Dr. Michaels enjoys investigating phenotypic variations among plants, determining whether they have a genetic basis, and using them to select for improved cultivars. His current work focuses on dry edible beans, industrial hemp, sweet sorghum, and lettuce for organic and small farm production systems. He is passionate about developing and delivering effective undergraduate learning experiences for his students in face-to-face and online formats.
Dr. Hoover’s research examines production methodologies for producing fruit crops with sustainable methods, emphasizing practices that are gentle on the environment. She and her colleagues have developed systems for minimizing weed pressure in June- bearing strawberries and for producing day-neutral strawberries in cold climates. She is also part of the international research group NC140, which studies the winter hardiness of apple rootstocks. She was appointed Head of the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota (UMN) in 2009, and leads a diverse group of faculty and staff who work to produce knowledge on a wide range of plant species, including traditional horticultural plants, fruits, vegetables, and flowers
Ms. Irish received her BS in Horticulture, with an emphasis in public horticulture, in 2015. She went directly into her master’s program, working on a collaboration between the Iowa SNAP-Ed and Master Gardener programs that involved working with master gardeners on food security projects across the state. As both an undergrad and a graduate student she served as a teaching assistant for the introductory horticulture course labs, the hands-on horticulture lab, and the upper-level plant propagation course. She teaches the plant propagation labs at UMN and advises the Horticulture Club.