wouldn’t be growing blueberries commercially. The breeding program is really what turned blueberries into an important ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Blueberry, Extension, Horticultural Sciences Department, Jeffrey Williamson, Retirement, Rootstock, Stone Fruit, Teaching, UF IFAS Horticultural Sciences, UF/IFAS CALS
Lauren Goldsby, UF/IFAS Extension Agent, leads a hands-on blueberry workshop for community members in Bay County.

Alumni Spotlight: Lauren Goldsby’s Path to Extension

by Eva Sailly
April 13, 2026

Lauren Goldsby’s path to becoming a UF/IFAS Extension Agent in Bay County, Florida's panhandle, wasn’t linear. During her undergraduate years at UF, she worked in the Forage Breeding and Genomics Lab and the Blueberry Breeding Lab, gaining ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Alumni, Alumni-feature, Bay County, Blueberry, Extension, Gerardo Nunez, Goldsby, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Plant Science, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS, UF/IFAS Extension
Image of people (general public) walking through rows of strawberry fields as part of Greathouse's initiative.

Alumni Spotlight: Connecting Communities Back to Agriculture

by Eva Sailly
February 11, 2026

Extension From Day One Madelyn Greathouse is the UF/IFAS Extension Commercial Horticulture and Integrated Pest Management Agent serving Sumter and Pasco counties. She works with a wide range of growers, from blueberry and ornamental producers ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Alumni, Alumni-feature, Blueberry, Cade, Gerardo Nunez, Greathouse, Horticultural Sciences Department, Pasco County, Plant Science, Plant Science Major, St, Sumner County, UF/IFAS CALS, UF/IFAS Extension, Undergraduate
close-up image of blueberries on a branch outside

Dr. Gerardo Nunez Named to Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty Class of 2025

by Eva Sailly
December 16, 2025

Dr. Gerardo Nunez, Assistant Professor of Horticultural Sciences, has been named to the Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty Class of 2025, a national recognition honoring emerging leaders who are making meaningful contributions to the specialty ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Award, Blueberry, Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty, Gerardo Nunez, Horticultural Sciences, Nunez Lab, Plant Breeding, Small Fruit Horticulture Lab, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS
A green sign with the words "the Organic Gators" written in white. The sign is posted in a garden.

Undergraduate Student Spotlight: Alice Pekarsky

by Eva Sailly
September 15, 2025

Horticultural Sciences Undergraduate – Senior (Junior Graduating Early)  Alice, originally from Flagler Beach, Florida, is among the last to graduate from UF’s horticulture major. During her undergraduate studies, she gained hands-on ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Horticultural Sciences, Organic, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS, UF/IFAS TREC, Undergraduate
A eppendorf multi pipet tool. Laboratory equipment, science and research.

Graduate Student Spotlight with Gabriella Dickinson: Exploring Plant Metabolism through Biochemistry

by Eva Sailly
August 5, 2025

Gabriella Dickinson, our student spotlight, is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (PMCB) program at the University of Florida. Working in Dr. Gilles Basset’s lab, she studies the biosynthesis of prenylated ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Curriculum, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Basset Lab, Graduate Student, Horticultural Sciences, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, Plant Science, PMCB, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS

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