Burgos, Nilda
Nilda Burgos
Dr. Nilda Burgos is a professor of Weed Science at the University of Arkansas with 20 years of experience working in higher education. She grew up in the Philippines and moved to the United States for graduate school. Dr. Burgos worked as a researcher for an agrochemical company. However, a vacant faculty position sprung up at Arkansas, and Dr. Burgos soon found herself a faculty and researcher in the same department where she had been a student. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she has established a solid reputation as a researcher examining weed physiology, weed population diversity related to genetics and morphology, and their implications for crop production and agricultural environments.
“Pick up an area of interest and go with it, and you will do very well.” - Nilda Burgos, 2006.
Kanapeckas KL, CC Vigueira, A Ortiz, KA Gettler, NR Burgos, AJ Fischer, and AL Lawton-Rauh (2016). Escape to ferality: The endoferal origin of weedy rice from crop rice through de-domestication. PLoS ONE, 11(9): e0162676. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0162676
Takano HR, RSM de Oliveira Jr., J Constantin, GBP Braz, LHM Franchini, NR Burgos (2016). Multiple resistance to atrazine and imazethapyr in hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilosa). Ciência e Agrotecnologia, 40(2):155-163
Singh V, NR Burgos±, S Singh, DR Gealy, EE Gbur, and AL Caicedo (2016). Impact of volunteer rice infestation on yield and grain quality of rice. Pest Manag Sci. DOI 10.1002/ps.4343
Korres NE, JK Norsworthy, P Tehranchian, TK Gitsopoulos, DA Loka, DM Oosterhuis, DR Gealy, SR Moss, NR Burgos, MR Miller, M Palhano. (2016). Cultivars to face climate change effects on crops and weeds: A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 36:12
Singh V, Burgos NR±, Singh S, Abugho S, Earnest L, Gbur E, Scott R. (2016) Herbicide and winter flood treatments for controlling volunteer rice off-season. Crop Prot, 79:87-96.
Dr. Nilda Burgos, Professor of Weed Science at the University of Arkansas, says that her career as a weed scientist has “everything to do” with her upbringing in a subsistence farming community in the Philippines. “It influenced my career 100%,” she says. “I acquired an understanding of how a plant is developing and interactions between crops and their environment” (Taylor, 2006). Dr. Burgos says that beyond providing inspiration and basic knowledge about agriculture, her background also instilled a kind of grit that helps in her work. “Doing research in the field presents different kinds of challenges,” she says. “One has to be physically tough and mentally resilient. I got that all from where I grew up. Heat and humidity down in the Mississippi River Delta are not so bad for me” (Taylor, 2006).
Dr. Burgos earned her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a soil fertility and soil science focus at the Visayas State College of Agriculture in the Philippines in 19832. After graduating, she worked on a research project examining the uses of nitrogen-fixing trees as natural soil ameliorants for corn production on hilly land. She worked on similar research projects in the Philippines from 1983-1991. During one of those projects, she met Dr. Ron Talbert, a consultant and weed science professor from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Talbert realized her potential for further scientific study and recruited her for graduate school. She excelled at the University of Arkansas and earned her master’s degree and her Ph.D. in agronomy in 1997.
After earning her doctorate in 1997, Dr. Burgos worked as a researcher for an agrochemical company, Zeneca Ag Products. However, in 1998, an open faculty position sprung up at the University of Arkansas, and Dr. Burgos soon found herself a faculty and researcher in the same department where she had been a student. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. Burgos is a reputable researcher examining questions of weed physiology, weed population diversity related to genetics and morphology, and their implications for crop production and agricultural environments.
Dr. Burgos is also actively involved in promoting diversity awareness and Filipino culture. As a graduate student, she was the secretary of the International Student Organization. Dr. Burgos is also a former president and regular Northwest Arkansas Filipino-American Association member. “The one constant thing I’ve been involved in has been community service and charity work,” she says (Taylor, 2006).
Dr. Burgos became a full professor at the University of Arkansas in 2010. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed journals, three books, and seven chapters. Most of her work focuses on herbicide resistance at the cellular and community level of plants.
She teaches courses in Physiology of Plant and Herbicide Interaction, Ecology, Morphology, and Identification of Weedy and Invasive Plants; Advanced Crop Science; Weed Science Practicum; and International Research Experience.
She is a research advisor to undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and visiting scholars.
Dr. Burgos credits Dr. Talbert as a significant mentor, first as her graduate school advisor and now as she is a faculty at the University of Arkansas. Two other colleagues, Dr. Dick Oliver and Dr. Jim Barrentine, are also “excellent mentors. They guided and supported me and made things a lot easier for me since the beginning,” she says. Dr. Burgos has also greatly benefited from her collaborations with other department faculty in different research specialties. For example, she has teamed with specialists to examine nitrogen uptake in rice and weedy rice. Dr. Burgos has also partnered with rice breeders and weed science extension specialists to study gene flow in that crop. She has also collaborated with individuals outside of the Crop Science department. She works very closely with a vegetable breeder, Dr. Teddy Morelock, at the Horticulture Department and an extension specialist at Oklahoma State University in finding weed control options for cowpeas and other vegetable crops. “I have been enriched a lot by these collaborations,” Dr. Burgos says. “I also consider my collaborators my mentors” (Taylor, 2006).
Dr. Burgos says mentors have played a critical role in helping her transition to and succeed in a United States university. As a faculty member in US universities, she has advised several minority and international students in similar situations. She does her best to help them adjust to what may be an unfamiliar and intimidating environment.
Additionally, Dr. Burgos served as one of the faculty mentors for the University of Arkansas pioneering Service Learning Community Development Program in Belize from 2006 to 2011 and initiated an International Research Experience Program for the College of Agriculture in 2012. Students participating in this program had gone to Southern Brazil and the Philippines.
Dr. Burgos says she continues to work in the environmental field because “I feel connected to it. I can make the best contributions in this field because I truly understand a lot of the problems that are plaguing this area, and my training has been in this area since the very beginning” (Taylor, 2006). Dr. Burgos says the more knowledge she gains in her field, the more she enjoys doing research and learning even more. She notes that the environmental field offers a wealth of opportunities, both in terms of research questions and employment, and she encourages minorities to pursue a career in the environment if they have the desire to see it through. “Just do your best, be tenacious, and have an open mind,” she advises. “It’s mind-boggling how much needs to be done in this area. Pick up an area of interest and go with it, and you will do very well. There are lots of opportunities for employment and innumerable resources you can use to learn” (Taylor, 2006).
Interview conducted by Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative staff. 2016. University of Michigan – School of Natural Resources and Environment. Ann Arbor, MI.
Nilda Burgos. n.d. Home [LinkedIn Page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved July 18, 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilda-burgos-86771925/.
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2006. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals: II. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.
University of Arkansas. N.d. Faculty Directory: Nilda Roma Burgos. Retrieved July 18, 2023 from https://crop-soil-environmental-sciences.uark.edu/people/faculty-directo….