As a professor at the University of Florida, Bala Ratinasabapati spends many hours in the lab and classroom – not to mention in the office. He pays as much attention to student success as he does to his scientific work.
Student achievement and research are often inseparable. His co-workers and the people he leads notice his commitment.
This is one of the reasons why a professor of horticultural science at the US Food and Agricultural Sciences was named the American Vegetarian Science Fellow of the Month this month.
Ratinasabapati Saba, popularly known as Dr., studies plant genetics and breeding, biofuel algae, and arsenic in the field, among other topics in plant biology. He also spends time with the students at the UF / IFAS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). Ratinasabapati has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses at UF / IFAS for over 24 years and has served more than 60 masters and PhDs. Advisory Committees.
Ratinasabapati is very pleased with the recognition, especially from the country’s largest professional association of horticulture.
Student safety
“I am grateful for the great support of my colleagues, unit administrators, and dean of the UF / IFS College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who are prioritizing the success and well-being of our students,” said Ratanasabapati. “I find great satisfaction in seeing students succeed in life. As a mentor, I am happy to be able to play a small part in this, but I am happy to see it recognized. At the University of Florida, we have a strong institutional culture that prioritizes future professional training. It is a victory for our institutional culture in that context. ”
Vance Whitaker, one of his current colleagues, writes that Ratnasabapati has made a significant contribution to the curriculum.
“Dr. Saba, as we call him, teaches HOS5242 and HOS4932, the preferred genetics and animal husbandry for students interested in botany,” said an associate professor of horticulture and the Strawberry Arbi Beach Research and Education Center in the UF / Iaf Gulf. . “After taking this course, he has developed an improved curriculum and updated course content with improved craft projects.
Whitaker urged ASHS to read letters of support from retina graduates. During his time at UF / IIF, Ratnasabapati chaired 11 master’s and doctoral student committees. The students went to bathe him, hoping that their counselor would receive the prize.
Guardianship
Newton class of Ph.D. He praised Retinassapati’s advice in horticulture.
“Dr. Saba is one of the best professors I have ever met at the University of Florida. When I was a foreign student pursuing a PhD, he was a mentor and parent. With a UF degree, ”said Kilasi, an undergraduate coordinator at Socoin Agricultural University in Tanzania. As a newcomer to the UF and the United States, I viewed Dr. Saba as a supervisor. His modesty and kindness make it difficult to find any professor.
He patiently helped me solve difficult research problems, and I spent a lot of time with him in the greenhouse and on the laboratory bench. Dr. Saba would come to my desk every morning and discuss with me any challenges I might face in my final attempt.
Ratinasabapati uses a variety of crafts to engage students. I believe that students who have been given opportunities and incentives to connect different aspects of knowledge to create new solutions to problems will be more motivated in the subject. Such training enables them to be prepared to take on social challenges in their own unique domains.
Even in all the years of education and research, Ratinasabapati still learns from his students. “I enjoy seeing the energy and creativity that the students bring to discipline,” he said. As much as I teach the students, the students teach me by talking to me through questions, discussions, challenging projects and problem solving.