HRI Mugget scholar aims to improve sustainable solutions and greenhouse management practices

WASHINGTON, DC and COLUMBUS, OH — Annika Kohler, a first-year graduate student at Michigan State University, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019-2020 Mugget Scholarship, presented by the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI).

“By being awarded the Mugget Scholarship, I can continue to carry out the legacy of the ‘mugget’ and create new energy-efficient, sustainable solutions that the whole industry can implement,” said Annika.

Annika realized a career in horticulture was her true calling during her undergraduate studies at University of Georgia while working for UGArden, the university's student-run, sustainable farm. An internship opportunity at a local greenhouse later inspired Annika to focus her career to aid greenhouse operations with better management practices and sustainable solutions. Her current research efforts are focused on young plant production in controlled environments. 

When Annika's not conducting experiments in the lab, she fills her time as co-president of Michigan State's Horticultural Organization of Graduate Students (HOGS) and as a reporter for The Hort Report.

The Mugget Scholarship is one of HRI’s oldest scholarship funds, representing the power of individuals in the green industry working together. The scholarship was started by a group of industry leaders who often got together for social events in the early ‘80s. The group coined the term 'Mugget' as a name for a pretend plant. Their fake plant inside joke quickly morphed into a scholarship fund that offers real financial support to deserving students like Annika.

Learn how to become involved in the work supported through HRI, the AmericanHort Foundation, at hriresearch.org.