![David Drag poses in a cherry picker overlooking the field trials.](/sites/ripe.illinois.edu/files/styles/news_teaser_square_img_175_175_/public/2020-02/Drag_thumnail.jpg?itok=Rc7MdMvD)
David Drag: Cultivating food security
David Drag is no stranger to hard work. Whether it is a day in the greenhouse or field, each environment poses new and enticing challenges.
![Steve Long headshot](/sites/ripe.illinois.edu/files/styles/news_teaser_square_img_175_175_/public/2020-02/Steve_Profile_Thumbnail.jpg?itok=cUI0cRpe)
Steve Long: Making nature more efficient
For 40 years Steve Long has been doing ground-breaking work — at the molecular, biochemical and physiological level — in the lab and the field, and on the computer.
![Liana Acevedo-Siaca](/sites/ripe.illinois.edu/files/styles/news_teaser_square_img_175_175_/public/2020-02/liana%20edited.jpg?itok=kLIftG4K)
Liana Acevedo-Siaca: Utilizing rice to achieve food security
Acevedo-Siaca was named a U.S. Borlaug Fellow in Global Food Security at the International Rice Research Institute.