Ji-Jhong Chen

College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

Plants, Soils, and Climate

Growing up in the hub of agricultural production in Taiwan, I became interested in plants and studied horticultural science at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taiwan. The International Partnership in Agriculture, Climate, and Environment (iPACE) at Utah State University (USU) made me aware of a water conservation research opportunity at USU which I was selected for. In that Master’s Degree program, I engaged in research projects addressing plant salinity tolerance, automated irrigation, environmental monitoring, and plant-microbe symbiosis. As a Master-level graduate student atUSU, I have published 3 first-authored and another 2-co-authored manuscripts addressing these topics in peer-reviewed journals. I have 3 more in preparation. I also presented my research at six local or national conferences beginning in the first year of my master’s program, 2018. I was awarded third place in a graduate student poster competition at the 2020 American Society for Horticultural Science Virtual Meeting. With the knowledge acquired thus far at USU, I am continuing my scholarship and working toward a Ph.D. degree with a career goal to pursue academic research and teaching. My greatest desire is to play a part in guiding the next generation of students and solving real-world problems as a researcher.