Biology

My name is Maggie Wisniewska, and I am a 2011 WKU alumnus.  I completed my Master of Science Degree (MS) in Biology under the advisement of Dr. Bruce Schulte.  My MS thesis question investigated the interplay of age, reproductive condition and behavioral traits in female African savanna elephants.  While still at WKU I decided to enter the competition for the Alltech Young Scientist Award (http://www.alltech.com/education/alltech-young-scientist/about).  This award is granted by Alltech, Inc., a company that gives undergraduate and graduate students a chance to share their research with the global community and compete at two levels: country and international level.  The Young Scientist program’s scope of interest spans a variety of topics related to agriculture, such as agronomy, animal science, biological science or veterinary science.  Recently, my paper, entitled “Trade-offs in activity budgets in lactating and nonlactating African savanna elephants”, was selected as the third prize winner in the United States graduate category.  I also received a prize of $300 USD, a memory stick and a medal recognizing my work.  Today I would like to share my success with the Biology Department and the entire WKU community.  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my committee members and fellow graduate students for their guidance and support and the WKU Graduate Studies, Ogden College of Science and Engineering, and the Department of Biology for their funding.