SICNA Intro Logo PNG
Held in conjunction with the Global Sorghum Conference

SICNA

The Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America (SICNA) is a longstanding professional and scientific community dedicated to advancing sorghum research, improvement, and collaboration across North America. Traditionally, SICNA convenes a biennial research conference that brings together researchers, students, industry leaders, and stakeholders from across the sorghum value chain to share scientific advances and strengthen collaborative networks.

In 2026, SICNA is partnering with the Global Sorghum Conference 2026 to bring the North American sorghum community into a broader international gathering of sorghum researchers and innovators. Rather than hosting a standalone SICNA research conference this year, the SICNA community will participate within the Global Sorghum Conference framework, fostering expanded engagement and collaboration across the global sorghum community. A separate registration will not be charged for SICNA engagement; however, you are asked to register your intent to attend or participate in the student oral contest.

As part of this partnership, SICNA will host two featured activities during the conference:

  • The SICNA Student Oral Contest, highlighting outstanding graduate student research and scientific communication; and
  • The SICNA Celebration Breakfast, recognizing recipients of the National Sorghum Producers (NSP) Outstanding Achievement Award and the winners of the Student Oral Contest.

These integrated events reflect SICNA’s continued commitment to supporting scientific excellence, student development, and community leadership within sorghum research and improvement.

The 2026 SICNA board members are Shelley Meiwes, Nithya Rajan, Brian Pfeiffer and David Kerns. 

Registration & Hotel Information

Registration:

In 2026, SICNA is partnering with the Global Sorghum Conference 2026 to bring the North American sorghum community into a broader international gathering of sorghum researchers and innovators. Rather than hosting a standalone SICNA research conference this year, the SICNA community will participate within the Global Sorghum Conference framework, fostering expanded engagement and collaboration across the global sorghum community. A separate registration will not be charged for SICNA engagement; however, you are asked to register your intent to attend or participate in the student oral contest

Register for the 2026 Global Sorghum Conference Here

Register for the 2026 Student Oral Presentation Conference Here

RSVP for the SICNA Celebration Breakfast Here

Submissions

A special thank you to Corteva Agriscience for sponsoring the 2026 Student Oral Presentation Conference.

Guidelines for Oral Presentations

  1.  Presentations will be open to the public.
  2. Each student will have a total of 12 minutes, consisting of:
    ● 10 minutes for presentation
    ● 2 minutes for questions (typically 2-3 questions; judges will be given priority to
    ask questions, with remaining time at the moderator’s discretion)
  3. The structure of the competition (single or multi-room preliminary rounds and whether a Final Round will be held*) will be determined based on the total number of registered participants. Participants will be notified of the final format following the registration deadline. If the number of contestants requires multiple preliminary sessions, presentations will be conducted in concurrent rooms. In this case, the top three participants from each preliminary room, based on total judge scores, will advance to the Final Round. Scores from the Preliminary Round will not carry forward to the Final Round. The decision of the judges will be final.
  4. Contestants must submit an abstract and presentation by the stated deadline to be eligible for placement.
  5. Awards will be presented to the top three presentations, with scholarships of $1,500 for 1st place, $750 for 2nd place, and $250 for 3rd place.
  6. Contestant eligibility is limited to master’s or doctoral students studying sorghum at an institution in North America. Contestants must also be registered for the Global Sorghum Conference.
  7. Student contestants must disclose the use of any Generative AI tools used to generate content, analyze data, or create code. AI-assisted editing is permissible without disclosure, but all other AI input must be documented.

Dates:
August 7 Deadline for contestant entry and abstracts
September 7 Deadline for upload of contestant presentations.
September 14 Student Contest: schedule released early September
*Tentative Final Round (Determined on participant number)

September 16 Contest Award and Presentation of first place
SICNA Student Contest Chairs: Drs. Bonnie Pendleton (graminum@yahoo.com); Gloria Burow
(gloria.burow@usda.gov); and Ethan Triplett (ethan@sorghumgrowers.com)
SICNA Program Chair: Dr. Sarah Sexton-Bowser (sarahann@ksu.edu)

Student Oral Presentations will be evaluated and judged using the following criteria:

Criteria Points Details
Abstract 10 Format, grammar, and content

Abstracts shall not exceed 300 words.
Introduction and Rationale 15 Clearly stated, background with pertinent literature cited
Objectives/Hypothesis 5 Clearly stated and concise
Materials and Methods 15 Study design easily understood and concise
Results and Discussion 20 Analysis, interpretation, conclusion, future direction, and implications
Content and Mechanics 10 Grammar, style, and quantity of information
Appearance 15 Easily read, uncluttered, well-designed tables and figures, clear and relevant photos, and balanced layout
Oration 10 Voice, confidence, enthusiasm, and response to questions

 

Past Proceedings

Click on the link below to access past SICNA proceedings, sponsored by SorghumBase.

2024 Proceedings

Past Proceedings
Questions and Submissions

SICNA Event Organizer

For questions, please contact Sarah Sexton-Bowser at sarahann@ksu.edu.