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 board provides the NCFPD advice and guidance, and reviews programs. The NCFPD is a multidisciplinary Homeland Security Center for Excellence that was established in 2004 to guide research and educational efforts to better insulate the nation's food supply chain from intentional contamination, and to develop strategies for rapid response should there be a terrorist disruption involving biological, chemical or radiological contamination. More than 150 experts from higher education, private sector research and government agencies are working through the center. Turner's colleagues on the eight-member board include corporate vice presidents from Cargill, Inc., and McDonalds; the provost for Academic Affairs at the University of South Carolina; and the director for the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Posted 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

SAES research arose in City of Roses

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) held its annual meeting in Portland, Ore., July 9 to 12, and the SAES delegation came home with a leadership position in the organization and a considerable amount of publicity for SAES research work.

Dr. Yebo Li of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design was elected chair of the ASABE Biological Engineering Division for 2006-2007.

SAES research was well represented at technical sessions. Principal investigators with projects presented to the 9,000-member ASABE were:
• Dr. Jianmei Yu ("Antioxidative and Antibacterial Effects of Peanut Skin Extract in Selected Food Models")
• Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna ("Production of Pecan Shell-based Activated Carbon: Process Optimization for Efficient Water Purification")
• Dr. Yebo Li ("Separation and Recovery of Lactic Acid from Fermentation Bath Using Nanofiltration Membrane" and "Semi-Continuous Production of Lactic Acid from Cheese Whey Using Integrated Membrane Reactor")
• Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi ("Lactic Acid Production from Cheese Whey Using Free Cell of B. Longum")
• Dr. Salam Ibrahim ("Application of Ascorbic Acid and Palmitoryl Ascorbate to Inhibit the Growth of Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 in Laboratory Medium";  "Effect of Different Spices on Growth of Organic Acid Production and Antibacterial Activity by Bifidobacterium Longum"; "Fatty Acids and Surfactants as Growth Promoting Factors for Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus reuteri"; "Antibacterial Activity of Chives against Salmonella in Culture Medium"; and "Antimicrobial Effect of Lactic Acid Alone or in Combination with Caffeine and Copper on Growth of Escheria coli 0157:H7 in Laboratory Media")
• Dr. Hong Yang ("Preparation of Activated Carbons from North Carolina Agricultural By-products by Phosphoric Acid")

Other members of SAES research faculty who contributed to these projects are recognized in the meeting program.

Laurent  Ahiablame, a student in the Bioenvironmental Engineering Program, had a paper on “Fifty-five years of Agricultural Engineering at N.C. A&T State University” entered in the student paper competition. Ahiablame was also part of a team of Bioenvironmental Engineering students, along with Lisa Means and Bryan Taliaferro, who presented a paper on  “Biodiesel: A Sustainable Fuel Solution for Small and Medium Size Agricultural Cooperatives.”

The ASABE, which is both a scientific and educational organization, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2007. The ASABE is an international clearinghouse for research in biological, food, and agricultural engineering. The ASABE membership also includes scientists and other professionals specializing in farm safety, nursery and greenhouse operations, power systems, and farm machinery and structures.

Posted 04:45 PM | Comments (1)

Farm super does super

For 57 years, the superintendents of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Science’s (NCDA&CS) research stations and North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ field labs have been holding an annual meeting. The superintendent of the A&T State University Farm, Leon Moses, only started participating in this meeting two years ago, but Moses has made up for lost time.

At the most recent meeting of research station administrators in mid-July, Moses gave the research station and field lab administrators a virtual walk-through (in a PowerPoint presentation) of facilities, renovations, demonstrations and events that have been added to the University Farm in the past four years. The overview was so well received that he was invited to serve as master of ceremonies for the banquet at next year’s meeting of research station and field lab administrators.

Dr. Sandra Maddox, director of NCDA&CS’s Research Station Division, says that, ”Two years ago I stopped in while in the area and met Leon and asked if I could have a tour of the farm. He not only gave a wonderful tour of the farm but made it clear of his commitment to A&T and the farm, and it was very apparent that he intended to continue to move the farm forward both as a research facility and a teaching tool.” As a result of that get-acquainted tour, Maddox invited Moses to participate in the annual research station administrators meeting, and she says that, “He has been a wonderful addition to the meeting and to the group. He quickly has gained the respect and camaraderie of the other superintendents and really leads the way in new thinking.”

Posted 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

Talkin' Balkans

A call for papers from scientists and students for an International Medicinal Mushroom Conference has been issued. The conference will take place in the Balkan country of Slovenia in September of 2007.  It will bring together specialists in immunology, naturopathy, biochemistry and many other fields who are exploring the potential in the medicinal properties of mushrooms. The University of Ljubljana is organizing and hosting the conference. With 56,000 students, the University of Ljubljana is not only the largest university in the Slovenia, but also among the largest universities on the world. Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, a research scientist with the Agricultural Research Program, is serving on both the publications and the international scientific committees for the conference.

Posted 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

Global tillage

Two SAES research projects were among the technical session presentations at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science in Philadelphia July 9 to 15. For a session on ”Nutrient Use Efficiency and Global Agriculture,” there was a poster presentation of SAES research into “Cover Crop and Nitrogen Rate Management for Sustainable Production of Sweet Corn under No-Till.” Drs. M. R. Reddy, and W. A. R. N. Fernando have been working with a soil scientist from N. C. State, Dr. Carl Crozier, on this project. There was also a poster presentation covering Dr. Charles Raczkowski’s research into the “Effectiveness of No Tillage in Reducing Runoff and Erosion in a Piedmont Location.”  Drs. G. B. Reddy, Manuel Reyes and Keith Baldwin are also part of this research team.

Raczkowski’s presentation on research comparing erosion and runoff under tillage and no-till methods had an advance preview in Virginia last winter, when he shared the research at a training session for personnel with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The presentation was such a resounding success that his appointment book has quickly filled up with requests for encore presentations to different groups. Chris Lawrence, an NRCS agronomist, sent Raczkowski an e-mail saying, “I have thought at great length about the implications of what you showed and keep coming back to the same conclusion that to me is so critical: after things are smoothed back over with a disk or a growing season passes, the naked eye can't tell the difference between plots that have lost 200 tons vs. 6 tons soil ...  What you showed has made a profound impact on me in this regard.”

Posted 05:15 PM | Comments (0)

Second wave of apprentices

The second group of Research Apprentice Program (RAP) students arrived July 9 and will be with the SAES until July 21, when they wrap up their apprenticeships with presentations covering research projects completed under the guidance of SAES scientists. The presentations will be at Webb Hall from 9 a.m. to noon, and SAES faculty and staff are invited to stop by to meet the apprentices, and to hear what they gleaned from the Agricultural Research Program.

This summer, RAP was expanded to two sessions, for two different groups of high school juniors and seniors. (The first group was here the last two weeks of June.) There are 18 high school students in the second RAP group, with a Texan and a Marylander joining 17 North Carolinians.

Posted 05:12 PM | Comments (0)

Come rain, come shine

The SAES’s Small Farms Field Day is set for the University Farm, 8:30 a.m. until noon, on Thursday, July 6. There will be a three-stop tour of horticultural research, and another three-stop tour highlighting animal sciences projects. Both tours will be conducted twice — which means all farmers, Extension and research personnel, and other visitors will be able to take in both tours.

The poultry and livestock stops feature:

• Research into organic and free-range poultry that Drs. Willie Willis and Keith Baldwin have been conducting in response to growing consumer demand. Their research compares indoor facilities at various densities to free-range, and organic feed to conventional. They’ve also been looking at the small farm potential for the Redbro Cou Nu (Red Feathered Naked Neck) chickens, a novel breed particularly well suited to organic and free-range production.

• Dr. Steve Washburn of N.C. State University is coming to the new dairy unit at the University Farm to discuss research into pasture-based, organic dairy production systems.

• Drs. Millie Worku and Ralph Noble have been working with other SAES researchers to identify genes that control goats’ resistance to coccidiosis. (Coccidiosis is potentially fatal, and caused by an intestinal protozoan. Next to intestinal worms, coccidia are probably the internal parasite encountered most frequently by producers.) This research points toward a new understanding of how genetics are involved in controlling coccidiosis. It will also help in the development of DNA markers for selection of breeding stocks.

The horticulture research lineup features:

• Drs. Charles Raczkowski, Keith Baldwin and G.B. Reddy have been working to pinpoint management practices that improve soil properties through conservation tillage, cover crops and composting.

• The growing demand for Asian vegetables in North Carolina has been a source of inspiration for Drs. M. R. Reddy and W.A.R.N. Fernando, a research associate, who have been testing cover crops and fertilizers on hot peppers, eggplant, long squash and ridged gourd.

• A high tunnel is a solar heated, manually vented, plastic-covered cold frame that is used to lengthen the conventional growing season for tomatoes. Since early season tomatoes command a premium price, Dr. Keith Baldwin and Rick Holness, an SAES Extension associate, have been working with early maturing cultivars. The research involves black plastic mulches and drip irrigation, as well as a high tunnel production system.

If you’re planning to attend the Small Farms Field Day and need data for raincoat or sunbonnet decisions, don’t forget that the farm now has its own weather station. The weather station is one of the newest of 1,063 active sites collecting weather data in and around North Carolina for the N.C, Climate Retrieval and Observations of the Southeast database (NC CRONOS). It's also part of the North Carolina Environment and Climate Observing Network (ECONet), which has been established by the State Climate Office for a range of commercial, safety and technological benefits.

Posted 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

Energetic research

Dr. Carolyn S. Turner, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, collaborated with Dr. Shirley Niemeyer of the University of Nebraska on a presentation of “Strategies for Reducing Home Energy Use and Costs” at the 97th Annual Conference & Expo of the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) in Charlotte in late June. The housing researchers’ presentation addressed the threat that rising energy costs and shortages pose to home ownership, both globally and domestically.

With a focus on “LifeSkills! Solutions for Thriving in Threatening Times,” this year’s AAFCS conference drew specialists in disaster preparation, disease control and identity theft, along with social workers, financial planners, and elementary, secondary, and post-secondary educators. The 8,000-member AAFCS promotes professional development for students as well as educators in family and consumer sciences.

Posted 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

BARD and Biotech Center will foot some bills

The Agricultural Research Program has two funding opportunities that may be of interest to research faculty:

• The US-Israel Binational Agriculture Research and Development Fund (BARD) has a window for proposals opening August 1 that will close September 16. BARD is looking for applied agricultural research, and projects conducted jointly by scientists from the United States and Israel. Of particular interest to BARD are projects with a focus on increasing agricultural productivity in hot and dry climates, plant and animal health, food quality and safety, and environmental issues. Among the exemplary research projects that BARD lists on the organization’s Web site are efforts directed to: alleviating heat stress in dairy cattle; sprayer technology that reduces pesticide use; biocontrol of post-harvest decay in fruits and vegetables; improving cut flower quality; biological control of soil borne pathogens; and a genomics and breeding project.

• The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is accepting proposals, through July 12, for grants that will support a postdoctoral researcher, under the guidance of a principal investigator, at a university research lab. One of the primary goals of the funding program is to nurture collaboration between universities and the private sector, so the N.C. Biotech Center is looking for projects of commercial interest.

Posted 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

Research expo

It's going to be Small Farms Field Day at the University farm on Thursday, July 6, from 8:30 a.m. until noon. There will be two tours with three stops each, with one spotlighting horticultural research, and the other animal husbandry. Both tours will be conducted twice — which means all farmers, Extension and research personnel, and other visitors attending the field day will be able to take in both tours. Research that will be showcased includes:

• In response to growing consumer demand for organic and free-range poultry Drs. Willie Willis and Keith Baldwin have been looking into the potential for Redbro Cou Nu (Red Feathered Naked Neck) chickens. Their research compares indoor facilities at various densities to free-range, and organic feed to conventional. The study will provide small farmers with information to fine tune their efforts to command profitability from this niche enterprise.

• Dr. Steve Washburn of N.C. State University is coming to the new dairy unit at the University Farm to discuss research into pasture-based, organic dairy production systems.

• Drs. Millie Worku and Ralph Noble, and other SAES researchers have been working to identify genes which control disease resistance against coccidiosis in goats. (Coccidiosis is potentially fatal and caused by an intestinal protozoan. Next to intestinal worms, coccidia are probably the internal parasite encountered most frequently by producers.) This research points toward a new understanding of how genetics are involved in controlling coccidiosis. It will also help in the development of DNA markers for selection of breeding stocks.

• Drs. Charles W. Raczkowski, Keith R. Baldwin and G.B. Reddy have been working to pinpoint management practices that improve soil properties through conservation tillage, cover crops and composting.

• The growing demand for Asian vegetables in North Carolina has been a source of inspiration for Dr. M. R. Reddy and W.A.R.N. Fernando, a research associate, who have been testing cover crops and fertilizers on hot peppers, eggplant, long squash and ridged gourds.

• A high tunnel is a solar heated, manually vented, plastic-covered cold frame that is used to lengthen the traditional growing season for tomatoes. Since early season tomatoes command a premium prices, SAES researchers have been working with early maturing cultivars, and the research involves black plastic mulches and drip irrigation as well as a high tunnel production system.

Posted 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

Apprenticeships in full swing

There are 16 high school students in the first RAP group, with a Californian and a student from New Jersey joining 14 North Carolinians.

Posted 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

Summer funding

The Agricultural Research Program has a couple of leads for funding to pass along:

• The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is accepting proposals, through July 12, for grants that will support a postdoctoral researcher at a university research lab. One of the primary goals of the funding program is to nurture collaboration between universities and the private sector, so the N.C. Biotech Center is looking for projects of commercial interest.

• The US-Israel Binational Agriculture Research and Development Fund (BARD) has a window for proposals opening August 1 and closing September 16. BARD is looking for applied research into agricultural problems, and projects conducted jointly by scientists from the United States and Israel. Of particular interest to BARD are projects with a focus on increasing agricultural productivity in hot and dry climates, plant and animal health, food quality and safety, and environmental issues. Among the exemplary research projects that BARD lists on the organization’s Web site are efforts directed to: alleviating heat stress in dairy cattle; sprayer technology that reduces pesticide use; biocontrol of post-harvest decay in fruits and vegetables; improving cut flower quality; biological control of soilborne pathogens; and a genomics and breeding project.

Posted 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

Spores of influence

The International Medicinal Mushroom Conference scheduled for the Balkan country of Slovenia in September of 2007 has issued a call for papers from scientists and students. The conference will bring together specialists in immunology, naturopathy, biochemistry and branches of science that have the potential in medicinal properties of mushrooms under the microscopes. The University of Ljubljana is organizing and hosting the conference. With 56,000 students, the University of Ljubljana is not only the largest university in Slovenia, but also among the largest universities on the world. Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, a research scientist with the Agricultural Research Program, is serving on both the publications and the international scientific committees for the conference.

Posted 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

Sustainable savant to speak at SAES

Dr. Keith Moore, the associate program director for the USAID’s Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Collaborative Research Support Program is coming to A&T to present a seminar on Tuesday, June 13. Moore’s topic for the seminar, which will begin at noon in room 205 of Carver Hall, will be research conducted in the West African nation of Mali. The project involved local-level planning for natural resources management amid changing legal and social attitudes towards land use. Moore is also Program Director for Education, Training and Technology Transfer at Virginia Tech., and the editor of a book, Conflict, Social Capital and Managing Natural Resources: A West African Case Study, that capsules a multidisciplinary, research-based development project.

Moore is also working with Dr. Manuel Reyes of the SAES as part of a team that is developing new and sustainable approaches to agriculture in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Posted 03:56 PM | Comments (0)

Field day to showcase research

The annual Small Farm Field Day at the University Farm will be Thursday, July 6, from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration begins at 8 a.m. There will be two tours with three stops each, with one devoted to horticultural research, and the other to animal husbandry. Both tours will be conducted twice.

Animal sciences research in the spotlight this year includes the new dairy unit, new breeds of poultry for small-scale producers, and small ruminant parasite detection. The hort tour will feature tomato variety trials, conservation tillage, cover crops, and Asian vegetables.

All Small Farm Field Day actives are open to the public, and there is no admission fee.

Posted 03:52 PM | Comments (0)

Nile files

Cairo University in Giza, Egypt, has asked Dr. Salam A. Ibrahim of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences to serve as an external reviewer for graduate students' research work at the National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences. Ibrahim will be providing technical evaluations and offering suggestions for strengthening the research projects. His collaborative work with Cairo University will also entail reviews of student theses, and he will be offering input on how they stack up with American standards for research and scholarship.

Posted 03:50 PM | Comments (0)

Soybean power

A team of Bioenvironmental Engineering students was awarded $5,000 by the American Public Power Association for a project they submitted under the Demonstration of Energy-Efficient Developments (DEED) program. The student proposal was "Biodiesel: A Sustainable Fuel Solution for Small/Medium Agricultural Cooperatives." Biodiesel fuels, which are derived from canola, soybeans and other renewable resources, have potential for reducing fuel costs for diesel engines at the same time that they produce emissions that are more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based diesel fuel. The award-winning students are Laurent Ahiablame, Lisa Means, Janie McClurkin and Bryan Taliaferro. Along with the $5,000 prize for their proposal, the students were also invited to present the project results at the 2006 Engineering and Operations Technical Conference in Sacramento, Cal., in April.

"These students were working on their senior engineering design project," says Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi, director of the Bioenvironmental Engineering Program. "The proposal foresees a cooperative where farmers would grow oil seeds, like soybeans, and the co-op would extract the oil from the seed and process it to make biodiesel. Some of this fuel would then be returned to co-op members for use in their farming operations."

Posted 04:19 PM | Comments (0)

Teeming with teamwork

Dr. Salam Ibrahim, a food scientist with the Agricultural Research Program, has been selected to serve on one of the panels of scientists that USDA's Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service relies on to review funding proposals submitted under terms of the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRICGP). The NRICGP was set up in 1990 to direct research funding to high priority issues, and there are currently about 30 primary subject area teams evaluating proposals. Ibrahim is part of the NRICGP NRI 71.1 panel, which evaluates research proposals involving the physical properties of foods and food engineering.

Ibrahim is also part of a team that conducted research into potential for using an extract from chives to combat more than three-dozen strains of salmonella - has received a windfall of publicity from the Windy City. The Chicago Tribune found the research teamwork of Ibrahim, Dr. C. W. Seo of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, and other researchers interesting enough to pass along to its daily circulation of more than a million readers. The Tribune is currently listed as the sixth-largest newspaper in the United States. (Complete details on the chive research are in an April issue of "ag Edispatch").

Posted 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

PO advice and PI advisory

The Agricultural Research Program staff is taking advantage of the flextime option on Fridays through July 22. 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.

Last call for new Evans-Allen projects is May 30. The instructions for preparing an Evans Allen proposal for review are in the Administrative Manual, and the manual also has links to all necessary forms. The status of current Evans-Allen projects is sometimes required for project proposals, and principal investigators who are unsure of a current project's status can eliminate the guesswork by contacting Benjamin Forbes for a status report.

Posted 04:10 PM | Comments (0)

Probiotic pro

An SAES food scientist, Dr. Salam Ibrahim, has been selected to serve on the 12 member advisory board for the International Probiotics Association (IPA), which has offices in 16 countries. With representation from industry and government agencies as well as research institutions, the advisory board membership reflects the economic potential for research into beneficial bacteria as well as its scientific significance. The IPA advisory board will help establish quality standards for current and forthcoming pro biotic products, and it helps direct the organization's efforts in consumer protection. One overarching goal is continued improvement in the quality of the probiotic products from food, beverage and nutritional supplement producers.

Posted 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

Grape escape

There's an intriguing footnote to history as well as cutting-edge science in an article at a Web site that bills itself as "the pre-eminent consumer health site in South Africa". The article, "Peanut waste to rival grape seeds?" notes that antioxidant compounds found in "green tea, fruit, vegetables and red wine, have been linked to a wide range of health benefits, including reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers," and that a once important source of antioxidant compounds, peanut skins, fell by the wayside when "import practices changed for the benefit of oil producers so that peanuts from Africa were more likely to be shipped ready-shelled, [and] fewer peanut skins were available."

The news source was a study, published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis led by Dr. Jianmei Yu of the SAES.

The findings of Yu's research team has led another high-traffic Web portal to announce that "Peanut skin, a waste product from peanut butter manufacturers, is a rich source of extractable procyanidins and could create a cheaper source of these antioxidant compounds to rival the grape seed dominated polyphenols market."

Posted 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

First of June is coming soon

The deadline for proposals for new Evans-Allen projects is May 31. Instructions for preparing an Evans-Allen proposal for the Agricultural Research Program to review are in the Administrative Manual. The manual also has links to all required forms. The status of current Evans Allen projects is sometimes required for project proposals, and principal investigators who are unsure of a current project's status can eliminate the guesswork by contacting Benjamin Forbes for a status report.

Posted 04:21 PM | Comments (0)

High marks for high-tech research

More than 50 SAES researchers and students attended the Association of 1890 Research Directors (ARD) 14th Biennial Research Symposium April 1 - 5 in Atlanta. Scientific paper and poster competitions for students and scientists from 1890 Land-Grants drew a total of 178 entries. Dr. Yebo Li, an SAES research associate, presented a paper covering work on a new process for Biological Hydrogen Production from Food Industry Waste, which was awarded second place (along with a paper from Tennessee State) in the "Environmental Stewardship and Bio-Security" competition. The interdisciplinary team assisting with the research included Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi, Michele Mims, manager of the Bioprocessing Lab and Dr. Vestal Shirley, manager of the Analytical Lab. Second Place in the graduate student papers "Emerging Technologies" competition went to Sedou Niandou, for a paper covering research into new potential for using pecan shells in drinking water purification. Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna, Ipek Goktepe and Jianmei Yu assisted Niandou. Second Place in the graduate student papers “Emerging Technologies” competition went to Sekou Niandou, for a paper covering research into new potential for using pecan shells in drinking water purification. Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna, Ipek Goktepe and Jianmei Yu assisted Niandou.

In what was a first for the Agricultural Research Program, four SAES researchers gave non-technical presentations at the ARD Symposium. Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna outlined his research into new, value-added products for peanuts; Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen covered research designed to make mushroom production a viable alternative enterprise for small-scale farmers; Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi’s presentation was an overview of research into alternatives to petroleum; and Dr. Salam Ibrahim covered advances in food safety, biotechnology and bioengineering.

Posted 04:30 PM | Comments (0)

Chive research catches Goliath’s eye

A story in the April 23 issue of WebMD begins, “Salmonella, a common bacterial cause of food poisoning, may have met its match in chives, a common herb. Scientists in Greensboro [found that] chive extract showed ‘strong antibacterial activity’ against 38 strains of salmonella... They included Salam Ibrahim, PhD, of the food science and nutrition department at North Carolina A&T State University.”

One reviewer calls WebMD “the Goliath of general health Web sites” because it “reaches 18 to 20 million people every month.” Ibrahim and his research team’s chive research caught the attention of WebMD after findings were presented at the American Chemical Society's National Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta in late March. Ibrahim’s research joined news of a grape seed extract that may lower blood pressure, a licorice root compound that seems to influence prostate cancer, and an appetite suppressant that comes from pine nuts on a select list of ACS meeting highlights that was released to news media.

Dr. C. W. Seo of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences was also part of the research team that has been studying the antibacterial activity of chives. Seo and Ibrahim were also part of a team presenting a paper at the ACS meeting on research into inhibiting salmonella and E. coli, and another on promoting bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus reuteri. Ibrahim also worked with researchers from Southern Illinois University and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago on research, presented at the ACS meeting, into the effects of fish and linseed oil supplements on cows’ milk.

Posted 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

Must be done by June 1

The deadline for new Evans-Allen projects is May 30. Instructions for preparing an Evans-Allen proposal for the Agricultural Research Program to review are in the Administrative Manual. There are links from the manual to all required forms. The status of current Evans-Allen projects is sometimes required for project proposals, and principal investigators who are unsure of a current project’s status can eliminate the guesswork by contacting Benjamin Forbes for a status report.

Posted 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

Vegetable medley

The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) was established in Taiwan in the early 1970s, and has since risen to such prominence as a research institute that it's better known as the World Vegetable Center. Two of AVRDC's unit heads, Drs. Mubarik Ali and Manuel Palada, will be at A&T to give presentations in Room 205 of Carver Hall at noon on Monday, April 17. Ali is the head of AVRDC's Socio-Economics Unit, and his topic will be "The World Vegetable Center's Vision for the Role of Horticulture in Poverty Alleviation." Palada, who heads up the AVRDC Crop and Ecosystems Unit, will discuss "The World Vegetable Center's Research and Development on Good Agricultural Practices for Safe Vegetable Production." Palada was named the American Society for Horticultural Science's 2005 Outstanding International Horticulturist for career accomplishments, and Palada and Mubarik are both co-principal investigators for a $1.2 million research project that Dr. Manuel Reyes, an SAES biological engineer, is leading.

As one of the major international centers for vegetable research and variety engineering, AVRDC has released more than 300 new vegetable varieties, most of them adapted to growing conditions in developing nations. In Asia, more than 15 percent of all pepper varieties and a third of all tomato varieties trace their origins to AVRDC research.

Posted 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

Don't forget your posters

SAES researchers who submitted posters for display at the IRC Building for the two weeks prior to Researcher Appreciation Day should retrieve their posters from the IRC no later than Friday, April 21. Peggy Bolick (334-7995) of the Division of Research and Economic Development is the coordinator for the poster exhibition.

Posted 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

Well-versed mycologist

Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design has been named to the editorial board of Sydowia, an international journal of mycology. Sydowia (named for a genus in the fungi family, in case you're wondering) is a clearinghouse for developments and discoveries in fungal taxonomy as well as research findings in biotechnology and other areas. Although Sydowia is published by the Leopold Franzens University in Innsbruck, Austria, the official language of the scientific journal is English.

Posted 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

Sounds interesting

Dr. Hao Feng of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition will present a seminar covering "High Intensity Ultrasound and its Applications in Food and Bio-processing" at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, in Room A-14 of the C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Feng is investigating ultrasound's potential for neutralizing foodborne pathogens on fresh produce, and his lab arsenal includes a modulated sono-reactor that is in all likelihood the only one of its kind in the world.

Feng's research into the potential for reducing foodborne pathogens with ultrasound and electrolyzed water has been featured in "ScienceDaily" a leading online magazine and Web portal for technology, science and medicine. ScienceDaily has been one of the Popular Science magazine's top 50 Web site picks for the last three years.

Posted 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

Shutter diplomacy

The window of opportunity for proposals for new Evans-Allen projects closes May 30. Instructions for preparing an Evans-Allen proposal for the Agricultural Research Program to review are in the Administrative Manual. There are links from the manual to all required forms. The status of current Evans-Allen projects is sometimes required for project proposals, and principal investigators who are unsure of a current project's status can eliminate the guesswork by contacting Benjamin Forbes for a status report.

Posted 02:40 PM | Comments (0)

Take it for granted

A&T’s Division of Research and Economic Development is bringing Dr. David C. Morrison to campus (Coltrane Hall, to be exact) for his “How to Write Award Winning Grants” seminar on Monday, April 24. The seminar will emphasize concept development, as well as tips for pleasing and appeasing proposal reviewers. Grant writing strategies for private sector funding, in addition to state and federal agencies, are also part of the program. Although the registration deadline is April 7, seating is limited and first-come/first-served, so latecomers may be shut out. The registration form is at http://dor.ncat.edu/.

Posted 04:17 PM | Comments (0)

Minnesota obesity researcher to talk at Moore

Dr. Cathy Kotz, a researcher with the Obesity Center at the University of Minnesota, will be presenting a seminar at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Her topic for the FUTURES biotechnology and biodiversity seminar is "Brain Orexin: Key to Staying Thin?” Much of Kotz’ research involves investigations into changes in gene expression in the central nervous system as obesity develops, and how gene changes correlate to feeding and activity measures.

Posted 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

SAES becoming tractor factor

On March 21 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced a $504,0000 award to university-based agricultural safety and health research centers across the United States: funding to help launch a national public health campaign for preventing death and injuries from mishandling farm tractors. One of the regional centers that will get a share of this grant is the Southern Coastal Agromedicine Center (SCAC) in Greenville, which is a component of the N.C. Agromedicine Institute. The N.C. Agromedicine Institute is a formal coalition established by A&T, East Carolina University, and N. C. State University. Drs. Alton Thompson and Mohamed Ahmedna represent the SAES on the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute’s 14-member board of directors.

The N.C. Agromedicine Institute’s specific role in the NIOSH tractor safety initiative will include focus group feedback for designing community-based tractor safety programs, and then development of the marketing tools for grassroots public information campaigns.

Ahmedna, who serves as campus coordinator, has good grounds to predict that SAES Research and Extension will be extensively involved in these efforts. Dr. Jimo Ibrahim of The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T is currently working with both state and national tractor safety programs, and an SAES research team led a seven-state assessment of the health and safety of African American farmers. Ahmedna also notes that the SAES played a lead role in developing an 1890 Agromedicine Alliance, for which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed last June.

Posted 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

Herald-Sun shines on Dr. Omon

Two of Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen’s most successful mushroom students, John and Cindy Soehner of Carrboro, had their shiitake production profiled in the Durham Herald Sun. The paper reports that last year the Soehners “grew 500 to 600 pounds of mushrooms and sold them for about $10 a pound at the farmers' markets and $9 a pound to restaurants.”

Posted 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

Poster topics ranged from antimicrobial activity to Aggie Mountain.

Students working under the direction of Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna came away with the first-place awards in both the graduate and undergraduate Showcase of Excellence research poster presentation contest that Gamma Sigma Delta coordinated during Small Farms Week. Food science students swept the undergraduate competition, as second place went to a student advised by Dr. Ipek Goktepe, and third to a student working with Dr. C. W. Seo and Sarah Williamson. Second place in the graduate competition went to an Animal Sciences student’s study of the veterinary pharmaceutical moxidectin, which was guided by Dr. Millie Worku, and third place to a student of Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi’s, who prepared a poster on gasification of biomass.

Posted 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

Research reminders

• Many members of the Agricultural Research Program’s support staff (and several of the technical people who put the “T” in Agricultural Communications and Technology) will be in Atlanta April 1-5 for the Association of Agricultural Research Directors biennial symposium.

• The Division of Research and Economic Development is going to have poster displays of faculty and graduate student research projects in the Fort Interdisciplinary Research Center for two weeks beginning March 30. SAES research posters should be delivered to the IRC on Wednesday, March 29. See the Division of Research’s memo for IRC contacts and other details. (And faculty members and grad students new to large format poster printing should see the ACT guidelines before they begin.)

• The window of opportunity for proposals for new Evans-Allen projects is April 1 to May 30. Instructions for preparing an Evans-Allen proposal for the Agricultural Research Program to review are in the Administrative Manual. There are links from the manual to all the required forms. The status of current Evans-Allen projects is a component of proposed projects at several junctures, and Principle Investigators who are unsure of a current project’s status can eliminate the guesswork by contacting Benjamin Forbes for a status report.

Posted 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

Mind over matter

On Thursday, March 30, Dr. Cathy Kotz, a researcher with the Obesity Center at the University of Minnesota, will be presenting a seminar at 2 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Kotz has been conducting research into changes in gene expression in the central nervous system as obesity develops, and how gene changes correlate to feeding and activity measures. Her topic for the FUTURES biotechnology and biodiversity seminar at Moore is "Brain orexin: key to staying thin?"

Posted 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

Prepping posters

Researchers planning to take poster presentations to Atlanta for the Agricultural Research Directors (ARD) symposium in the first week of April should remember that the large format printer is going to be busy. More than 40 ARD posters are in process, so avoid the last minute logjam and the possibility of getting shut out altogether by passing along posters as soon as they're ready. Step by step guidelines for preparing posters for the large format printer are available online. If you haven't started work on the poster yet, keep in mind that optimal sizes for posters prepared in PowerPoint are 36X48 inches or 36X56 inches. When you've got your poster ready to pass along to Ag. Communications, make sure to include the file name when you send the poster-ready alert to radams@ncat.edu.

Posted 03:37 PM | Comments (0)

Research spawns workshops which spawn more research

The last two Mushroom Production 101 workshops in the series Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen has coordinated across the state are set for the Grateful Growers Farm in Lincoln County on March 18, and Dogwood Farms in Pender County on March 20. Dr. Omon and his assistants - volunteers and Extension personnel - have been covering the start-up basics for edible and medicinal mushroom production at the workshops, and a topic of concern that has arisen is log selection for shiitake mushroom: oak vs. sweet gum. Dr. Omon has put together a fact sheet in response.

Kevin Starr of Lincoln County Cooperative Extension is handling registration for the workshop in that county, and he can be reached at 704.736.8452 or kevin_starr@ncsu.edu. Al Hight of Pender County Cooperative Extension is the registration contact there, and he can be reached at 919.259.1235 or al_hight@ncsu.edu. Participants receive free mushroom spawn if they meet project requirements.

Posted 03:34 PM | Comments (1)

SAES researchers garner the honors

A&T State University’s Division of Research has announced its university-wide researcher recognitions for the 2005-06 academic year, and the SAES figures prominently. Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen has been named the Outstanding Young Investigator, and Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi shares the Senior Researcher of the Year Award with Dr. Kunigal Shivakumar of the College of Engineering.

The recognitions for Shahbazi and Isikhuemhen’s work make the Agricultural Research Program’s magazine RE:search seem timely and prophetic. Shahbazi’s photo, illustrating value-added research is on the cover story of the current issue of RE:search, and Isikhuemhen’s mushroom investigations were the cover story profile in the inaugural issue.

Researcher Appreciation Day will be Friday, April 7 and Shahbazi and Isikhuemhen will be honored at the Division of Research’s dinner banquet. There will also be research poster presentations at the IRC Building on Research Appreciation Day, and all SAES researchers are asked to submit posters that have been previously presented at professional meetings for display in the IRC building on April 7. For details, contact Angelia Williamson at 334-7612 or angeliaj@ncat.edu.

Posted 04:33 PM | Comments (0)

April is Evans-Allen month

Proposals for new Evans-Allen projects will be accepted from April 1 to May 30. Instructions for preparing an Evans-Allen proposal for the Agricultural Research Program to review are in the Administrative Manual. There are links from the manual to all the required forms. The status of current Evans-Allen projects is a component of proposed projects at several junctures, and Principle Investigators who are unsure of a current project’s status can eliminate the guesswork by contacting Benjamin Forbes for a status report.

Posted 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

ARP meeting to detail ARD

The Agricultural Research Program will have a meeting for principal investigators and project directors on Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Refreshments will be served and the agenda includes details and logistics for the Agricultural Research Directors (ARD) symposium in Atlanta April 1-5. For prep work and background information, check out the ARD symposium Web site at http://www.1890landgrantard.org/ard2006/intro.htm.

Posted 05:27 PM | Comments (0)

Cryptic presentation

Dr. Daniel D. Gallaher of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota is the first speaker in this semester’s FUTURES Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Seminar Series. On Thursday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., Gallaher will present a seminar on "Tales from the Crypts! Use of Dairy Foods to Deliver Chemopreventive Agents" in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Gallaher is associate dean for the College of Human Ecology at the University of Minnesota. He has served on the National Academy of Sciences’ Food and Nutrition Board, and one of his specialty areas is the relationship between dietary fats and colon cancer.

Posted 05:10 PM | Comments (0)

Application amped up a notch

An SAES research scientist was recently notified that her innovations are another step up the ladder in the patent application process. Dr. Ipek Goktepe’s patent application for a mushroom packing process and some special equipment used in it has passed through provisional status, and a full patent application is now on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Posted 05:05 PM | Comments (0)

Wake Forest radio tunes in to SAES research

One of the SAES research scientists, Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, was a guest on WFDD radio's "Voices and View Points" program that aired Jan. 17. Ahmedna discussed his research into peanut allergies and value-added peanut products and other accomplishments that led to him receiving USAID's George Washington Carver Award for Agricultural Excellence. You can hear Ahmedna's talk with the "Voices and Viewpoints" host Denise Franklin with a quick visit to http://www.wfdd.org/.

Posted 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

Mushroom crowds

Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen is blanketing the state with a series of workshops for farmers and landowners interested in edible and medicinal mushroom production. Four workshops remain in the series. Dr. Omon and Extension agents and farmers he has trained 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. 10, Surry County Extension Center in Dobson

March 8, Rose Mountain Farm in Ashe County

March 18, Grateful Growers Farm in Lincoln County

March 20, Dogwood Farms in Pender County

Click links for the complete workshop schedule and registration information and a fact sheet outlining participant requirements.

Posted 04:49 PM | Comments (2)

Last Friday in February for FUTURES funding

The deadline for proposals for FUTURES Venture Fund Grants is noon on Friday, Feb. 3. A signed copy of the proposal should be delivered to Phyllis Cole, Evening Programs Office, 1020 E. Wendover Building, Room 109, and a Microsoft Word copy of the proposal should be e-mailed to colep@ncat.edu. Half of the $250,000 in the FUTURES pot will go to interdisciplinary projects for increasing student retention rates. Faculty staff, students and alumni are all invited to submit proposals for projects of up to $15,000 in total cost. Projects submitted by students and alumni must have a member of the faculty or staff willing to serve as co-principal investigator on the project team. For proposal guidelines and other details, visit the FUTURES Web site at http://www.ncat.edu/futures/.

Posted 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

Grand opportunity for SAES student research

The North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NC LSAMP) was established by eight institutions in the UNC System, including A&T, to increase the number of minority students pursuing advanced degrees in scientific and technical fields. NC LSAMP has an annual three-day undergraduate research conference that gives students the opportunity for poster presentations covering research projects, a career fair, and other activities that will prepare them for scientific careers and grad school. The deadline for student research abstracts is Feb. 17. A&T is the host institution for this year's NC LSAMP undergraduate research conference, March 23-25. For complete details and online registration, visit the conference Web page at http://www.nclsamp.ncat.edu/conference/default.asp.

Posted 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

1890 researchers coming together in Atlanta in April

The 1890 Agricultural Research Directors (ARD) have their 14th Biennial Research Symposium scheduled for April 1-5 in Atlanta. More than 600 participants and 200 research paper and poster presentations are expected. The theme for the symposium is "1890 Research: An Indispensable Investment," and the four areas of special emphasis will be: (I) Food Safety, Nutrition and Health; (II) Environmental Stewardship and Bio-Security; (III) Small Farms and Rural Development; and (IV) Emerging Technologies. The ARD symposium now has a Web site with registration information, details on lodging and other logistics at http://www.1890landgrantard.org/ard2006/intro.htm. Before you leave the splash page for forms or updates, take note that the symposium's organizing committee includes Dr. Alton Thompson, who is currently chair-elect of the ARD.

Posted 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

SAES researcher lands $1.2 million grant

Dr. Manuel Reyes, associate professor of bioenvironmental engineering, will lead a team of scientists that has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development and Virginia Polytechnic and State University for an agroforestry and sustainable vegetable production research project in Southeast Asia. The team of scientists will come from U.S. and Southeast Asian universities, the World Agroforestry Center in Kenya, the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, and the candy and food company Mars, Inc.

Reyes' team will be investigating new ways for adapting drip irrigation, conservation tillage, integrated pest management and other sustainable production practices to the sociology and economics of under-developed nations in Southeast Asia. There will be research sites in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Two points of emphasis in the project will be agroforestry - planting income-producing trees Ñ and improving the well-being of women in small-scale agriculture. For further details on the grant, check out the press release at

Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro, a scientist from Mars Inc., who will be collaborating with Dr. Reyes, is coming to the Webb Hall auditorium to present a seminar on "The Story of Sustainable Cocoa: Reducing poverty, improving lives, protecting the environment one chocolate bar at a time" on March 20. His presentation will begin at 1 p.m.

Posted 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

New perch for SAES research

Dr. Carolyn S. Turner, associate dean for Agricultural Research Program, gave presentations on SAES research at two Jordanian universities in December. Turner was joined by Dr. Salam Ibrahim, an SAES food scientist and a Jordanian native, who covered some of his own research in presentations at Mu'tah University and the Jordan University of Science and Technology. Both universities have students interested in furthering their studies in the United States and researchers interested in collaborative projects utilizing labs and other SAES resources. A free trade agreement between the United States and Jordan has helped nurture the Jordanian pharmaceutical industry into the largest pharmaceutical exporter in the Middle East, and there is also keen interest in the Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture in production technologies that will move the country toward greater self-sufficiency for its food supply.

Posted 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

Research requirements

Two reports from all Agricultural Research Program principal investigators and project directors are due at the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station by 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20. Principal investigators and project directors should have Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) completed and turned into Benjamin Forbes. The forms are required for all research projects, including Capacity Building Grants and Evans-Allen projects. Questions can be directed to Forbes at forbesb@ncat.edu or 334.7612.

Posted 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

Mushroom production technology

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:
Jan. 26, Yancey County (Burnsville)
Jan. 30, North Carolina A&T University Farm
Feb. 2, Franklin County Extension Center (Louisburg)
Feb. 10, Surry County Extension Center (Dobson)
March 8, Ashe County (Rose Mountain Farm)
March 18, Lincoln County (Grateful Growers Farm)
March 20, Pender County (Dogwood Farms)

A flier with registration details and additional information is available here.

Posted 04:17 PM | Comments (0)

Mention retention for FUTURES funding

The guidelines for the 2006-07 Venture Fund Grants that will be funded by A&T's FUTURES initiative have a special incentive for projects that address student retention rates. Half of the $250,000 that has been set aside for the Venture Fund Grants in the next funding cycle will go to projects that increase student retention rates. For proposal guidelines and other details, visit the FUTURES Web site. Faculty staff, students and alumni are all invited to submit proposals for interdisciplinary projects of up to $15,000 in total cost. Projects submitted by students and alumni must have a member of the faculty or staff willing to serve as co-principal investigator on the project team. The proposal deadline for the 2006-07 Venture Fund Grants is noon on Friday, Feb. 3.

Posted 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

SAES research eyed by millions

With a paid circulation of around 2.5 million, Southern Living annually ranks in the top 25 among all U.S. magazines, and five pages of the January issue are heavily indebted to the SAES. Dr. Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen’s research into exotic varieties of edible and medicinal mushroom came to the attention of Southern Living, and the current issue has a feature story on his work and the potential for mushroom production in North Carolina. Isikhuemhen’s research is complemented by photos by James Parker of Ag. Communications & Technology. The January issue of Southern Living is now available in most grocery stores as well as bookstores.

Posted 04:18 PM | Comments (4)

Probiotic prospectus

Two SAES faculty members, Drs. Ipek Goktepe and Mohamed Ahmedna, represent two-thirds of the trio of editors behind a new book, Probiotics in Food Safety and Human Health, published by CRC Press. The third editor is Dr. Vijay K. Juneja, a microbiologist and administrator with the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The description of Probiotics in Food Safety and Human Health at the publisher’s Web site sums up the need for the compilation by noting that, “The discovery of new and previously unknown organisms that cause foodborne illness makes it essential for scientists, regulators, and those in the food industry to reconsider their traditional approaches to food preservation.” Look up the book at Amazon.com, and you’ll find that, “This timely volume presents an in-depth characterization of probiotic strains and explores their mechanism of action in humans. It also discusses the development of products that promote health by guarding against gastrointestinal diseases.”

Additional details and online ordering information are available at several Web sites.

Posted 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

First Friday in February finale for FUTURES funding

The proposal deadline for the 2006-07 Venture Fund Grants that will be funded by A&T’s FUTURES initiative is noon on Friday, Feb. 3. Faculty staff, students and alumni are all invited to submit proposals for interdisciplinary projects of up to $15,000 in total costs. Projects submitted by students and alumni must have a member of the faculty or staff willing to serve as co-principal investigator on the project team. Half of the $250,000 that has been set aside for FUTURES Venture Fund Grants in the next funding cycle will be directed to projects that increase student retention rates. For proposal guidelines and other details, visit the FUTURES Web site at http://www.ncat.edu/futures/.

Posted 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

Research report time

Principal investigators and project directors are required to complete the Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) for all projects, including Capacity Building Grants and Evans-Allen projects. The two reports are due at Agricultural Research Program headquarters at C. H. Moore by Friday, Jan. 20. If you have questions, contact Benjamin Forbes (forbesb@ncat.edu) at 334.7612. (And Forbes would like to remind everyone filling out Progress and Termination Reports and Manpower Reports to follow the guidelines and submit data.)

Posted 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

RAP up the holidays

The application deadline for the SAES's 2006 Research Apprentice Program for high school students is Feb. 15. For the first time in the program's 26-year history, there will be two RAPs: one session June 18 - 30 and another July 9 - 21. Although faculty research mentors will continue to be the backbone for the program, RAP is also going to be restructured this coming summer to reduce the time required of research mentors, and to give students a more extensive sampling of the course work and career preparation the SAES has to offer.

Something that will remain unchanged in 2006 is the high level of competition for slots in RAP. The application is available for download in MS Word and Adobe PDF, and high school students who apply would be well-advised to take their time and complete the application carefully. The holiday break might be a good time to give the application the attention it deserves.

Posted 04:55 PM | Comments (0)

Research report time

Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) should be turned into the Agricultural Research Program's support staff by Friday, Jan. 20. Principal investigators and project directors are required to complete the AD421 and AD419 forms for all projects, including Capacity Building Grants and Evans-Allen projects. If you have questions, please contact Benjamin Forbes (forbesb@ncat.edu) at 334.7612.

Posted 04:53 PM | Comments (0)

Latest from gene scene

Dr. Morgan Giddings professor of microbiology and immunology at UNC-Chapel Hill, will be giving a seminar on her recent research findings in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 3 p.m. Giddings' research is focused on bioinformatics and microbial proteomics. She is the project director for a $1 million grant for honing and distributing Genome Fingerprint Scanning (GFS) software, which allows matching of mass spectrometery data directly to genetic sequences to identify proteins and gene locations. Details are at http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2004/ncrr-30.htm. This work holds considerable potential for research into diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. For an online visit to Dr. Giddings' lab, go to http://genomics.unc.edu/giddings/giddings.htm.

Posted 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

Research discovers remedy for holiday ennui

The Agricultural Research Program's administrative staff has a reminder for all principal investigators and project directors who might have a little down-time over the holidays: Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) are due in the Office of Agricultural Research by Friday, Jan. 20, but please avoid the last minute crunch and get these forms in as soon as possible. The AD421 and AD419 forms are required on all projects, including Capacity Building Grants and Evans-Allen projects. If you have questions, please contact Benjamin Forbes (forbesb@ncat.edu) at 334.7612.

Posted 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

Research Center Director to pay SAES a visit

Dr. John Cherry, director of the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center, will be presenting a seminar on "Advancing Safe, Quality Product Technologies from Agricultural Commodities" at 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Cherry will also devote some time discussing possibilities for collaborative research, career opportunities, and faculty and student internship programs at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center. SAES students will find Cherry's talk especially worthwhile. The research center has a number of summer internship programs, including one established by Dr. Ipek Goktepe for A&T food science students this past summer.

Posted 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

Copies going fast

The new issue of the Agricultural Research Program's annual magazine RE:search is now being mailed. For an electronic copy, set your mouse here. Members of the ARP faculty who would like copies to mail to colleagues can add names and addresses to the mailing list by completing this form. For copies to distribute at conferences or other functions, contact Teresa McRae at tamcrae@ncat.edu.

Posted 03:46 PM | Comments (0)

RE:search has rolled off the presses

A new issue of the Agricultural Research Program’s annual magazine RE:search is ready to go, and copies will soon be hitting the mailboxes. For an electronic copy, set your mouse here. Members of the ARP faculty who would like copies to pass along to colleagues, or to take to conferences or other functions, can make arrangements for delivery via campus mail by contacting Teresa McRae at tamcrae@ncat.edu.

Posted 03:06 PM | Comments (0)

Microwave maven coming to Moore

Dr. Lihan Huang of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will be coming to the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station on Thursday, Nov. 3, to present an overview into his research into “Control of Microwave Heating for In-Package Pasteurization of Ready-to-Eat Meats to Eliminate Listeria Monocytogenes.” The presentation will begin at 2 p.m. Huang is with the ARS Food Safety Intervention Technologies Research Unit at the Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndamoor, Penn., and his research into food safety issues includes both thermal and nonthermal processing technologies, and computer simulation. A complete report on one of Huang’s research studies of the use of microwave technology to combat potentially fatal listeriosis is here .

Posted 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

Research conference to triangulate

“The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/ Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) R&D Funding Conference” will be held at the NC Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park Nov. 7 and 8. The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Center is coordinating the conference to bring researchers and representatives from the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies together for discussions of funding opportunities and grant application procedures. The conference will get started with an introductory session from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, and there will be programs with more in-depth information from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The conference has both an introductory track, which covers proposal development and other fundamentals, and an advanced track with a focus more on current funding opportunities. The registration fee is $125. Complete details are at the conference Web site.

Posted 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

Regional Research Center director coming to town

Dr. John Cherry, director of the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center, will be coming to A&T to present a seminar on "Advancing Safe, Quality Product Technologies from Agricultural Commodities" at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. At the seminar, Cherry will also discuss possibilities for collaborative research, career opportunities, and faculty and student internship programs. SAES students will find Cherry’s talk especially worthwhile. The research center has a number of summer internship programs, including one that Dr. Ipek Goktepe established for A&T food science students just this past summer.

Posted 02:17 PM | Comments (0)

Research revelations in Research Triangle

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Center is hosting a conference for researchers interested in funding opportunities and proposal protocol at an array of federal agencies — including the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health — Nov. 7 and 8. The conference will get started with an introductory session from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, and wind up with programs providing more in-depth information that begin at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and continue until 1 p.m. The two-day workshop has both an introductory track, which covers proposal development and other fundamentals, and an advanced track with a focus more on current funding opportunities.

“The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/ Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) R&D Funding Conference” will be held at the NC Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park. The fee for registrations received before Nov. 4 is $75; $125 after that cutoff date. Complete details are at the conference Web site, http://www.sbtdc.org/events/sbir/conference/index.asp.

Posted 04:52 PM | Comments (0)

Current Support forms online

Effective August 11, 2005, Contracts and Grants will be generating the Time and Effort Reports (After-the-Fact-Certification-of-Labor-Report) for all grants including Evans-Allen funded projects. Contracts and Grants will set up a data-base for reporting which will include all the grants awarded to each Principal Investigator. The information generated from the database will be used for the After-the-Fact-Certification-of-Labor-Report.

Time and Effort reports will be generated in the fall, spring and summer and sent to your department for verification and approval by the Principal Investigator and Department Chair, as well as the Dean. These forms should reflect what is on the payroll authorization.

In an effort to ensure the accuracy of the payroll authorizations the School of Agriculture, Agriculture Research and Development is asking that the Principal Investigators, Co-Principal Investigators, Research Associates and support personnel who have committed time to an Evans-Allen project and other federally funded sponsored projects complete the attached Current Support Form and submit it to Dr. Turner by October 14, 2005. An electronic copy of the form is attached.

Please submit form to Shirl Hines.

If you have any questions, please contact Shirl Hines or Vernon Shanks at 336-334-7612.

Posted 04:49 PM | Comments (0)

SAES students get fuel for FUTURES research

The recipients have been announced for FUTURES-funded student research fellowships for projects related to biotechnology. The FUTURES Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Project is going to provide $1,500 research fellowships for graduate students, and $1,000 fellowships for undergraduates. The student research projects will be conducted under the supervision of a faculty mentor.

All five graduate students receiving FUTURES research fellowships are SAES students: Olga Mutamba, whose research mentor will be Dr. C. W. Seo; Derrick Cobel’s mentor will be Dr. Milli Worku; Erika Robinson’s mentor Dr. Stacy Branch; and Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna will be the mentor for Lakeisha R. Williams and Nimsate Kane.

Of the eight undergraduates who will receive FUTURES biotech research fellowships, seven are SAES students. Dr. Antoine Alston will be the mentor for Stephen Emerson; Dr. Marihelen Glass for Monica Haddix; Dr, G. B. Reddy for Kurt Taylor; Dr. Willie Willis for Taiysha Wright; and Dr. Milli Worku will be the research mentor for Amber Jarman and Ishmail Abdus-Saboor.

Posted 04:49 PM | Comments (0)

Fall research roundup

The Agricultural Research Program's fall meeting for principal investigators and project directors will be Thursday, Sept. 29, from 3 to 5 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. The agenda includes expanded support services for researchers, Evans-Allen grants, and the Agricultural Research Directors (ARD) symposium in Atlanta in April, 2006.

Posted 06:00 PM | Comments (0)

Farm field day to showcase research projects

The annual University Farm Field Day will be Thursday, Oct. 20 ... right on the heels of the Fourth National USDA Small Farm Conference. Field day demos this year include pastured pork, cabbage-fed poultry, and organic strawberries and brussels sprouts. For additional details, click here.

Posted 05:16 PM | Comments (0)

Bioinformatics express lane

The N.C. Bioportal Project and the Bioinformatics Learning Facility in Webb Hall give researchers powerful tools for retrieving bioinformatics data and software, and to train students at institutions in the UNC System. There will be a training program for students and faculty from 1 - 3 p.m. in Room 207 of Webb Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The workshop will be led by Dr. David Fargo of the Center for Bioinformatics at UNC-Chapel Hill. The only prerequisites are an undergraduate level knowledge of biology, and familiarity with Microsoft Explorer or another Web browser.

To register, contact Fargo at dcfargo@email.unc.edu or at 919.843.3386. (Dr. Milli Worku of the SAES Dept. of Animal Sciences will be assisting with the Webb Hall workshop, and she would like copies of all SAES registrations sent to her at worku@ncat.edu.) Students and faculty registering for the Bioportal Workshop should also set up a user account beforehand. Accounts can be set up by visiting https://www.ncbioportal.org/account/request.php. For a complete overview of the N.C. Bioportal Project, start at https://www.ncbioportal.org/.

Posted 05:13 PM | Comments (0)

Nutrition mission

Dr. Ellen Harris, Assistant Director of the Agricultural Research Service's Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, will be presenting a seminar on "Nutrition, Physical Activity and Diabetes: Designing A Community Intervention Model" on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 2 p.m. in A-14 of C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Harris has an extensive research background in health issues affecting African Americans. She will also devote some time to discussing the potential for new research collaborations between the Beltsville Nutrition Research Center, and SAES researchers and students.

Posted 05:11 PM | Comments (0)

Biosecurity alert

Dr. Frank Busta, director of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), will be coming to the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station on Thursday, Oct. 6, to give SAES researchers and students an overview of research into food processing security currently supported by the NCFPD. Busta's talk will begin at 2 p.m., and his presentation will be in Room A-14. He is planning to set aside some time to discuss research involvement and other NCFPD partnership opportunities with SAES food science researchers.

The NCFPD was established at the University of Minnesota with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, and the staff there works to advance the safety of the food supply through support for research and educational opportunities that will give the nation a larger pool of expertise in food biosecurity. For background information on the NCFPD, visit http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/pix/archive/pixf04/home.html.

Posted 05:10 PM | Comments (0)

SAES researcher is first ever

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has selected an SAES food sciences researcher, Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, as the recipient of the inaugural George Washington Carver Agricultural Excellence Award. The award was established to honor an individual or team at a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), African university or research center for accomplishments in agriculture that have improved the quality of life for people in developing countries. Ahmedna was cited for his contributions to the Peanut Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP). With the growing realization in the scientific community that peanut production and peanut products have critical potential to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in developing nations, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, CRSP-supported research has a heightened significance. Ahmedna's research has included new uses for peanut byproducts, and enhancements for processing procedures that reduce the growth of fungi and other contaminants.

USAID will be bringing Ahmedna to Washington for a formal presentation of the Carver Award. Other researchers and administrators involved in CRSP will be invited to attend the award presentation.

Posted 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

New research faculty take note

Dr. “Radha” Radhakrishnan, the vice-chancellor for Research & Economic Development at A&T, is hosting a new faculty orientation on Thursday, Sept. 15, beginning at 11 a.m. in Room 410 of the IRC building. Dr. Rhada and his staff will be covering services, procedures, intellectual property policies and the basic guidelines for research work at A&T. All members of the Agricultural Research Program faculty who are new to campus this fall as well as those who arrived last spring should plan to attend.

Posted 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

Cool new tool for biotech

The N.C. Bioportal Project was established to develop a bioinformatics portal that can be used to give researchers a powerful tool for accessing bioinformatics data and software, and to train students at institutions in the UNC System. There will be a training program for students and faculty from 1 - 3 p.m. in Room 207 of Webb  Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The workshop will be led by Dr. David Fargo of the Center for Bioinformatics at UNC-Chapel Hill. The only prerequisites are an undergraduate level knowledge of biology, and familiarity with Microsoft Explorer or another Web browser.

To register, please contact Dr. Fargo at dcfargo@email.unc.edu or 919.843.3386. (Dr. Milli Worku of the SAES Dept. of Animal Sciences will be assisting with the Webb Hall workshop, and she would like copies of all SAES registration e-mail sent to her at worku@ncat.edu.) Students and faculty registering for the Bioportal Workshop should also set up a user account beforehand. Accounts can be set up by visiting https://www.ncbioportal.org/account/request.php. For a complete overview of the N.C. Bioportal Project, start at https://www.ncbioportal.org/.

Posted 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

Links of distinctions

Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna’s research into using high-tech biosensors to thwart bioterrorism and prevent food recalls caught the attention of the producers of USDA’s “Partner’s” video magazine. To roll the segment on a computer, click here and select the high-speed Windows Media version.

What became of seven tons of butternut squash that were grown in research plots at the University Farm was the subject of a story the Greensboro News & Record ran on Monday, Sept. 12. The mystery has a happy ending, as the squash grown by Dr. Charles Raczkowski to compare traditional and more sustainable production practices made its way to nonprofit agencies that distribute produce to low-income families and individuals. Click here for a look at the article.

Posted 11:12 AM | Comments (0)

Environmentally friendly chemistry

Dr. Jianzhong Lou of A&T’s College of Engineering will kick off this fall’s biotechnology and biodiversity seminar series on Thursday, Sept. 22, with a discussion of biodegradable polymers in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station that will begin at 2 p.m. Lou has worked with Drs. Salam Ibrahim and Abolghasem Shabazi of the SAES on research into the potential for using biodegradable polymers to produce lactic acid from cheese whey. He also has served as a consultant for Boeing, General Electric and other companies.

Posted 11:10 AM | Comments (0)

Biotech treks

This past summer Dr. Guochen Yang of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design was called on to give biotechnology seminars in some strikingly dissimilar settings. In June, Yang went home to China to present a seminar on biotechnology developments and impacts across North Carolina at Jilin Agricultural University in Jilin Province of the People’s Republic of China. (Jilin is located in the northeastern corner of the country, bordering both Russia and Korea.) Yang’s presentation came at the request of the president of the Jilin Agricultural University, and his trip to China also included a visit with scientists at the Chinese Academy for Agricultural Sciences in Beijing. 

In July, Yang, conducted plant tissue culture workshops at two North Carolina community colleges — Richmond Community College in Hamlet and Carteret Community College in Morehead City — as part of a biotech summer enrichment program coordinated by UNC-Pembroke.  The workshops at the community colleges included hands-on work with the laboratory and greenhouse procedures and equipment used to propagate plants using micropropagation.

Posted 10:59 AM | Comments (0)

Student research funding deadline looms

The application deadline for FUTURES-funded student research fellowships for projects related to biotechnology is Friday, Sept. 16. The FUTURES Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Project is going to provide $1,500 research fellowships for graduate students, and $800 - $1,000 fellowships for undergraduates (juniors and seniors). Student research projects must be conducted under the supervision of a faculty mentor with research responsibilities. To be eligible, undergraduates must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, and graduate students an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher. Students who are not currently conducting biotechnology research are strongly encouraged to apply, but only full-time A&T students are eligible. For applications or additional information, contact Dr. Guochen Yang at yangg@ncat.edu.

Posted 10:57 AM | Comments (0)

Squashing hunger

Seven tons of butternut squash from a research project conducted by Dr. Charles Raczkowski at the University Farm are headed to food banks, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other agencies that distribute fresh produce to individuals and families. The squash were part of Raczkowski's research comparisons of sustainable production practices and traditional methods. The ultimate goal is to assist small-scale producers switching from tobacco to other crops. Volunteers from the Triad Gleaning Network of the Society of St. Andrews took care of the harvesting, and helped out with packing and shipping. Like other chapters of the Gleaning Network across the United States and Canada, the Triad Gleaning Network usually concentrates its energies on lining up volunteers to collect produce that would otherwise go to waste at packing houses and large commercial farms where much is left behind following harvesting.

Posted 04:51 PM | Comments (2)

Student biotech research funding still available

The FUTURES' Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Project is now accepting applications for $1,500 research fellowships for graduate students, and $800 - $1,000 fellowships for undergraduates (juniors and seniors). Fellowships will be awarded to applicants interested in conducting independent research projects related to biotechnology. The student research projects must be conducted under the supervision of a faculty mentor with research responsibilities. To be eligible, undergraduates must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, and graduate students an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher. Students who are not currently conducting biotechnology research are strongly encouraged to apply, but only full-time A&T students are eligible. The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 16. For applications or additional information, contact Dr. Guochen Yang at yangg@ncat.edu.

Posted 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

Main mover in food security research coming this fall

Dr. Frank Busta, director of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD) will be coming to A&T on Thursday, Oct. 6. The NCFPD was established at the University of Minnesota with a $15 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security, and its functions include advancing the safety of the food supply through support for research and educational opportunities that will give the nation a larger pool of expertise in food biosecurity. Busta will be coming to the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station (opening remarks will begin at 2 p.m., in A-14) to give SAES researchers and students an overview of some of the research into food processing security currently supported by the NCFPD. He is also going to devote time to discussing research involvement and other NCFPD partnership opportunities with food science researchers. For background information on the NCFPD, visit http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/pix/archive/pixf04/home.html.

Busta's visit is part of this fall's biotechnology and biodiversity seminar series that Dr. Guochen Yang is coordinating. The seminar lineup also includes:

Sept. 22, 2005 - Dr. Jianzhong Lou, North Carolina A&T College of Engineering, "Bio-degradable Polymers"

Nov. 3, 2005 - Dr. Lihan Huang, USDA Agricultural Research Service, "Control of Microwave Heating for In-Package Pasteurization of Ready-to-Eat Meats to Eliminate Listeria Monocytogenes"

Posted 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

Analytical addition

Dr. Vestel Shirley's Analytical Services Laboratory is now equipped with a Nicolet Impact 400 Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The FTIR, donated by Lorillard Tobacco Company, makes it possible to identify vibrationally active subunits of a molecule from its absorption and transmission of infrared radiation. One potential upgrade for this instrument is an FTIR microscope, which would then allow researchers to focus a beam of infrared light on a sample of hair, plant leaf, or section of animal organ only a few square microns in surface area. This would in turn make possible the "tracking" of a chemical in different parts of the biological specimen. Dr. Shirley would welcome the opportunity to discuss the FTIR's potential roles in current research projects and proposals for research funding with SAES researchers. To get the ball rolling, contact him at shirleyv@ncat.edu.

Posted 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

Thought for food

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans in mid-July lived up to expectations as one of the 200 largest conventions in the United States. It attracted 18,243 participants and 1,055 exhibiting companies. The IFT conference is also a magnet for thousands of food scientists and technologists, who come to present and learn about cutting-edge research. SAES research was well-represented at the IFT meeting this past July, as Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna, Ipek Goktepe, Salam Ibrahim, Omoanghe Isikhuemhen, C. W. Seo, Willie Willis, Hong Yang, and Jianmei Yu were members of research teams that had work accepted for presentations. Nearly all of the 24 SAES projects were collaborative efforts, with most involving graduate research assistants and several involving scientists at other institutions. For a project abstract as well as the complete research team, follow the URL after the project name in the listing below:

• Nutritional composition of wild black sea bass and hatchery-reared black sea bass fingerlings - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_31377.htm.

• An optimized immunodetection of Campylobacter jejuni in chicken carcasses - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30902.htm.

• Functional properties of peanut protein concentrates from defatted peanut flour - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30533.htm.

• Inhibitory activity of tiger milk mushroom on cancer cells - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30568.htm.

• Acid resistance of Enterobacter sakazakii - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_28221.htm.

• Effects of processing on allerginicity of two common peanut allergens - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30507.htm.

• Use of a Lactobacillus reuteri supernatant to control survival and growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in beef - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29755.htm.

• Pecan shell-based activated carbons for drinking purification: Carbon production and properties - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30664.htm.

• Antimicrobial effect of lactic acid alone or in combination with caffeine and copper on growth of Escherichia coli O157: H7 in laboratory media - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_28113.htm.

• Microbiological quality of green leafy vegetables treated with oxine and warm water - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_31318.htm.

• Growth of probiotic cultures in laboratory media supplemented with milk protein hydrolysates - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29385.htm.

• Peanut skin procyanidins: Composition and antioxidant activity as affected by processing - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_32062.htm.

• Use of chemical preservatives to extend the shelf life of hummus - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29044.htm.

• Improvement of the resistance of bifidobacteria to cold storage by natural selection - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_28120.htm.

• Optimization of extrusion parameters and consumer acceptability of a peanut-based meat analog -http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30067.htm.

• Effects of salt, acid, and milk solids on the survival and growth of E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella typhimurium - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29081.htm.

• Determination of buffering capacity of amino acid in acidic conditions - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_31208.htm.

• Evaluation of bisphenol: A contamination in canned baby foods - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29322.htm.

• Evaluation of modified M17 broth for growth of bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus reuteri - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29381.htm.

• Using Origanox in combination with sodium lactate and sodium acetate to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_28356.htm.

• Effect of caffeine to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in laboratory medium - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_28114.htm.

• Sensory evaluation and acceptability of sugar-free doughnuts - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_29062.htm.

• Citric acid production by Aspergillus niger using date base medium fortified with whey, methanol and tricalcium phosphate - http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/paper_30255.htm.

Drs. Goktepe and Yu were also invited to serve as moderators for one of the IFT general sessions concerning research into "Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods," and Dr. Ahmedna joined a colleague from Louisiana State in moderating a session on the "Status and prospects of value-added nutraceuticals from underutilized food industry byproducts."

Posted 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

Range on the homes

Dr. Carolyn S. Turner, associate dean for Agricultural Research, was invited by Shirley Baum, director of Family & Consumer Sciences for the Nebraska Department of Education, to give a presentation on "Housing Issues: Integrating Housing into the FCS [Family and Consumer Sciences] Curriculum" at the 2005 Nebraska Career Education Conference in Kearney, NE, in June. Turner’s presentation collaborator was Dr. Shirley Niemeyer, a housing specialist, with Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service.

Posted 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

Pettiness aside

Now that departmental procurement cards are available for unforeseeable small expenditures (under $100) for research projects, the Agricultural Research Program (ARP) is no longer maintaining a petty cash fund. When there is unexpected need for small expenditure, principal investigators and research associates can apply for reimbursement for out-of-pocket purchases by starting with the Petty Cash Form at http://businessfinance.ncat.edu/FORMS%20LIST.htm. Once this form has been signed by the project principal investigator and the appropriate department head, the form and documenting receipt should be brought to Shirl Hines at C. H. Moore for a final OK before the form is ready to present at the University Cashier’s Office.

Posted 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

Capital opportunity

USDA agricultural experiment station directors are coordinating a two-day grant writing workshop in Washington, DC, Sept. 7 - 8. The focus the first day will be up-to-date information on USDA's competitive grants program, and the second day's sessions will cover the basics of organizing and writing proposals. The workshop is open to Extension as well as research faculty. There are a limited number of travel stipends available for faculty from 1890 Land-Grants and other minority institutions. For a look at the complete two-day workshop agenda, visit http://www.conted.vt.edu//usdagrant/agenda.html#. To go directly to the travel grant application, try the .pdf. The application deadline is Aug. 1.

Posted 05:06 PM | Comments (0)

Doc to explain what's up

Dr. Andreas Schieber of the Institute of Food Technology at Hohenheim University in Germany has been invited to present a seminar on the "Recovery, Characterization and Application of Valuable Compounds from By-Products of Fruit and Vegetable Processing" on Thursday, July 21. Dr. Schieber's seminar will begin at 2 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Schieber's recent studies include potential uses for apple, carrot, grape and mango by-products. There's an interesting article on the history of carrots that mentions Dr. Schieber's work to develop a new, natural food colorant from an ancient variety of carrot at http://www.separationsnow.com/basehtml/SepH/1. Before you leave that Web site, take a second to follow the World Carrot Museum link in the fourth paragraph.

Posted 05:05 PM | Comments (0)

Spore Group

Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen's research into the potential for nurturing edible and medicinal mushroom production in North Carolina has provoked interest in the international scientific community, and generated a tremendous amount of enthusiasm among mushroom producers in North Carolina. So much enthusiasm, to be exact, that The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T is now working with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences to establish a growers association for technical and marketing support. There will be an organizational meeting Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Guilford County Extension Center at 6:30 p.m. Mushroom producers who are on Extension Agribusiness and Marketing Specialist Theresa Nartea's mailing list have received a letter with complete details, but the charter meeting is open to all involved and committed mushroom growers. The registration deadline is Friday, Aug. 5. For complete details on the goals and details for the organizational meeting, contact Theresa Nartea at tjnartea@ncat.edu.

Posted 04:57 PM | Comments (1)

RAP wrap-up

The SAES's 27th annual Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) came to a conclusion on Friday, July 15. The 16 high school students who were selected for the program went home with a taste of college life, and a month of guidance from the SAES research faculty. The closing ceremony project presentations were:

Gregory Baskett of Louisburg High did "A Comparison of Nutrient Content of Whiting, Grouper and Cultured Salmon" under the direction of Dr. C. W. Seo, and Sarah Williamson, research associate Amber Brown of Charles Herbert Flowers High (in Springdale, MD) researched the "County-Level Impact of Hog Production in North Carolina" under the direction of Dr. Godfrey Ejimakor.

Stephen Fails of Andrews High School (in High Point) researched the "Separation of Liquid and Solid Waste Using PAM" under the direction of Dr. Arona Diouf, and Parvaneh Asefi-Nouri, research assistant.

Jessica Farrar of Southeast Guilford High researched "Mushroom Extract Manipulation in Broiler Chickens" under the direction of Dr. Willie Willis.

Larelle High of Northwest Halifax High (in Littleton, NC) did an "Evaluation of Contents and Activities of Antioxidants in Sweet Potato Peels" under the direction of Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna.

Benjamin D. Hopkins of Kinston High performed an "Evaluation of Free Cell and Immobilized Bifidobacterial longum in Cheese Whey Batch Fermentation" under the direction of Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi and Michele Mims, research assistant.

Jaron Jones of South Central High School in Greenville researched "Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from Terrestrial Ecosystems" under the direction of Drs. M.R. Reddy, and W.A.R.N. Fernando, research assistant.

Wayne Kimball Jr. of Northwest Halifax High (in Littleton, NC) worked on "Estimating Sediment and Nitrogen Losses from Lake Fork Watershed Under Different Management Practices" under the direction of Dr. Manuel Reyes.

Jannety Mosley of South Central High (in Winterville, NC) worked on a "Business Plan Development for Shiitake Mushrooms" under the guidance of Dr. Kenrett Jefferson-Moore.

Lauren Johnson of Marietta High (in Marietta, GA) researched "Amplification of a Bacterial Gene" under the direction of Dr. John Allen and Andrea Byers, research assistant.

Amanda Morgan of Eastern Guilford researched "C. Elegans Eating Genetically Modified Food" under the direction of Dr. Mulumebet Worku.

Amanda Spruill of Northwest Halifax High looked into the "Effects of Unlimited, and Time Restricted Feeding Intervals on Weight Gain in Spargue Dawley Rats," under the direction of Drs. Tracy Hanner, Stacy Branch and Javier Cisneros, and Steven Hurley, laboratory assistant.

Thelton Stringfield, Jr. of Union High (in Clinton, NC) researched "Obesity in the Southern Black Belt of the United States" under the direction of Dr. Benny Gray and Makieisha Foster, graduate assistant.

Starrlett Tillery of Louisburg High researched the "Effect of Feeding Probiotics on Production Performance of Young Broiler Chickens" under the direction of Dr. Willie Willis.

Zellen Williams of East Forsyth High did an "Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties of Rosa Canina Against Foodborne Pathogens" under the direction of Dr. Ipek Goktepe.

Samuel Young of Northwest Halifax High School investigated "Cover Cropping for Increased Infiltration" under the direction of Dr. Charles Raczkowski.

Posted 04:48 PM | Comments (0)

Summer chic

A new of shipment of white golf shirts with the "School of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences" imprint and the A&T logo has arrived, and the new supply also has SAES branding on the sleeves and collars. There is a limited time offer: Buy one of the new golf shirts and a denim shirt, and get 20 percent off the grand total.

Denim shirts are $32 for sizes S - XL; $34 for XX

L; and $34 for XXXL. Golf shirts are $30 (sizes S - XL; $32 for XXL; and $36 for XXXL. An order form is available at here.

Posted 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

Louisiana lightning

At the landmark conference where research scientists and Extension specialists from the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions met together for the first time, nearly a third of the 40 research projects and Cooperative Extension outreaches selected for premiers were from the SAES. The project and program presentations were divided into six categories, by discipline areas, and of the six first-place winners, four were the work of SAES faculty and staff. The PowerPoint presentations covering the four SAES programs and projects that won first-place in their discipline areas are “Discover Agriculture” (Dr. Keith Baldwin and Travella Free); “Parenting Matters” (Dr. Jean Baldwin) ; “Conversion of Cheese Whey into Value-Added Products” (Drs. Shahbazi and Li) ; and “Nitrogen Cycling in Constructed Wetlands as Related to Swine Wastewater” (Drs. Reddy and Phillips).

Although there was no formal award for putting the best feet forward at the state-by-state roll call that kicked off the conference, the SAES stole the show. A video clip of Aggie Pride at its best is here.

Posted 09:20 AM | Comments (0)

Fitting findings at Carver Hall

Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna's research into peanut allergies and value-added peanut products is going to be in local and international spotlights next week. WGHP, the Triad's Fox affiliate, was at Carver Hall last week for an interview with Dr. Ahmedna that is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. on July 19. But Dr. Ahmedna is going to have to set a VCR or DVD to record the program if he wants to see it, because the week of July 16-20 he will be in New Orleans: one of the moderators of a symposium at the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT) annual meeting.



Ahmedna's symposium will focus on the "Status and prospects of value-added nutraceuticals from underutilized food industry byproducts," and he will also be presenting some of his own research - in collaboration with Drs. Goktepe and Yu - into underutilized peanut skin by-products at the session. A complete overview of the symposium is at http://ift.confex.com/ift/2005/techprogram/session_4344.htm.



The IFT is the world's leading professional association of food scientists, and its annual meeting attracts about 20,000 participants from higher education, government agencies and private industry. The organization's Web site is an interesting source for breaking news in the food industry and nutritional issues. Point your browser to http://www.ift.org/cms/, and then point your eyes at the "Daily News" section on the left.



One of Dr. Ahmedna's students, Djaafar Rehrah, is one of the five national finalists for graduate student papers on product development. Rehrah will be presenting "Optimization of extrusion parameters and consumer acceptability of a peanut-based meat analog" at the IFT conference.

Posted 09:15 AM | Comments (0)

SAES takes battle of New Orleans

Click here for the A&T roll call

The SAES was the dominant force at the first-ever joint conference of Cooperative Extension and research program staffs from the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions in New Orleans this week. Of the 40 Extension and research projects selected for spotlighting at the conference, 14 were from the SAES. Southern came in second with seven presentations, and none of the other 18 institutions had more than five.

Carrying the mantle for the SAES:

• Dr. Ipek Goktepe presented research findings on the “Effect of Tiger Milk Mushroom Extract on Cancer Cells’ Growth and Proliferation.” Drs. Jimo Ibrahim and Omon Ishikhuemhen were project collaborators.
• Dr. G. B. Reddy presented research findings from an investigation of “Nitrogen Cycling in Constructed Wetlands as Related to Swine Wastewater” that he and Dr. Richard Phillips have conducted.
• Dr. Hong Yang presented research into the “Microbiological Quality of Turnip Greens Treated with Oxine and Warm Water,” a project that Dr. C. W. Seo is involved with also.
• Dr. Keith Baldwin and Travella Free presented Cooperative Extension’s “Discover Agriculture” program that uses the A&T University farm to introduce grade school children to agriculture. Materials prepared by Drs. Ellen Smoak and Robert Williamson of Extension play an important role in “Discover Agriculture.”
• Dr. Valerie J. McMillan of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences presented “An Integrated Approach to Evaluating Youth Intervention Strategies,” a project that involves both Extension and Research. The SAES team is applying scholarly methodologies to “real world” testing of the Strong African-America Families (SAAF) program that was developed at the University of Georgia. Dr. Jean Baldwin, Cooperative Extension’s family life and human development specialist, and Dr. Gladys Shelton, HEFS chair, are also part of this effort.
• Dr. Claudette Smith presented her Extension program “Expanding Financial Literacy Resources and Program Reach Through Collaboration.”
• Dr. Jimo Ibrahim presented research that set the groundwork for an “Assessment of Minority Farmers’ Health and Safety in Selected Counties of North Carolina.” Dr. Raphael Okafor was Ibrahim’s partner in this research.
• Dr. Jean Baldwin presented a curriculum she has developed entitled “Parenting Matters: Parent Education for Court-Mandated and Department of Social Services (DDS) Referred Parents.”
• Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi presented his research into the potential for “Conversion of Cheese Whey into Value-Added Products” that he has been conducting along with Dr. Yebo Li.
• Extension Associate Mary Mafuyai-Enkanem was part of a team from three 1890 Land-Grants that investigated the “Social Acceptability of Agricultural Biotechnology: The Case of Genetically Modified Crops.”
• Dr. Salam Ibrahim presented an “Evaluation of the Microbiological Quality of Bifidobacteria Probiotic Dietary Supplements Available in North Carolina,” which was performed in collaboration with Drs. C. W. Seo and Ghasem Shahbazi.
• Research into the “Inhibition of Escherichia Coli 0157:47 in Meat Products Using Lactobacillus reuteri Supplement” was presented by Dr. Salam Ibrahim. Drs. C. W. Seo and Vestel Shirley are project collaborators.
• Dr. Keith Baldwin and Theresa Nartea of Cooperative Extension presented their program for “Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Production and Marketing Tools for Extension-based Education to Limited-Resource Small Farmers.”
• Dr. Daniel Lyons of Cooperative Extension worked with colleagues from Kentucky State University and Prairie View A&M on the ”Risk-Assessed Business Planning for Small Producers” project.
Much of the SAES research work presented at the conference was conducted with the assistance of graduate students, and some of the projects involved collaborating scientists from agribusiness partners.
Research and Extension programs were divided into six subject matter areas: Nutrition and Health, Small Farms, Community and Economic Development, Quality of Life for Families, Environment and Natural Resources, and New and Emerging Issues. At the conference awards banquet two programs from each area received special recognitions. “Discover Agriculture” (Dr. Keith Baldwin and Travella Free) took first place in the Youth Development group; “Parenting Matters” (Dr. Jean Baldwin) topped Quality of Life for Families; “Conversion of Cheese Whey into Value-Added Products” (Drs. Shahbazi and Li) came in first in the Environment and Natural Resources group; and “Nitrogen Cycling in Constructed Wetlands as Related to Swine Wastewater” (Drs. Reddy and Phillips) was singled out in the Small Farms group.

Posted 04:01 PM | Comments (0)

Time to propose

June 30 is the application deadline for proposals for Evans-Allen research proposals for the 2006 fiscal year. Researchers with new proposals should take note of the Agricultural Research Program’s (ARP) review and approval procedure, which requires approval by the appropriate department chair before the proposal is submitted to the ARP administrative staff for processing.

Posted 03:59 PM | Comments (0)

Peanut buttress

The news on a Louisville television station’s Web site is that, “Researchers in North Carolina say they’ve developed a special fermentation process that cuts the level of allergic proteins in peanuts by 70 percent.” A news service specializing in health and science which has more than two million visitors a month (http://www.news-medical.net/?id=10759) says that, “According to Dr. Jianmei Yu, and her colleagues at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, if the new processing method is successful it could allow for allergy-free peanut butter, cookies and other peanut products.” And London-based Reuters (which along with the Associated Press is one of the world’s two most influential news services) reported that, “A special fermentation process may significantly reduce the potential for allergic reaction to peanut products ... Dr. Jianmei Yu ... and her colleagues at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro reported... in Atlanta at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.” (The complete article is at this link). Dr. Ipek Goktepe and Corrie Stowe, a graduate student, have been collaborating on the project, which is led by Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, who was cited in a Greensboro News & Record story on children and food allergies (http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/peanut_062105.htm).

Research into peanut allergies is a hot topic because of the sometimes life-threatening reactions many children with allergies have when they ingest, or so much as come in contact with peanut products. There has also been a significant rise in the percentage of children with food allergies in recent decades.

Some school districts (including a few in North Carolina) have removed peanut products from school cafeteria menus, while others have gone so far as to set aside peanut-free tables in school cafeterias — where peanut products are banned even from lunches students bring from home. A Florida teenager’s severe allergies recently led to special permission for the teen to attend school with a helper dog trained to sniff out peanut products. The governor of Florida recently signed a bill allowing children with severe allergies to have anti-reaction EpiPens (a needle for a quick injection of epinephrine to reverse swelling) on school grounds, and the poster girl for the legislation was a 9-year-old with peanut allergies.

Although research into reasons behind the increased number of children with food allergies is just beginning, one theory is that the rise is a result of the reduction in infant illnesses because of better vaccinations, leading to immune system overreaction to the proteins in peanuts and other common stimulants. As for research such as Dr. Yu’s that holds potential for suppressing the allergic reaction potential in everyday foods, there’s no need to theorize. It’s of vital importance.

Posted 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

Preaching for the chorus

The grand opening for the joint conference of 1890 Extension and research staffs June 19-23 is a state-by-state roll call, and there will be hot competition among the state delegations to make a strong first impression. There was a brief rehearsal last week of a special adaptation of the song "YMCA." It quickly became evident at the rehearsal that we've got a surprising amount of vocal talent in the SAES. A firm warning is hereby issued to faculty and staff headed to New Orleans who missed the first rehearsal: If you don't make it to the next rehearsal at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 19, in Room A-8 of C. H. Moore, you're going to regret it come show time - Sunday, June 19, at 6 p.m.

Get yourself a copy of the SAES lyrics here. If you're not familiar with them, take a look. If you are familiar, commit them to memory and add the tune to your shower repertoire.

All members of the SAES delegation to the 1890 conference also need to have a gold A&T polo shirt and a pair of dark jeans in their suitcase. Shirts have already been ordered. If you did not order a shirt, you need to get a golf, polo shirt with the interlocking A&T logo from the bookstore. For those people who ordered shirts, you can pick them up at the bookstore next Thursday.

Posted 07:03 PM | Comments (0)

Good RAP

The SAES's 25th annual Research Apprenticeship Program will be bringing 17 high-achieving high school students to the A&T campus for a four-week stay beginning June 19. The program will conclude on Friday, July 15, and when it's over the high school students will have a deep immersion into the scientific programs offered by the SAES, as well as a taste of college life and one-on-one guidance from an SAES research scientist, as they work together on a research project. More than 80 percent of the high school students selected for this highly competitive program eventually enroll at A&T.

Posted 07:01 PM | Comments (0)

Dates pass acid test

Dr. Salam Ibrahim is part of a trio of scientists who presented research results at the American Chemical Society's National Meeting in March that now appear in the current issue of the journal Food Biotechnology. Along with colleagues at the University of Manitoba and the University of Jordan, Ibrahim has been investigating a new production method for the fungal organism that is a key to commercial production of citric acid. Ibrahim and his colleagues have been working to grow the fungi in media composed of whey (a by-product from production of cheese and other dairy products) that is fortified with sugars from date extract or molasses. Results so far have been very promising. Citric acid is an important product not only because of its uses as a food flavoring and preservative, but also because of the role it plays in the manufacture of soaps, detergents and pharmaceuticals. Ferric ammonium citrate, a citric acid salt, is used in making blueprint paper.

Food Biotechnology is an international journal devoted to genetic and biotechnology research directed at food production and improvement processes. The editorial board also looks for research into molecular and biochemical facets of food safety.

Posted 05:48 PM | Comments (0)

Summer PO flow

The staffs at the Agricultural Research Program and the University Purchasing Office are going to be taking advantage of the flex time option through July 24. Requests for purchase orders received after 10 a.m. on Fridays will not be processed until the following Monday. Purchase order requests received before 10 a.m. on Fridays usually will be processed that same day.

Posted 05:46 PM | Comments (0)

Farmers in the delve

The SAES has received a $12,000 grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Southern Coastal Agromedicine Center, based at East Carolina University. Dr. M. J. Ibrahim, Farm Machinery & Safety/Small Farms Specialist for the Cooperative Extension Program at A&T, will serve as principal investigator for a research survey of the occupational safety status of minority farmers in Bertie, Halifax, Northampton and Robeson counties. The project also will include a health assessment study of these farmers, and the correlations between occupational safety and health.

"Most of these farmers have been farming for a long time, as much as 30 years," says Ibrahim. "They have gone about their work without personal protective equipment and other health and safety practices that have become common on larger farms. There's a pressing need for baseline data, so health and safety specialists can design and channel energies and intervention programs to do the most good."

Joining Ibrahim on the research team will be Ralphael Okafor of the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education, and Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, an HEFS food chemistry and biochemistry scientist. The Cooperative Extension Centers in the four counties will also be part of the research team, playing an important role in assisting campus-based researchers in contacting minority farmers.



The Southern Coastal Agromedicine Center operates out of the N.C. Agromedicine Institute at East Carolina University, which is a collaborative institute coordinated by A&T and N.C. State in addition to ECU. The Center serves six Southeastern coastal states in addition to North Carolina, and also Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It was established to address health and safety issues emanating from agriculture and other natural resource-based industries in the region it serves.

Posted 02:16 PM | Comments (0)

Ukrainian readership mushrooms

Dr. Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design received a letter of inquiry in May which indicates that SAES research truly has a world-wide audience. Dr. Michail Zubets, president of Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences, wrote Isikhuemhen to ask about possible training for one of the Ukrainian Academy’s doctoral students in labs at A&T. Zubet’s letter notes that he is seeking Isikhuemhen’s assistance because of “the level of research conducted in your laboratory.” He goes on to say that Isikhuemhen’s work came to his attention, “through the Research Magazine ... that detailed information on the edible and medicinal mushroom project that you lead.”

Posted 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

Biotech Center to offer workshops on Defense Department funding

On Monday, June 6, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center will have a Phase I workshop for university researchers interested in the basic parameters for the Department of Defense's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants. The following Tuesday (June 6), there will be a more advanced, Phase II workshop for researchers with funding ideas for the Defense Department programs.

Both workshops will take place at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (15 T.W. Alexander Drive in Research Triangle Park). The fee is $50 for the workshops individually; $75 for both. Online registration is at http://www.sbtdc.org/events/reg/genreg1.asp.

Posted 09:46 AM | Comments (0)

The Defense Department puts $2 billion a year into these programs

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is offering two workshops for university researchers interested in guidance for the Department of Defense's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding for research and development.
There will be a Phase I workshop covering the basics from noon until 5 p.m. on Monday, June 6, and then a Phase II workshop from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7. Both workshops will take place at the at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (15 T.W. Alexander Drive in Research Triangle Park). The registration fee is $50 for the workshops individually; $75 for both.
The Greenwood Consulting Group, which specializes in business incubators and the SBIR and STTR programs, will be leading these workshops. Online registration is at http://www.sbtdc.org/events/reg/genreg1.asp.

Posted 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

Gutter talk

For the second time this spring, bowlers from the Ag. Research Program went down like paper mache kingpins in a showdown with keglers from Ag. Communications and Technology.
A source close to the competition, speaking on condition of anonymity in the wake of the May 6 rout of the research staff at Brunswick Lanes in Greensboro, said that, "The Evans-Allen Act has been the funding foundation for landmark research projects at A&T and other 1890 institutions over the years. It's long been a program of unassailable value and administrative integrity. We've now got yet another item for the Evans-Allen laud list. It's obvious that not a cent of Evans-Allen money has ever been misappropriated for bowling lessons - not in Greensboro anyway."

Posted 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

University Senate seals the deal

On Tuesday, April 26, the University Senate approved a modification in the A&T Faculty Handbook, proposed by Dean Thompson, that opens the door for tenure-track positions on the Agricultural Research Program faculty consistent with the conditions for tenure track positions the handbook spells out for The Cooperative Extension Program faculty. Dean Thompson and the SAES associate deans will soon be working out final details for allocating tenure track positions.

Posted 02:20 PM | Comments (0)

Award winners

The following SAES faculty and staff were honored along with students at the April 15 awards banquet:



Dr. Jane Walker of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences received the Gamma Sigma Delta Award of Excellence in Teaching.



Dr. Tracy Hanner of the Department of Animal Sciences was named Academic Advisor of the Year.



Each year, one faculty member from each of the seven schools and colleges within the university is selected for the Teacher of the Year Award, and Dr. Ghasem Shahbazi of the Bioenvironmental Engineering Program was the SAES recipient for the 2004-05 academic year.



Dr. Ipek Goktepe of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences was the recipient of this year's Outstanding Young Investigator Award, presented by the Division of Research and Economic Development.



The Golden LEAF team won the collaboration award. Team members are: Drs. Keith Baldwin, Godfrey Ejimakor, Marihelen Glass, Jimo Ibrahim, Carl Niedziela, John O'Sullivan, M.R. Reddy, Chang Seo, Vestal Shirley, Chuck Talbott, Willie Willis, Millie Worku, Guochen Yang, and Anthony Yeboah; and SAES staff members Anthony Hooks, Mary Mafuyai-Ekanem, Marsha McGraw and Grace Summers.



Complete details on the awards and the award winners will appear in the June issue of On The Move.

Posted 02:14 PM | Comments (0)

Toxicologist to talk tobacco

Dr. Wanda R. Fields, a molecular toxicologist with the Environmental & Toxicology Division of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, will be at C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station for a FUTURES biotechnology and biodiversity seminar - open to all SAES faculty, staff and students - Thursday, April 28, at 2 pm. Fields' topic is "Gene Expression in Bronchial Epithelial Cells Following In Vitro Exposure to Cigarette Smoke Condensate."

Construction work on the C. H. Moore parking lot off Lindsay Street is now complete, and the lot has several spaces for faculty, staff and student parking for seminars, workshops and meetings.

Posted 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

Fine swine

The lead story on national radio personality Tom Joyner's Web site begins: "Golfers work for that perfect swing. Jewelers scour the Earth for a perfect diamond. At North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, researchers are looking for the perfect pig."
SAES swine research also figured prominently in a Raleigh News & Observer story about Ossabaws - a rare breed, almost extinct, that has considerable potential for tastier pork. Access to News and Observer stories is free, but registration is required.

Posted 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

Researchers take over second floor of IRC

At the open house and reception the Division of Research and Economic Development hosted Wednesday April 20, the work of the Agricultural Research Program was front and center. Thirteen principal investigators prepared posters summarizing their projects.

Posted 01:56 PM | Comments (0)

On The Move, Small Farms Week edition

Be sure to click here for the latest edition of our On The Move newsletter, with coverage of the Small Farms Week 2005, The opening of the Reid Greenhouse and the winners of 2005 Small Farmers of the Year Dudley award.

Posted 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

Abstract art

Guidelines are now on the Web for 250-word abstracts for proposals for concurrent sessions for the joint 1890 research and Extension conference in New Orleans, June 19-22. The deadline for abstracts is Wednesday, April 13. Research and Extension faculty whose abstracts are selected will be asked to develop papers to present at the conference. The selection committee is looking for success stories that fall into one of seven categories:

• Nutrition and Health • Small Farms • 4-H/Youth Development

• Community and Economic Development • Quality of Life for Families • Environmental and Natural Resources • Emerging Issues



The program or project presented in the abstract also must be multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional or represent a collaboration between research and Extension. For complete guidelines, click here.

Posted 02:11 PM | Comments (0)

SARE the wealth

The Southern Region of USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has a Web site up and running for pre-proposals for research and education grants emphasizing sustainable agriculture. There is a June 1 deadline for pre-proposals for planning grants, which provide funds for researchers to gather information to design full proposals. June 1 is also the deadline for pre-proposals for graduate student research projects, and professional development programs with a focus on sustainable agriculture. Non-governmental farm support agencies as well as Cooperative Extension personnel are eligible for the professional development grants. Southern Region SARE also has a new program for farm mentor grants for Extension and non-government agencies that has a July 1 deadline for pre-proposals.

Southern Region SARE is looking for pre-proposals that address one of seven issue areas:

• Limited Resource Farmers

• Organic Farming Systems

• Environmentally Sound Practices/Agricultural Ecosystems

• Marketing/Economic Development

• Policy, Program Evaluation, and Quality of Life

• Component Research

• Women in Sustainable Agriculture.



For pre-proposal guidelines and other details, visit: http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/sare/callpage.htm.

Posted 01:49 PM | Comments (0)

Tweak now or forever hold your peace

At the SAES faculty and staff meeting on March 29, Dean Thompson presented the SAES strategic plan, “Planning Our Prepared Future,” that he and a cross-disciplinary SAES team have been working on for many months. After a review of the most recent slate of suggested revisions and additions that came out of school-wide review and the March 29 faculty and staff meeting, “Planning Our Prepared Future,” is headed down the homestretch. Friday, April 15 is the final deadline for suggestions and input for the SAES strategic plan. The document is available here, and suggestions should be sent to radams@ncat.edu.

Posted 04:15 PM | Comments (0)

Strut the SAES stuff

The SAES Alumni Society has what’s missing from your spring wardrobe. Long-sleeve light blue denim shirts with “School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences” and A&T’s Aggie logo are now available for $30 (sizes S - X Large); $32 (XX Large); and $34 (XXX Large). White cotton golf shirts with the Aggie logo on them are $30 (sizes S - X Large); $32 (XX Large): and $34 (XXX Large). An order form is available here.

Posted 04:04 PM | Comments (0)

Calling all researchers

There will be a meeting of the Agricultural Research Program’s principal investigators and project directors on Tuesday, April 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. in A-14, C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. (Construction work on the Lindsay Street parking lot is behind schedule, and the lot may not be available by April 5. The parking lot off Beech Street, south of the building, will be open.)

A hot topic on the meeting agenda is the new grants.gov initiative that will centralize the application process for more than 900 federal grants programs and $360 billion at a single Web site. USDA is one of the 11 cooperating agencies in the initiative. Check out http://www.grants.gov/Communications for a preview.

Posted 03:51 PM | Comments (0)

Farm scribes spell it out for administrators

The North Carolina Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association (NCFW&BA) was founded more than 50 years ago to provide training and information for communications professionals at newspapers, and radio and television stations who cover agriculture in North Carolina. Its membership also includes personnel with the communications departments at the SAES and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at N.C. State, and communications liaisons with commodity groups. At the NCFW&BA’s annual Winter Institute in Raleigh on March 18, Dean Alton Thompson of the SAES, N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger (formerly dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N. C. State), and the current dean of CALS, Dr. Johnny Wynne, received honorary lifetime memberships in recognition of their contributions to the flow of news and information from land-grant campuses to the media.



One of the NCFW&BA’s major community service projects each year is the North Carolina 4-H Congress Photography Contest, and this year’s contest has a new category "Changing Face Of Agriculture" that might be well-suited to 4-H’ers with alternative ag. connections. The entry deadline is June 13. Visit http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/4-HPhoto/ for complete details.

Posted 03:03 PM | Comments (0)

Toxiogenomics talk

The next installment in the FUTURES Biotechnology and Biodiversity Seminar Series will bring Dr. Michael Humble, a health sciences analyst with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, to the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station on Thursday, April 14. Dr. Humble will be discussing recent developments in toxiogenomics and environmental health. Dr. Humble’s seminar, in Room A-14 of C. H. Moore, will get started at 2 p.m.

Posted 03:01 PM | Comments (0)

Crescent City conference advisory

The first-ever joint meeting of the Association of Extension Administrators (AEA) and Association of Research Directors (ARD) will be in New Orleans June 19-22. A block of rooms has been reserved at the conference host hotel, the New Orleans Marriott, and the cut-off date for the conference rate is May 19. Although conference organizers have all the logistics in order for accommodating the largest-ever gathering of 1890 land-grant personnel, SAES faculty and staff planning to attend the “"Partnering to Secure the Future" conference are advised to make reservations as soon as possible. For additional details, click here.

Posted 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

Big news for small farms

Last September, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that one of three new national technology support centers would be located in Greensboro — a landmark agreement that will eventually bring approximately 150 specialists, a remote sensing lab and other cutting-edge facilities to the SAES’s front door. An announcement on March 15 sets the groundwork for still more collaboration between the SAES and the USDA agency that provides leadership for efforts to conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has given the NRCS the go-ahead to provide up to $6 million for a new initiative to help small-scale and limited-resource farmers implement conservation practices on their land. The funds will be directed to farmers with less than 100 acres of cropland, and the over-arching goal will be to help them with erosion control, water and grazing land management, and other conservation practices. There’s an eligibility requirement of special interest to SAES Extension specialists and researchers: at least 10 percent of the cropland acreage must be planted in alternative crops.



Complete details of the initiative are on the Web at http://www.usda.gov/oce/smallfarm and http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/altlist.htm.

Posted 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

Prep work

The meeting for principal investigators and project directors that the Agricultural Research Program originally had scheduled for March 16 has been rescheduled for April 5 from 3 to 5 p.m. in A-14, C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.



A major topic for this meeting will be the new grants.gov, an initiative that will centralize the application process for more than 900 federal grants programs and $360 billion at a single Web site. USDA is one of the 11 original partner agencies in the initiative. A .pdf guide to the initiative and the Web site is available.



There’s also a wealth of background information on the grants.gov initiative at http://www.grants.gov/Communications.

Posted 04:48 PM | Comments (0)

Venture funding for adventurous ideas

The deadline for the next round of proposals for FUTURES Ventures Funds grants is noon on Friday, March 4. A&T faculty and staff are eligible to apply for grants of up to $15,000 for projects, activities and experiences that fit the FUTURES vision of an interdisciplinary university. The selection committee also will be looking for proposals that have clear goals, measurable objectives, and strategies for lasting impacts. SAES grant proposals that have received FUTURES funding in recent years include Dr. Guochen Yang's biotechnology and biodiversity seminar series, and Dr. Godfrey Ejamakor's project for new studies of food and agricultural policy.



Complete guidelines for FUTURES proposals are at http://www.ncat.edu/futures/venturegrant05-06/contents.html.

Posted 07:56 AM | Comments (0)

Researchers to assemble

There will be a meeting of the Agricultural Research Program's principal investigators and project directors on Wednesday, March 16, from 3 to 5 p.m. in room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Posted 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

Wright stuff

Pork producers Harold and Ann Wright of Bladenboro gained some publicity in Tuesday’s edition of The Bladenboro Journal because, “The Wrights are growing pasture-raised pork, a concept for producing ‘upscale’ pork they were introduced to about two years ago by the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.”


For a look at the complete article, go to here. (The source “at the university” that Journal staff writer Jack McDuffie alludes to is Ag. Communications & Technology editor Laurie Gengenbach.)

Posted 03:26 PM | Comments (0)

Figure it out

The administrative staff for the Agricultural Research Program wants to remind all principal investigators of three important sets of figures:

* Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) can have no more than 3,200 characters.
* Impact reports which accompany progress reports can have no more than 1,600 characters.
* All Progress and Termination Reports and Impact reports are due at the C. H. Moore Research Station by 5 p.m., Friday, March 4. Forms can also be sent as e-mail attachments to forbesb@ncat.edu.

If you need another copy of the report template, click here.

Posted 09:01 AM | Comments (0)

AP preview points to SAES overview

The Associated Press preview of North Carolina General Assembly activities for the first week of February which appeared in many state newspapers noted that, "The Senate Agriculture Committee will hear from officials from N.C. State University and N.C. A&T State University." The A&T official who made the presentation was Dean Alton Thompson, and a handout he presented legislators is available for SAES faculty and staff to read and pass along. Dean Thompson’s explanation of the pressing need for “State Matching Funds for Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension at North Carolina A&T State University” capsules the history and funding mandates of this at times complex issue.

SAES faculty and staff have a strong vested interest in educating themselves and stakeholders about the importance of the North Carolina General Assembly’s compliance with the federal mandate for additional state funds for 1890 Extension and research. See for yourself.

Posted 08:57 AM | Comments (0)

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

SAES faculty, staff and students are invited to join colleagues from the School of Nursing, Library Sciences, and the School of Education for a two-hour town hall meeting with Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, in the Webb Hall Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 3, beginning at 10 a.m.

Posted 11:22 AM | Comments (0)

High on the hogs

Ed Mitchell's rise to fame in the world of barbecue had humble origins. In the early 1990s, he was looking for an added attraction to bring customers to his family's mom 'n' pop grocery in Wilson, and started cooking up a little barbecue in the back room. As word got around of Mitchell's whole-hog barbecue and other fixins he was serving up, the mom 'n' pop grocery quickly evolved into an always-crowded restaurant, a landmark for barbecue gourmets and a must for every guidebook to North Carolina barbecue.

The SAES hosted the most recent installment in the Mitchell's barbecue success story last week, as an agreement was announced for animal sciences researchers to develop a production and certification method for producing pork with a signature flavor that he hopes to market nationwide. For complete details, go to http://www.ag.ncat.edu/news.htm.

Posted 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

Insider training

Dr. Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen has received a grant for $160,000 from Golden LEAF, the foundation established to distribute tobacco settlement funds. The grant will be used to continue and extend Dr. Isikhuemhen’s research into production techniques and marketing strategies for edible and medicinal mushrooms. A specific objective is to jumpstart indoor mushroom production in North Carolina by establishing four demonstration indoor production units in various locations across the state. The new indoor production units will have both teaching and research facilities. They will be used for testing new strains of mushrooms, and for training farmers and Cooperative Extension personnel in production techniques.

Posted 02:05 PM | Comments (0)

PIs and PDs need to get forms in, PDQ

Principal investigators and project directors with the Agricultural Research Program have until Monday, Jan. 31, to turn in Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419). The AD421 and AD419 forms are required on all projects, including Capacity Building Grants and Evans-Allen projects. If you have questions, please contact Shirl Hines (hiness@ncat.edu) or Benjamin Forbes (forbesb@ncat.edu) at 334.7612.

Posted 02:03 PM | Comments (0)

Corporate guidance

A new Corporate Advisory Board has been established by Dean Thompson to help guide the SAES. The group's inaugural meeting and brainstorming session last week was a resounding success. Clemente McWilliams of Ely Lilly and Company was elected chair of the 14-member board, and Nelle Hotchkiss, senior vice president of North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, was elected vice-chair.

The SAES Corporate Advisory Board will give business and agency executives a platform for sharing their views on needs and trends in preparing students for careers in agriculture and natural resources management, and family and consumer sciences. The board also will be working to facilitate technology transfer between the SAES and its corporate partners, and to expand student internship programs. For a look at the entire membership roster, click here.

Posted 05:32 PM | Comments (0)

Research resolutions

img src="/agedispatch/images/research_icon.gif" width="50" height="54" hspace="5" vspace="5" align="left">A&T's Division of Research and Economic Development is offering training for principal investigators and project directors in the use of two new Internet tools the first week of 2005. Grants.gov is an electronic grant submission system for more than 900 grant programs administered by 26 federal agencies, and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Fastlane Web site offers researchers at A&T and other participating research institutions an express lane for conducting NSF business and disseminating research findings. The workshops will be led by Evelyn Baisey-Thomas, a computer specialist with the NSF. Principal investigators and project directors have two opportunities to catch her program: 9 to 11 a.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 4, and the same time slot on Wednesday, Jan 5. There will be afternoon programs for administrators and support staff from 1 to 3 p.m. both these days. All workshops will be held in Room 102 of the IRC Building

Early registration is encouraged, and it's as easy as a quick visit to www.ncat.edu/nsf_fastlane.



The Agricultural Research Program's administrative staff has an important reminder for all principal investigators and project directors. Progress and Termination Reports (AD421) and Manpower Reports (AD419) are due in the Office of Agricultural Research by Monday, Jan. 31. The AD421 and AD419 forms are required on all projects, including Capacity Building Grants and Evans-Allen projects. If you have questions, please contact Shirl Hines (hiness@ncat.edu) or Benjamin Forbes (forbesb@ncat.edu) at 334.7612.

Posted 05:20 PM | Comments (0)

Guidance for health issue research funding

Developing research proposals that target disparities in the health status among minorities and other underserved sectors of the state's population is the emphasis for a one-day workshop that will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at A&T's New General Classroom Building on Friday, Dec. 3. Some of the specific topics on the agenda are: defining project scope, project management, the essential components for grant proposals, and tips for inter-institutional collaborations. The workshop is open to SAES graduate students and post-doctoral fellows as well as members of the Agricultural Research Program faculty.

Although there's no fee, registration by Monday, Nov. 29, is required. There's a convenient online registration form here. Participants are encouraged to come with a specific research idea in mind.

Posted 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

Cheese wizzes

In early November Dr. Salam Ibrahim took two food science majors - William Brown and Milton Reed - to Lakeland, FL, to compete in the 83rd Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest, sponsored by the International Association of Food Industry Suppliers. Since 1930, teams of undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and universities across the United States have been competing, but when Dr. Ibrahim took a team of SAES students to Chicago last year, it marked the first time that an HBCU had participated. Although dairy product evaluation teams from Mississippi State, Cal Poly and Clemson were the winners in 2004, the SAES still had the one and only HBCU squad in the competition.

For the competition, six categories of dairy foods are evaluated: milk, cottage cheese, ice cream, butter, cheddar cheese and yogurt. Success hinges on the identification of subtle defects - and probable causes and remedies - and considerable study and prep work are required for the competition.

If you'd like to have something authoritative to say the next time you're asked what made the souffle superb or the quiche a success, take a look at the official contest product judging forms at:

www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/cdpec/images/250693-1vb.pdf; www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/cdpec/images/250694-1vb.pdf; www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/cdpec/images/250695-1vb.pdf; www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/cdpec/images/250696-1vb.pdf.

Posted 09:09 AM | Comments (0)

Staff update

Vernon Shanks has joined the Agricultural Research Program as grants administrator for the SAES. He will be working with faculty to find new research opportunities, and assisting with proposal preparation. He will also serve in an administrative support role for Evans-Allen projects.

Shanks will assist faculty in increasing sponsored program funding in research, instruction, and public service. One area of interest is to encourage faculty to pursue funding that will allow graduate students to get involved in research and training.

Prior to joining SAES, Shanks served as the director of Sponsored Programs for the Division of Research at A&T.

Shanks is a graduate of A&T, with a bachelor's in Business Administration. He is also a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), and the Society of Research Administrators (SRA).

Posted 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

Feds headed to North Carolina

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center has its annual Southeastern Biotechnology R&D Funding Conference scheduled for the N.C. Biotechnology Center at Research Triangle Park on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Representatives from the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and other federal agencies will be conducting sessions on the biotech research their agencies fund, and tips for landing grants. While the cost for the general public is $125, university faculty get in for $75 if they register by Nov. 15. After Nov. 15, the registration fee is $150 for one and all. To register or for additional information, visit http://www.ncsbir.org.

Posted 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

Nomination deadlines on the horizon

The first Friday in December is the deadline for nominations for the SAES award for the Outstanding Instructor for the current academic year, the University's Outstanding Administrator Award, and the University nominee for the Oliver Max Gardener Award. (The Gardener Award is presented by the Board of Governors each year to "a system faculty member who has made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.") Click links for criteria and guidelines for the Outstanding Instructor award, the Outstanding Administrator,and for the Oliver Max Gardener Award. For the A&T State University awards nomination award form, which can be used for all these awards, click here.

Posted 03:03 PM | Comments (0)

Crash course for rescheduled

The "Evans-Allen 101" course for new research faculty that was originally scheduled for Nov. 17 has been rescheduled for early January of 2005. Watch upcoming issues of "ag E-dispatch" for the new date and time.

Posted 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

Turner turned to for housing guidance

Dr. Carolyn Turner, Associate Dean for Research, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, was among six manufactured housing experts from across the country recently invited to appear before a Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA) task force that is formulating a roadmap for future research into improving the design, production processes and public perceptions of manufactured housing. This roadmap will be used by the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Housing to direct research funding over the next 10 years

The MHRA is the research wing of the national Manufactured Housing Institute, the trade association for the manufactured housing industry. The organization that works to develop new technologies for increasing the value, quality, and performance of manufactured homes. The MHRA membership roll includes financial institutions and energy suppliers as well as manufacturers and retailers - a reflection of the heightened importance of the industry now that the most recent census indicates that more than 22 million Americans living in manufactured homes. North Carolina now ranks fifth nationally, with manufactured units representing 15.8 percent of the total housing stock in the state.

Posted 02:36 PM | Comments (0)

DNA technology session

The next installment in the FUTURES interdisciplinary biotechnology and biodiversity seminar series will be Thursday, Nov. 4, at 2:30 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Dr. Bette McKnight, an associate professor in the Department of Biology at A&T, will be discussing "Microarray Analysis on Gene Expression." Dr. McKnight has served as A&T's co-director for the Partnership for Minority Advancement in the Biomolecular Sciences (PMABS), a consortium that includes A&T and five other North Carolina HCBUs, along with UNC-Pembroke and UNC-Chapel Hill. PMABS activities include professional development workshops, new undergraduate courses in biomolecular fields, and equipment for undergraduate laboratories.

Posted 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

Agro-solutions to energy needs

New technologies that tap the energy potential in animal wastes, crop residues, and other biomass resources will be spotlighted at the Biomass and Bioenergy Workshop at Coltrane Hall from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9. The workshop is open to Extension agents and other educators; researchers and others affiliated with lumber, textile, paper and poultry industries; community development and other nonprofit groups; and anyone else interested in cost-effective, environmentally-friendly energy sources. Pre-registration is requested and convenient. Registration fees ($25 for those registering by Oct. 29, $30 for later registrations) can be paid with a credit card number and a visit to the workshop's online registration form.

Posted 03:22 PM | Comments (0)

Research station to host information sessions

The Agricultural Research Program will have a quarterly meeting for principal investigators and project directors on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Doug Speight of the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at A&T will be giving a presentation on intellectual property rights, and licensing issues at the meeting. There will also be a discussion of the new Capacity Building Grants.

On Nov. 17 the administrative staff for the Agricultural Research Program will be offering a one-hour "Evans-Allen 101" course, also in A-14 at C.H. Moore, that will begin at 11 a.m. The crash-course is for new research faculty, and all SAES faculty members interested in finding out about the nuances of Evans-Allen funding for research projects. Members of the Agricultural Research team who take care of purchasing, facilities management, and human resources will be providing overviews of policies and procedures.

Posted 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

Research station to host information sessions

The Agricultural Research Program will have a quarterly meeting for principal investigators and project directors on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Doug Speight of the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at A&T will be giving a presentation on intellectual property rights, and licensing issues at the meeting. There will also be a discussion of the new Capacity Building Grants.

On Nov. 17 the administrative staff for the Agricultural Research Program will be offering a one-hour "Evans-Allen 101" course, also in A-14 at C.H. Moore, that will begin at 11 a.m. The crash-course is for new research faculty, and all SAES faculty members interested in finding out about the nuances of Evans-Allen funding for research projects. Members of the Agricultural Research team who take care of purchasing, facilities management, and human resources will be providing overviews of policies and procedures.

Posted 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

Gamma Sig celebrates 30th

In October of 1974, A&T's chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture, was formed with 38 inductees. In October of 2004 - last week - the A&T Gamma Sigma Delta chapter celebrated its 30th anniversary by inviting those original inductees to join current members at Coltrane Hall for a luncheon. Honored guests for the occasion included:

* Dr. A. P. Bell, who was chair of the Department of Agricultural Education at the time of his retirement.

* Dr. Basil Coley, who is now chair of the Department of Economics and Transportation/Logistics in the School of Business and Economics.

* W. C. "Bill" Cooper, who was A&T Extension's first state 4-H specialist

*Dr. Thelma Feaster, now personal and organizational development leader for The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T.

* Dr. D. D. Godfrey, former dean of the SAES and first director of the Cooperative Extension Program.

* Dr. Harold Mazyck, former chair of what is now the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences.

* Dr. William Reed, a former SAES dean and a member of the school's Hall of Fame.

Since it was founded in 1974, A&T's Gamma Sigma Delta chapter has inducted more than 550 individuals.

Posted 02:07 PM | Comments (0)

Webb’s the site

There will be an SAES faculty and staff meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m.  in the Webb Hall auditorium. Dr. Rita Lamb, director of the Center for Student Success, will be dropping by to discuss new student recruitment and retention strategies. Dr. Robert Davis of the University's General Education Review Committee also will be at the meeting to report on the current status of the revised core curriculum for undergraduate students at A&T — an overhaul that will become effective in the fall of 2005. Dean Thompson and other members of the SAES administrative team will provide an update on reverberations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s new Technology Services Center and the National Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) site at the University Farm.

Posted 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

Chipping in

This past summer Dr. Milli Worku of the Department of Animal Sciences was invited to participate in a workshop along with more than 50 members of college and university faculties from across the U.S. who are working to incorporate genetic research into undergraduate courses. The three-day workshop was made possible with funding from the National Science Foundation, and it was held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. One of the major hurdles for Worku and biotech colleagues on other faculties is the high cost of the DNA chips which allow students conducting research to monitor the response of genes to external stimuli. Connections Dr. Worku made at the Georgetown workshop have opened the door for the SAES to become part of a consortium that joins the SAES to a network for DNA chip-sharing.

“Membership in the Genomics Consortium for Active Teaching will contribute to full utilization of the SAES microarray facility for undergraduate research,” said Worku. “This is also a boost to our effort to establish a Center of Excellence for Studies in Genomic diversity, a project that has received initial funding from a FUTURES grant.”

Posted 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

National ink

Headway made by Wake County agricultural Extension agent Morris Dunn in his work with a tobacco farmer making the transition to new crops and production methods is the focus of an article on the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission’s Web site. The Tobacco Trust Fund Web site also has an article about a tour of farms in Robeson County, organized by ag. and natural resources technician Martin Brewington. These farms also are benefitting from Extension assistance in adopting new specialty crops and production innovations. The on-farm experimentation demonstrations in Wake and Robeson counties are receiving guidance and technical support from A&T Extension’s horticulture specialist, Dr. Keith Baldwin.

An article in the Oct. 6 New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/06HOGS.html) is well worth the time it takes to register for free access to the newspaper. Peter Kaminsky writes of a trip from Missouri to North Carolina with 23 rare Ossabaw hogs, believing they represent a “marvelous” new taste in pork as well as “sustainable animal husbandry.” He also notes early on that: “My partner for the cross-country pig portage was Chuck Talbott, an adjunct professor at North Carolina A&T. He shared my hopes for these pigs: that they would produce supernal meat bursting with flavor and, just as wondrously, the salubrious fat, high in omega-3 fatty acids, for which Spain's Ibérico hogs are famed.”

Posted 12:12 PM | Comments (0)

Distance education dedication

Know of an individual, team or department at SAES whose accomplishments in the field of distance learning are noteworthy? The American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) is now accepting nominations for its Webb-Godfrey-Hill Award for individuals or groups from 1890 institutions whose distance learning projects demonstrate exceptional “creativity, impact, resourcefulness, vision and collaboration.” The nomination process is less time-consuming than most: There’s an online nomination form at http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/dl/WEBB-GODFREY-HILL.htm, and the screening committee will review the abridged online nominations and then select finalists before requesting letters of support, VITAs and other documentation. The deadline for first-round nominations is Nov. 30. 

ADEC’s Webb-Godfrey-Hill Award, presented annually, honors two former SAES deans: Dr. Burleigh Webb and Dr. Dan Godfrey, along with Dr. Walter Hill, dean of the College of Agriculture, Environmental, and Natural Sciences at Tuskegee University. Webb, Godfrey and Hill were pioneers not only in bringing distance learning technologies to the 1890 community, but also in establishing ADEC’s predecessor, Ag*Sat, the landmark agricultural satellite network that gave land-grant institutions their first venue for sharing courses and other resources via telecommunications satellites.

Posted 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

Biomass action

New technologies that tap the energy potential in animal wastes, crop residues, and other underutilized biomass resources have become all the more meaningful amid increases in oil and prices. Biomass and bio-energy will be the focus of a high density, one-day workshop, scheduled for 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Coltrane Hall on Tuesday, November 9.

The workshop is open to Extension agents and other educators; researchers and others affiliated with lumber, textile, paper and poultry industries; community development and other nonprofit groups; and anyone else interested in cost-effective, environmentally-friendly energy sources. To get to the workshop Web site, which has complete details on speakers and topics as well as registration information, visit: http://www.ag.ncat.edu/biomass_workshop.htm. The registration deadline is Oct. 29.

Posted 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

Periodic table setting

Dr. Salam Ibrahim of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences was recognized for successful completion of the American Chemical Society’s “Younger Chemists Committee Leadership Development Workshop” at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Fort Worth, Texas, in late September. Ibrahim and Dr. C. W. Seo collaborated on presentations of research into the use of caffeine and Lactobacillus reuter (a “good bacteria”) in the fight against Escherichia coli O157:H7, a leading cause of foodborne illness.

Chartered by the U.S. Congress, the American Chemical Society has a membership of more than 159,000 chemists and chemical engineers.

Posted 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

Getting together

The Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Research Programs have announced the collaborative projects selected for mini grant funding:

• Drs. Willie Willis and Keith Baldwin will be working to develop new “Annual Forages for Pastured Poultry Production.”

• A “Demonstration of the Composting of Swine Manure” will be organized by Baldwin and Dr. Ghassem Shahbazi.

• A public awareness campaign that will bring recent research into new methods for “Reducing the Spread of Infectious Diseases” will combine contributions from Drs. Marcus Comer, Valerie McMillan and M. J. Ibrahim, and Geissler Baker, a nutrition educator at the Guilford County Extension Center, and Sonya G. Patterson, family consumer science Extension agent at the Caswell County Extension Center.

• An “Outreach Program for Small Farms to Learn New Sanitation Techniques for Washing Vegetables” will involve Baldwin and Drs. C. W. Seo, Guochen Yang, and Salam Ibrahim, along with Ag. Communications & Technology Director Robin Adams.

• The “Potential Economic Impact for Expediting Production of Alexandrian Laurel” will be investigated and findings disseminated by Drs. Guochen Yang and Carl Niedziela of SAES, and Janice Nicholson of Gethsemane Garden & Landscape Services, Inc.

Posted 10:54 AM | Comments (0)

Researchers and specialists to assemble en masse

The fall meeting for the Agricultural Research Program's principal investigators and project directors will be Thursday, Sept. 30, from 3 to 5 p.m. in room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Members of The Cooperative Extension Program staff will be joining the research faculty for this meeting, and the collaborative project proposals awarded mini-grant funding will be announced.

Posted 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

Biotech scholar to talk genomics

The guest speaker at the next FUTURES biotechnology seminar will be Dr. Malcolm Campbell of the Biology Department at Davidson College. On Tuesday, Oct. 12 , Dr. Campbell will be discussing the "Cooperative Teaching of Genomics in an Undergraduate Setting" in a seminar set for 2 p.m. in room A-14 of the C.H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Dr. Campbell is the author of dozens of articles and two textbooks on teaching genomics, bioinformatics and related subjects. For more details on his academic interests and background, check out his Web page at



http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/macampbell/macampbell.html.

Posted 09:21 AM | Comments (0)

Back to the FUTURES

Dr. Guochen Yang is coordinating a series of Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Seminars this fall — a series made possible with a University FUTURES grant. The first installment is Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences will be discussing "Agromedicine Research from a Biotechnology Perspective.” The seminar will get be held in room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station.

Posted 09:39 AM | Comments (0)

Collaboration station

The fall meeting for the Agricultural Research Program’s principal investigators and project directors will be Thursday, Sept. 30, in room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. The meeting will last from 3 to 5 p.m. , and specialists and associates from The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T will be joining the research faculty to discuss collaborative projects and programs. The associate deans for Research and Extension are soliciting mini-grant proposals for collaborative projects, and the projects selected for funding will be announced at this meeting. The deadline for mini-grant proposals is Friday, Sept. 17. Guidelines are available here.

Posted 09:32 AM | Comments (0)

Skinny on minis

The Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Research programs have added new fuel to the quest for increased collaboration between the Extension and Research faculties. Funding is going to be available for collaborative mini-grants, and proposals will be accepted through Friday, Sept. 17. Proposals should reflect a true partnership between Extension and Research — projects or programs that will benefit farmers, small businesses, or community development. An important consideration will be clearly definable impacts, which can be reported to stakeholders. For an outline of the information and format for mini-grant proposals, click here.



There will also be a special Q&A session for SAES faculty interested in submitting a collaborative mini-grant proposal on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 1:00 PM, in A-14 of the C. H. Moore Research Station. The associate deans for Research and Extension will both be available for questions and clarifications.

Posted 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

Super seeding

Dr. Guochen Yang presented a paper on the "Protein expression of forced softwood growth in relation to plant growth regulators in forcing solution" at the annual conference of the "Plant Growth Regulation Society of America" in Charleston, SC, the first week of August. The paper covered his findings in plant growth and development related to plant tissue culture and micropropagation. Plant growth regulators can also be used to increase the germination rate for the seeds of ”recalcitrant” species with low germination rates which frustrate growers.

Posted 09:56 PM | Comments (0)

Turnips, soujuk and probiotics

Drs. Salam Ibrahim and C. W. Seo of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences, and Drs. Abolghasem Shahbazi and Vestel Shirley of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design contributed to research presentations at the American Chemical Society’s annual meeting in Philadelphia Aug. 22-26.



Ibrahim and Seo were on the research teams that prepared a presentation on the “Effect of oxine and hot water treatments on microbiological quality of turnip greens,” and Ibrahim was part of the team for a presentation on the “Efficacy of Origanox alone or in combination with acetic acid on the survival and growth Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Soujuk [sometimes translated from Turkish as “Sucuk”], a Mediterranean dried sausage.” Shahbazi and Shirley joined the HEFS researchers to present findings on “Fatty acids and surfactants as growth promoting factors for Lactobacillus reuteri.” Ibrahim worked with colleagues from the University of Jordan in an investigation of “Buffering capacity of milk and milk products.”



Serving chemists, chemical engineers, and other professionals from all other fields of chemistry, the American Chemical Society has more than 159,000 members. The organization is devoted to providing members career and research opportunities. It also has many programs for advancing scientific literacy, including a broad-ranging Web site at http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/home.html. (Don’t miss the “Molecule of the Week” at http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/motw.html.)

Posted 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

Hog off the presses

Dr. Chuck Talbott's work to help an Orange County swine producer find new production methods and marketing niches was a major focus for a feature story that appeared in Sunday's Durham Herald Sun. The newspaper is running a series on how "Farming in this once-agricultural area [Orange County] is changing," and Talbott was cited for his research into finding "a way for small-scale tobacco farmers to successfully diversify into hog production." For a look at the entire story, visit http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-511343.html.

Posted 05:30 PM | Comments (0)

Flowers, shoots and leaves

A research group led by Drs. Carl Niedziela and Guochen Yang had three presentations to offer at the American Society for Horticulture's annual meeting in Austin, TX, July 17-20. Research associate Cindy Lu and graduate assistant Theophilus Asante traveled to Texas to assist with the presentations, which covered:



* Production systems for winter cut flowers in a tobacco transplant greenhouse

* In vitro responses of micropropagated chestnut shoot to different growth regulators

* Antimicrobial effect of guava products against foodborne pathogens



Niedziela is the principal investigator for the cut flower research, Yang for the chestnut project, and Yang and Dr. Salam Ibrahim are co-principal investigators for research into guava's antimicrobial potential.



The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) was established in 1903, and the organization is now the largest dedicated to advancing all facets of horticultural research and education. ASHS membership is open to Extension agents, and growers and distributors of horticultural products as well as horticultural research scientists. The annual ASHS meeting draws more than 1,000 participants. For more information on the ASHS, check out the Web site at http://www.ashs.org/index.html.

Posted 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

Financial reports

When the Associated Press came out with its listing of “Highlights of Final 2004-05 N.C. Budget” the fourth entry from the top was: “North Carolina A&T matching funds for agriculture research, cooperative extension programs: $2.2 million.” For a look at the entire highlight listing of the $15.87 spending plan for the fiscal year that began July 1, give a click to http://www.nbc17.com/politics/3545307/detail.html.



Ratification of the 2004 Appropriations Act also finalizes an across-the-board salary increase for SPA employees of 2.5 percent or $1,000, depending on which is the larger amount.

Posted 03:08 PM | Comments (0)

Viva Las Vegas

The world's largest food science conference, attracting up to 20,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibiting companies, took place in mid-July and the research work of SAES food scientists and their research associates was front and center at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting in Las Vegas.


SAES faculty contributing to poster or paper presentations at the conference were: Drs. Salam A. Ibrahim, Abolghasem Shahbazi, Milli Worku, Ipek Goktepe, Mohamed Ahmedna, and Tracy Hanner, Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen, Carl Niedziela, C. W. Seo, Abolghasem Shahbazi, and Guochen Yang. Research assistants Steven Hurley, Bonita Milford,Sarah Williamson and Jianmei Yu were also cited for contributions. For a complete listing of SAES poster and paper presentation, click here.



Dr. Goktepe also organized and chaired a symposium on the "Application and use of genomics in food microbiology" at the IFT's annual meeting.



USDA’s top food safety official, Dr. Elsa Murano, released an extensive report on new initiatives for the many current issues of concern for the safety of the nation’s food supply at the IFT conference. For a look at "Fulfilling the Vision: Initiatives in Protecting Public Health," go to the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/.

Posted 03:01 PM | Comments (0)

No plow ploys

Drs. Charles Raczkowski and Keith Baldwin of the SAES were part of an ambitious program in Statesville July 27-28, as they joined some of the nation’s leading authorities on sustainable soil management for the Iredell County No-Till Field Day and Soil Management Conference. Soil scientists from Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland, the University of Vermont and USDA research stations from the Midwest as well as the Southeast were invited to Statesville to make presentations. The field day drew more than 150 participants — from South Carolina and Virginia, as well as North Carolina. Raczkowski was invited to the field day to discuss soil aggregates (“Soil particles bound together naturally to form a lump, clod or crumb,” according to Texas A&M’s agricultural glossary), and Baldwin teamed up with Dr. Greg Hoyt, a soil scientist at North Carolina State, to present an overview of summer cover crop species.



Baldwin and Raczkowski are also part of the cast for an online slide show from the recent at the University Farm Field Day.

Posted 02:59 PM | Comments (0)

Gamma raised

John Paul Owens to the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education represented the SAES chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta at the annual conclave at the University of Arkansas in late June, and a poster he entered in the competition for individual chapter activities was awarded first place.



Gamma Sigma Delta chapters at colleges and universities across the U.S. work to advance the foundations for agricultural education, and to improve relations between agricultural educators and related sciences, and agribusinesses and industries.



Founded in 1974, the A&T chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2004.

Posted 09:16 AM | Comments (0)

Swine dining

The Weeping Radish Brewery and Bavarian Restaurant in Manteo hosted a novel pork dinner Monday, July 19, which featured some of the antibiotic and hormone-free meat from animals raised on two different experimental diets by SAES research scientist Dr. Charles Talbott. One of the animals from Talbott’s work to find new market niches for small-scale producers was fed corn and soy diet, and the other a barley and soy diet. The “upscale pork” was topped off with sauces the Weeping Radish’s executive chef, Michael Destefano, creates using the microbrewery’s beers as a key ingredient. The guest list for the special taste-testing including a number of food editors and writers from newspapers and other publications. European taste-testers have remarked to Talbott that they can taste the difference between barley-fed pork and corn-fed, and prefer the former. He is interested in determining if American palettes are equally discriminating.



Talbott also secured the assistance of another nationally renowned barbecue expert, Eddie Mitchell of Mitchell's BBQ Restaurant in Wilson, in a research project conducted by his research apprentice, Lauren Brawley of Statesville. Mitchell is the 2003 "National Pitmaster BBQ Champion," and he agreed to barbecue some upscale pork so Lauren could collect evaluation data.

Posted 09:14 AM | Comments (0)

Big wheels keep on turning

The 1890 Extension administrators who are in Greensboro for the organization's semiannual meeting will be touring SAES facilities Thursday afternoon (July 8). Their tour will begin around 3 p.m. at Carver Hall, where Dr. Terrence Thomas will give an overview of the Applied Survey Research Laboratory and Dr. Milli Worku will make a presentation on her biotech projects. Dr. Dave Libby, interim chair of the Department of Animal Sciences, will discuss his department's research and instructional programs when the group moves on to Webb Hall. At the tour wind-up at the University Farm, the first stop will be the new poultry unit. Also on the agenda for the farm visit are stops at Dr. Keith Baldwin's horticulture demonstration, Extension associate Travella Free's agricultural information stations for elementary school students, and Dr. Omoanghe Isikhuemhen's edible and medicinal mushroom research.



The Greensboro AEA meeting is homecoming for Dr. Clyde Chesney, Extension Administrator at Tennessee State University, and his counterpart at Alcorn State University, Dr. Dalton McAfee. Drs. Chesney and McAfee both launched their Extension careers at Coltrane Hall as members of The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina A&T.

Posted 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

Fig findings favorable

Take a visit to the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) home page at http://www.ift.org/cms/. Enter "figs" into the site's search engine and you'll be directed to a news brief from the IFT's online newsletter for the week of June 4 that says, "According to a story in HealthDayNews, figs and fig extracts maybe able to halt the growth of food microbes such as E. coli and salmonella. Researchers from North Carolina A&T State University discovered that strains of E.coli experienced growth reduction 24 hours after being blended with fig slices."



This research was presented by a team of researchers headed by Dr. Salam A. Ibrahim at the general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology's General Meeting in New Orleans, May 23-27. For more specifics on the fig findings SAES researchers have made, check out the "HealthDay" Web site - http://www.healthday.com/view.cfm?id=519194.



Other members of the SAES staff attending the ASM conference were Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna, Ipek Goktepe, and Jianmei Yu, and Maysoun M. Salameh. Dr. Ipek Goktepe gave a poster presentation on  Extending the Shelf-life of Exotic Mushrooms Using Modified Atmosphere Packaging , and Dr. Yu presented a poster on the Detection of Salmonella in Chicken Carcasses Using an Optimized ELISA .

Posted 01:39 PM | Comments (0)

Taking the RAP

A select group of high school students will arrive at A&T on Sunday, June 20, as the 24th annual Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) begins. The program will conclude on Friday, July 16, but before it's over the 19 high students will get a deep immersion into the scientific slants of programs of study offered by the SAES, a taste of college life, and one-on-one guidance from an SAES research scientist as they work together on a research project. More than 80 percent of the high school students selected for this highly competitive program eventually enroll at A&T.

Posted 02:11 PM | Comments (0)

Bio-energy man to energize Raleigh

On June 22, the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) is hosting a Renewable Energy Economic Development Day in the N.C. General Assembly. There will be a series of presentations covering the economic development potential for current research into renewable energy sources, and Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi, who is an SAES professor and a past chair of the NCSEA, is among the scientists invited to deliver a presentation to an audience that will include members of the N.C. General Assembly and the N.C. Utilities Commission. Shahbazi will present an overview of his bio-energy research project, which involves generating electric power from animal waste.

Posted 02:09 PM | Comments (0)

New options for small-scale agriculture

It's going to be Small Farm Field Day at the University Farm on Thursday, June 24, and SAES research scientists and Extension specialists will be discussing their work with: sunflowers, pastured poultry, seedless watermelons, organic corn (for milling), controlling disease in tomatoes grown in high tunnel structures, "upscale" pork, heat tolerant lettuce, pasture rotations for cattle, and cover crops that promote soil health. The demonstrations are scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, and on-site registration for those who haven't pre-registered begins at 8 a.m. For more information or to pre-register, contact Linda Shoffner at (336) 334-7956 or shoffner@ncat.edu.

Posted 02:07 PM | Comments (0)

Research takes the high road

The Agriculture Research Program at SAES recently honored teachers and members of Cooperative Extension staffs in Alleghany and Ashe counties for teaching farm safety to rural youth. Dr. Carolyn Turner, associate dean for research, and other organizers of the project, "Farm Safety Intervention for Rural Youth and Farm Families" recently traveled to the region to present plaques to collaborators. Among those honored were staff at the Upper Mountain Research Station in Laurel Springs, and members of the Cooperative Extension staffs in Alleghany and Ashe counties. Also honored were horticulture teacher Jamie Vestal of Alleghany High School in Sparta, and vocational agriculture teacher Jane Gardner of Ashe County High School. Principal investigator of the two-year project is John Paul Owens. The project entailed farm field days, focus groups, and research on the effectiveness of the presentations.

Posted 02:29 PM | Comments (0)

Mushroom season at its peak

Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen is a member of the organizing committee for the International Medicinal Mushroom Conference in Port Townsend, Washington, Oct. 12-17, 2005. The conference serves to update the academic, research and industrial communities on ground-breaking research and production innovations from around the world. Conference organizers selected Washington's Olympic peninsula, with its old-growth rain forests, for the conference with some singular opportunities for hands-on workshops in mind. The conference is scheduled to coincide with the peak of wild mushroom season on the Olympic peninsula. For complete details, check out the conference home page at http://www.fungiperfecti.com/immc/index.html.

Posted 02:20 PM | Comments (0)

Staffing update

A job description and qualification overview for Department Chair for the Animal Sciences Department is available at this LINK. Applications will be accepted until June 30.

Posted 02:15 PM | Comments (0)

Seen at IRC scene

SAES researchers had their work front and center at the Division of Research and Economic Development's reception and open house at the Fort IRC Building in late April.


Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna and Ipek Goktepe of the Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences prepared a poster presentation on the "Development Of Biosensing Probes For Rapid Detection Of Salmonella In Foods." Input and production assistance was provided by graduate student Khalilah Taylor and research associate Jianmei Yu.


Dr. Millie Worku of Animal Sciences and a team including research assistant Pat Masterson and graduate students Takia Harris and David Fargo presented a poster on the "Identification of Genes Associated with Inflammation in Bovine PMN." Worku and Harris also collaborated on a poster presentation of an investigation into "Gene Identification in Bovine Neutrophils."


Dr. Salam Ibrahim of HEFS was the advisor for graduate student Tom Tse's poster report on the "Antimicrobial Effect of Guava and Guava Extracts On Esherichia Coli O157:H7 In Liquid Medium." Three other posters that, like Tse's, were originally unveiled at the Gamma Sigma Delta Showcase of Excellence during Small Farms Week were also featured at the IRC open house. They were:



• Theophilius M. Asante's "In Vitro Response of Micropropagated Chestnut Shoot to Different Growth Regulators" (Advisor: Dr. Yang)



• Nicholaus Cunningham's "The Effects of Anti-Inflammatory Agents on Gene Expression of Bovine Neutrophils" (Advisor: Dr. Worku)



• Phani Medida's "Remediation of Atrazine in Constructed Wetlands" (Advisor Dr. G.B Reddy)

Posted 02:40 PM | Comments (0)

SAES achievers awarded FUTURES scholarships

Twelve high achieving Aggies recently earned scholarships to study biotechnology through the FUTURES Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Project. The awards were presented March 17 by Dr. Guochen Yang of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, and Dr. N. Radhakrishnan, A&T's vice chancellor for research and economic development. Scholarship criteria included a GPA of at least 3.5, and a strong interest in pursuing a career in biotechnology and biodiversity. Recipients also must conduct independent research under the supervision of a faculty mentor, and then submit a report on their findings.



Students receiving the awards were: Siham Ahmed of Greensboro, a master's student of food sciences and nutrition; Theophilus Asante, of Ghana, a master's student majoring in plant, soil and environmental sciences; Carinthia Cherry of Windsor, a master's student majoring in food and nutritional sciences; Deidra Felton of Morehead City, a senior majoring in food and nutritional sciences; Thomas Lynge of Lexington, a junior majoring in bioenvironmental engineering; Antrison Morris of India, a master's student majoring in food sciences; William W. Pettiford of Greensboro, a junior majoring in political science; Somphavanh "Lonnie" Phetsomphou of High Point, a senior majoring in food sciences; Tammy Putmon of Syracuse, NY, a master's student in animal health sciences; Khalilah Taylor of Murfreesboro, a master's student majoring in food and nutritional sciences, Kasey Vaughans of Greensboro, a graduate student majoring in plant, soil and environmental sciences, and Eric Wilson of Brevard, a master's student majoring in food sciences.

Posted 05:38 PM | Comments (0)

Get the word from Dr. Byrd

The next installment in the series of interdisciplinary biotech and biodiversity seminars, made possible by a FUTURES grant to the SAES, will be Thursday, April 22, in Room 41 of the IRC Building. It will begin at 2 p.m., and Dr. Goldie Byrd, chair of the Department of Biology at A&T, will be discussing the genetics of Alzheimer's disease in African Americans, and research into genetics and minority health issues that she is spearheading at A&T. (There's a Triad Business Journal article on a $4.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to A&T at http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2004/03/08/focus2.html.)

Posted 04:49 PM | Comments (0)

SAES researchers take top honors

The SAES figured prominently in A&T's annual awards for achievement in research, which were presented at the University Honors Day Convocation on March 18. Dr. Salam A. Ibrahim has been named the recipient of this year's Outstanding Young Investigator Award, and Dr. G. B. Reddy shared the Senior Researcher Award with a member of the School of Engineer faculty, Dr. David Yong Song. These are the top awards presented by the Division of Research.



Ibrahim's current research projects include the impact of emerging technologies on thermal inactivation of food borne pathogens, the potential for bioreactors in the development of value-added products, and work to increase the dairy product consumption options for African Americans with lactose intolerance. Among Reddy's research specializations are nitrogen transformations in terrestrial and aquatic systems, constructed wetlands, and other soil and water quality issues.

Posted 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

FUTURES seminar rescheduled

The SAES FUTURES biotech seminar originally scheduled for March 18, has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 8, at 1:30 p.m. at the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Dr. John Allen, research coordinator in the Department of Animal Sciences, will be reviewing the structure and function of bacterial immunoglobulin-binding proteins, and discussing Protein V, an immunoglobulin-binding protein isolated at A&T.

Posted 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

Mushroom guru gets good news from USDA

SAES research scientist Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen received word of two substantial USDA grants in recent months. A three-year Evans-Allen grant for $275,000 will be used to develop a commercially viable strain of the indigenous maitake mushroom. The maitake strains now used by mushroom producers are almost exclusively Asian in origins, and Omon believes a homegrown strain will prove superior to imported strains in the long run. Dr. Omon and Dr. Richard Robbins are principal investigators for a $100,000 grant from USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service that will be applied to help small-scale farmers develop businesses and value-added products that tap into growing consumer demand for edible and medicinal mushrooms.

Posted 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

Swined and dined

"ag-E-dispatch" isn't the only periodical that's been giving coverage to the banquet held a few weeks ago at the O. Henry Hotel where pork producers who have been making the move to gourmet and upscale markets were honored. Check out the Raleigh News & Observer's banquet report. All 35 of the small-scale pork producers who were honored at the O. Henry have been receiving technical assistance and production guidance from Dr. Chuck Talbott and members of the field staff from the Cooperative Extension Program at A&T.

Posted 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

Tulsa time

The Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) was established in 1899, and one of the organization's chief objectives has been an annual meeting and information exchange for agricultural scientists and educators. The organization is divided into special interest groups that cover nearly all sub-disciplines within the broad range of educational and scientific work coordinated by schools and colleges of agriculture in the U.S. The SAES was well represented at the most recent SAAS convention, which took place in Tulsa, in mid February:

•  SAES faculty participating in symposiums and facilitating breakout sessions at the Tulsa SAAS conference were Drs. Antoine Alston, Marcus Comer, Omoanghe S. Isikhuemhen, Marsha McGraw, Mary Mafuyai-Ekanmen, and Sheilda Sutton.

•  Comer and Alston were part of a team that put together an examination of Cooperative Extension in North Carolina, and they conducted a poster session on their new online agricultural education program, "2 + 2."

•  Drs. Guochen Yang and Carl Niedziela presented findings from their work with in vitro germination of a high-country ornamental plant (galax) used by the floral industry.

•  Dr. Terrence Thomas gave "An Update and Assessment of the Southern Black Belt Legislative Efforts of the Last Two Years."

•  Dr. Donald McDowell was co-author of a presentation on the "Determinants of Poverty in Manufacturing-Dependent Counties in the Rural South."

•  "Predictors of Employees' Perception of Innovation in Organization Performance Following Restructuring" was the focus of a presentation by Drs. Terrence Thomas, Frank Clearfield, and Benny Gray.

•  Thomas also gave "An Update and Assessment of the Southern Black Belt Legislative Efforts of the Last Two Years."

•  Mafuyai-Ekanem was part of a team that presented a paper on the role of Extension professionals in shaping consumer attitudes towards biotechnology.

Posted 10:59 AM | Comments (0)

FUTURES seminar rescheduled

Because the university-wide Honors Convocation is scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, March 18, the SAES FUTURES biotech seminar originally scheduled for that same afternoon has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 8, at 1:30 p.m. at the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Dr. John Allen, research coordinator in the Department of Animal Sciences, will be reviewing the structure and function of the bacterial immunoglobulin-binding proteins, and discussing Protein V, an Immunoglobulin-binding protein isolated at A&T, at the rescheduled seminar.

Posted 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

Back to the FUTURES

The next installment in the FUTURES Interdisciplinary Biotechnology and Biodiversity Seminar series is set for Thursday, Feb. 26.  The seminar will begin at 2 p.m. in room 410 of the IRC Building, and Jenny Holmes, program manager for North Carolina Biotechnology Center, will be discussing the Center's grant programs. The Biotechnology Center has a strong commitment to biotech research with potential for economic development, and it also has funding programs for academic conferences and workshops.

Posted 08:07 AM | Comments (0)

Research guidance

On Tuesday, Feb. 10, there will be a half-day workshop at Coltrane Hall, conducted by Dr. Mark Poth, Research Director for Competitive Programs, USDA, CSREES. Dr. Poth will have some tips on proposal writing as well as funding opportunities at USDA. This workshop is open to A&T faculty members from schools and colleges other than SAES.

Posted 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

RAP App. deadline draws near

The application deadline for the 2004 Research Apprentice Program is Friday, Feb. 13. High school juniors and seniors who have strong records of academic achievement and an interest in working closely with an SAES research scientist on a research project are invited to apply. Dates for the 2004 RAP are June 20 to July 16.

Posted 04:12 PM | Comments (0)

Luncheon for Linda

Ag. Research's longtime accounting assistant, Linda Hopkins, has retired from A&T with 25 years of service, and there's going to be a luncheon in her honor on Friday, Feb. 6, at the Macaroni Grill in Friendly Shopping Center. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. To make a reservation, contact Angelia Johnson (angeliaj@ncat.edu, or 334-7612). Contributions to a gift for Linda should be directed to Shirl Hines at the C. H. Moore Research Station.

Posted 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

Fungi guy

Dr. Omon Isikuemhen, a researcher with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, will be leading a free, hands-on workshop for small-scale farmers and landowners interested in exploring the potential for edible and medicinal mushroom production from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Environmental Lab at University Farm on McConnell Road. Dr. Omon will demonstrate how to inoculate hardwood logs with mushroom spawn, and he will discuss the economic potential for building a sustainable mushroom industry in North Carolina. Additional information on the workshop and registration details are available at Isikhuemhen's mushroom Web site, http://www.ag.ncat.edu/omon/index/htm, or by calling 334-7779, 334-7573, or via email at omon@ncat.edu.

Posted 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

Aquaman coming to A&T

Dr. Detlef Knappe an Associate Professor of Civil and Water Resources/Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University, will conduct a seminar at noon Thursday, Jan. 29 . Dr. Knappe's topic will be "Strategies for Algae Detection and Algae Removal in Water Treatment Plants," and the program will be held at noon in the Webb Hall Auditorium. Moore Agricultural Research Station. (For more information on Dr. Knappe's background and research interests - which include micropollutant removal from drinking water, and adsorption of micropollutants by activated carbon and alternative adsorbents - check out his Web page at www.ce.ncsu.edu/faculty/knappe/.)

Posted 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Dust off our pardon

Through spring semester, construction interruptions at C. H. Moore will be disrupting the workaday lives of members of the Ag. Research and Ag. Communications and Technology staffs. There will be days when SAES personnel at Moore will be suddenly (and without advance notice) unable to get to their voice mail or e-mail. Please keep this in mind when a need arises for consultation with Ag. Research or Ag. Communications and Technology.

Also during the remodeling work at Moore, the building's conference rooms will not be available. Faculty with tentative plans for booking a Moore conference room for a workshop or another activity need to make firm plans to reserve a conference room in Coltrane, Webb or Carver. Workshops and other activities that were long ago scheduled for Moore will be moved to another location.

Posted 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

Last call

For all federally-funded research other than Evans-Allen projects, a Form AD-419 should be completed and returned to Ben Forbes by Jan. 23. (If you're in need of an AD-419 for your project, contact Ben at forbesb@ncat.edu.)



Jan. 30 is the deadline for nominations for the 2004 G. L. & Clara Y. Dudley Small Farmer of the Year Award. That's also the application deadline for stipends to county Extension units for local Small Farms week activities. (The Small Farms Week planning committee would like to support educational programs or activities that will honor small farmers, highlight the contributions of our state's small farmers, showcase Cooperative Extension efforts to support small farmers, or provide farmers with some type of new knowledge or information.)



The forms are available at www.ag.ncat.edu.

Posted 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

Mark those `04 research calendars

The staff at the C. H. Moore Research Station has a couple of reminders for principal investigators and research project coordinators:

For all federally-funded research other than Evans-Allen projects, the Form AD-419 should be completed and returned to Ben Forbes by January 23. (If you're in need of an AD-419 for your project, contact Ben at forbesb@ncat.edu.)

On Tuesday, Feb. 10 , there will be a half-day (9 a.m. until noon) proposal writing workshop at Coltrane Hall. It will be led by Dr. Mark Poth, Research Director for Competitive Programs, USDA, CSREES. Dr. Poth will have some tips on proposal writing as well as funding opportunities at USDA. This workshop is open to A&T faculty members from schools and colleges other than SAES.

Posted 03:23 PM | Comments (0)

Honoring Linda

Ag. Research's longtime accounting assistant, Linda Hopkins, has retired from A&T with 25 years of service, and there's going to be a luncheon in her honor on Friday, Feb. 6 , at Pacific & Vine Restaurant (699 E. Cone Blvd.). The luncheon will get under way at 11:30 a.m. To make a reservation, contact Angelia Johnson (angeliaj@ncat.edu, or 334-7612). Contributions for a gift for Linda should be directed to Shirl Hines at the C. H. Moore Research Station.

Posted 02:52 PM | Comments (0)