Fall 2011 Issue
Features
Processing center produces new Piedmont businesses
Economic development was in the air, as Piedmont Food and Agriculture Processing Center was dedicated in October. After years of planning, the Orange County facility opened its doors, giving small food producers access to space and equipment they need to develop their small businesses.
Read Full Story »Alumni Profile: Upon achieving a major career goal, Gwen Clark reflects on 25 years as an agriculture teacher
This year, two of her former students became the first ever from Avery County to earn the American FFA Degree.
Read Full Story »Goodnight Irene: Dealing with storm damage at Pamlico field lab
The tireless work of University Field Lab employees and students helped repair damage from Hurricane Irene at the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory and save thousands of fish.
Read Full Story »CALS/Ross University agreement increases vet school opportunities for N.C. State students
The Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have signed an agreement designed to streamline the application process for N.C. State students interested in attending vet school at Ross.
Read Full Story »Students gain health profession skills in Nicaragua
Dr. Anita Flick, director of health professions advising, had planned to take a group of students to Haiti this summer, but political conditions there prevented the group from making the trip. Yet Flick was able to arrange a trip to Nicaragua, where students and medical professionals offered medical and dental care in a rural community.
Read Full Story »New use for N.C. sweet potatoes: Dried products for pet food, animal feed
North Carolina is the leading state when it comes to producing both sweet potatoes and tobacco, and a new N.C. State University research project is designed to build on both strengths to create new markets for farmers. The Sweet Potato Dehydration Project is exploring ways to use tobacco-curing barns to dry sweet potatoes for use in pet food and animal feed.
Read Full Story »Noteworthy News
Graduate student workshop marks 25th anniversary
Inspiring. Awesome. Enriching. Eye-opening: These are just a few of the words used by alumni to describe the College’s Graduate Student Professional Development Workshop.
Fresh technology
As tourists stop by roadside stands and farmers’ markets to pick up North Carolina apples this fall, many may find that those apples stay firm longer, thanks to N.C. State University-developed technology and the educational efforts of N.C. Cooperative Extension.
Ferzli receives APLU award for teaching excellence
Dr. Miriam Ferzli, a teaching assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Biology, is a 2011 recipient of the New Teacher Award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
Food safety leader joins N.C. State faculty
The chief executive officer of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention has joined the North Carolina State University faculty.
Swartzel named Innovator of the Year
The award was presented at the OTT annual awards program on Nov. 22 at the N.C. State Alumni Center.
Nickels for Know-How referendum passes with overwhelming vote
Described as a self-help program for farmers, Nickels for Know-How is a 60-year-old voluntary assessment on feed and fertilizer produced and purchased in North Carolina. On Nov. 16, the Nickels referendum passed with a whopping 96 percent of the vote.
“In the Garden” nominated for regional EMMY awards
The N.C. State University TV program “In the Garden with Bryce Lane” has been nominated for two regional EMMY® Awards.
Extension professionals honored for work in water quality and conservation
WECO program, county activities and water quality coordinator recognized at Southern Region Water Conference.
Dean Johnny Wynne announces retirement
Dean Johnny C. Wynne of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has announced his planned retirement, effective July 1, 2012. Wynne will retire after serving as College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean for more than eight years, while his association with N.C. State spans half a century.
North Carolina FFA receives major grant from Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded $180,540 to the North Carolina FFA to improve high school agricultural education programs throughout the state.
Borlaug Lecture focuses on Costa Rican sustainability
The sixth Borlaug lecturer – Dr. Julio Cesar Calvo Alvardo – had an important connection to N.C. State University: He earned his doctorate in forestry here in 1991 and went on to become president of one of Costa Rica’s most prestigious universities, said Dr. Dan Robison, associate dean of the College of Natural Resources.
Cook Smart, Eat Smart 101
Students learn to prepare simple meals
In the catering kitchen of Talley Student Center, seven N.C. State University students chop green beans, green onions and fish fillets to prepare a meal that they will cook in two pots with steamer baskets. Tonight’s Cook Smart, Eat Smart class objective is steam cooking.
AgriBusiness Law students tour nation’s lawmaking centers
About 150 students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences took a fall break field trip to learn about the history and processes of lawmaking.
CEFS initiative will support new incubator farms
Up to five North Carolina communities will receive support for developing incubator farms to attract new farmers, thanks to an effort by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. Incubator farms provide aspiring farmers with a place to learn, try their hand at farming and develop the markets to make their own operations successful.
Fred Hain receives Order of the Longleaf Pine
Dr. Fred Hain has joined the long list of distinguished North Carolinians to receive the Order of the Longleaf Pine award.
Pollinator garden shows off fall color
As the sun sets on a bright October day in Chatham County, Agricultural Extension Agent Debbie Roos leads a group of 10 on a tour of the Pollinator Paradise Garden at Chatham Mills, a renovated facility that is home to the Chatham Marketplace cooperative and other clients. Roos hosts the monthly tours throughout the garden’s growing season, and each month, the garden is different, she says.
Mari Chinn honored with engineering award
Dr. Mari Chinn, associate professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, received the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ 2011 A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award.
Fly aggression involves complicated gene networks
Fruit fly aggression is correlated with smaller brain parts, involves complex interactions between networks of important genes, and often cannot be controlled with mood-altering drugs like lithium. Those are the results of a painstaking study conducted by researchers at N.C. State University and colleagues in Belgium.
Sequencing the blueberry genome
Dr. Allan Brown, a researcher with N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute at the N.C. Research Campus, is leading a team that is sequencing the blueberry genome. A major step toward understanding the genetic information of the blueberry, the research is expected to yield new discoveries in both medical and agricultural research.
Brickyard ice cream social brings together CALS community
The goal of the social was to create more unity and dialogue among CALS students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as give student senators and constituents an opportunity to meet.
McLaughlin receives soil science award
Dr. Richard McLaughlin, North Carolina State University soil scientist, is among 11 researchers who will receive awards at from the Soil Science Society of America.
Brett Williams: Making her mark on stage
Aspiring exotic animal specialist and CALS zoology major Brett Williams discusses her experiences as an award-winning actress with University Theatre.
Eastern Carolina Organics supports 10% Campaign
Since July 2010, the 10% Campaign has recorded more than $7.6 million that North Carolina consumers and businesses have spent on food produced locally. A big share of those dollars can be attributed to one business: Eastern Carolina Organics of Pittsboro.
David Higgins: Figuring out flower development
This CALS senior and recipient of a national undergraduate research fellowship isn’t content to leave scientific questions unanswered. With plant geneticist Dr. Bob Franks, he’s been studying how flowers develop.
‘In the Garden with Bryce Lane’ begins ninth season
In its ninth season, “In the Garden” brings more of its Emmy® Award-winning wisdom from seasoned N.C. State horticultural science instructor Bryce Lane.
Calling all CALS faculty, staff, students and alumni!
You’re invited to a Brickyard ice cream social, Sept. 22.
Bertie raises $7,000+ for tornado relief fund
Bertie County’s Cooperative Extension staff raised $7,320 for that county’s tornado relief fund through a drawing for a donated John Deere riding lawnmower.
Project fuels interest in canola
When leaders of a project designed to provide homegrown, renewable fuels for the military and to strengthen Eastern North Carolina agriculture needed help finding the right source crop and testing it locally, they turned to N.C. State University and its N.C. Cooperative Extension Service for help.
N.C. 4-H Hall of Fame honors 2011 inductees
The North Carolina 4-H Hall of Fame recently named to its membership eleven individuals who have played critical roles in the development of the contemporary 4-H program in the state.
Stewart father and son both elected FFA presidents
On June 23, John Stewart of Knightdale was elected president of North Carolina’s FFA Organization – 30 years to the week that his father, Marshall Stewart, was elected state president of the same organization in 1981. They are believed to be the first father and son to serve as state FFA presidents for North Carolina.
N.C. State gets $25 million grant to nullify norovirus
North Carolina State University will use a $25 million grant to strengthen food safety by studying human noroviruses across the food supply chain in an effort to design effective control measures and reduce the number of virus-caused food-borne illnesses.
Sociologist Ronald Wimberley, CALS faculty member for 40 years, dies
Dr. Ronald C. Wimberley, William Neal Reynolds professor of sociology and a member of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty for 40 years, died Monday, July 26.
Croatian university representative visits CALS
A new relationship between N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a Croatian university offers opportunities for CALS students. N.C. State recently signed a memorandum of understanding with University of Zagreb in the Croatian capital, and in July, Ivana Prosinecki of Zagreb’s International Relations Office visited N.C. State to share information about what the university could offer for students here.
VetCAMP gives vet med preview
The camp’s objective was to give the high-school students insight about careers in veterinary medicine and the many opportunities within the field, treating animals great and small – be they companion or farm animals, avian, exotic or wildlife.
Juntos Summit brings Latino youth to campus
This summer, more than 50 Latino youngsters took part in a week-long camp experience – the Juntos Youth Summer Summit – on the N.C. State University campus.
N.C. State researchers to study genetics of heat tolerance in poultry
Poultry science researchers at N.C. State University and two other institutions are hoping to learn more about the genetic traits and responses that could help poultry better cope with heat stress. Such knowledge will help poultry producers around the world plan for rising temperatures from global climate change.
Noteworthy Alumni
Former CALS alumni group president receives national FFA honor
Richard H. Brooks, a three-term president of N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Alumni and Friends Society, received the American FFA Degree during the 84th National FFA Convention, held Oct. 21-23 in Indianapolis. The award is given to those who advance agricultural education and FFA through outstanding personal commitment.
Mike Davis Inducted into National 4-H Hall of Fame
Honored by the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents, Davis was one of 15 inductees in ceremonies held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md.
CALS honors 2011-2012 Distinguished Alumni and Outstanding Alumni
Dr. S. Elizabeth George and H. Connor Kennett Jr. were recognized at the College’s annual Alumni Awards Reception Sept. 30, where CALS Outstanding Alumni and Outstanding Young Alumni were also named.
College’s 20th annual tailgate packs Dorton Arena
CALS Alumni and Friends Society Tailgate is among the biggest and best of the university’s pre-game parties.
Zoology grad is WVU dentistry school dean
Dr. David Felton has an international reputation as a clinician, an educator and a researcher.
Noteworthy Giving
N.C. State, Monsanto celebrate $500,000 fund for Plant Breeding and Advanced Analytics Fellows program
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University and Monsanto Company announced today a $500,000 grant to train the next generation of plant breeding professionals.
Troxler and Rouzer honored at CALS foundations event
North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler and state Sen. David Rouzer are the 2011 recipients of the Distinguished Service Awards, presented by the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation.
Luginbuhl launches two scholarship endowments at retirement celebration
Dr. Geraldine Luginbuhl, professor of microbiology and assistant director of Academic Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, retired in July, but she does not intend to retire from contributing to the education of N.C. State University students.
North Carolina 4-H Development Fund receives $1 million gift for SECU 4-H Learning Center
The North Carolina 4-H Development Fund Board of Directors has announced its acceptance of a $1 million challenge grant from the members of the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) for a new 4-H learning center.
National association honors four with CALS ties
Four people associated with N.C. State University won national awards recently at the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association’s annual conference in Lubbock, Texas.
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North Carolina’s economy and quality of life are linked inextricably with natural resources — the air, land and water upon which we all depend. To help protect the environment today and into the future, CALS faculty members have wide-ranging expertise they put to use through teaching, research and extension programs. Read More >>
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