Perspectives On Line: The Magazine of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

NC State University

 Summer 2004Home From the Dean

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Achieve More Field Day displays university efforts to strengthen state’s economy

Field day activities took Dr. Roger Crickenberger (left) and other participants to the university’s Fish Barn, home of aquaculture research.


Ornate letter "A"  tour of N.C. State University’s Fish Barn was among the features of a recent Achieve More Field Day focusing on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Building on a universitywide event held last fall, the April 30 program was the first in a series designed to give area entrepreneurs a more in-depth look at college-level efforts to strengthen the state’s economy.

Co-sponsored by the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. State University’s Office of Extension and Engagement and the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the CALS-led event featured student and faculty presentations on leading-edge science with potential commercial application.

About 60 field day participants, including representatives of 28 companies in the Research Triangle area, learned about research in genomics, proteomics, genetic transformation and bioinformatics. Speakers were Dr. John Cavanagh, professor in the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry; Dr. Art Weissinger, associate professor in the Department of Crop Science; Dr. Bruce Weir, Bioinformatics Research Center director; and Rodolphe Barrangou, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Food Science.

Following the formal program, some participants joined Dennis DeLong, an aquaculture specialist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, for a tour of the Fish Barn, home to research and demonstration projects aimed at strengthening aquaculture production in North Carolina.

The event sold out quickly, and Ted Morris, director of the economic development partnership, said all the participants he followed up with after the event were glad they’d signed up. And one of the faculty participants reported that he’d begun a promising discussion with a potential funding partner as a result of the field day.

Morris said, “The location, the topics, the tour and the networking were considered a great success.”

— Dee Shore