Giving Back
THE STORKAN-HANES-McCASLIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION Encouraging research by offering financial assistance to graduate and post-graduate students who have demonstrated interest in soil-borne diseases and their control.
2025 Foundation Awards
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Roshni Panwala
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida- Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
Project Title:
Tracking soil recolonization by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici following fumigation. -
Alexander Fast
Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A.
Project Title:
A Cost-Effective Rhizobox and Machine Learning Image Analysis Pipeline for High-Throughput Quantification of Root Disease Progression
2024 Foundation Awards
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Corrie Vincent
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Project Title: Function and Regulation of the Concanamycin Phytotoxins in the Potato Common Scab Pathogen Streptomyces scabiei
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Ram Neupane
Penn State
Project Title: The Genetic Basis of Copper Tolerance in
Soilborne Burkholderia Strains Collected from Onion
Bulbs and Leaves: A Comparative Genomics Study -
Sudha GC Upadhaya
Washington State University
Project Title: Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health in Potato Fields: From Microbial Community Profiling to AI-Based Nematode Identification
2023 Foundation Awards
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Lily Lofton
University of Georgia
Project Title: Pyrrocidine, A Molecular Off Switch For Fumonisin Biosynthesis: How Does It Work?
2022 Foundation Awards
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Erika Consoli
Montana State University
Project Title: Root lesion nematodes in Montana winter wheat: understanding their genetic diversity and opportunities for a durable nematode management.
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Sanjib Sapkota
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Project Title: Root rot and wilting complex for red raspberry in British Columbia: pathogen characterization, exploiting host-resistance and sustainable management options.
2021 Foundation Awards
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Camilo H. Rojas
North Carolina State University
Project Title: Revealing the effector repertoire of Ceratocystis fimbriata to accelerate sweet potato breeding efforts
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Andres Dejesus Sanabria-Velazquez
North Carolina State University
Project Title: Exploring alternative management of soilborne pathogens in stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) in North Carolina, Mexico, and Paraguay
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Chaydon O’Fallon
University of California, Riverside
Project Title: Identification of Phytophthora spp. causing root and crown rots in California cherry orchards and their management using new fungicides with unique modes of action
2020 Foundation Awards
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Alexander M. Batson
Washington State University
Project Title: Identifying additional resources and tools for the enhanced management of the causal agent of spinach Fusarium wilt, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. spinaciae
2019 Foundation Awards
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Sara Dorhmi
Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, UC Riverside
Project Title: Application of host-induced gene silencing to enhance soybean resistance to Phytophthora sojae
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Jing Jin
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, NC State University
Project Title: Characterization of Phytophthora nicotianae adaptation to partial resistance in tobacco
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Peiqt Zhang
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida
Project Title: Characterizing endohyphal bacteria in Rhizoctonia solani field isolates and their potential contributions to virulence and fungicide resistance
ABOUT THE STORKAN-HANES-McCASLIN RESEARCH FOUNDATION
The Storkan Foundation, in honor of Richard Storkan – former President of TriCal, Inc., was founded in 1987 to encourage graduate research on soil-borne diseases. The name was later changed to The Storkan-Hanes-McCaslin Research Foundation in honor of the three founding members of TriCal: aforementioned Storkan, Jerry Hanes, and Bob McCaslin. The Foundation was created to further the work of the three founders who were always willing to provide time, money, fumigants, and equipment to further research in soil diseases.
The Foundation grants awards on a yearly basis. As of 2025, the Foundation has awarded a total of $680,500 to 97 students across the United States and Canada. In addition to the cash awards, the Foundation supplies airfare each year for the newly elected Fellows of the Storkan-Hanes-McCaslin Foundation, to attend the annual American Phytopathological Society (APS) meeting.
List of Storkan-Hanes-McCaslin Fellows
- 1988-89Mark Mazzola, Washington State
Greg Gilbert, University of Wisconsin
James Liebman, UC Berkeley - 1989-90Craig Sandlin, UC Riverside
Bob Larkin, University of Florida
Marc Cubeta, North Carolina State University - 1990-91John R. Washington, University of Florida
Tsu-al-Lin, UC Davis
B.W. Pennypacker, University of Pennsylvania - 1991-92Richard Stange, UC Riverside
Sieglinde Snapp, UC Davis
Juliet Carroll, Cornell University - 1992-93Shu-Fen Lu, Ohio State University
Boazha Guo, University of Kentucky
Juliet Carroll, Cornell University - 1993-94Jerrold K. Turney, UC Riverside
Mahalaxmi G. Bangera, Washington State University - 1994-95Mahalaxmi G. Bangera, Washington State University
Jefferson L. da S. Costa, UC Riverside
Aida Raio, Oregon State University - 1995-96Barry Pryor, UC Davis
Nathan Corbell, Oregon State University
Lindy Brigham, University of Arizona - 1996-97Kurt Heungens, University of Wisconsin
Belinda Messenger-Routh, UC Riverside - 1997-98Andreas Westphal, UC Riverside
Cecilia Jones, UC Davis - 1998-99Pele Eve Rich, UC Riverside
Marek Sliwinski, University of Wisconsin
Dennis Bishop, University of Tennessee - 1999-2000Mee-Sook Kim, University of Idaho
Lisa Buttonow, University of Wisconsin - 2000-01Lance Davidson, Cornell University
Ewen Mullins, Penn State University
Suzanne McKenzie Miller, Oregon State University
Mee-Sook Kim, University of Idaho - 2001-02Alan T. Dyer, University of Minnesota
Kirk Radewald, UC Riverside
Payungsak Rauyaree, Penn State University - 2002-03Elizabeth Fichtner, North Carolina State University
Jeness Petersen, UC Davis
Sayed Islam, University of Illinois - 2003-04Darby G. Brown, University of Wisconsin
Antonio Jose Moreira, Iowa State University
Axel A. Elling, Iowa State University - 2004-05Leonardo De La Fuente, Washington State University
Slavica Djonovic, Texas A&M University
Jennifer E. Schaff, North Carolina State University
Johanna Takach, University of Georgia - 2005-06David Doll, UC Davis
Damon Smith, North Carolina State University
Deborah Pagliaccia, UC Riverside - 2006-07William Rittenour, University of Nebraska
Nathan Schroeder, University of Wisconsin - 2007-08Leigh Ann Harrison, Washington State University
Periasamy Chitrampalam, University of Arizona
Courtney A. Gallup, North Carolina State University - 2008-09Laura Gallegos, UC Davis
Teresa Hughes, University of Wisconsin - 2009-10Fanhong Meng, University of Wisconsin
- 2010-11Amara Camp, Cornell University
- 2011-12Jonathan M. Jacobs, University of Wisconsin
Brian Aynardi, Penn State University - 2012-13Allison Ferry, UC Davis
Peter DiGennaro, North Carolina State University
Kestrel McCorkle, North Carolina State University - 2013-14Y.M. Ananda Yapa Bandara, Kansas State University
Kristi Fenstermacher, Penn State University - 2014-15Timothy Frey, Ohio State
Peter Henry, UC Davis
He (Helen) Jiang, University of Maine - 2015-16Hung Doan, University of California, Davis
Morgan A. Gray, University of California, Riverside
Ms. Ningxiao Li, Pennsylvania State University - 2016-17Alyssa Koehler, North Carolina State University
Sanju Kunwar, University of Florida
Kelley Paugh, UC Davis
Minglu Gao (Hugo), University of Georgia - 2017-18Megan McCaghey, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kelly Hrywkiw, The University of British Columbia
Ram Khadka, The Ohio State University
Bradley Lalande, Colorado State University