UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State graduate student, Melanie Allen, a doctoral student in ecology, received the Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Graduate School during the annual Graduate Student Awards Luncheon held on April 11 at the Nittany Lion Inn.
The purpose of the Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Graduate School is to provide recognition and financial assistance to students who have been admitted to the Graduate School at Penn State as candidates for a graduate degree, who demonstrate academic excellence, and who received their undergraduate degree from the University.
Allen has received two Penn State degrees: a bachelor's degree in agroecology and a master's degree in ecology.
Allen's research has focused on evaluating how land use patterns, habitat structure and plant species richness impact pollinator communities in tree fruit systems. This research has resulted in two peer-reviewed publications and numerous presentations.
The nominator wrote that Allen’s research “added a critical level of sophistication and biological realism to our understanding of how landscape factors impact pollinators by demonstrating the importance of how the landscape is structured” and identifying “the types of plant communities in the landscape”.
Allen’s work provides a framework that growers, land managers, and conservationists can effectively use to conserve and expand pollinator communities while improving the ability of the land to meet the food needs of a growing population.
While exploring these critical issues, Allen’s doctoral research will be expanded beyond agricultural landscapes to include a broader diversity of landscape biotic and abiotic factors.