Marisol Berti, professor of plant sciences, received the 2021 A.E. Thompson Career Achievement Award from the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops. The award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the advancement of industrial crops and products throughout their career.
During a virtual awards ceremony, Berti was commended for her research, which has helped advance the knowledge and characterization of industrial crops and contributed to the development of sustainable cropping systems. Also mentioned was her academic mentorship of the next generation of scientists and researchers of industrial crops.
“Receiving the A.E. Thompson award from AAIC is a great honor,” said Berti. “I attended my first AAIC conference in 1992 when I received the Graduate Student of the Year Award for my research in new crops at NDSU.”
Berti has been a member of the association for 30 years and has served as president, division chair, conference organizer and editor-in-chief of the Industrial Crops and Products Journal.
Over the course of her career, Berti has researched over 150 different crops, including pseudocereals, oilseeds, medicinal plants, forages, energy crops and cover crops.
Her research in the integration of energy crops and cover crops into existing cropping systems has been applied in many European countries. She has led national and international research teams to address various aspects of field crop management, develop sustainable cropping systems and phenotype crops for agriculturally important traits. She also has been the principle investigator or co-principle investigator on national and international collaborative research grants totaling approximately $7.9 million.
Her work has resulted in 84 peer-reviewed publications, 26 proceeding publications, 220 conference and symposium presentations and 50 Extension or magazine publications.
During her career, Berti has mentored 116 undergraduate students, 19 graduate students, three postdoctoral research fellows and served on many graduate thesis committees. She teaches courses in forage production, sugarbeet production and professional development and has led a study abroad course on sustainable agriculture and renewable energies in Europe.
Berti earned her bachelor’s degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, and her master’s degree in crop production and doctorate in plant sciences at NDSU.
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