October 15, 2025

Vaishali Sharda, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering
Carl R. Ice College of Engineering

What motivated you to pursue research in this specific field, and how has your focus evolved over time? 

From broad agricultural engineering to specialized water-climate research. Starting with agricultural machinery in India, then transitioning through urban and crop water management, I've focused increasingly on water scarcity challenges in semi-arid regions. I'm motivated by water depletion challenges so my current work integrates climate and agro-hydrologic modeling with precision irrigation. 

What is your approach to this research? 

My approach combines multiscale modeling with interdisciplinary integration that includes synthesizing satellite data, machine learning, and simulation models to assess climate impacts at fine spatial resolutions. We integrate core engineering, hydrology, and agronomy to address water scarcity holistically while emphasizing stakeholder collaboration to assess long term sustainability & resilience 

Have there been any significant challenges or breakthroughs in your recent research, and how have you addressed or leveraged them? 

The biggest breakthrough was the NSF Track 2 grant. Leading a multidisciplinary team from 3 different institutions has given me opportunity to make connections and develop research ideas with several scientists that I did not know before. This along with all my other research projects have helped me train the future workforce and connect with stakeholders of the region. 

What is the potential impact of your research on your field and on broader societal issues? 

We address critical water security challenges facing agriculture. By developing climate-resilient crop management strategies and precision irrigation tools, we're contributing to sustainable intensification needed to feed growing populations while conserving groundwater. We provide farmers & policymakers with actionable climate adaptation strategies for creating resilient food production systems.

Research Overview:
I'm currently leading a $6M NSF EPSCoR initiative developing spray-on biodegradable bioplastics that decompose synchronously with crop growth while managing water, nutrients, and agrochemicals for enhanced field production. Through my NSF CAREER award, I'm developing multiscale data synthesis approaches to assess climate resilience in crop production systems, including modeling environmental change impacts on crop productivity under various irrigation strategies for climate smart agriculture. My current research also focuses on conducting high-resolution spatial analyses of groundwater conservation strategies in the Great Plains, evaluating deficit irrigation management, and developing integrated agro-hydrologic models to optimize water use efficiency under extreme climate conditions. These projects collectively address sustainable agricultural intensification by combining novel AI and ML techniques with precision water management and climate adaptation strategies. 

Roots of Research awards

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Roots of Research Faculty Honor Program.

Anyone at K-State can nominate a current faculty member for a Roots of Research award by filling out the Qualtrics form.

Awardees will be honored at a spring semester ceremony and will receive a plaque, and a tree will be planted on the Manhattan campus in their name. The names of selected faculty members will be announced in December, and trees will be planted during Earth Week in April 2026.

Nominations are due Nov. 1, 2025, by 11:59 p.m.

Research Support Professional Achievement Award

The K-State Research Support Professional Achievement Award recognizes the vital contributions of lab managers, technicians and other support staff to Kansas State University’s research mission. This award honors an individual whose efforts have had a measurable impact on advancing discovery, scholarship and innovation across the university’s research enterprise.

Contributions considered for recognition may include co-authored publications, leadership or direct involvement in externally funded grants and contracts, or other significant roles in research projects and laboratories. One recipient will be selected.

Anyone at K-State can nominate a current staff member for the award by filling out the Qualtrics form.

The awardee will be honored at a spring semester ceremony and will receive a plaque and monetary award to support approved research or professional development activities.

Nominations are due Nov. 1, 2025, by 11:59 p.m.

After a several month delay the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Request for Applications is finally available on the National Science Foundation’s GRFP website.   This program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including STEM education. NSF GRFP was established to recruit and support individuals who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions in STEM, including STEM education. NSF encourages applications from the full spectrum of talent that the U.S. has to offer. Proposals are due November 10 through November 14, 2025, depending on your discipline.

Note a key difference from previous years is that second year graduate students can no longer submit to this program.  You must be 1) an undergraduate in the final (senior) year of a bachelor’s degree program; 2) a bachelor’s degree-holder with NO enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework allowed); or 3) a first-year graduate student in their first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program.   There are also restrictions for students enrolled in combined bachelor’s/master’s degree programs.

The Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research will offer a training session at 3:30-5 pm on Thursday, October 23 to help you craft your proposal.  Participation in this session requires submitting a GRFP personal statement by noon on Monday October 20.  Please register here if you are interested in attending.  

The upcoming Extension and Engagement Week, October 20-24, will feature dialogue, lectures, professional development training sessions and other events to celebrate community, connection and opportunity.

Two important professional development and engagement opportunities for faculty members and researchers include:

• How to engage with the media, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23: Learn how to handle media interviews, develop key messages and even practice some of these skills. Registration required.
• Engage with KSURF, 3:30-4:30 p.m. presentation, 4:30 p.m. networking hour, Thursday, Oct. 23: Faculty members, staff researchers and student innovators can explore how ideas can make a difference beyond the lab or classroom. Registration required. 

Read more about Extension and Engagement Week.

For a full list of events, visit the Extension and Engagement Week website.

The KAWSE office is excited to relaunch our pre-college programs this fall. K-State faculty, staff, and students in STEM fields are invited to design and facilitate hands-on activities for our upcoming GROW (6-8th grade) and EXCITE (9-12th grade) workshops. Facilitating an activity is a great recruitment opportunity for your college, department, and field. Faculty members have used their experiences facilitating with KAWSE to demonstrate the broader impacts of their research. Additionally, KAWSE is happy to provide documentation and/or letters of support for those who collaborate with us. Please fill out your activity proposal by October 20th.

We are accepting student registrations for our GROW Saturday workshop and EXCITE Shadow Days. If you know any young learners who might be interested in STEM, please encourage them to sign up and join us on campus for these engaging, hands-on experiences.

A primary objective of K-State’s Phase II COBRE Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity (CNAP) is to support the development of junior investigators into independently funded investigators and to develop a critical mass of investigators who can compete for peer-reviewed extramural funding in neuroplasticity research. To this end, CNAP invites Pilot Project or Primary Project proposal applications from junior investigators whose research interests include neural plasticity.

The RFA can be downloaded from the CNAP Website. 

Letter of Intent due October 24th, 2025.
Full proposal due November 21st, 2025.

NSF webinars & office hours:

F.10 Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) solicits development and flight of a science-driven suite of instruments and supporting technology demonstration payloads tailored to complete scientific investigations at a lunar landing destination, that address the science goals of 1) any SMD division, e.g., Planetary Science, Earth Science, Heliophysics, Astrophysics, and Biological and Physical Sciences, 2) objectives of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), and 3) any technology demonstration goals of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) that advance capabilities for science, exploration, or commercial development of the Moon.

On or about October 13, 2025, the pre-proposal conference for F.10 PRISM previously scheduled for October 15, 2025, at 2 pm Eastern Time has been changed to TBD as a result of the continuing government shutdown.

Questions concerning F.10 PRISM may be directed to Ryan Watkins at HQ-PRISM@mail.nasa.gov but the civil servant points of contact for this program will not be permitted to reply until the government reopens.

NIH will begin accepting applications for the Extramural Loan Repayment Program (LRP) on September 1, 2025. Awardees can receive up to $100,000 in qualified educational debt repayment with a two-year award.

To learn more about eligibility requirements, application dates, and the benefits of receiving an LRP award, be sure to visit the LRP website, check out our overview video, and attend the upcoming informational session:

November 6, 2025 – LRP Ask Me Anything Session

Please note that the deadline to apply is November 20, 2025.

The postponed May 2025 EPSCoR PI Meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, November 3, 2025, as a virtual PI Meeting. 

This meeting will include presentations from NSF EPSCoR staff and NSF senior leadership, offer important program updates, and provide opportunities for PI and community interactions. There is no cost to attend the PI meeting, but registration is required for this virtual event. The meeting agenda will be posted on the EPSCoR website prior to the meeting and emailed to registrants. We welcome current and former NSF EPSCoR Principal Investigators, along with evaluators, institutional representatives, and other valued members of the EPSCoR community, to join us for this event

Click here to register for the 2025 NSF EPSCoR PI Meeting.

If you would like to serve as a reviewer and panelist for proposals submitted to the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL Test Bed), please complete the reviewer interest survey. Responses are due no later than Nov. 10, 2025. Please share this form with interested colleagues.

Reviewer Interest Survey

The PCL Test Bed supports the development and operation of a national network of AI-powered, remotely accessible laboratories to accelerate scientific discovery, enhance reproducibility and improve access to advanced research tools in science and engineering. For more information about NSF TTP, please review the program solicitation.