Each academic year A&T's chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta presents awards for faculty excellence in teaching, research and Extension. The deadline for nominations for the 2009-10 awards for excellence is Monday, March 29th.

All current chapter members should review the guidelines for nominees and consider nominating colleagues whose contributions to the SAES have been particularly outstanding. The 2009-10 Gamma Sigma Delta awards for excellence in teaching, research and Extension will be presented at the SAES Awards Banquet on Wednesday, April14th.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/03/gamma-ways.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/03/gamma-ways.html Agricultural Research SAES Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:46:45 -0500 The 2010 SAES Student Awards Banquet is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14, in Stallings Ballroom at the Memorial Student Union Building. The online registration form is concise, and the $20 fee for faculty and staff is as simple as clicking the “Paying at door option” at the bottom. The winners of the SAES chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta’s 2009-10 awards for Extension, research and teaching will be announced at the banquet. The winner of the SAES Employee of the Year Award for a staff member who is either SPA or non-teaching EPA, and the SAES Collaboration Award also will be announced.

One traditional highlight of the SAES Student Awards Banquet is recognition for students who have met the academic and public service requirement for membership in the Alpha Epsilon, Gamma Sigma Delta, Kappa Omicron Nu, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Lambda Alpha honor societies. The SAES will also recognize its student athletes at the awards banquet. A&T’s chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the national honor society of agriculture, will be honoring undergraduates with the highest GPAs in their classes, and introducing those students who are the Gamma Sigma Delta inductees for the 2009-10 academic year.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/03/saes-student-awards-banquet-se.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/03/saes-student-awards-banquet-se.html Academic Departments Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education Agricultural Research Animal Sciences Family and Consumer Sciences Natural Resources and Environmental Design SAES Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:37:13 -0500 The application window for the 2010 Research Apprentice Program closes Friday, Feb. 26. The four-week summer program, which will run from June 20 until July 1, invites applications from high school students with strong academic records and an interest in receiving one-on-one guidance from an SAES research scientist. Students accepted for the RAP also get a preview of day-to-day life on a college campus — they stay in one of the A&T dormitories — and they receive weekly stipends of $250. Last year’s RAP drew 20 students; 16 from North Carolina and one each from Alabama, Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina.

The application deadline for this scholarship program is March 1. Students accepted will receive approximately $38,000 over a 15-month period for tuition, housing and other expenses. One of the program’s backbone components is a 10-week summer stay at the Research Campus. SAES students interested in complete eligibility requirements should contact Dr. Leonard Williams, lead scientist at the SAES’s Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies on the North Carolina Research campus.

SAES undergraduates who would like a summer immersion in sustainable agriculture production systems also have until March 1 to get their applications in for eight-week internships at  the Center for Environmental Farming Systems' 2,245-acre research farm near Goldsboro. Internships will last from June 7 – July 30. Student interns selected will work closely with a CEFS faculty mentor on individual research projects. 

The SAES, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State, and the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences operate the CEFS jointly. Among its research units is a Small Farm Center, and the CEFS also has swine, dairy, organic cropping, farm systems and pasture-based beef units devoted to innovative practices for advancing sustainable food and farming. Completed applications should be returned to the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (Attn: Lisa Forehand, Box 7609 – NCSU, Raleigh, NC 27695) by March 1. Interns will receive assistance in finding housing for their eight-week stays in Goldsboro. ]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/02/march-1-application-deadlines.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/02/march-1-application-deadlines.html Agricultural Research Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:06:13 -0500 Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, the associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, wants to remind SAES faculty that new Evans-Allen proposals are due March 15 electronically to the Office of Agriculture Research. Principal investigors and project directors should consult with their department chair before submitting new proposals.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/02/ides-of-march-will-soon-be-upo.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/02/ides-of-march-will-soon-be-upo.html Agricultural Research Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:47:01 -0500 The application deadline for the 2010 Research Apprentice Program is Friday, Feb. 26. High school students from other states as well as North Carolina with strong academic records and an interest in working with SAES research scientists next summer are invited to apply. In addition to four weeks living in a dorm on the A&T campus and work with members of the Agricultural Research Program faculty on research projects, RAP students also receive weekly stipends of $250. Feel free to pass along a PDF of the card along to any high school junior or senior you know who might be interested in the 2010 RAP, which will run from June 20 until July 16.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/02/application-process-to-rap-up.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/02/application-process-to-rap-up.html Agricultural Research Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:40:25 -0500 The Agricultural Research Program’s spring semester meeting for principal investigators and project directors will be from 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Jan.19, in Room A-14 of the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station. Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, the Agricultural Research Program’s associate dean, has some updates to discuss that will weigh significantly on funding for current and future research activities.

Research project directors and 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 Monday, Jan. 18. (The expenditure reports should cover 2009 from January to December.)

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 Tuesday, Jan. 19.

A third important deadline for research faculty and SAES students that falls on Jan. 18 concerns 100-word abstracts covering proposed paper and poster presentations for the 2010 Ronald E. McNair Commemorative Celebration at A&T. The 9th Annual McNair Research Symposium at A&T will be held in conjunction with the 24th Annual McNair Commemorative Celebration, Jan. 27 to 29. The registration fee ($250 until Jan. 18 and $275 after that cutoff) is waived for students and faculty making oral or poster presentations at the conference. The guidelines for abstracts and presentations have specific formatting guidelines that should be reviewed before abstracts are submitted.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/01/first-two-days-of-third-week-o.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/01/first-two-days-of-third-week-o.html Agricultural Research Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:41:03 -0500 Ag. Communications & Technology's (ACT) photographer, James Parker, has set aside the morning of Thursday, Jan. 28, to take photos of new faculty members and those who have made such sweeping alterations to their appearances that they no longer resemble photos taken last year or earlier. Parker will be taking photos from 9 to 11 a.m. His suggestions for a top-quality photo that looks good in publications and reflects professionalism are: 
• Business dress (tie and jacket for men) 
• Avoid white clothing 
• Avoid seasonal clothing (such as heavy, winter clothing that will look strange in a July newspaper) 
• Avoid extensive or highly reflective jewelry

If you have any questions about clothing or other photo session details, please contact Parker, 334-7050, before you come to C. H. Moore on Jan. 28.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/01/shuttering-at-moore.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2010/01/shuttering-at-moore.html Academic Departments Agricultural Research Cooperative Extension SAES Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:35:33 -0500 The December issue of the SAES newsletter, on the move, is now available at the SAES website. The Strategic Planning Council which is the primary citizen advisory group guiding the work of The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T has added nine new members — introductions to all nine are provided in the December on the move.

The December on the move front page story covers a $10,000 award that a team of Biological Engineering students received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make the landscaping at Sockwell Hall a research project delving into “permaculture.” The team of Biological Engineering students submitted one of the winning proposals in the EPA’s 2009 “National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet”.

SAES students — and their faculty advisors — who are interested in submitting proposals to the EPA competition for the 2010 “National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet” will need to get their proposals together before the start of spring semester. The closing date for proposals is Jan. 5. The EPA is looking for proposals that are at the same time innovative and moored to time-honored principles of scientific investigation. Projects should fall into in one of five subject areas: energy; built environments; materials and chemicals; water quality and conservation; and agriculture.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/12/new-on-the-move-has-rolled-out.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/12/new-on-the-move-has-rolled-out.html Academic Departments Agricultural Research Cooperative Extension SAES Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:37:00 -0500 N.C. State University’s Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering has teamed up with Cooperative Extension to offer two-day training programs for Residential Rain Garden Certification in each of the state’s three geographic regions. The third and final two-day training will be at the Dare County Extension Center in Manteo Jan. 21 and 22. 

Rain gardens are man-made depressions in landscaping that collect water from downspouts and pavement, and then allow it to seep back into the earth without destructive erosion. The Rain Garden Certification training is designed for members of the Extension field staff with water quality or horticulture responsibilities as well commercial and residential landscapers. There is some scholarship funding available for Extension agents signing up for the training, and an early bird rate that reduces the regular $175 tuition fee to $125.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/12/not-true-that-rain-falls-mainl.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/12/not-true-that-rain-falls-mainl.html Academic Departments Agricultural Research Biological Engineering Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:24:26 -0500 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. 18. (The expenditure reports should cover 2009 from January to December.)

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. 19.

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 2008. Dr. Donald McDowell, SAES interim dean, and the associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, 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.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/12/419s-and-421s-due-at-moore-in-1.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/12/419s-and-421s-due-at-moore-in-1.html Agricultural Research Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:46:52 -0500 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. The cover story for this issue is Dr. Manuel Reyes' multifaceted agroforesrty project in Southeast Asia, and Reyes and Dr. Willie Willis are the stars of the Web page video exclusives that complement the electronic copy (a PDF) available at the RE:search Web page. Members of the ARP faculty who would like copies of the booklet mailed to colleagues or trade magazines can add names and addresses to the mailing list by completing this Ag. Communications & Technology mailing list form. (This is also the form to use for updating the mailing list for Solutions for North Carolina, The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T's multimedia annual report, and the SAES's monthly newsletter, on the move.) For copies of the 2009 issue of RE:search to distribute at conferences or other functions, contact Teresa McRae, office manager for Ag. Communications at tamcrae@ncat.edu or at 334.7636.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/11/new-issue-of-research-ready.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/11/new-issue-of-research-ready.html Agricultural Research Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:10:11 -0500 The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences’ (AAFCS) has named Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program, as one of two recipients of the organization’s most prestigious national award. Hymon-Parker was named an AAFCS Distinguished Service Award honoree for 2009-10 along with Juanita Mendenhall of the Teen Health Promotion Coalition in Ridgeway, S.C. Hymon-Parker and Mendenhall will be honored at the 2010 AAFCS Annual Conference in Cleveland, June 24-26. Their career accomplishments will also be spotlighted in the next issue of the Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences.

In correspondence announcing that Hymon-Parker had been honored with the Distinguished Service Award, the AAFCS’s senior member relations manager, Sophy Mott, noted that, “As the new Associate Dean for Research in the School of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, North Carolina A&T State University, she's continuing a career built on the creation, transformation and advancement of FCS knowledge in the areas of teaching, scholarly research and outreach, and administration in higher education.”

The AAFCS Distinguished Service Award was established in 1979 by a forerunner professional organization, the American Home Economics Association, to recognize superior achievements in family and consumer sciences, and outstanding professional contributions through leadership as well as scholarship. ]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/11/associate-dean-of-agricultural.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/11/associate-dean-of-agricultural.html Agricultural Research Family and Consumer Sciences Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:05:41 -0500 USDA has announced the availability of more than $47 million in funding for research and Extension projects that will "address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by developing and disseminating science-based tools to address needs of specific crops." The program has five focus areas for FY 2010 : 1) standard research and Extension projects; 2) coordinated agricultural projects that make contributions to sustainable agriculture; 3) regional partnerships; 4) eXtension projects that develop Communities of Practice; and 5) research and Extension planning projects.

Letters of intent for Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grants are due Nov. 25, and the proposals themselves are due Jan. 14, 2010.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/11/special-funding-for-specialty.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/11/special-funding-for-specialty.html Agricultural Research Cooperative Extension Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:55:14 -0500 On Oct. 8, UNC-Charlotte hosted the 8th Annual Charlotte Biotechnology Conference, which brought 20 speakers and 350 biotech professionals together to discuss business-university partnerships, progress at the N.C. Research campus and dozens of recent technical advances. To generate student interest in biotechnology research, the conference conducted a graduate student poster competition with cash prizes. One of the six finalists was an SAES student, Olcay Boyacioglu, who presented a poster covering a research project guided by Dr. Ipek Goktepe, an SAES food scientist. Boyacioglu’s research was into “Biocontrol of E. coli O157:H7 in harvested spinach using bacteriophage cocktails.” Charlotte radio station WFAE still has interviews available with two of the students who entered the research competition. and video footage of the keynote address by Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton is available on the conference website. Boyacioglu also presented these research findings at the NC OPT-ED (North Carolina Alliance to Create Opportunity Through Education) Alliance Day in early October. The SAES was also represented at NC OPT-ED Alliance Day by one of Goktepe’s undergraduate students in the Food and Nutritional Sciences Program, Jasmine Brooks, whose poster presentation covered an “Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Select Plant Essential Oils.” ]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/10/cocktail-honored.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/10/cocktail-honored.html Agricultural Research Family and Consumer Sciences Food Sciences Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:56:47 -0500