Three awards recently pre-sented to SAES researchers underscore the importance of agriculture at N.C. A&T and across the state. Dr. Ipek Goktepe was pre-sented the Award for Excellence in Research by Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society for agriculture. Receiving univer-sity awards were Dr. Salaam Ibrahim, recipient of the A&T Outstanding Young Investigator Award, and Dr. G.B. Reddy, recipient of the A&T Senior Researcher Award. Goktepe has several projects under way related to her spe-cialty in environmental toxicol-ogy. She is preparing to survey North Carolina farm workers and take skin samples from those who might have been exposed to pesticides, in order to determine the toxic effects. “We suspect that there could be effects to the immune

system through dermal expo-sure,” she said. Goktepe is also testing various medicinal herbs and mushrooms for their antibacte-rial and cancer fighting effects. She has also developed a process for extending the shelf life of exotic mushrooms, which could be important to expanding the medicinal and edible mushroom industry that the SAES has been developing for the past two years. Ibrahim specializes in researching the beneficial microbe bifidobacteria, which is commonly used in yogurt, and is known to aid in digestion, lower cholesterol, and strengthen the immune system. One of his most important recent findings was the discov-ery that bifidobacteria functions best in the presence of calcium, a finding that has not only spurred new directions for his research, but also made him an advocate

for drinking milk. “Remember milk. It is good for you!” is a piece of friendly advice his students are accus-tomed to hearing from him. Ibrahim also has a patent pending on a natural preservative that includes bifidobacteria and herbs. Several food and nutri-tional supplement companies are taking a keen interest in his research for its applications in food safety and nutraceuticals. Reddy, chair of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, has spent the past 24 years research-ing nitrogen transformation in agricultural systems. “We want to conserve and retain nitrogen within the sys-tem, both to reduce the need for added fertilizer and to improve water quality,” he said. Recent projects have seen him collaborating with the Agricultural Research Service’s Coastal Plains Soil, Water & Plant Research Center in Florence, S.C., in examining the potential of constructed wetlands to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from animal waste, as well as research on catchments to remove pesti-cides and herbicides from agricul-tural runoff. He expects to have enough info rmation in another two to three years to be able to make recommendations on how small farmers could construct and maintain wetlands for processing animal waste.

North Carolina A&T State University

School of Agriculture and

Environmental Sciences

Newsletter

June 2004 • Vol. III, No. 3Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.

SAES food and soil scientists honored for research

• Student Awards Banquet 2004: Show time for SAES students, faculty and staff

inside

Dr. T’s Moment

In 2005, The Cooperative

Extension Program at North

Carolina A&T will host the 4th

National Small Farms Conference.

In a state where 91 percent of the

farmers fall into the small farm

category (less than $250,000 annu-

ally in gross receipts and where

the day-to-day labor and manage-

ment is provided by the farmer

and/or farm family), it’s a natural

that we host this conference.

The National Small Farms

Conference is sponsored by USDA.

At the last conference in 2002,

over 600 people from across the

nation gathered in Albuquerque,

N.M., We want bigger and better.

This conference is designed

as an opportunity for partici-

pants from across the county to

exchange information, highlight

new techniques and products and

to network. We plan to do that but

to also showcase some of our best

and innovative small farms and

small-scale production techniques.

After all, we have more small

farms in North Carolina than any-

where else in the country.

As we prepare for this event,

we need you. Some of you will be

part of the educational programs,

others may have on-farm dem-

onstrations and still others may

provide financial support. As one

nationally-recognized minister

likes to say, “get ready, get ready,

get ready.”

— Dr. Alton Thompson

Dean, SAES

Research honorees from left:

Dr. G. B. Reddy, Dr. Ipek Goktepe,

and Dr. Salam Ibrahim

on the moveon the move

former news videographer, having worked for news stations in Buffalo, N.Y., Greensboro and Winston-Salem; and has also worked as a production videographer for the Time Warner News Division in Los Angeles. Officials for Gamma Sigma Delta, the international honor society for agriculture, also presented notable awards for outstand-ing achievements. John Paul Owens, vice president of the local Gamma Sigma Delta chapter, was presented with an Outstanding Service to the Chapter Award. Owens initiated the Showcase of Excellence Research competi-tion to bring attention to students’ agricul-

tural research, three years ago, by winning a grant from the national Gamma Sigma Delta office. The event is now annual and supported through other funding sources. Owens is an instructor and coordina-tor of the campus Peace Corps Master’s International Program. Gamma Sigma Delta also honored Dr. Benjamin Gray with the Excellence in Teaching Award. Gray, an assistant profes-sor of rural sociology, teaches the principals of rural sociology; rural development; and an online class called social organization. He is also the associate director of the Applied Survey Research Lab.

on the move

One of the projects that the award-winning Farm Improvement team has helped steer through is the new poultry unit at the University Farm. When construction is complete and the facility is ready to go next fall, the unit will have controlled environments for research into poultry production methods, classrooms, and a processing facility.

Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.

SAES faculty and staff get laurels for talents and team work

Perry Howard,

an associate

professor and

coordinator of

the Landscape

Architecture

Program, is the

SAES Instructor

of the Year.

Howard’s award

was presented

by the university which recognized

one faculty member from each of

A&T’s seven schools and colleges.

“I enjoy teaching,” Howard says of

his Instructor of the Year Award. “It’s

the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

He has the experience to make

comparisons. Before joining the A&T

faculty in the fall of 1989, Howard

was a vice president of the architec-

tural firm Edward D. Stone Jr. and

Associates PA, in Fort Lauderdale.

Howard has a bachelor’s in land-

scape architecture from Louisiana

State University in Baton Rouge, and

a master’s of landscape architecture

from Harvard University.

“Mr. Howard has a passion for

Landscape Architecture program in

general and students in particular,”

says Dr. G. B. Reddy, chairman of the

department of Natural Resources and

Environmental Design. “He works

with students to make sure that they

understand the subject and relate the

landscape architecture principles in

his field trip design projects.”

The award is an appreciated recog-

nition of his classroom contributions,

but Howard says the best reward for

teaching is student success.

“I like the personalities I encoun-

ter,” Howard said, “and I like that you

can take a person from the first day

or two of their classes and work with

them until they graduate and then see

them do very well in the profession.”

faculty & staff notes

Dean Alton

Thompson and

Dr. Donald McDowell,

associate dean for

academic programs,

congratulate

Dr. Benjamin Gray, an

assistant professor

of rural sociology,

and recipient of the

Gamma Sigma Delta

Award for Excellence

in Teaching.

Add another awards show to the list of noteworthy annual events, this one from the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University. During the SAES’ second annual Student Awards Banquet, several faculty, staff and departments also were rec-ognized for their outstanding contributions. Dr. Tracy Hanner — dubbed “M. C. Hanner’’ for serving as banquet master of ceremonies and for doing a G-rated rap performance at the end of the evening — elic-ited a standing ovation from his students, as he was named Academic Advisor of the Year. In other awards, the University Farm Improvement Team was one of two groups honored this year with a Collaboration Award pre-sented by SAES Dean Alton Thompson. The team comprises

Interim Farm Superintendent Leon Moses and Pete Burnett, co-chairmen; Harold Martin; Drs. M. Ray McKinnie, Charles Raskowski, M. R. Reddy, Carolyn Turner, Keith Baldwin and Charles Kadzere; and ex-officio members Thompson and Debbie Donnell. The University Farm is in the midst of a transforma-tion that has included façade improvements such as fencing and new signage; new leader-ship; the purchase of more than $750,000 worth of equipment to replace some farm machinery that was as much as 30 years old; the construction of a new state-of-the-art poultry unit; and the pending construction of new dairy and swine units. Moses, who was appointed interim superintendent in February, says collaboration has helped bring about the changes at the farm. “We’ve been effective,’’

Moses says, “because all of us want the very same thing and that is to see this farm move to a new level. Because of the fact that we all want that, we all support each other.’’ The dean also presented a Collaboration Award to the Agricultural Communications and Technology Unit, directed by Robin Adams. Her staff con-sists of: Cheryl Brandon, Mike

Bratcher, Stephen Charles, Ron Fisher, Alton Franklin, Laurie Gengenbach, Cathy Gant Hill, Joshua Loftin, James F. Parker and Lalit Rainey. Fisher was also named the Non-Teaching Employee of the Year. A 10-year veteran of the SAES, Fisher is the video/teleconference producer for Agricultural Communications and Technology. He is also a

Howard honored for commitment to students

Kristi Wright, an SAES alumna (she received a

B.S. in Agribusiness in ‘99), was the keynote

speaker at the Student Awards Banquet. Now

an international finance manager with MCI in

Atlanta, Wright had some timely tips to pass

along to SAES students soon to start their

ascents up the career ladder.

The president of the SAES chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta,

Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, presents John Paul Owens a special

award for outstanding service to the chapter.

Perry Howard

________________ Nonprofit Org.________________

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Greensboro, NC________________

on the moveNorth Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences NewsletterProduced by the Agricultural Communications and Technology UnitDr. James C. Renick, ChancellorDr. Alton Thompson, Dean, School of Agriculture and Environmental SciencesDr. M. Ray McKinnie, Associate Dean, Administrator Cooperative Extension ProgramDr. Carolyn Turner, Associate Dean, Agricultural Research StationDr. Donald McDowell, Associate Dean, Academic Programs

North Carolina A&T State University is committed to equality of educational opportunity and does not dis-criminate against applicants, students, or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, or disability. Moreover, North Carolina A&T State University is open to all people of all races and actively seeks to promote racial integration by recruiting and enrolling a large number of white students. Send change of address and correspondence to: on the move Newsletter Editor Agricultural Research Program CH Moore Agricultural Research Station Greensboro, NC 27411

7,000 copies of this public document were printed on recycled paper at a cost of $974.00 or $0.14 per copy.

Distributed in furtherance of the acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities are open to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, US Department of Agriculture and local governments cooperating.

flip sideflip side www.ag.ncat.eduwww.ag.ncat.eduMark Your Calendar

• Small Farms Field Day at the University Farm: June 24

• Research Apprentice Program: June 20 – July 16

• Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders: June 20 – 25

• Association of 1890 Extension Administrators Summer Meeting in Greensboro: July 6 – 9

Raising chickens in pastures instead of pens, cultivating seedless watermelons,

heat-tolerant lettuce, and disease-free tomatoes, are some of the latest farm

innovations that will be spotlighted at the annual Small Farms Field Day at the

University Farm on June 24. The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T’s horti-

culture specialist, Dr. Keith Baldwin (above), is the coordinator. To register for field

day, or more information, contact Baldwin or Linda Shoffner at (336) 334-7956.

Mark Your Calendar

• Small Farms Field Day at the University Farm: June 24

• Research Apprentice Program: June 20 – July 16

• Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders: June 20 – 25

• Association of 1890 Extension Administrators Summer Meeting in Greensboro: July 6 – 9

Raising chickens in pastures instead of pens, cultivating seedless watermelons,

heat-tolerant lettuce, and disease-free tomatoes, are some of the latest farm

innovations that will be spotlighted at the annual Small Farms Field Day at the

University Farm on June 24. The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T’s horti-

culture specialist, Dr. Keith Baldwin (above), is the coordinator. To register for field

day, or more information, contact Baldwin or Linda Shoffner at (336) 334-7956.