The Biogeochemical Nutrient Cycling Lab is excited to welcome a new lab member, Presley Nickens!

Presley Nickens received her undergraduate degree from Murray State University in 2021, where she majored in Agriscience Technology with an Emphasis in Communications and Public Relations. Her notable achievements include being selected as the Outstanding Senior Woman (Valedictorian) for her graduating class, a Farm Credit Mid-America Scholar, an Agriculture Future of America Delegate, and as a Kentucky Academy of Sciences Student Research Competition Winner. Some of her favorite, former leadership positions include being the President of the Agriculture Leadership Council and an Agricultural Ambassador. Presley later graduated from Murray State University with a Master of Science in Agriculture with a Sustainable Agriculture Concentration in 2022. During this time, she was honored as the Hutson School of Agriculture’s Outstanding Woman in Agriculture. To gain experience, Presley worked full-time at the United States Division of BASF Agricultural Solution as the manager of Grow Smart Live™ and a Communications Specialist. In this role, she was responsible for creating content and improving feedback strategies for a farmer-focused agronomic app and internal programs for BASF Agricultural Solutions. She managed the flow of agronomic content for all focus crops and their associated BASF products for the continental U.S.
She started her Ph.D. journey this January and is majoring in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science with a Soil and Environmental Science Concentration. At the University of Tennessee, she has worked with the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture, where she recently served as a USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer in Cambodia. Presley’s dissertation research will focus on enhancing soil health and climate change mitigation potential of grasslands.
Presley can be reached by email at [email protected].