Benecio Sandoval is a junior sustainable agriculture and food systems major at Texas A&M University–Commerce with a minor in interdisciplinary studies. Originally from Plano, Texas, his academic interests center on sustainable agriculture, horticulture, and plant breeding. He is currently conducting research at the East Texas A&M Vegetable Research Center Lab, where he studies vegetable physiology and evaluates cultivars for controlled-environment agriculture systems.
Benecio is preparing to begin an internship with Krishna Bhattarai’s Controlled Environment Breeding Lab at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas, where he will work on developing chemical treatments to improve triploid (seedless) watermelon germination and seedling vigor. His broader research interests include crop improvement for yield, resource efficiency, nutrition, and stress resilience, particularly within hydroponic and controlled-environment systems. Through the Science Influencers REEU program, Benecio hopes to strengthen his science communication skills to help highlight research that supports sustainable food systems and benefits communities served by agricultural innovation.