Innovations Scroll to read Volume 5, Issue 1 ↓
Building toward a bright future
At the university’s Kentland Farm, students in the new Dairy Science Complex are working with professors on projects that address issues ranging from milk quality to nutrient management. Meanwhile, in the life sciences precinct on campus, researchers are collaborating in the new labs of the Human and Agricultural Biosciences Building 1 to tackle some of society’s grand challenges related to alternative energy production, water quality, and food security.
A prized Virginia crop goes hi-tech
Maria Balota is a curator of sorts. The associate professor of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science is responsible for ensuring the perpetuity of one of the commonwealth’s most quintessential commodities: the peanut.
Dean's Update
Greetings from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. As you will read about in this issue of Innovations, this is a great time of growth in the college. We recently celebrated the opening of several new facilities, and we are looking ahead toward the construction of at least three new groups of buildings in the coming years that will benefit our students, researchers, and Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Graduate Teaching Scholar Program fosters relationships for fruitful careers
The college’s Graduate Teaching Scholar Program fills the gap that exists between the course work that students take and the research they do by encouraging collaboration, camaraderie, and mentorships between new doctoral students and faculty members — which in turn produces confident scholars and gifted instructors.
Pilot plant helps build bridges between industry and Virginia Tech
Things are really cooking in the Human and Agricultural Biosciences Building 1 pilot plant these days. In one corner of the 7,100-square-foot room, DuPont Teijin Films is working with researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology on innovative ways to package and process foods ranging from chicken and bread to broccoli and beans.
Outstanding faculty recognized
Healthy Beverage Index gives consumers clearer information
Most consumers know that sugary drinks such as soda are not healthy. But now a team of researchers from the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise has developed an index that can more accurately measure how healthy a person’s overall beverage intake is.
Biochemistry student spends summer running to raise awareness of cancer
Hannah Ricketts took a road trip this past summer from San Francisco to Baltimore. Except she wasn’t in a car — she was powered by her own two feet. Ricketts, a sophomore majoring in biochemistry from Danville, Virginia, participated in the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults run to raise funds and awareness about issues that affect young adults dealing with the complications of cancer.
Study using genetic lines of Virginia Tech chickens reveals evolution happens faster than thought
A critical component of an experiment that proved evolution happens 15 times faster than was previously believed relied on genetic lines of chickens from Virginia Tech.
AFA creates future agriculture leaders
The future of farming may depend on students like Elizabeth Galbreath. Galbreath, a junior agribusiness major from Street, Maryland, is the campus ambassador for Agriculture Future of America, an organization that identifies, encourages, and supports high-achieving students by preparing them for careers in the agriculture and food industries.
Researchers, students, and industry all benefit from new dairy science complex
More than 1,500 people celebrated the grand opening of the new Dairy Science Complex - Kentland Farm in July. Virginia Tech President Timothy D. Sands and Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore, along with Mike Akers, head of dairy science, and Ed Jones, director of Virginia Cooperative Extension, were among the many speakers at the opening who talked about the importance and impact of the new facility.
Growing 4-H science
During the first week of October, middle school students from Richmond got to experience first-hand Virginia’s No. 1 industry: agriculture. The students, along with parents and educators, traveled across the state exploring Virginia’s $55 billion agriculture industry during the five-day tour.
Alumni Happenings
CALS FallFest Homecoming Celebration
More than 300 alumni, faculty, staff, and students from the college celebrated with friends from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University before the Virginia Tech-Ohio State game Sept. 7.
Other happenings
- Virginia Tech and Purdue tailgate
- Regional alumni dinner and program
- News from the CALS Alumni Organization
- Alumni making a difference
Around the College
About Innovations
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