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Floriculture Graduate Student Earns National Honor
June 15, 2009
Writer: Laici Wedel, 979-845-2886, lwedel@neo.tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – Shannon Mason, a graduate student in the Department of Horticulture Sciences in Texas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been awarded the Kenneth Post Award for her research in consumer preferences in floriculture.
The Kenneth Post Award for Graduate Research in Floriculture is given each year to the top graduate floriculture research publication in the journals of the American Society for Horticulture Sciences.
Mason’s award-winning research project, “Consumer preferences for price, color harmony and care information of container gardens,” was a published in HortScience in 2008.
She conducted her research under the direction of Dr. Terri Starman, associate professor in the Department of Horticulture Sciences. Starman said the latest technology and methodology were used during the project to determine what consumers are thinking when purchasing floriculture products.
“Unlike traditional floriculture research of the past that has emphasized production, this research looked at the marketing aspect of our products, which has become increasingly important for floriculture producers," Starman said.
“My research project allowed me to straddle the line between traditional floriculture and innovative floriculture,” Mason said. “I hope that this research will help improve the marketing decisions of both producers and retailers in the floriculture industry.”
The Kenneth Post Award is given through the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Distinguished Achievement Award program in recognition of outstanding floriculture research by a graduate student. It is jointly awarded by the ASHS Floriculture Working Group and the Kenneth Post Foundation.
About the college:
With an enrollment of almost 6,700 students in 14 academic departments, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees and has a faculty of nearly 400 members, including two Nobel laureates. Research programs include food sustainability and safety, human and animal health, genetics, renewable natural resources and bioenergy. Mark Hussey is Vice Chancellor and Dean.
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