Strnad Receives Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award

Posted on June 30, 2011 by

Each year the North Carolina Wildlife Federation(NCWF) presents the prestigious Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards. The awards honor individuals, governmental bodies, organizations, and others who have exhibited an unwavering commitment to conservation in North Carolina. These are the highest natural resource honors given in the state.

Renee Strnad - coordinator NC Project Learning Tree and Forestry Extension Specialist at NC State University

Renee Strnad - 2011 Environmental Educator of the Year - NC

We are very excited that Renee Strnad, Extension Forestry Specialist and Coordinator of NC Project Learning Tree ® (NCPLT) in the College of Natural Resources at NC State University was selected as Environmental Educator of the Year.

One of the goals of the NCWF Conservation Awards is to inspire all North Carolinians to take a more active role in protecting the natural resources of our state through the celebration of these individuals and organizations.

Strnad’s enthusiasm for her work with NC State Extension Forestry, NCPLT, the Fur, Fish & Game Rendezvous 4-H Camp and with organizations like the North American Association of Environmental Educators and Environmental Educators of North Carolina have given her ample opportunities to educate and inspire people of all ages to understand and embrace the natural world around them. We are excited and proud that she is being recognized.
Congratulations, Renee!

We are also proud to have long, rewarding relationships with several other honorees including but not limited to –

Lewis Ledford – CONSERVATIONIST of the Year
The longtime director of the North Carolina State Parks system, Ledford is a friend of the college and the 2009-2010 Lifetime Acheivement Award winner from our Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management

Wilburn (Wib) Owen – FOREST CONSERVATIONIST of the Year
An alumnus of our forestry ( ’78) and recreation (’84) programs, Owen has served at the Wildlife Resources Commission and as State Forester for North Carolina where he had responsibility to protect our forests for the people of our state, Owen and his staff were (and still are) are frequent partners and collaborators with researchers and extension specialists at NC State.

Hal Atkinson – SPORTSMAN of the Year
A 1966 alumnus, Atkinson served for 20 years as chief of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Division of Wildlife Management where he had daily impact on conservation in the state and where he championed collaboration with NC State’s wildife researchers and extension specialists.

See all the winners

We congratuate each awardee and thank them for their dedication to convervation in North Carolina and for their past and future support of the NC State College of Natural Resources.

A gala banquet is scheduled for August 27, 2011 at the Hilton Raleigh Durham where award recipients will be recognized and presented with a statuette and certificate.

Learn More about –
Extension Forestry
Project Learning Tree
NC Wildlife Federation

Paper Science and Engineering Class of 2011 Celebrates With Senior Banquet

Posted on May 16, 2011 by moorman

Paper Science and Engineering seniors at 2011 annual banquet sponosored by Rayonier.

The NC State University Paper Science and Engineering Class of 2011 celebrated its achievements last week during the annual senior banquet. Sponsored by Rayonier, students were invited to enjoy the evening with great food, classmates, friends and department faculty. The accomplishments of 29 Paper Science and Engineering seniors were recognized during the event.

Senior Sonja Jones, double major in chemistry and paper science and engineering, was voted “Most Congenial Senior” by her classmates. The George T. Davis Most Congenial Senior Award is an annual honor noting the Paper Science and Engineering student who embodied a positive spirit, a bright smile on any day, and a kind heart.

Sonja Jones accepts the 2011 Most Congenial Senior Award from Dr. Med Byrd.

It has become tradition in the past 5 years for the students and faculty to take the stage to roast one another in farewell. The faculty took the opportunity to go first and roast the lively group of seniors in the Class of 2011. The students were not to be out-done! The toils of 4 years working individually with each of the faculty gave them plenty of insight on how to highlight the unique character of the Forest Biomaterials faculty.

Dr. Med Byrd took the opportunity to remind students of the industry partners, alumni and friends who have supported their scholarships and professional development over the past few years. He encouraged students to pledge to give back to NC State and the Paper Science & Engineering program. Dr. Hasan Jameel, Dr. Med Byrd and Dr. Richard Phillips pledged $4,000 to create the Class of 2011 scholarship fund. Two members of the Class of 2011 took the challenge and stepped right up with pledges!

90% of the students graduating on May 14, 2011 have secured permanent employment or will be entering graduate school. Graduates have accepted offers at Rayonier, International Paper, Kimberly Clark, Dupont and Nalco, among other companies. Other students plan to pursue Ph.d’s in Chemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Georgia Tech. One graduate has plans to attend law school and another is accepting her commission with the US Navy.

Many students in the Class of 2011 are completing a dual major in Chemical Engineering and will be graduating in December. The Department of Forest Biomaterials and Rayonier congratulate the Class of 2011!

Paper Science and Engineering Class of 2011 at Senior Banquet.

Professors Honored by NC State Alumni Association

Posted on May 9, 2011 by

Every year, the Alumni Association at NC State University honors faculty who excel in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field.

On May 5, 2011 two faculty members from the College of Natural Resources were among a select group honored during a ceremony which featured remarks by Chancellor Randy Woodson and Judi Grainger ’72, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. A reception followed the awards ceremony.

2011 Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professor

Medwick Byrd
Department of Forest Biomaterials
College of Natural Resources

Q&A with Med Byrd

2011 Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor

Hugh A. Devine
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
College of Natural Resources

Q&A with High Devine

Megan Cain, Environmental Technology and Management Student, receives 2011 Earthwise Award

Posted on April 28, 2011 by rwgonzal

NCSU Office of Sustainability – Megan Cain, a senior in Environmental Technology and Management, is a 2011 Earthwise Award Recipient.

2011 Earthwise Award Recipients and Presenters: Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business, Charles D. Leffler, Andy Fox (faculty), Anne Tazewell (staff), Megan Cain (student), Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Tom Stafford and Campus Ambassador for Coca-Cola, Kyle Felmut.

In a ceremony held earlier this week, the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team at North Carolina State University announced the 2011 Earthwise Award recipients. Megan Cain (student), Andy Fox (faculty) and Anne Tazewell (staff) were recognized for their continued commitment to move sustainability forward on campus. The 2011 awards were made possible by a generous donation from Coca-Cola.

Presenting the awards were Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Tom Stafford and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business, Charles D. Leffler. Kyle Felmut, campus ambassador, represented Coca-Cola.

Each year a faculty, staff and student are honored with an Earthwise Award for outstanding achievement in environmental sustainability at NC State. The Campus Environmental Sustainability Team presents the awards in order to recognize work that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The 2011 winners received a plaque made of 100% recycled glass and a $200 check.

Megan is a senior in Environmental Technology and Management in the College of Natural Resources. Over the past four years she has utilized two internships to help pay for college while expanding her knowledge in various areas of sustainability.

In her time with NC State’s Waste Reduction and Recycling office and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources she has: organized a cleanup of Schenck Forest, acted as volunteer coordinator for WE Recycle, volunteered to co-lead the first Costa Rica Alternative Service Break trip, organized several NC State Earth Day Concerts and assisted with many green events on campus.

Dr. Ron Sederoff Named 2011 Forest Biotechnologist of the Year

Posted on April 14, 2011 by

NEWS RELEASE

Dr. Ron Sederoff, Distinguished University Professor, Edwin F. Conger Professor of Forestry & Environmental Resources and Co-Director of the Forest Biotechnology Group at NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA has been named 2011 Forest Biotechnologist of the Year by the Institute of Forest Biotechnology (IFB).

Sederoff was selected by his peers within the Forest Biotechnology Partnership, an international group of forestry and biotechnology professionals. Sederoff is the third scientist to win this award. It is given to the forest biotechnologist who best exemplifies responsible uses of forest biotechnology and actively promotes science, dialogue, and stewardship through their work.

Susan McCord, Executive Director of the IFB said, “The candidates that the Forest Biotechnology Partners nominated were world class researchers. Dr. Sederoff has contributed significantly to the field of forest biotechnology this year, and in the past three decades, particularly with regard to training the next generations of Forest Biotechnologists. It is a great legacy.”

According to his nominators, Dr. Sederoff was selected because of his leadership in modern forest biotechnology, his track record of scientific innovation, and his willingness to challenge the status quo with unique perspectives and insight that invite broad engagement in research.

Sederoff is among the top forest biotechnology scientists in the world having worked in forest biotechnology for 28 years. In 1988 he established the Forest Biotechnology Group at NC State University that focused on the genetic basis of quantitative traits in trees, using molecular genetics to advance tree improvement and on the molecular basis of wood formation, particularly lignin biosynthesis. Trees of particular interest have been pines, eucalypts and chestnuts.

Among his recent accomplishments is the development of a systems biology approach to the biosynthesis of lignin in partnership with Dr. Vincent Chiang, also of NC State University, and leading an effort on genomics of the beech family to develop chestnut genomics as a major step toward the restoration of the American chestnut.

“Researchers are already using genomic sciences for applications in human, animal and crop health. It’s time for us to use the technology for environmental health,” according to Sederoff. Fast-growing, high quality trees grown as crops can greatly reduce the pressure on natural forest land. It should be possible to attack deforestation, habitat destruction, and climate change through ‘domestication’ of trees, and the modification of trees to help solve environmental problems, including bioenergy.”

Sederoff is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences – one of three Members in all Forest Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Member of the International Academy of Wood Science. In 2004, he received an honorary Doctorate in Forest Science from the Swedish Agricultural University. A native of Montreal Canada, he is married to Heike Winter Sederoff and has three children, Kim, Sarah and Henry.

Adam Costanza, President of the IFB had this to day about the selection of Sederoff as 2011 Forest Biotechnologist of the Year, “Top forest biotechnology researchers consider Dr. Sederoff a leader in this field for good reasons. Ron is one of the fathers of this technology, yet he continues to imagine how it can be put to use to benefit people, the environment, and save threatened trees. The Forest Biotechnology Partners continue to nominate true visionaries as Forest Biotechnologist of the Year. I’m happy that I get to work with Ron and learn from his insight in science, dialogue, and stewardship of forest biotechnology.”

The Forest Biotechnology Partnership will name another Forest Biotechnologist of the Year in 2012. The recipient can be any practitioner in the field regardless of their research affiliations.

More information is available at the Institute of Forest Biotechnology’s website: www.forestbiotech.org

Media Contacts: Adam Costanza | Institute of Forest Biotechnology | adam.costanza@forestbiotech.org or Ron Sederoff | NC State University | ron_sederoff@ncsu.edu

2011 Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professor

Medwick Byrd Department of Forest Biomaterials College of Natural Resources

2011 Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor

Medwick Byrd
Department of Forest Biomaterials
College of Natural Resources