K. Raja Reddy, research professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and scientist in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, examines rice samples as part of his studies on next generation rice seed germination. Reddy and his team are investigating the effects of various climate change factors on rice, an important crop for global food security. Reddy recently was elected president of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences.