Winter 2013 Issue
Features
College Profile: Sharon Rowland
Sharon Rowland retires after a career devoted to the betterment of Cooperative Extension and the people it serves.
Read Full Story »Super Shop
The BAE Research Shop is the custom fabrication place, where designs become real devices and concepts become field-ready — expertly, quickly and economically.
Read Full Story »Special People, Special Gift
Bill and Marsha Prestage share memories of the growth of their company – and their reasons for making a historic gift to N.C. State.
Read Full Story »Listening, Learning, Leading
New CALS Dean Richard Linton has hit the ground running as he gets to know the College, N.C. State and North Carolina.
Read Full Story »Sustained Efforts
CALS student Becky Dobosy travels near and far to put nutrition, sustainable ag knowledge to work.
Read Full Story »Noteworthy News
Farming the forest: CALS expert helps landowners grow crops beneath the trees
For property owners looking to find ways to earn money from their forested land, forest farming can be a promising alternative – or addition – to harvesting the trees. And for years, Dr. Jeanine Davis has been helping these landowners make the most of that promise.
Tradition meets innovation in CALS scientist’s tomato breeding efforts
Using a combination of new tools and time-honored techniques, Dr. Dilip Panthee is carrying on N.C. State University’s strong tradition in plant breeding, developing hardier, higher-yielding plants for North Carolina’s $30-million-a-year tomato industry.
All in the family: 4-H mother and daughter have both been state presidents
“My family does 4-H like a lot of families play baseball.” So said Allyson Brake, 18, a Wilson County 4-H’er who started her first livestock project after being given a lamb named “Peanut” for her fifth birthday.
Interns learn valuable life lessons while studying tropical plant pathology in Costa Rica
Mary Lewis spent six weeks traveling around Costa Rica working on research designed to shed light on one of the most important diseases affecting bananas. While her focus was the fungal disease black sigatoka, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student says the experience taught her just as much – or more – about what it takes to work in a foreign country and to interact with people from other cultures.
Exploring the world: Sabella leads CALS’ opportunity-filled international programs
Dr. John Sabella already had a long history of work in international agriculture when he was appointed last spring to serve as interim assistant dean for international programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Less than a year into the job, he is turning paper agreements with international institutions into boots-on-the-ground working projects involving N.C. State University students and faculty members.
Agroecology farm and program have grown and improved
Improvements at the Agroecology Education Farm are the result of student efforts and support from a new Agroecology Education Farm Advisory Committee, as well as production efforts by Green Planet Catering, a local business focused on local and sustainably produced food.
Extension, teaching will play roles in research grant to combat salmonella
Drs. Hosni Hassan and Matt Koci, from N.C. State’s departments of microbiology and poultry science, respectively, are leading the charge on a new five-year, $2.5 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to stamp out salmonella.
Word whiz: CALS student wins national medical terminology contest
Words like retinoblastoma, dysphonia and hepatologist may be more than a mouthful for most, but for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences sophomore Erin Beasley, knowing words like these landed her a trip to Orlando, Fla., where she became a national champion with Health Occupations Students of America.
Landscape design students capture ‘wild energies’
‘Wild Energies,’ a colorful bamboo sculpture created by landscape design students, included a hint of Saturday morning cartoon whimsy.
CALS is omnipresent at 2012 State Fair
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences again had a significant presence at the N.C. State Fair — whether it was Cooperative Extension personnel manning a station at the Cultivating a Career exhibit, the always popular N.C. State Howling Cow Ice Cream booth (courtesy of the CALS Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences), CALS students teaching kids about farm animals or fashioning elaborate horticulture displays, Dr. Tom Monaco’s prize-winning peppers or a plethora of 4-H entries in a range of competitions.
Noteworthy Alumni
2012-2013 CALS Distinguished Alumni, Outstanding Alumni honored
Dr. Charles W. Stuber and Jessie Thomas “Tommy” Bunn were honored as the College’s 2012-2013 Distinguished Alumni at an award reception in November. Also recognized were the College’s Outstanding Alumni, Outstanding Young Alumni and Outstanding Staff Member.
Ghostly blooms: Alum honored for orchid breeding efforts
CALS horticultural science alumnus Keith Davis has solved the riddle of growing the endangered ghost orchid. His efforts recently won recognition from the American Orchid Society.
Can-do spirit lands Yard-Nique founder on TBJ ’40 Under 40′ list
Brian DuMont describes the start of his company as the “perfect storm.” As a senior pursuing a degree in horticultural science at N.C. State in 1997, DuMont was assigned a class project about business ownership. He came up with a plan for a landscaping company and received one of his best grades ever.
Persistence pays for alumnus who leads CALS biotech spinoff
When College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumnus Dr. Giles Shih talks about the success of his company, BioResource International (BRI), he sometimes mentions the Louis Pasteur quote “chance favors the prepared mind.”
Tailgate 2012 celebrates the tradition
A pre-game pep rally featuring the Wolfpack mascots and band. An abundance of great food. Fun and fellowship with CALS alumni, friends and faculty. Generous scoops of Howling Cow ice cream. And an array of College exhibits with everything from face-painting to reptile encounters. It was all there Sept. 15 as the Wolfpack faithful filled Dorton Arena on the N.C. State Fairgrounds at the 21st annual College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Tailgate.
Noteworthy Giving
Scholarship endowment honors 4-H’s Thearon and Vanette McKinney
As Dr. Thearon McKinney retired from N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, a new scholarship endowment was created by his friends and family to honor McKinney and his wife, Vanette. The Thearon and Vanette McKinney American Youth Foundation Leadership Conference Scholarship Endowment was announced Sept. 7 at a retirement celebration for McKinney at the university’s JC Raulston Arboretum.
New CES endowments, funds announced at fall meeting
The foundations that support North Carolina Cooperative Extension celebrated a whopping 23 new endowments and enhancement funds at their annual fall meeting.
Wayne and Judy Skaggs create endowment for water resources and hydrology research
The Wayne and Judy Skaggs Endowment for Water Resources and the Hydrology of Poorly Drained Lands was created Nov. 9 as part of festivities in commemoration of Skaggs’ career.
Distinguished service honored at foundations’ fall joint meeting
David Thompson of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners received the Distinguished Service Award during the Nov. 13 meeting of the North Carolina Agriculture, Dairy and Tobacco foundations. The event included a special presentation to Sharon Rowland, executive director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Foundation.
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Making A Difference
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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