May 28, 2025
Photo courtesy of Charlotte Spohr
Charlotte Spohr, a junior at the University of Missouri, will have the opportunity to conduct meaningful research while studying abroad this summer through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program. The internship allows undergraduate students from North American, British and Irish universities the chance to conduct research at top German colleges and research institutions.
“I have never studied abroad before, and I’ve always had hopes of living and working abroad, so this opportunity is a literal dream come true,” Spohr said. “I’m really looking forward to immersing myself in a different culture, as well as researching a technology that doesn’t get as much attention in the U.S.”
Spohr is a plant sciences major in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources who is also pursuing the Honors College Certificate. She will serve as a research assistant at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, in a laboratory that studies aquaponic systems, which are sustainable, integrated ecosystems that combine fish farming with soilless plant cultivation. She will assist with cultivating plants in the system and collecting and analyzing growth data.
The work will build on Spohr’s research interests, which include controlled environment agriculture and other sustainable agriculture solutions. For the past year, she has conducted research in the lab of Juan Cabrera-Garcia, a state extension specialist in horticulture and the director of the Extension Master Gardener program.
“My experience thus far with undergraduate research has been so crucial to my academic development,” Spohr said. “Research gives me a way to take the concepts I learn in class and apply them to a project I care about, while also developing lab skills and solving real problems. I’m excited to keep growing this summer.”
Read more from the Office of Global and National Fellowships
