Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University hosted more than 90 scholars from around the state for today’s [July 30] Summer Science & Engineering Symposium in conjunction with the Mississippi Academy of Sciences.

The day’s primary focus was on a variety of student and faculty research presentations shared through oral and poster sessions.

MAS presented a prestigious Presidential Award to Archie Tucker, a longtime USDA Agricultural Research Service area director, whose office is located at MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. After starting work with the USDA-ARS as a 16-year-old high school student, Tucker has amassed over 49 years of service. He is being honored for outstanding contributions to the success of his organization, where he oversees an annual budget exceeding $350 million.

Tucker encouraged students in attendance to be aware of the “tremendous opportunities in science.”

“If you can control your attitude and manage your effort, the sky’s the limit,” he said, noting that there are “tremendous opportunities within the USDA and many other agencies.”

“Don’t let anybody or anything stop you from achieving your goals,” Tucker said.

Former Mississippi State tennis star Nuno Borges was quickly eliminated from the singles competition at the Olympic Games in Paris, but his Olympic journey will continue in doubles.

Representing his native Portugal, Borges fell to Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-2, 6-2 in the first round Sunday. Later that day, though, he teamed with Francisco Cabral to defeat Greek brothers Petros and Stefanos Tsitipas in a super-tiebreak after splitting the first two sets.

A former five-time All-American and the 2019 ITA National Player of the Year with the Bulldogs, Borges is MSU’s first-ever Olympian in tennis. He is currently ranked No. 42 in the world.

In soccer, current Bulldogs midfielder Ilana Izquierdo and former MSU goalkeeper Catalina Pérez, playing for Colombia, fell to host France 3-2 in their Olympic opener but defeated New Zealand 2-0 on Sunday. Izquierdo played nearly the entire match against New Zealand before being subbed out in the 90th minute.

Colombia faces Canada on Wednesday in its final group state match. Thanks in part to Canada being docked six points in the wake of a spying scandal, Colombia is guaranteed to advance to the knockout stage with a win or draw.

LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) – The city of Long Beach and the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain celebrated a $1.9 million purchase for 32 acres of undeveloped beachfront property.

“Very excited to manage this property as an urban forest that is open to the public. So it’s going to be open from dawn to dusk for residents’ quiet enjoyment of nature. We will be doing a little bit of restoration work, getting rid of the invasions later in 2025.” said Sara Guice, Executive Director of the Mississippi Land Trust.

The purchase was made possible through financial support from the Angela J. Bowen Conservancy Foundation.

Mayor Bass says he’s thankful for the private landowner who worked with the MS Coastal Plain Land Trust to bring this to fruition.

Developers and owners say they are adding the signage on Monday, July 29th, along Highway 90 and the trails are open to the public.

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