LAAS PhD student Renzo Negrini was named a Hueg-Harrison Fellow for the coming 2026-27 school year. The Hueg-Harrison Fellowship was established in 2002 by Bill and Hella Mears Hueg to honor the strong relationship Mr. Hueg had with his mentor Carter M. Harrison. Today, the fellowship recognizes students who exemplify the student-mentor relationship. Fellows receive full stipend and tuition for the academic year. Here Renzo shares about how his mentorship from advisor Dr. Yuxin Miao has shaped his time in the LAAS program.
Describe your relationship with your research mentor.
Dr. Yuxin Miao gave me what I consider the best professional opportunity of my life. More importantly, he gave me the freedom and autonomy to grow into it. In my first months at the Precision Agriculture Center, he handed me real responsibility-- on-farm trials, farmer relationships, the inner workings of federal and state projects-- and trusted me to figure it out. He never told me what to do; he asked questions that made me think harder about what I was doing and why. That approach produced things I never imagined for myself, and none of it would have happened without a mentor who believed in my potential before I fully believed in it myself. He showed me the profound importance of on-farm research, and I fell in love with it, with a deep passion and commitment to help farmers and our society. Without him, none of my achievements or recognitions would have been possible. I regard him as one of the most important figures in my field, a direct successor to Dr. Pierre Robert, who founded this Center and created our area of work, precision agriculture. I carry this honor and responsibility with me every day.
What advice would you give a student seeking a mentor?
First of all, don't look for someone from the same nationality, background, or culture as you. I am from Brazil, and my advisor is Chinese; we think differently, but we complement each other in so many ways. That difference is a gift, not an obstacle. Learn from it as much as you can.
Look for someone whose vision for what your field should accomplish in the world matches yours, not just someone impressive on paper. Skills and credentials are teachable. Shared values and shared purpose are rare, and they are what make a mentoring relationship last beyond graduation. Be honest with your potential advisor about who you are, what drives you, and what you hope to build. Show your passion for the work and your perspective, make it clear that if they invest their time and energy in you, it will be worth it. Demonstrate that you want the opportunities and will make them count, that you apply what you learn after every experience, and that you are not afraid of making mistakes because you grow from them too.
Listen more than you speak, but never be afraid of sharing your opinion. The best mentors are with you to learn from your experience as much as to shape it. The best mentors I have observed, and the ones I have been fortunate to have, do not want students who fit neatly into an existing mold. They want students who bring their own fire and are willing to be shaped by rigorous guidance.
Once you find that person, invest in the relationship, not just the research. Show up for your group, give honest feedback, and initiate hard conversations. A mentoring relationship, like any meaningful relationship, grows in proportion to what both people put into it.
How will this fellowship help you reach your goals, both while in graduate school and in the future?
First of all, it is a huge pleasure to bring this fellowship to our program and department. It reflects the importance of the work everyone here has been doing and recognizes the quality of our people, from our staff to the farmers and consultants who believe in our on-farm research. This gives me confidence and trust that we are on the right path and that the future is bright.
The Hueg-Harrison Fellowship also gives me the support to do the work I came here to do, completing the core of my PhD research without the financial pressure that so often weighs on graduate students. But its significance to me goes beyond the practical. This fellowship is awarded specifically to recognize the student-mentor relationship, which means it is an acknowledgment of what Dr. Miao and I have built together, and of an even better future still ahead. That matters deeply to me.
My long-term goal is to carry the legacy of this field forward on a global scale, not only for commercial farms in the Midwest but also for farmers of all sizes in Brazil, and, if possible, to make an impact felt around the world. Dr. Norman Borlaug fed a billion people. Dr. Pierre Robert created precision agriculture. Dr. Miao has shown me what it means to carry that lineage into the era of on-farm experimentation. The Hueg-Harrison Fellowship is part of how I get there.