Calvo to Deliver NC State 2011 Borlaug Lecture

Julio Cesar Calvo AlvaradoDr. Julio César Calvo Alvarado, the Rector (President) of Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, will deliver the 2011 Borlaug Distinguished Lecture on Global Service to Society and Environment at NC State University. The event is open to the campus community and will be followed by a reception and an open circle discussion with President Calvo.

TOPIC: Costa Rica: In the Path of Environmental Sustainability. Lessons Learned.
WHEN:  3:30pm on Monday October 31, 2011
WHERE: Talley Student Center Ballroom, NC State University Campus.

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Additional opportunities to interact with Dr. Calvo

  • “Forestry Development in Costa Rica” – an open campus disciplinary seminar with Dr. Clavo willl be held from 10:15-11:30 am in Room 1214, Jordan Hall Addition.
  • College of Natural Resources Roundtable with Dr. Calvo for CNR students and faculty on Tuesday, November 1st from 2:00-3:30pm in Room 4024 Biltmore Hall (The Hines Room).

About Dr Calvo and TEC

Dr. Calvo is President of Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC), a national autonomous institution, with ca. 6500 students. TEC has undergraduate and graduate programs in a comprehensive array of disciplines: Business, Natural and Social Science and Humanities, and engineering in Agricultural, Forest, Electromechanical, Computer, Construction, Industrial, Design, Production, and Materials Sciences.

Dr. Calvo received his Ph.D in 1991 from Dept. of Forestry at NC State, working under the direction of Professor emeritus James Gregory. He has received Fulbright-LASPAU and NSF Fellowships, and been honored by SIGMA XI, and Agriculture and Forestry Honor Societies. In 1982 he earned an M.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry-Syracuse, and in 1978 his first degree in Forest Engineering from TEC. Professor Calvo works in forest hydrology, natural resources, forest ecology and remote sensing. Previously he was Chairman of the TEC School of Forestry 1983-1987, and again from 2007-2011. From 1997-2002 he was Executive Director of the Tropical Science Center, Costa Rica, and responsible for a Biological Reserves Network, including the Monteverde Cloud Forest Station.

The Noman E. Borlaug Distinguished Lecture on Global Service to Society and the Environment is co-sponsored annually by the College of Natural Resources (CNR) and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at NC State University.

$4 Million Grant Will Help Ramp Up Southeast Biofuel Production

North Carolina State University will use a $4 million grant to study the most efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly ways of producing biofuels from trees and from forest harvesting residue.

NC State’s College of Natural Resources is part of the Southeast Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems, a collaboration of several universities and industry partners who will work on all aspects of the “biofuels pipeline” between the forests where the trees – the biomass feedstock – are grown and the “biorefineries” where the biofuels are produced. The partnership is funded for five years with a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The research includes understanding the challenges of storing and transporting the biomass, and studying new developments in the production of biofuels. It also includes developing and deploying measures of the environmental and economic impacts of producing biofuel, says Dr. Steve Kelley, professor and head of NC State’s Department of Forest Biomaterials and the principal investigator for the NC State portion of the grant. He adds that the entire biofuel production process must be efficient, scalable and sustainable.

“The Southeast is a veritable ‘wood basket’ that can produce much of the feedstock that shows great promise for production of biofuels,” Kelley says. “Besides the obvious need for energy security, this project will develop economic and environmental measures that can inform the public discussion at the community level, and allow individual communities to evaluate their prospects for job creation and landowner income. We want to create the infrastructure capable of providing the backbone for increased biofuel capacity.”

The partnership will also study the best ways of informing and training forest landowners and local businesses on the “hows” and “whys” of producing, harvesting and transporting different varieties of biofuel feedstock.

The partnership grant was one of five USDA-NIFA grants recently announced – totaling more than $136 million – aimed at developing regional, renewable energy markets, generating rural jobs and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Joining Kelley as investigators on the grant are Drs. Robert Bardon, Vincent Chiang, Sudipta Dasmohapatra, Barry Goldfarb, Fikrit Isik, Hasan Jameel, Steve McKeand, Dan Robison, Sunkyu Park, Jose Stape, Richard Venditti and Ross Whetten. They are all faculty members in NC State’s College of Natural Resources.

For more information contact: Mick Kulikowski | NCSU News Services | 919.515.8387

Vibrant Foliage On Tap for Fall

Brilliant Fall Colors Dresses the Mountains of North CarolinaDespite a hot, dry summer across much of the state, this fall will still feature the vibrant colors that residents have come to expect, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Dr. Robert Bardon.

“The good news is that the trees aren’t currently being stressed by drought or other conditions, and the recent turn in the weather – with sunny, mild days and cool nights – is perfect for color production,” Bardon says.

During the spring and summer, leaves manufacture most of the food necessary for a tree’s growth. The food-making process occurs in cells that contain the pigment chlorophyll, which gives the leaves their green color. The leaves also contain other pigments that are masked most of the year by the greater amount of chlorophyll.

In the fall, partly because of the changes in the period of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop their food-making process. As the chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears and yellow colors surface. Other chemical changes create additional pigments that vary from yellow to red to blue.

The result is a parade of color that begins in the state’s northwestern corner in late September, then makes its way across North Carolina in a southeasterly direction. Due to the state’s varied geography, North Carolinians enjoy a color season that often lasts from the end of September until the middle of November.

Bardon predicts that the peak for Wake County will occur near the end of October, but early birds who want to get a jump on enjoying the season can probably already find some nice color in the upper elevations in places like Mt. Mitchell, Boone, or Blowing Rock.

Check The Weather Channel’s Fall Foliage Map>>>

Fall Foliage In the North Carolina Mountains >>>

More about Extension Forestry at NC State>>>

Let’s Hear It For The Girls!

Two Young Women GolfersThe Women in PGA Golf Management at North Carolina State University will host women from all 17 PGA universities around the country for an exciting girls-only conference including educational sessions on the golf industry as well as touring the Peter Millar Golf Apparel Company in Cary, NC.   This unique event will conclude with the Women’s Carolinas Cup Golf Tournament at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the beautiful NC State campus.

To promote women in golf, the College of Natural Resources (CNR) and the CNR Community for Diversity will select 16 high school young women with a passion for golf to network with these amazing college women and learn about careers in golf management on Thursday, October 20th.

In addition to attending information sessions on college admission, the College of Natural Resources, and Professional Golf Management, attendees will have lunch and tour the Peter Millar Company with  outstanding women who are thriving in a male-dominated sport, all for FREE!

DETAILS:
Thursday, October 20th
8:00 am – Registration/Breakfast
9:00-12:00 pm – Business Component of PGM & College Information Session
12:00-12:45 pm – Lunch
1:00-4:00 pm – Visit Peter Millar Apparel
4:15 pm – Return to CNR for student pick-up

For more information about the conference contact Shaefny Grays at sdgrays@ncsu.edu

More about PGA Golf Management at NC State
More about the CNR Community for Diversity

Conifer Translational Genomics Network Project Receives USDA Secretary’s Honor Award

Conifer Translational Genetics Network team with United States Department of Agriculture 63rd Secretary’s Annual Honor Awards held in the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 14, 2011.

Front Row, L to R: Fikret Isik(NC State), Deputy Secretary Merrigan, Nicholas Wheeler(adjunct - NC State & Oregon State), and Jill Wegrzyn(UC-Davis). Back row, L to R: Ross Whetten(NC State), Konstantin Krutovsky(Texas A&M), and Randy Johnson(US Forest Service) USDA photo by Bob Nichols

The Conifer Translational Genomics Network Coordinated Agricultural Project (CTGN -CAP) was honored at a ceremony in Washington, DC on September 14, 2011 with the prestigious 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary’s Honor Award in the category of Ensuring our national forests and private working lands are conserved, restored, and made more resilient to climate change, while enhancing our water resources.

Dr. Nick Wheeler with USDA Sec, Vilsack and Dept. Sec. MErrigan

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (l) and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan (r), with Dr. Nick Wheeler (c) representing the CTGN Team. USDA photo by Lance Cheung

These awards are the most prestigious Departmental awards presented by the Secretary of Agriculture and recognize exceptional leadership, contributions, or public service by individuals or groups who support the mission/goals of the USDA.

The CTGN CAP is an integrated research, education, and extension project aimed at maintaining or restoring healthy forests and ecosystems by bringing genomic-assisted breeding to applications in the United States.  The multi-state, multi-institution project is funded by the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the USDA Forest Service.  The CTGN draws from or delivers to virtually all conifer genomics scientists and tree breeders in the United States.

Project team members represent five universities, the Texas Forest Service, and the United States Forest Service.  Additional guidance and feedback comes from advisory committees: a Scientific Advisory Board, an Extension Committee, and an Education Committee.  Project evaluation for extension and education activities is provided by an independent evaluator from Cedar Lake Research Group, LLC.

Team members from NC State University’s Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources include:  Dr. Steve McKeand, Dr. Ross Whetten, Dr. Fikret Isik, Dr. J.B. Jett, Dr. Nicholas Wheeler, Joshua Steiger, Jaime Zapata, Funda Ogut, W. Patrick Cumbie, Jin (Sherry) Xiong.

Drs. Whetten, Isik and Wheeler from the NC State team made the trip to DC for the awards ceremony and reception with Secretary Vilsack.

More Information about The Conifer Translational Genomics Network Coordinated Agricultural Project

See more photos from the US Department of Agriculture 63rd  Secretary’s Annual Honor Awards in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Septemeber 14, 2011.