MANHATTAN — The 14th Capitol Graduate Research Summit, on Friday, March 10, will feature 10 Kansas State University graduate students who research important Kansas topics, including soil erosion, crop development, obesity, animal health and more.

The event will be on the second-floor rotunda of the Kansas State Capitol Building in Topeka. The statewide summit includes current research from graduate students at Kansas State University, Emporia State University, the University of Kansas, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Wichita State University, Fort Hays State University and Pittsburg State University. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has proclaimed March 10 as Graduate Research Day.

Graduate students will present their research posters from 10 a.m. to noon and interact with legislators, the Kansas Board of Regents and the public. Members of the community are invited to attend.

A university professor and an industry representative will judge the poster and student presentations. The top presenters from each university will be awarded a $500 scholarship.

The 10 students were chosen based on their research presentations at Research and the State, an annual on-campus event in October 2016.

“As one of the top wheat producing states in the United States, tools that help to protect this valuable commodity, and consequently the livelihood of a large portion of rural Kansas, are indispensable,” said Ryan Schmid, doctoral student in agronomy. “My research focuses on the development of a monitoring tool for a significant insect pest of wheat, the Hessian fly. The results of my research demonstrates the potential for LEDs to improve Hessian fly monitoring, which will give Kansas wheat producers much needed information to make judicious management decisions, thus reducing yield loss from this pest.”

“Presenting at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit provides a unique opportunity to communicate with the state legislators and explain how the research conducted at K-State impacts the state of Kansas,” said Catherine Steele, doctoral student in psychology. “My research has found that high-fat and high-sugar diets induce impulsive choice behavior. This suggests that diet and impulsive behavior could be targeted in treatment programs to help address the obesity crisis in Kansas.”