Norgren receives grant to continue wine education program
Michelle Norgren, national center director of Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance (VESTA) at Missouri State University, received a continuation grant of $1,290,459 (DUE-1104205) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further her VESTA project.
VESTA, which began in 2003, is a NSF-funded collaboration between educational institutions nationwide, state agriculture agencies, vineyards and wineries devoted to providing higher education in grape growing and winemaking.
Since it began, VESTA has exceeded all project expectations expanding from a Midwest focused program into both the national curriculum and the “Gold Standard” of grape and wine education in the country with hopes to progress further, Norgren said.
“To this point VESTA has been focused on the science, math and technology critical in grape and wine education,” said Norgren. “We are currently developing a wine business and entrepreneurship track to assist in individuals becoming economically successful. We are also looking forward in future years to including brewing and distillation and the development of a non-credit professional development option that can be marketed to all aspects of the grape, wine, brewing and spirits industry.”
NSF, the funding agency for VESTA, is an independent federal agency created to support and promote the progression of science in America through providing funding for specific research and project proposals.
For more information, contact Norgren at (417) 837-2514.
