EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally comes from Virginia Tech News and can be found in full on its website.
When Navdeep Godara arrived at Virginia Tech to pursue his Ph.D. in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, he was driven by a single goal: to make a difference in pollinator conservation.
More than two years later, he’s earned his degree and achieved that goal in ways he never expected.
Godara’s research focuses on developing ways to prevent harm to pollinators — animals such as bees, butterflies, bats, and birds that help flowering plants reproduce by transferring pollen from one flower to another — without sacrificing the health of a luscious lawn. By analyzing changes in ultraviolet reflection of weedy flowers, Godara seeks to understand how turfgrass protection products affect pollinating insects and how turfgrass managers can implement strategies that safeguard these essential creatures.