Research opportunity for junior faculty

The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research is soliciting proposals from junior faculty with full-time academic appointments who are untenured and received their doctorates in the past seven years. The Center is looking for social science research regarding low-income populations — including child and family well being, and the economic status of disadvantaged and underrepresented populations. Preference will be given to proposals that address poverty in the South.

The Center is planning to fund three proposals of up to $7,500 each. The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, July 11.

Posted 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

Applications now available for summer program for high school students

The Biological Engineering Program is now accepting applications for a summer program that will be providing high school students exposure to research into such cutting edge energy issues as renewable energy production and flexible fuel vehicle design. Students accepted for one of the week-long programs (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., June 23 - 27, or July 21 to 25) will also get an overview of how various types of energy are generated, and a survey of the impact energy conservation and related environmental issues have on their day-to-day lives. Underwriting from the Ford Foundation makes it possible for students accepted to attend without tuition or other fees. High school students who have completed grades 9 through 11 by the end of spring semester are eligible, provided they have completed at least one algebra course.

Posted 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

Post-Harvest Center now ready for post-summit brainstorming

The last week of February, Dean Alton Thompson led a special faculty summit to begin charting a course for the SAES’s Center for Post Harvest Technologies at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. There will be a follow-up summit in late March to examine the SAES Strategic Plan to see how it meshes with UNC Tomorrow, a report developed by the UNC Tomorrow Commission to see how the university system can respond more directly to the 21st century challenges facing North Carolina. This plan will guide and shape current and future university priorities, resource allocations, strategic plans and missions of the campuses.

Posted 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

Docs publish what’s up

Findings from research into the “Antimicrobial activity of lactic acid and copper on growth of Salmonella and Escherichia coli in laboratory medium and carrot juice” has been published by in the journal “Food Chemistry”. The authors of the report are Drs. Salam Ibrahim, an SAES food scientist, Hong Yang, a former SAES faculty member now at Virginia State University, and Chung Seo, co-director of the SAES’s Center for Post-Harvest Technologies at the North Carolina Research Campus. The research is a response to growing public concern for outbreaks of Escherichia coli O:157: H7 and other foodborne pathogens, and food processing industries’ search for natural food preservatives with antimicrobial qualities. The research looks into the antimicrobial potential for adding copper and lactic acid—as individual additives as well as in combination—and findings are that “These results cleanly demonstrate that a combination of lactic acid and copper produces a synergistic inhibition effect of the microbial growth.”

Posted 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

NC Research Campus growing quickly into a facility to reckon with

On Thursday, Feb. 28, Dean Alton Thompson and his administrative team will have a special faculty summit from noon to 3 p.m. (lunch will be served) in the Godfrey Multipurpose room at Coltrane Hall. The first topic on the agenda will be the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, the SAES’s Center for Post Harvest Technologies, and opportunities that the SAES slice of a $1 billion facility represent for SAES research, teaching and Extension faculty. Another topic on the summit agenda is the recently released report by the University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission, established by Erskine Bowles, president of the UNC system, to formulate recommendations for how the 16-campus system can meet the needs of North Carolinians in the next 20 years. The report addresses some issue of strategic relevance for SAES Extension, research and instruction.

Posted 04:18 PM | Comments (0)

Application deadline for RAP 2008 is Feb. 22

The SAES will bring a select group of high school students to the A&T campus for the 2008 Research Apprentice Program, June 22 to July 18. If you know of a top-notch high school junior or senior with academic and career interests in agriculture or environmental studies, or any of the food, family or consumer sciences, please pass along the link to application forms with a sense of urgency in the subject line. SAES faculty and staff emailing last-minute reminders for the 2008 RAP can also whet appetites with a link to the 2007 RAP recap on the SAES Web site.

Posted 12:59 PM | Comments (0)

Substrates and integrated systems research get nods at McNair Symposium

Two SAES students — one mentored by Dr. M.R. Reddy and the other by Dr. Willie Willis — came away with honors for poster presentations on research projects at the 22nd annual Ronald E. McNair Commemorative Celebration the last week of January. With guidance from Reddy, Kurt Taylor took first place in the graduate student poster competition for his presentation on research into the “Growth Response of Tomato Transplants to Different Cover Materials and Organic Rooting Substrates.” In the competition for undergraduate students, Darryl Mullins received an honorable mention for his presentation on research into “Innovations in Integrated Farming Systems to Produce Natural Chickens and Sweet Corn,” which was guided by Willis. Mullins also received assistance from Rick Holness, Anthony Hooks and Jessica Farrar of the University farm staff.

Posted 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

Don’t forget that Monday, Jan. 28, is research presentation day

The 22nd annual Ronald E. McNair Commemorative Celebration at A&T will be Jan. 27-29. SAES faculty and students submitting poster or oral presentations covering research projects should remember that oral presentations will be from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, and that poster presentations will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. that same day. Research presentations will be at the Alumni-Foundation Events Center, just down Benbow Road from Webb Hall.

Ronald McNair was an A&T alumnus who went on to become a NASA astronaut, but lost his life during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. Since 2001, the McNair celebration has been accompanied by a research symposium that gives A&T faculty and students an opportunity to share their research work with campus colleagues and members of the scientific community from other agencies and institutions.

Posted 04:37 PM | Comments (0)

AD 421s due AD 1/28

The due date for annual progress/termination report notices (Form AD 421) for principal investigators and project directors with funding from Evans-Allen and some other USDA-funded grants is Jan. 28.
The Agricultural Research Program’s administrative team at C. H. Moore is asking that principal investigators please follow the instructions that were attached when forms were distributed in October of 2007.

Posted 04:35 PM | Comments (0)

Reminders for research faculty

Principal investigators with grants from USDA funding sources other than the Evans-Allen program must have expenditure report notices (Form AD 419) completed and returned by Jan. 11. (The expenditure reports should cover the federal fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept 30, 2007.)
            The due date for annual progress/termination report notices (Form AD 421) for principal investigators and project directors with funding from Evans-Allen and some other USDA-funded grants is Jan. 28.
            The Agricultural Research Program’s administrative team at C. H. Moore is asking that principal investigators please follow the instructions that were attached when forms were distributed in October of 2007. Dr. Alton Thompson, SAES dean, and Dr. Carolyn Turner, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, will be keeping tabs on the reports required of principal investigators and project directors, in keeping with the heightened commitment to accountability in SAES grants management.
            The spring semester meeting for the Agricultural Research Program principal investigators and project directors will be Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. in Room A-8 at the C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Posted 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

Three important ARP dates for January ‘08

I. Jan. 11, 2008: Principal investigators with grants from USDA funding sources other than the Evans-Allen program received expenditure report notices (Form AD 419) in mid-October. These expenditure reports must be filled out to cover the federal fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept 30, 2007. They must be completed and returned by Jan. 11, 2008.

II. Jan. 28, 2008: Annual progress/termination report notices (Form AD 421) also were emailed in mid-October to all principal investigators with Evans-Allen and other USDA-funded grants. The Agricultural Research Program’s administrative team at C. H. Moore is asking that principal investigators please follow the instructions that were attached and remember, the due date for these reports is Jan. 28, 2008.

In keeping with the heightened commitment to accountability in SAES grants management, Dr. Alton Thompson, SAES dean, and Dr. Carolyn Turner, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, will be keeping tabs on the accuracy and promptness of all reports that principal investigators are required to submit.

III. Jan. 22, 2008: The spring semester meeting for the Agricultural Research Program principal investigators and project directors will be Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. in Room A-8 at the C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Posted 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

Remind high school students of RAP as soon as the unwrapping is over

The deadline for high school students to apply for the 2008 Research Apprentice Program is Feb. 16. The holiday break will thus be a fine time for high school students with an interest in working with SAES research scientists next summer to fill out an application. The 2008 RAP will be June 22 through July 8.

Posted 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

Chance to showcase SAES research

The 22nd annual Ronald E. McNair Commemorative Celebration at A&T will be Jan. 27-29, 2008. Since 2001, the McNair celebration has been accompanied by a research symposium that gives A&T faculty and students an opportunity to share their research work with campus colleagues and members of the scientific community from other agencies and institutions who will be coming to A&T for the McNair Celebration. Both poster and oral presentations by students will be Monday, Jan. 28. Presentation guidelines require faculty mentors for all student presentations.

The deadline for students to submit 100-word proposals for either oral presentations and poster sessions is Jan. 11—also the deadline for faculty researchers to submit proposals for poster presentations. Registration fees ($175 for before Dec. 3, and $250 after) are waived for students and faculty making oral or poster presentations at the conference. The guidelines for abstracts and presentations have specific formatting and technical guidelines. A careful review before submitting abstracts is recommended.

SAES students and faculty submitting posters for printing by ACT should have the posters in the poster file by Jan. 21, 2008. Remember to use the correct A&T logo that’s located in the poster file in a folder named “A&T logo.”

Posted 05:09 PM | Comments (0)

Listen up

The Agricultural Research Program (ARP) is hosting an audioconference on the growing importance of cultivating undergraduate research partnerships between students and faculty on Wednesday, Dec 12, at 2 p.m. in A-8 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. All SAES faculty are invited to attend and participate.

Keeping step with the University-wide commitment to new undergraduate research opportunities, the ARP has an initiative in the planning stages, and several items on the audioconference agenda are key building blocks that merit careful consideration. The one-hour program will begin with a half-hour presentation by Kerry Karukstis, a professor of chemistry at Harvey Mudd College and president of the Council on Undergraduate Research. Karukstis will discuss the nuances of creating and sustaining undergraduate research programs that are consistent with institutional missions and curriculum enhancements. The final half-hour of the program will be devoted to questions phoned in by audioconference participants.

Posted 05:00 PM | Comments (0)

No-fuss budgets

The Division of Research & Economic Development (DORED) is having another installment in its “Lunch and Learn” series on Thursday, Nov. 15, and the topic for the hour-long program, which begins at noon, will be preparation of proposal budgets. Adonica Williams, DORED budget manager, will lead the program. To register, or for a peek at forthcoming topics in the “Lunch & Learn” series, visit the Division of Research & Economic Development website.

Posted 04:55 PM | Comments (0)

Founding fodders

The Division of Research & Economic Development is having another installment in its “Lunch and Learn” series on Thursday, Nov. 8, and the topics for the hour-long program, which begins at noon, will be intellectual property, forming companies and how to turn ideas into commercial ventures. The program will be led by Doug Speight, assistant vice chancellor of Outreach and Economic Development. To register or for a peek at forthcoming topics in the “Lunch & Learn” series, visit the Division of Research & Economic Development website.

Posted 04:03 PM | Comments (0)

Research report cards

Annual progress/termination report notices (Form AD 421) were sent out via e-mail on Oct. 15 to all principal investigators with Evans-Allen and other USDA-funded grants. The Agricultural Research Program’s administrative team at C. H. Moore is asking that principal investigators please follow the instructions that were attached ... and remember, the due date for these reports is Jan. 28, 2008.

Principal investigators with grants from USDA funding sources other than the Evans-Allen program will soon be receiving expenditure report notices (Form AD 419). These expenditure reports must be filled out to cover the federal fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept 30, 2007. They must be completed and returned by Jan. 11, 2008.

In keeping with the heightened commitment to accountability in SAES grants management, Dr. Alton Thompson, SAES dean, and Dr. Carolyn Turner, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, will be keeping tabs on the accuracy and promptness of all reports that principal investigators are required to submit.

Posted 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

Re:search ready to roll out

The 2007 issue of Re:search, the Agricultural Research Program’s annual magazine covering highlights of current research projects, is printed and ready for distribution. Members of the ARP faculty and staff with names to add to the mailing list should use the Excel spreadsheet template that Ag. Communications & Technology has created to pass along additions to Teresa McRae by Thursday, Oct. 18.

Faculty and staff who have no additions for the Re:search mailing list but only an understandable curiosity about 2007 can get preview at the SAES website. (And even if you’re a patient person, willing to wait until the mail carrier delivers your copy of Re:search, you’ll want to take a look at the Re:search website for added attractions this year. The Re:search online presence now includes a video component, Re:Search in Motion)

Posted 05:00 PM | Comments (0)

ARP staff to provide Cap Grant insights

The Agricultural Research Program (ARP) is coordinating an introductory program for the USDA’s Capacity Building Grants for teaching and research at the SAES and other 1890 land-grants. The get-acquainted session will be Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room A-8 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

All SAES faculty are welcome. The agenda includes some updates that will be of interest to faculty who have been principal investigators for Capacity Building Grants in the past. Researchers who have joined the SAES faculty in the past two semesters are strongly urged to attend. The deadline for submitting pre-proposals to the ARP for review is 5 p.m. on Oct. 10, so the program can also serve as a final check for faculty who will be passing along proposals the next day.

SAES faculty interested in a box lunch to eat at the Capacity Building Grants program should put in a request with Genevieve Urey, 334.7042.

Posted 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

Research reminders

The Division of Research & Economic Development will have an orientation program to acquaint new faculty with research proposal writing, internal procedures for grants administration, funding opportunities and other basic details on Thursday, Sept. 20. The session will begin at 1 p.m. in room 410 of the Fort IRC Building. This orientation session is especially important for research faculty who joined the SAES this fall.

The Agricultural Research Program’s fall meeting for principal investigators and project directors will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Webb Hall Auditorium on Tuesday, Sept. 25. Among the topics on the agenda are recent funding; the 2008 Association of Extension Administrator & Agricultural Research Directors Symposium (in Memphis, June 8-11); and next summer’s Research Apprentice Program for high school students.

Posted 04:35 PM | Comments (0)

SAES imprint emphatic at environmental science conference

SAES research was well-represented at the Third National Conference on Environmental Science and Technology at the Alumni Foundation Center in mid-September. Dr. G. B. Reddy served as the chair for one of the conference’s six primary programs, a bioremediation cluster. Reddy and Dr. Arona Diouf worked with a graduate student, Matthew Mickens, to put together a session covering “Laboratory Scale Wastewater Characterization of Biological Phosphorous Remediation Using Miniature Bioreactors.” Reddy was also part of a team presentation on “Nitrogen and Phosphorous Removal from Waste Water,” and Diouf contributed to a presentation covering “Iron Bacteria and Phosphorous Removing Bacteria: ‘Do they Compete or Complete?’”

Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi was part of teams presenting a “Study of the Molecular Weight Dependence of Glass Transition Temperature for Amorphous Poly (L- Lactide) by Molecular Dynamics Simulation” and a look into “The Feasibility of Using Cattails from Constructed Wetlands to Produce Bioethanol.” Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna and Ipek Gotpeke were part of a team that gave a presentation on “Adsorption of Organic and Inorganic Compounds by Optimized Pecan-Shell-Based Activated Carbons for Drinking Water Purification.” Dr. Millie Worku worked with Careese Gerard, a senior in the Department of Animal Sciences, on a presentation covering “C. Elegans Chemotaxis and Reproduction Following Environmental Exposure.” Drs. Osei-Agyeman Yeboah and Terrence Thomas were part of a presentation on “Pollution, Environmental Justice and the North Carolina Pork Industry.”

The topics for poster presentations rooted in SAES research were:
• “Addition of Inulin from Jerusalem Artichoke Extract in Milk Improves the Viability of Lactobacillus Salivarius” (Dr. Salam Ibrahim among contributors)
• “Significance of Bile Salt Tolerant Lactobacillus Reuteri” (Dr. Ibrahim, Shahbazi and Chyer Kim among the contributors)
• “Dissipation of Atrazine in Water Column of Simulated Constructed Wetlands” (Drs. M. R. Reddy and Vestal Shirley)
• “Rapid and Simple Method for the Encapsulation of Lactobacillus Reuteri in the Production of Lactic Acid” (Ibrahim, Kim, Shahbazi and Dr. C. W. Seo among the contributors)
• “Lactic Acid Production from Apple Skin Waste by Immobilized Cells of Lactobacillus Reuteri” (Ibrahim, Kim, Shahbazi and Seo among the contributors)
• “Physical Effects of Diatomaceous Earth in Water in Goats” (Ahmedna and Worku among the contributors)

Posted 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

Test tubing

The National Science Foundation and some collaborating organizations have launched what’s being called “YouTube for Scientists,” a Web site where  scientists can upload video presentations along with their research publications. The SciVee Web site allows registered members to join online scientific interest communities as well as to post videos, podcasts and papers.

Posted 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

Altered route for researcher requests for communications needs

Laurie Gengenbach, the Ag. Communications & Technology’s editorial specialist who works with SAES research scientists, will be on extended medical leave until early November. While Gengenbach is on leave, researchers with media relations needs they would ordinarily route to her should instead contact ACT’s director, Robin Adams, 334-7047. For editorial assistance with journal articles and other communications projects requiring long-range planning, the ACT Communications Check-up will automatically route requests through the right channels for review and response.

Posted 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

Evaluate the evaluators

The two finalists for a new SAES position, evaluation and accountability coordinator for Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension will be making seminar presentations.  The presentations will take place at 10 a.m. in Coltrane Hall, Room 135, on Tuesday, Aug. 21, and Aug. 24, and there will be a few minutes for questions from the audience — all SAES faculty and staff are welcome to attend — following the presentations.

Posted 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

SAES research breakthrough is news from coast to coast

In less than 48 hours after Ag. Communications put out a press release that broke the news about Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna’s patented process for allergen-free peanuts, the story had been picked up by TV stations across the country as well as local stations and a number of international Websites devoted to rapid dissemination of research breakthroughs. The number of hits produced by googling “A&T food scientist develops process for allergen-free peanuts” will undoubtedly grow by leaps and bounds in the next few days as newspapers pick up the story. The patented process developed in Ahmedna’s Carver Hall lab holds tremendous potential for solving a hot-button issue in food sciences. The growth in sometimes lethal peanut allergies among children has forced many school systems to set aside peanut-free tables in school cafeterias or to ban peanut products altogether. As the New York Times points out, the bans are not at all popular because “there is probably no surer staple of childhood than peanut butter: a pure product of America, consumed at an annual rate of three pounds per person.”

Posted 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

RAP recap

The 19 high school students selected for the 2007 Research Apprentice Program (RAP) presented overviews of projects they were guided through by SAES research scientists at Webb Hall on July 16,  A look at the 2007 RAP students and program counselors is now available for viewing on the SAES Web site. The photo is equipped with rollovers, which list SAES research mentors along with the students’ names and hometowns. Nineteen of the 22 RAP students come from North Carolina, and there are also students from Michigan, New Mexico and Texas in the 2007 program.

Posted 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

Canadian beacon

Dr. Ramu Rao, the director for the Center for Post-Harvest Technology which the SAES is developing at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, was part of a delegation that  went to Prince Edward Island, in Canada, for a conference in July which was devoted to “Nutrisciences and Health 2007: Bioprospecting for Neuroprotectants.” Traveling to the Canadian Maritime province with Rao were Clyde Higgs, N.C. Research Campus vice president of Business Development, and Dr. Deborah Kipp, chair of UNCG’s Department of Nutrition.  The delegation met with scientists and researchers to discuss what the N.C. Research Campus and collaborating universities have to offer companies and research organizations interested in nutritional sciences and biotechnological applications for food processing. Three U.S. companies from the high-tech or biotech sectors recently announced that they would be relocating to the N. C. Research Campus.

Posted 03:36 PM | Comments (0)

RAP wrap-up

From 9 a.m. to noon at Webb Hall on Friday, July 20, the 22 high school students selected for the 2007 Research Apprentice Program (RAP) will present overviews of projects they were guided through by SAES research scientists. All members of the SAES faculty and staff are invited to attend the presentations, meet the RAP students and their parents, and encourage them to keep the SAES at the forefront when they begin finalizing their college plans in the near future.  Nineteen of the 22 RAP students come from North Carolina, and there are also students from Michigan, New Mexico and Texas in the 2007 program.

Posted 03:46 PM | Comments (0)

Research scientist’s family tree gets Fayetteville observations

The last week of June the Fayetteville Observer ran a story with the headline, “Fayetteville native’s work a continuation of family’s legacy”. The Fayetteville native who was the focus was Dr. John Allen of the Agricultural Research Program. Allen’s research work has led to him becoming the president of the first company established as a spin-off from research work at A&T, and Allen’s success is the most recent noteworthy achievement for a distinguished family. Allen’s father was an obstetrician who also helped found a bank and served as the president of the Fayetteville NAACP in addition to delivering more than 7,000 babies. His mother was the first female African American to receive a law degree from the University of North Carolina.

Posted 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

SAES research lands in Land of Lakes

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), celebrated its 100th anniversary at the organization’s annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minn, June 17 to 20. This year’s meeting featured previews of such emerging technologies as robotic tractors, rain on demand and peanut-flavored microbes. SAES research was well-represented at the meeting, which included more than 160 technical sessions. Research projects making their way from Greensboro to Minneapolis were:

• “Application of Signal Integration in Farmer Vehicle Detection” (research team included Dr. Yebo Li)
• “Building a Geospatial Data Base for Planning and Development from the Ground Up [at the University Farm]” (research team includes Dr. Godfrey Gayle)
• “Succinic Acid Production from Cheese Whey Using A. succinogenes 130 Z” (research team includes Drs. Ghasem Shahbazi and Yebo Li)
• Recovery of Lactic Acid from Fermentation Broth with Combined Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes (research team included Drs. Ghasem Shahbazi and Yebo Li)
• “Production of Pecan-Shell-Based Activated Carbons, Their Potential Use in Drinking Water Purification” (Drs. Ipek Goktepe and Mohamed Amedna were part of the team, along with Research Associate Seydou Niandou)
 
As an organization devoted to both science and education, the ASABE, has evolved into an international clearinghouse for research in biological, food, and agricultural engineering. With more than 9,000 members from more than 100 countries, ASABE membership includes scientists and other professionals specializing in farm safety, nursery and greenhouse operations, power systems, and farm machinery and structures.

Posted 03:33 PM | Comments (0)

Read in tooth and claw

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has a grants program that will be awarding $3 million for five projects, and the funding has been earmarked for HBCUs, Tribal land-grants and qualified not-for-profits to use in publicizing and promoting the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). NAIS has been receiving considerable negative publicity even though participation is voluntary and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and other advocates believe the program will serve to quickly pinpoint and isolate outbreaks of avian influenza, mad cow and other livestock diseases, and that it will better fortify livestock industries against bioterrorism. The APHIS grants program is looking to fund outreach and education programs, including personnel, travel and equipment costs — which will clarify the benefits of NAIS (premises registration in particular) for small-scale and minority livestock producers. The submission deadline for proposals is Sept. 4.

Posted 03:57 PM | Comments (0)

RAP happy

The Agricultural Research Program is hosting a highly select group of high school students through July 20. This year, 22 students were selected for the 2007 Research Apprentice Program (RAP). Nineteen of the 22 high school students come from North Carolina, and the contingent also includes students from Michigan, New Mexico and Texas. The students selected for this summer’s program will go home with a taste of college life, and a month of scientific guidance, working one-on-one with a member of the SAES research faculty. The entire SAES faculty and staff is invited to attend the grand finale for the 2007 RAP on Friday, July 24, when the research apprentices will present overviews of their projects from 9 a.m. to noon at Webb Hall. The RAP students will be making poster presentations and discussing what they learned while working with their SAES mentor scientists.

Posted 03:53 PM | Comments (0)

Research dates ready for 2007-08 calendars

The Agricultural Research Program has set the dates for the two meetings for principal investigators and project directors for the 2007-08 academic year. The meetings will be Tuesday, Sept. 25. 2007, and Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008. Both meetings will be at the C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station, and they will begin at 11. a.m.

Minnesota farm management conference gets concepts from Coltrane

Posted 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

PO advice and PI advisory

The Agricultural Research Program staff is taking advantage of the flextime option on Fridays through July 20. Purchase and travel requests, payroll authorizations and other business transactions received after 10 a.m. on Fridays will not be processed until the following Monday. Purchase requests and payroll authorizations received before 10 a.m. on Fridays will be processed that same day if there are no problems or questions regarding the request.

Posted 04:15 PM | Comments (0)

Fungi guidance

The American Mushroom Institute has an annual scholarship for graduate students conducting research into edible mushrooms, and the application deadline is June 1.

Another recent development for SAES students with mycological interests is a course that will to be offered next fall. It’s a new 400-level course that will be taught by Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, and it will include introductions to the various groups of fungi and their morphology, biological activities, roles in ecosystems, economic importance and their application in biotechnology. The class will meet from 1 to 1:50 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. There will be a required lab from 1 to 2:50 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Posted 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

First quartet hitting the homestretch

Dr. Milli Worku of the Department of Animal Sciences has been leading a faculty team, which received funding from the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service for a new program to prepare SAES students for careers in agricultural biotechnology and genomics. The program can accommodate four students at a time, and the first quartet of graduates will be starting required research projects this summer, as faculty from all four SAES departments will be working as mentors for students in the program:
• Dr. Antoine Alston with be guiding Tadashi C. Totten through “An Analysis of North Carolina Secondary Principals Awareness of Biotechnology and the Future of Biotechnology Education.”
• Dr. Salam Ibrahim will be guiding Rosette Dibanza through research for “Determining The Microbiological Quality and Safety of Fresh Spinach Using the Soleris Instrument.”
• Dr. Willie Willis will be guiding Charles Hatcher through research into the  “Health, Well Being and Product Safety of Broiler Chickens in Alternative Systems.”
• Dr. Worku will be guiding Derrick Coble through a look at the “Effect of Host Immune Factors in Whey on Global Gene Expression In E.Coli Genes.”

Students in the biotechnology and genomics program will be eligible for a graduate certificate in biotechnology once they complete research projects, coursework and outreach activity requirements. For coursework, they must have 15 hours in biotechnology and genomics. The program also requires 25 hours of outreach activities under the direction of The Cooperative Extension Program. Drs. Benjamin Gray and Donald McDowell have been working with Worku as a faculty steering committee for the biotechnology and genomics program.

Posted 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

Public interest prediction

Last summer the N.C. General Assembly turned to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center for a comprehensive plan for developing biofuels and speeding them into production. The Biotechnology Center's steering committee turned the project over to five co-conveners for a blueprint for Fueling North Carolina's Future: North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership." The plan is built around "Nine Realistic Strategies" for a biofuels industry that is "economically important, sustainable, and significant." The five principal authors of the biofuels plan were Billy Ray Hall of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, Steven Burke of the Biotechnology Center, Dr. Johnny Wynne of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State, Norris Tolson of the N.C. Department of Revenue and Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi , a member of the SAES faculty.

Hall, Wynne, and Shahbazi  are now being called on to present the plan to agencies and organizations that need to be at the forefront of implementation. Shahbazi has become a spokesman for the plan's research priorities for conversion technologies that will utilize existing feedstocks and agricultural byproducts.

Legislation has been introduced into the N.C. General Assembly that authorizes funding for some of the research recommendations in the Strategic Plan. If the legislation passes, A&T and N.C. State will be well positioned to apply for $25 million earmarked for one of the plan's nine ""Realistic Strategies" that has research at its core. The pioneering role North Carolina's two land-grants played in biofuel research before it became a hot-button issue will probably translate into a considerable amount of media attention for the SAES and the Bioengineering Program which Shahbazi directs in months to come.

Posted 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

Slow food movement rolling into Raleigh

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems — a research and Extension facility that is operated jointly by A&T, N.C. State and the N. C. Department of Family & Consumer Sciences — is bringing  Carlo Petrini, to Raleigh for a lecture. Petrini is the founding force behind the Slow Foods Movement, which calls for returning the world's food supply infrastructure to locally based as well as sustainable agriculture. Petrini will speak at N. C. State's McKimmon Center (1101 Gorman Street) from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, and his lecture is open free of charge to the public.

Posted 03:42 PM | Comments (0)

Biotechnologists bite into nutrition issues

In mid-April, A&T and the other six North Carolina universities that are to be major forces at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis co-hosted a symposium featuring some of the nation’s foremost authorities in research into nutrigenomics and metabolomics. The symposium proceedings are now online, and PowerPoint presentations from the symposium include Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna’s presentation on “Recovery of bioactive compounds from selected North Carolina crops.”

Posted 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

College mycology news

Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, the SAES mushroom specialist, has a reminder and an announcement to pass along to SAES students interested in edible and medicinal mushrooms. 

The reminder is that the American Mushroom Institute has an annual scholarship program for graduate students conducting research into edible mushrooms. Although the application deadline is June 1, SAES graduate students interested in applying should be encouraged to start on the application promptly. Applicants must provide four letters of recommendation, including two from individuals qualified to vouch for their academic achievements.

The scholarship is named to honor Dr. James W. Sinden, who began a 50-year career of research into mushroom production at Penn. State in 1930. Among Sinden’s innovations is the synthetic compost (a medium from wheat), which has made mushroom production commercially viable.

Dr. Omon’s announcement is that next fall he will be offering a new 400-level course, which will introduce students to the various groups of fungi and their morphology, biological activities, roles in ecosystems, economic importance and their application in biotechnology. The class will meet from 1-1:50 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, and there will be a required lab from 1 to 2:50 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Posted 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

Global guru to discuss local agriculture

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems — a research and Extension facility near Goldsboro that is operated jointly by A&T, N.C. State and the N. C. Department of Family & Consumer Sciences — is bringing the activist that has probably done more than any one individual to promote the advantages of locally-grown foods, Carlo Petrini, to Raleigh for a lecture. Petrini will speak at the NCSU McKimmon Center (1101 Gorman Street) from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, and his lecture is open free of charge to the public. Petrini is the founder of the Slow Food Movement, which has been winning converts to locally grown foods in the corporate world as well as among consumers.

Posted 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

Homage to the double helix

Dr. Millie Worku of the Department of Animal Sciences has invited Dr Milton A. English of the National Human Genome Research Institute to set the groundwork for National DNA Day with a special talk about the genome revolution and genetic research at the National Institutes of Health. English will be speaking in the Webb Hall auditorium on Tuesday, April 24, at 10 a.m. The presentation is open to all SAES faculty and students. A special invitation goes out to students interested in finding out more about the SAES’s undergraduate certificate program in biotechnology, and the Department of Animal Sciences’ upper-level courses in biotechnology.

National DNA Day was established by Congress to commemorate publication of a paper by Drs. James Watson and Francis Crick, which described the double helix structure of DNA. DNA Day also commemorates completion of the Human Genome Project — in April, 2003 — which sequenced the three billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA.

Posted 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

Peer review process reviewed

Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, an SAES food scientist, will be part of a panel presentation on the grant proposal review process at funding agencies that will run from noon until 1 p.m. in Room 410 of the Fort IRC Building on Thursday, April 19. Dr. Gregory Goins of the Department of Biology and Dr. Miriam Wagner, an assistant professor of counseling, will be joining Ahmedna on the panel. The program is part of the Division of Research and Economic Development’s “Lunch and Learn Series” for research faculty in all schools and colleges at A&T. The online registration form is quick and concise.

Posted 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

Scientists come to Carver from Cairo and Cape Town

Dr. Wessal Khan, a scientist from South Africa, will be giving a presentation on environmental microbiology research at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The seminar will begin at noon on Wednesday, April 25, in Room 205 of Carver Hall.

Khan is one of two visiting scientists  who began six-month stays with the SAES this semester.

Khan is a lecturer as well as a researcher with the faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She leads her own research group, and is currently supervising a number of graduate students who are working in biofilms and bioremediation. An increase in urbanization has pushed large numbers of South Africans into informal settlements on natural watercourses, and Khan's research group is developing bioreactor systems to address the subsequent increase of microbial and metal contaminants in rivers. She will be affiliated with Dr. G. B. Reddy's research group, which works with swine wastewater remediation and metal reduction in wetlands.

The SAES’s other visiting scientist is Dr. Moussa Maaly Eid, an associate professor at the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt. His research interests are dairy food microbiology, and one of his research programs deals with the use of probiotic cultures, such as bifidobacteria and lactobacillus, in traditional Egyptian foods. While with the SAES, he will be working with Dr. Salam Ibrahim in the food microbiology lab on projects involving the effect of different functional ingredients in foods on the viability of probiotic cultures. He is also going to be looking into the potential for development of a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Program (HACCP) for Egypt’s dairy processing industries.

Posted 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

SAES bioengineer helps shape state’s response to energy crunch

Last summer, the N.C. General Assembly issued a mandate for a comprehensive plan for development of biofuels and speeding them into commercial production. The lion’s share of responsibility for the plan fell to the Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park, and that agency put together a steering committee for developing a strategic plan. The steering committee turned the heavy lifting over to five co-conveners who put together a 16-page blueprint for “Fueling North Carolina's Future: North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership” that has become the subject of keen interest. The five principal authors of the biofuels plan were  Billy Ray Hall of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, Steven Burke of the Biotechnology Center, Dr. Johnny Wynne of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State, Norris Tolson of the N.C. Department of Revenue, and Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi of the SAES.

One of the goals in the plan is for 10 percent of liquid fuels sold in North Carolina to come from biofuels grown and produced within the state by 2017. It calls for about $25 million for research and development, and an annual allocation of $500,000 for work-force development programs. The plan calls for North Carolina to resist the national rush toward ethanol produced from corn, and calls instead for a focus on cellulosic ethanol, derived from wood waste, barley, soybeans, sweet potatoes and other crops.

Posted 04:26 PM | Comments (0)

April symposium spotlights progress in Kannapolis

Leading food scientists and researchers from around the world were in Charlotte April 16-17 for a symposium centered on recent research in metabolomics and nutrigenomics, and the guest list included a delegation of students and research faculty from the SAES. Although the University of North Carolina at Charlotte was the primary setting for “Who We Are and What We Eat: The Role of Metabolomics and Nutrigenomics in Creating Healthier Foods and Healthier Lives,” one of the major highlights of the symposium was a tour of the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. A&T and the seven other North Carolina universities that will be playing major roles in the $1.5 billion Research Campus were official co-hosts for the symposium at UNCC.

The SAES’s primary focus at the Research Campus will be post-harvest technologies — new methods to make food safer and more nutritious, and developing new products or processes from agricultural products and by-products. At the “Who We Are and What We Eat: The Role of Metabolomics and Nutrigenomics in Creating Healthier Foods and Healthier Lives”  symposium, Dr. Alton Thompson served as the moderator for a session on food safety, presented by Dr. John P. Cherry, a food scientist and director of one of the Agricultural Research Services’ (ARS) four regional centers. Cherry has worked with the SAES to establish summer internships with the ARS for SAES students. At another session, Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, an SAES food scientist, gave an overview of his recent research at A&T that could add value to the state's sweet potato and peanut crops.

Posted 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

Friday the 13th will be someone’s lucky day this year

A&T State University’s Division of Research & Economic Development will be coordinating the University-wide Researcher Appreciation Day on Friday, April 13, and the Agricultural Research Program wants to ensure that SAES research scientists and students take advantage of this opportunity to shine. Posters are due in Room 312 of the Fort IRC Building on Monday, April 9. SAES faculty and students can either take their posters directly to the IRC Building, or drop them off at C. H. Moore by 2 p.m. on April 9.

On Researcher Appreciation Day, student and faculty posters will be on display at the Fort IRC Building throughout the day. Student winners will be announced at noon in an awards ceremony on the fourth floor of the building, and refreshments will be served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The winner of the student poster competition will receive $100, and $75 and $50 cash awards will go to for second and third place entries, respectively.

Posted 04:17 PM | Comments (0)

Webb instead of Moore

The Agricultural Research Program's spring semester meeting for principal investigators, project directors and other members of the ARP faculty will be Wednesday, April 4, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. in the Webb Hall auditorium. Renovation work is under way on the usual setting for ARP faculty and staff meetings, Room A-8 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Posted 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

Cutting edge computational tools and culinary basics

SAES faculty, staff and students with a taste for bioinformatics and computational biology are invited to feed body and mind simultaneously at the Renaissance Bistro, an information session focusing on the biological sciences that will be coming to Webb Hall (and providing a free lunch to participants) on Monday, April 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Renaissance Bistro at Webb is one of a series of luncheon programs that the Renaissance Computing Institute is using to bring together scientists, computer specialists, educators and industry leaders. The program objective is to set the groundwork for expanding the role of computer sciences in North Carolina. The SAES contact for reservations and additional information on the Renaissance Bistro on April 2 is Dr. Millie Worku of the Department of Animal Sciences.

Posted 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

ARP & ACT lending helping hands for research poster competition

A&T State University’s Division of Research will be coordinating its annual university-wide Researcher Appreciation Day on Friday, April 13, and the Agricultural Research Program wants to ensure that SAES research scientists and students take advantage of this opportunity to shine. The winner of the student poster competition will receive $100, and there will be $75 and $50 cash awards for second and third place entries. This year the judges will have a keen eye open for research that has the potential for economic development.

To get a poster into the competition, begin by registering online. The next step is to get an electronic copy of the poster in the queue for the large format printer at C. H. Moore. Posters should be placed in the poster share file no later than Monday, April 2. After you place a poster in the folder, e-mail Robin Adams and let her know the name of the poster and the file where it is located. See the ACT Web page for step-by-step instructions as well as tips on making a good-looking poster.

Posters are due in Room 312 of the Fort IRC Building on Monday, April 9. SAES faculty and students can either take their posters directly to the IRC Building, or drop them off at C. H. Moore by 2 p.m. on April 9.

Posted 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

First full of dollars

The news from the online edition of The [Triad] Business Journal is that “N.C. A&T State University is ready to create its first independent company based on academic research; it will be a biotechnology firm that will take aim at a piece of the multibillion-dollar market for a diagnostic tool using something called antibody therapies.... Provagen, as the A&T spinoff will be known, plans to commercialize a technology developed in A&T's agricultural science labs that uses ‘Protein V’ to purify and isolate antibodies that can be used in a number of disease treatment and diagnostic applications....”

The researcher behind Provagen and the “ president of the university’s first spinoff company” is Dr. John Allen of the SAES. Details on Allen’s patent-producing biotechnological research are available in a 2002 issue of on the move newsletter.

Posted 04:37 PM | Comments (0)

Grassroots grants for direct marketing

Through the close of business on April 13, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will be accepting applications for grants for research and economic development projects that will increase and expand producer-to-consumer marketing pipelines for farmers. This is the second year of the grant program, which was created with farmers markets, roadside stands and community-supported agriculture specifically in mind.  Farmer cooperatives, local government agencies, nonprofit corporations, public benefit corporations, economic development corporations, regional farmers market authorities, and other entities may be eligible for some of the  $1 million that has been allocated. Matching funds are not required.

Proposals funded in 2006 included a project in Wisconsin to connect small-sale goat producers to immigrant communities; an Oregon project to establish a farmers market at a large hospital; a study of consumer habits and preferences in Michigan; and a partnership in Ashe County, N.C., that acquired equipment for a shared-use commercial kitchen.

Complete information on the AMS 2007 Farmers Market Promotion Program is available at the same Web site as application materials.

Posted 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

NIH funding guidance

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be sending representatives to Research Triangle Park to lead a seminar on the agency’s funding process — “from application preparation to post-award administration” — April 24 to 26. The seminar will have workshops and presentations tailored to administrators and investigators with past experience managing NIH grants, as well as concurrent sessions for post-doctoral students and researchers who are new to the agency. Several time-slots for informal network are also part of the conference agenda. The conference fee is $295.

Posted 04:12 PM | Comments (0)

Fungal guidance

Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen's research-based goal of making North Carolina a hotbed for production of edible and medicinal mushrooms will be hitting the road in coming weeks. Registration is now under way for a series of workshops, across the state, at which Dr. Omon and Extension agents and farmers will be giving hands-on instruction in inoculating oak logs with spawn that will turn them into shiitake mushroom producers in a few weeks. Workshops are scheduled for:
Feb. 24:1 p.m.,  Whistle Pig Acres in Caldwell County (Contact Seth Nagy)
March 3: 10 a.m., Durham County (Contact Michelle Wallace)
March 10: 3 p.m., Union County—4620 Tom Starnes Road, Waxhaw (Contact Jeff Rieves)
March 17: 9 a.m., Sandy Creek Farm in Davidson County (Contact: Amy-Lynn Albertson)
March 17: 1 p.m., Spin A Yarn ... Weave A Web Farm Store in  Ashe County (Contact:  Richard Boylan)

Posted 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

Swamp facts

The constructed wetland at the University Farm has recently added a new wrinkle to its resume. The wetland has been the setting for several successful research investigations into the potential for using constructed wetlands to manage  nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from swine production facilities. Dr. Nancy Shappell, a research physiologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has been working with SAES research scientists in using the farm’s constructed wetland to evaluate its potential for filtering estrogens from waste water that originates in animal production facilities. The findings have been published in both the online editions of Environmental Science and Technology. 

The research into estrogen contamination from animal production facilities and the remediation potential of constructed wetlands has been attracting public attention because of suspected ties between estrogen runoff and genetic abnormalities in fish and reptiles. Shappell’s research indicates that constructed wetlands can be very effective in filtering estrogens out of wastewater.

Drs. Reddy, Richard Phillips and other members of the Agricultural Research faculty began design and development of the farm’s constructed wetland in 1995. The wetland consists of four cells with a marsh-pond-marsh construction. The cells use aquatic vegetation to absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonium and other contaminants from wastewater from the farm’s swine unit.

Posted 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

NIH to triangulate

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be sending representatives to Research Triangle Park to lead a seminar on the agency’s funding process—”from application preparation to post-award administration”— April 24 to 26. The early-bird registration deadline is Feb. 23. The conference fee is $270 for registrations received on the 23rd or before;  $295 after the cutoff.

The seminar will have workshops and presentations tailored to administrators and investigators with past experience managing NIH grants, as well as concurrent sessions for post-doctoral students and researchers who are new to the agency. Several time-slots for informal network are also part of the conference agenda.

Posted 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

Dean seen in Philippines

Dr. Alton Thompson, the SAES dean, is currently the guest of honor on the Web site for the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), which is one of the seven constituent universities that comprise the national university system in the Philippines. Thompson was at UPOU to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Chancellor Felix Librero that establishes collaborative framework for post-graduate degrees in several agricultural sciences, joint research, student and faculty exchanges, and other bilateral activities.

Thompson’s visit to UPOU, about 40 miles southeast of Manila, was facilitated by Dr. Manuel Reyes of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design. Reyes and Thompson are part of an SAES team that received a $15,000 grant from A&T's FUTURES initiative to strengthen partnerships between A&T and southeast Asian universities. Reyes is also the principal investigator for a $1.2 million dollar grant for a research project for improving sustainable agriculture and natural resources management in southeast Asia that established a footing for SAES work with universities in the region. Reyes’ funding for the agroforestry and sustainable vegetable production research is provided through the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM CRSP) at Virginia Tech, and there is an update on the project in the current issue of the program’s newsletter.

Posted 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

Last call for RAP applications

The deadline for applications submitted by high school juniors and seniors for the 2007 Research Apprentice Program is Feb. 16. The four-week program for high caliber high school students with an interest in working with SAES research scientists will be June 24 - July 30. SAES faculty and staff who know of high-quality high school students who may not have been on the mailing list are encouraged to forward along an application.

Posted 04:21 PM | Comments (0)

Summer research in sunny California

The University of California at San Diego has an eight-week summer program (June 25 to Aug. 17 in 2007) for 15 undergraduates from other colleges and universities who have a strong interest in pursuing research at the graduate level. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; sophomores with three semesters of college, juniors or non-graduating seniors; and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. Students accepted will receive a $3,500 stipend, room and board, and a $500 travel allowance. The application deadline is Friday, Feb.16.

The Amgen Foundation supports similar summer programs at Howard, MIT and seven other universities across the United States. The list of research areas that the foundation now asks participating institutions to emphasize includes biotechnology, bioinformatics and bioengineering.

Posted 04:10 PM | Comments (0)

From backyard biodiesel to commercial production

Dr. Lyle Estill will be coming to C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station to discuss sustainable biodiesel, ethanol, biomass for generating electricity (including landfill methane and woodchip incineration) and other current issues in bio-energy on Thursday, Jan. 25. His talk will begin at 2 p.m. Estill is the author of Biodiesel Power; The Passion, The People, and The Politics of The Next Renewable Fuel. He also is the vice president of Piedmont Biofuels, the largest biodiesel cooperative in the United States, and the publisher of a widely read energy blog. He has received numerous awards for his work in environmental education, including the 2004 Educator of the Year Award from the Environmental Educators of North Carolina.

Posted 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

Efficient heat and an important seat

A&T’s Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) has launched a new program, “Upgrade and Save,” to help buyers of manufactured housing upgrade the energy-efficiency of their homes’ heating systems before they move in, and the project manager has been invited to join the board of directors of NC GreenPower, a nonprofit organization that works with electric utilities across the state to encourage the development of renewable energy. CERT is a collaborative effort involving the SAES and the School of Engineering, and the program manager for “Upgrade and Save,” Reneé Robinson, works out of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

The new Center for Energy Research and Technology program, “Upgrade and Save” will be  providing energy-efficient heat pumps for buyers of new manufactured homes, purchased from participating dealerships. Homeowners taking advantage of the program can save as much as $600 a year in heating costs by letting “Upgrade and Save” replace factory installed heating systems with heat pumps. The program is funded by a grant from the State Energy Office, and manufactured housing dealerships in nine Piedmont counties (Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham and Stokes) may be eligible to participate.

Reneé Robinson will occasionally be switching hats from project manager for “Upgrade and Save” to board member for  NC GreenPower, a 22 member body that meets two to four times each year.

Posted 04:20 PM | Comments (0)

RAP apps due by mid-February

The deadline for high school juniors and seniors to apply for the 2007 Research Apprentice Program is Feb. 16. The four-week program for high caliber high school students with an interest in working with SAES research scientists will be June 24 - July 30. Cards announcing the 2007 RAP application deadline were mailed out in December, but SAES faculty and staff who know of high-quality high school students who may not have been on the mailing list are encouraged to forward along a copy —either electronically or through the mail.

Posted 04:08 PM | Comments (0)

Seo long

Dr. Chung W. Seo has retired after more than 37 years with the SAES, and there will be a reception in his honor from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the F. A. Williams Faculty Dining Room on Monday, Jan. 22. All members of the SAES faculty and staff are invited to join in honoring Seo for his contributions to the growth of SAES research and instruction during his career. Reservations are requested by Jan. 15.

Posted 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

OICI honors Omon

Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, the SAES mushroom biotechnology scientist, was presented a humanitarian award from Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OICI), a nonprofit, private voluntary organization based in Philadelphia. OICI has been coordinating solutions to the economic and social challenges faced by developing countries for more than 30 years, and the organization lists USAID, the U.S. Department of Labor among its primary supporters along with USDA. Isikhuemhen received the award, “In recognition of the technical skills ..  shared with our brothers and sisters in West Africa that have increased hope and economic opportunity.”

Posted 04:20 PM | Comments (0)

Request from Lenoir is evermore

Ag. Communications and Technology fielded an unexpected but flattering request from Katherine Clowers, a librarian at Lenoir Community College in Kinston. Clowers sent an e-mail that said that a faculty member had requested she place a copy of the 2005 issue of the SAES’s annual magazine on research work, RE:search,on reserve for students because, “several articles are relevant to [the environmental biology] curriculum.” So relevant, to be exact, that Clowers went on to request 10 additional copies for the class.

The library isn’t the only branch of Lenoir Community College with a regular connection to the SAES.  LCC is one of the 10 North Carolina community colleges participating in the 2 + 2 program that makes it convenient for students receiving associate’s degrees in horticulture, turf grass management and other agricultural studies programs to receive online bachelor’s degrees in agricultural education from  the SAES.

Posted 05:09 PM | Comments (0)

Spores in the Eastern Hemisphere

Dr. Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen, an SAES research scientist,  was part of the six-member scientific committee that helped coordinate the first Africa Scientific Conference on Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms in Jinja, Uganda Oct.  25- 29. The conference brought together specialists in foods and nutrition, pharmacology, forestry and other fields from around the world to meet with colleagues from African nations. The conference served not only as  an exchange of technical information, but also as a starting point for conceptualizing strategies to accelerate awareness among policy makers in African nations of the economic and public health potential in mushrooms.

Isikhuemhen also is serving on both the publications and the scientific committees for an international conference that will bring specialists who are working with medicinal properties of mushrooms  to the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia in September, 2007. A call for papers from scientists and students has been issued, and the deadline for abstracts Jan. 15.

Posted 05:06 PM | Comments (0)

Indy 3,500

The work of both the SAES’s Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension Programs was presented at a meeting of more than 3,500 scientists from three organizations in Indianapolis Nov. 12 -16. The conference brought together members of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

A team of SAES researchers that includes Drs. Charles Raczkowski, G. B. Reddy, Keith Baldwin and Marsha McGraw presented research findings from a project that has shed new light on the decline of soil organic matter on farms across the state. This study also is assessing the effects of tillage practices, winter cover cropping and compost use on improving soil quality. At a conference symposium on land use, Dr. Robert Williamson of the Cooperative Extension Program gave an overview of the interactive “Chopper Ride” CD, which assists individuals with low literacy skills in better understanding the nuances of pollution’s impact on both ground and surface water.

Attention risk takers

The Southern Region Risk Management Education (RME) Center is now accepting pre-proposals for risk management education projects. The deadline for submitting pre-proposals is Dec. 14. Grant awards are generally between $5,000 and $50,000. There are three points in the guidelines that should be of interest to SAES faculty:
I. Among the organizations encouraged to apply for grants are private and public groups, and institutions (including land-grants) in the 13-state region with a demonstrated capacity to develop and deliver educational programs for agricultural producers and their families.
II.  The RME grants program has a special interest in funding for projects that "help socially disadvantaged farmers learn about risk management strategies and tools that can be applied to their farm businesses."
III. The center is looking for "results-based" projects, a concept that is defined in detail in a multi-media presentation at a Web site, which also has step-by-step guidance for submitting a pre-proposal.

A source for ideas for proposals is the listing of 2006 RME grant awards for all four regions of the country.

Posted 05:01 PM | Comments (0)

Formal affair

Principal investigators and research project directors who are yet to turn in two required reports — Progress/Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) — need to redouble efforts to get the forms completed and to the Agricultural Research Program (ARP) offices before the holiday break. The forms as well as instructions for filling them out are on page 13 of the ARP manual. If questions arise or additional assistance is needed, please contact Benjamin Forbes at forbesb@ncat.edu or 336.334.7043.

Posted 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

SAES Housing research gets national spotlight

Dr. Carolyn S. Turner, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program and Dr. Thessalenuere Hinnant-Bernard, an SAES housing researcher, were at Cornell University in October to share SAES housing expertise and research at the 40th Annual National Conference of the Housing Education and Research Association (HERA).

Turner was part of a panel of housing specialists called on to lead a discussion of the current status of housing education in secondary schools.

Hinnant-Bernard presented a poster on "New Manufactured Home Owners: Problems And Resolutions," which covered the results of a focus group study of problems owners of new manufactured homes are running into, and their methods for resolving them. This was the first phase of a research project that will be extended to cover the first five years of ownership. The objective is to obtain information that will be of targeted relevance to rural North Carolina.

Hinnant-Bernard is currently the publications chair for HERA, an organization that is now a major forum for bringing educators, researchers and policy makers to the same table. 

Posted 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

New form filing time frame in effect

Progress/Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) that in the past were due in January are due at the Agricultural Research Program offices by Friday, Dec. 1. USDA regulations also require submission of grant project final reports within 90 days of grant expiration. If you have questions about this policy change, please contact Benjamin Forbes at forbesb@ncat.edu or 336.334.7043.

Posted 04:04 PM | Comments (0)

Researchers and specialists getting it together

The Agricultural Research Program's principal investigators and project directors will be meeting with Cooperative Extension specialists on Thursday, Nov. 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Godfrey Multipurpose Room at Coltrane Hall. Topping the agenda will be presentations by researchers and Extension specialists who were awarded mini-grants for collaborative project projects.

Posted 04:53 PM | Comments (0)

Biofuel researcher to discuss microbial catalysts

On Thursday, Nov. 16, Dr. Kenneth Bischoff of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will be coming to A&T to present a seminar on "Microbial Catalysts for Fuel Ethanol Production" at 2 p.m. in Room A-14, of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Bischoff's visit is part of the biotechnology and biodiversity seminar series coordinated by Dr. Guochen Yang of the SAES.

A research microbiologist at ARS facilities in Peoria, Ill. (one of the ARS's four primary research centers), Bischoff has more than 50 projects in his ARS publications listing. His research into ethanol production involves work with microorganisms with potential for converting renewable resources to fuel, and fermentation engineering that will make this conversion process viable on a commercial scale.

Posted 04:52 PM | Comments (0)

Another homecoming at Carver

Dr. Leonard Williams, an associate professor at Alabama A&M, will be returning to his alma mater to present a seminar on "Antimicrobial, Genotypic and Virulence Characterization of Selected Foodborne Pathogens" at 2 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station on Thursday, Oct. 26. Williams received both his bachelor's and master's degrees at A&T before going on to Alabama A&M to get his doctorate. His research interests now include biosensors, molecular tools and immunological detection methods.

Posted 06:39 PM | Comments (0)

Researchers to meet

The Agricultural Research Program's fall meeting for principal investigators and project directors will be Thursday, Nov. 2, from 3 to 5 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Among the items on the agenda is the change in deadlines for Progress/Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419). In the past, these reports were due in January, but beginning in 2006 the due date is Dec. 1.

Posted 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

Bucks for biotech

The recipients for the 2006-2007 Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Fellowship Awards have been announced, and the scholarship winners include three undergraduate and nine graduate students who will be mentored through a biotech or biodiversity research project by a member of the SAES faculty.

Undergraduate winners of $866 scholarships and mentors are:
• Aaron C. Vannetta, whose project mentor will be Dr. Salam Ibrahim.
• Carresse Gerald, whose project mentor will be Dr. Millie Worku.
• Lynn R. King, whose project mentor will be Dr. Antoine Alston.

Graduate students who will receive $1,100 scholarships and mentors are:
• Dipankar Dwived, whose project mentor will be Dr. M. R. Reddy.
• Sylvester Addy, whose project mentor will be Dr. Carl Niedziela.
• Kurt Taylor, whose project mentors will be Drs. M. R. Reddy and Carl Niedziela.
• Amanee Ali, whose project mentor will be Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen.
• Porter Myrick III, whose project mentor will be Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna.
• Seydou Niandou, whose project mentor will be Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna.
• Carol Rikard, whose project mentor will be Dr. Ipek Goktepe.
• Robin N. Goins, whose project mentor will be Dr. Chung Seo.
• Yaser Ahmed, whose project mentor will be Dr. Millie Worku.

Posted 06:24 PM | Comments (0)

Extra helpings for food science students

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) has a scholarship program for college undergraduates with a noteworthy stipulation for eligibility: Applicants must "have completed at least one semester in a restaurant and/or foodservice-related program." Students in SAES nutrition and dietetics programs qualify. Another requirement for scholarship eligibility is 750 hours of work experience in restaurant or food service industries. Applicants must also have a  GPA of at least 2.75 on the 4.0 scale. The application deadline for the next round of scholarship awards is Nov. 17. Details on this program as well as scholarship programs for high school students are available at the NRAEF Web site.

Posted 06:06 PM | Comments (0)

SAES offers spinach salvation and freshwater shrimp

An October 2 Greensboro News & Record story, on what the scientific community was recommending to thwart another E. coli outbreak such as the one that leveled the spinach industry was built around an interview with SAES food science researcher Dr. Salam Ibrahim. And the hot -off-the-presses issue of the Agricultural Research Program’s annual magazine, RE:search has additional details on more SAES research into new methods for combating E.coli, in an article that looks at the research of another SAES food scientist, Dr. Chung Seo.

Mike Lanier, an A&T Extension agent for agribusiness who works in Orange, Durham, Person and Caswell counties, was one of the sources for a new development in small-scale aquaculture, prawn farming, that appeared in the Durham Herald-Sun. Prawn are fresh-water shrimp, and the enterprise is catching on among former small-scale tobacco farmers in the Piedmont. Prawn farming is explained in an article now in the Herald-Sun archives.

Posted 04:55 PM | Comments (0)

RE:search ready for readership; toolkit ready go to work

The 2006 issue of the Agricultural Research Program’s annual magazine, RE:search, will be mailed out in the next few weeks. An electronic copy is already available on the SAES Web page. Articles in this issue cover ARP research in poultry, international trade, post-harvest vegetable handling, agromedicine, rural leadership, and conservation tillage. There are also stories about facilities improvements at the University Farm, and the SAES’s role in the billion-dollar biotech research campus under construction near Kannapolis.

For supplies of the 2006 issue of RE:search to distribute at professional meetings or gatherings of stakeholders, contact Angelia Williamson.

Another recent addition to the SAES Webb page is the Faculty/Staff Toolkit, which has the Strategic Plan, the SAES annual report and other references that are frequently needed. To get to it via standard Web page navigation, start at the “About SAES” pull-down.

Posted 05:45 PM | Comments (1)

Something old, something new

The Agricultural Research Program’s administrative staff has an early warning to pass along to principal investigators and project directors. The Progress/Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) that in the past were due in January will now be due Dec. 1. The reporting period is now synchronized with the federal fiscal year (Oct. 1 - Sept. 30). Current USDA regulations require submission of grant project final reports within 90 days of grant expiration. Notices regarding specific grants are forthcoming. If you have questions, please contact Benjamin Forbes at forbesb@ncat.edu or 336.334.7043.

Posted 05:11 PM | Comments (0)

Microbe management

On Thursday, Nov. 16, Dr. Kenneth Bischoff of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will be coming to A&T to present a seminar on "Microbial Catalysts for Fuel Ethanol Production" at 2 p.m. in  Room A-14, of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Bischoff’s visit is part of the biotechnology and biodiversity seminar series coordinated by Dr. Guochen Yang of the SAES.

A research microbiologist at ARS facilities in Peoria, Ill. (one of the ARS’s four primary research centers),  Bischoff has more than 50 projects in his ARS publications listing. His research into ethanol production involves work with microorganisms with potential for converting renewable resources to fuel, and fermentation engineering that will make this conversion process viable on a commercial scale.

Posted 04:58 PM | Comments (0)

Get a seat on the biotech bandwagon

The N.C. Bioportal Project was established to develop a bioinformatics portal that can be used by students for accessing bioinformatics data and software. The NC Bioportal provides easy access to more than 140 computational tools and many biological data sets. There will be a training program for students and faculty from 10 a.m. until noon in Room 207 of Webb Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 26 . The Center for Bioinformatics and the Renaissance Computing Institute will conduct the hands-on workshop, which will familiarize students and faculty with the organization and use of the system, as well as its resources. Participants will need to be familiar with a Web browser, and they must also set up a user account several business days beforehand.

Dr. Milli Worku of the Dept. of Animal Sciences is coordinating the Webb Hall workshop, and she will assist participants in setting up their accounts. Interested faculty and students should contact Worku by Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Posted 04:46 PM | Comments (0)

Biotech scholars invited to apply

SAES juniors and seniors with overall GPAs of 3.0 and grad students with overall GPAs of 3.5 may be eligible for scholarships provided by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to further research in biotechnology and biodiversity. Scholarship awards - for the current semester - range from $500 to $800 for undergraduates, and $800 to $1,200 for grad students. The selection committee is looking for students whose course work and career goals reflect an ongoing interest in some facet of biotechnology, including issues of ethical and sociological importance. Scholarship recipients will be required to conduct an independent research project supervised by a faculty mentor. The application deadline is Sept. 22.

Posted 04:45 PM | Comments (0)

New wave in electromagnetic field

A major research resource, the world's first 950-megahertz superconducting magnet, has been ordered for the "Biopolis" research center under construction in Kannapolis. The Agricultural Research Program is a partner with North Carolina’s other top research universities in the new world-class biotechnology research center, a billion-dollar-plus campus that is being developed by David Murdock, chairman and owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc. and Dole Food Company.

The magnet will stand two stories tall and weigh eight tons. It will give research scientists a tool for looking into molecular structures and interactions.

In keeping with the biotech research center’s commitment to economic development as well as research, Murdock also recently announced a $100 million venture fund under the direction of Clyde Higgs, who was at one time with the Office of Technology Transfer at A&T.

Posted 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

Openings remain in weather workshop for researchers

Last spring the N.C. Climate Office established an extensive weather station for collecting data at the University Farm. The farm's weather station is part of the N.C. Climate Retrieval and Observations of the Southeast (CRONOS) database, which has 966 sites in and around the state. The weather station network was established for a range of commercial, safety and technological benefits. A list of eight key benefit areas includes crop management, pest management, and community and economic development.

Dr. Manuel Reyes of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design is the SAES liaison for the weather station, and he has invited Dr. Ryan Boyles, a climatologist and interim director of the N.C. Climate Office, to come to A&T to give research scientists an overview of the weather stations capabilities, and discuss how they can support research projects at the University Farm. The workshop will be in the computer lab at Sockwell Hall on Thursday, Sept. 28, from 1 to 2 p.m. There are only 24 workstations in the computer lab, and registration for the 24 slots in the workshop will be first-come, first served. SAES faculty and staff wishing to register for the program can do so by contacting Dr. Reyes.

Posted 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

Chain of foods

Dr. Carolyn S. Turner, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program (ARP), has been named to the External Board Of Advisors for the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD). The boar