2018 Women & Hi Tech Scholarship - Graduate

Monica’s passionate pursuit of science stems from her belief that applied sciences can improve lives. She is specifically interested in advancing research that pertains to feeding people in a more efficient and environmentally-sound manner.  

Monica is a motivated and talented scientist. She began her career working at Dow Agriscience, now Corteva Agriscience, as an Associate Biologist. In fairly short order, she was elevated to a position typically reserved for those with doctoral degrees. In her recently-appointed role as co-leader of a product team at Corteva, she now focuses on crop protection discovery. 

Monica is actively pursuing a PhD in agronomy from Purdue University. She maintains a 3.85 GPA while working full time at Corteva Agriscience. She has already made several contributions to the scientific community, including co-authoring five external publications and being an inventor on 16 published patent applications. 

Monica has also created and supported development opportunities for others at Corteva Agriscience. She was a founding member and Executive Committee Member of the Progressive Early Career Organization, which provides opportunities to accelerate the development of early career Research and Development employees. Prior to her commitments at Purdue, Monica was also a member of the Women’s Innovation Network, working to advance the careers of women. 

Monica’s passion and focus on solving the most pressing issues, both locally and globally, is sure to be a great asset to the scientific community for years to come.