A&T Program Breaks Ground in Field

July 1996

Greensboro, NC: For many years, the field of agricultural engineering has seen relatively small minority involvement. Faculty members at North Carolina A&T State University are working to reverse this trend, and positioning their pro gram in the national eye.

Now chairperson of the NC A&T Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, Dr. Godfrey Gayle became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from North Carolina State University, in 1982. At that time, he was only the fifth black person nationally to receive this degree. Since then, only about twelve black people in the nation have reached the Ph.D. level in agricultural engineering and similarly named programs.

Recently, Gayle was named vice-chairman of the North Carolina section of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE). In this position, he will be responsible for organizing the group's annual meeting.

A&T plans to host the 1996 meeting of the state's section of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers on its campus this fall.

"Hosting the meeting at A&T would bring our agricultural engineering program great exposure," said Gayle. "It also gives our students and faculty members an opportunity to share resources with others in the field. Through this networking, our progr am will stay current with developments in the field, and we can continue to grow in size and resources."

In 1991, the A&T agricultural engineering program, which is jointly administered by the School of Agriculture and the College of Engineering, became the only accredited program of its kind among historically black colleges and universities. North Ca rolina is the only state to have two land-grant institutions with accredited agricultural engineering programs within its borders.

Dr. Manuel Reyes, an assistant professor of Agricultural and Environmental Systems Engineering at A&T, was named secretary-treasurer of the North Carolina section of ASAE. Reyes will hold this position indefinitely. His responsibilities include ann ouncing and documenting meetings, and dispersing the organization's funds.

Reyes and a group of agricultural engineering students will travel to the annual international meeting of ASAE in Phoenix, from July 14 to 18. At the meeting, Reyes will present a paper detailing results of the ongoing tillage, runoff, agricultural chemical and erosion research being conducted at A&T. The students accompanying Reyes will present their plans for establishing an Alpha Epsilon honor society to complement the existing A&T student chapter of ASAE.

"Our involvement with this large organization helps to establish our position in the field," said Reyes. "In this way, scientists from all over the world can be aware of the research activities and programs being conducted on A&T's campus."

The American Society of Agricultural Engineers is a not-for-profit professional and technical organization, with members worldwide interested in engineering knowledge and technology for food and agriculture, natural resources, environment, associated industries, and related resources. The ASAE coordinates educational opportunities such as technical sessions, workshops, conferences, and tours, with the purpose of communicating new research results, discussing applications and stimulating debate on imp ortant topics related to the collection of renewable resources and the processing of these resources for conversion to energy and industrial products.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact Dr. Godfrey Gayle, (336) 334-7543, or Dr. Manuel Reyes, (336) 334-7787.