McFerson named to national
genetic resource advisory council
Jim McFerson, director of the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, was appointed a Scientific Member to the National Genetic Resources Advisory Council in December.
The nine-member group advises the U.S. Department of Agriculture on actions and policies for collection, maintenance, and utilization of genetic resources of agriculturally important organisms: plants, forest species, animals, aquatic species, insects, and microbes.
“Having worked so much of my career with plant genetic resources, this is both an honor and an exciting challenge,” said McFerson. “It is particularly gratifying that I can represent the incredible array of genetic resources that are so important to Washington state, from crop plants to livestock to forest to fish to fungi and even microorganisms.”
Since so many WSU faculty are involved in activities related to genetic resources, from breeding, to genetics, to genomics, McFerson will have the opportunity to understand more about their work and highlight their activities at the national and international level.
“I hope that I can also provide some insight on external funding and training opportunities for our faculty and students.”
Paper showcases Extension, Entomology role in detecting new pests
WSU Extension and the Department of Entomology are significant contributors to detecting exotic pests that threaten Washington’s farms, gardens and forests, says a newly published article in American Entomologist.
The article, Shadow Surveys: How Non-Target Identifications and Citizen Outreach Enhance Exotic Pest Detection, measures the significance of educating stakeholders about threatening pests, and how to identify them. Programs such as Master Gardeners and Pesticide Education have been found to be important in encouraging submission of newly introduced pests for identification and confirmation.
In the past 20 years, close to a quarter of all new insect pest detections in Washington originated from WSU Extension programs. Others prompted insect sample submissions to the Washington Department of Agriculture. Early detection of newly introduced pests mitigates the damage these pests can cause.
Todd Murray, director of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Extension Program Unit, was a co-author. Learn more here.
Conference looks to rebuild historic grains economy
Neighbors thought he could never grow wheat and barley in a place that gets 82 inches of rain a year. But Evan Mulvaney knew his history.
“The Chehalis Valley grew grain for years,” said Mulvaney, owner of Hidden River Farms near Montesano, Wash. “It made sense for us to start growing our own grain.”
Mulvaney is among farmers, researchers and stakeholders who will share their experiences rebuilding the grain economy west of the Cascades at the fifth annual Cascadia Grains Conference, presented by WSU Jan. 6 and 7 in Olympia.
Wenatchee Valley plan calls
for new Graduate Research Center
Creating new learning opportunities in the Wenatchee Valley, the proposal calls for a graduate-level research center that focuses on green technology for agriculture, hydroelectric, fire science, climatology, hydrology, geology, transportation, and other industries.
It would expand the Tree Fruit Center into a major institute, taking advantage of North Central Washington’s status as a world-class fruit-producing region, the need for the fruit industry to innovate, and WSU’s goal of becoming one of the top 25 research universities in the United States.
Animal scientist Harrison earns press
for mobile phosphorus recycler
Joe Harrison, Extension specialist at WSU Puyallup and scientist in the Department of Animal Sciences, was featured in the Capital Press for his research, extracting phosphorus from manure to make a useful fertilizer called struvite.
Harrison recently received a $460,000 grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and $150,000 from the Washington Dairy Products Commission to build a portable extractor. This spring, he plans to haul it on a 24-foot trailer to dairies in Western and Eastern Washington.
Awards and Grants
Presentation awards
for BSE graduate students
Congratulations to three students awarded the best presentations in the Biological Systems Engineering 598 Graduate Seminar course in December.
In first place, Deepali Jain presented on “A simulation model for microwave assisted thermal pasteurization system.” In second place, Jie Xu spoke on the “Development of a dry inoculation method using freeze-dried inocula for inactivation studies in low moisture foods.” In third, Innu Chaudhary presented an “Investigation of ‘lignin modification mechanisms’ in termite inspired bio-pretreatment process- An Enzymatic Perspective.”
With class audiences coming from different majors, award winners sought to keep their presentations interesting and vivid.
“I started with a story about history of food processing and explained how and why ready-to-eat meals, invented for soldiers, have become a big part of our everyday lives,” said Jain, who explained the purpose of her research and how it can enhance the quality of processed meals.
Xu acted the role of a quality associate from a major food company and gave the annual safety report to her audience.
“This way, I could address the significance and background of my research in a natural way and attract more attention from the listeners,” she said. “It worked pretty well, and there were lots of questions afterward. I received lots of valuable suggestions and feedback.”
“This award is a big encouragement for hard work,” Xu added. “It lets me know that being a qualified graduate student is not just publishing papers and working in labs, but also sharing new findings and ideas.”
Grant helps build cotton database
Department of Horticulture faculty members Dorrie Main, associate professor of bioinformatics, and Sook Jung, assistant research professor, received a $741,889 grant from Cotton Incorporated and Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors to continue development of CottonGen.
CottonGen is an open-source genomics, genetics and breeding web database for cotton research, developed at WSU. Check out CottonGen resources here.
Grant funds test
of market potential
for jet fuel research
Researchers at WSU Tri-Cities have been awarded a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant to explore the market potential of their biojet fuel research. The team has successfully demonstrated a new, water-based process for deconstructing and recovering lignin from biomass and converting it into jet fuel-range hydrocarbons. These could be certified as jet fuel in the future.
Bin Yang, associate professor in Biological Systems Engineering and principal investigator for the grant, holds a patent on the process. Read more here.
Gap award funds apple smartphone, smart textile projects
Two CAHNRS faculty and scholars were among among 13 recipients of WSU Commercialization Gap Fund awards in December, aimed at helping bring innovations to the market.
Abihisesh Silwal, doctoral student in Biological Systems Engineering, received funds for his project, which uses smartphones to make a crop load estimation of apples while they’re still on the tree. Silwal is advised by Manoj Karkee.
Hang Liu, assistant professor in Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, received an award for her work developing self-weighing, self-powered, smart sensing textiles.
Collaborating with researchers in the College of Nursing and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, the goal of her project is to develop a smart sensing textile material that can detect, measure, and report fluid volume digitally by combining a host of techniques including conductive nanofibers, energy harvesting, and microelectronics. Product applications include diapers and absorbent pads for critically ill pediatric patients, women during childbirth, and people who wear catheters.