www.news-record.com/news/education/usda_092004.htmA&T entices science center to Greensboro
9-20-04
By Marta Hummel Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- If N.C. A&T and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have their way, Greensboro will become a hub for researching biofuels, soil erosion and the sociology of farming.
The two will sign an agreement today that will bring about 80 mostly advanced-degree scientists and technologists earning about $93,000 from across the country to Greensboro.
The move comes as part of a reorganization of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a department of the USDA. The restructuring includes opening three new scientific and technological support centers, including the one in Greensboro. The others are in Portland, Ore., and Fort Worth, Texas.
"We want the partnership to serve as a model for other research centers in the Triad," said A&T Chancellor James Renick. "It's our intent to include as many interested parties as possible in the project."
Building research relationships with local companies is part of the mission, said Renick, who has been lobbying for the project for the past two years. The school was awarded the project based on a number of factors, including A&T's land-grant status, its engineering strengths and North Carolina hospitality, he said. Renick did not say how many universities or groups were competing for the project.
Three of the partnership's main goals are to find ways to convert animal waste into fertilizer and fuel; to establish techniques for conserving water for different types of crops; and to build relationships with local farmers so that they know what technologies are available, said Alton Thompson, professor and dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at A&T.
One of the projects that the National Technology Support Center will research is looking at how to hold carbon in the soil to prevent it from being released into the atmosphere, where it can damage the ozone, said Lawrence Clark, deputy chief for science and technology at the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington. Clark will oversee the three centers.
The work would prepare the United States to start a carbon-trading program, much like those already in place for coal emissions, where companies can buy credits from others who do not use up their pollution quota, Clark said. Europe already has a carbon-trading program, he said.
The center also will research how to protect crops from terrorist attacks, Thompson said. In addition, it will be home to a lab that will use technology to monitor land usage and environmental conditions.
One of the center's long-term goals is to train more agricultural economists to work for the USDA, he said.
"It's a very significant announcement," said Don Kirkman, president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, a regional economic development group in Greensboro.
"If you look at Research Triangle Park, you'll see that the public sector played a key role in its development," he said, in reference to the massive public-private center that's home to IBM and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
Kirkman did not know if the new Greensboro center would be a magnet for businesses. However, he said it would complement regional academic interests and jump-start the research at A&T and UNCG's planned joint Millennial Campus. The center will serve as the main campus for conservation research for 24 Eastern states and the Caribbean and will host students and scientists from those areas for temporary projects. The school has not researched the economic impact of the partnership but plans to measure it, Renick said.
For now, Renick said he hopes it will be a "vibrant academic community," and a catalyst for turning research into usable processes and products for farmers.
The center's director, Bill Puckett, said he would like to focus on working with farmers and helping them move from tobacco to specialty crops such as organic produce that are in high demand. He said he hopes to use the center's land as an outdoor classroom for farmers interested in learning how to plant new crops and in updating their skills.
The center temporarily will be housed at The Black Box on Northwood Street, across from Moses Cone Hospital. It will eventually move to the A&T farm at Lee Street and Interstate 40, the land scheduled to be turned into the Millennial Campus.
