NC State Announces Interim Leaders for Agricultural and Life Sciences Research

Amy Grunden and Loren Fisher, assistant directors for the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, will become interim associate deans and co-directors of the research arm of NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), effective Nov. 1. 

Steven Lommel, longtime CALS associate dean for research and NCARS director, will retire on Oct. 31. The college has launched a national search for the next CALS associate dean for research and NCARS director. 

The dual interim role involves not only the traditional responsibilities of an associate dean for research at NC State but also leadership of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS), with oversight of federal capacity funding and experimental research stations. NCARS encompasses NC State faculty in 12 departments and at 22 research stations and field labs across North Carolina in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

In serving as interim co-directors, Grunden will assume the duties of the associate dean for research, providing guidance, advocacy and strategic thinking for the CALS research enterprise in collaboration with university research leadership. Fisher will be responsible for the duties of the director of NCARS, overseeing the CALS experimental research station system and capacity research funding and reporting.

“We are fortunate to have such a strength of experience with our two interim leaders, who will ensure continuity for NCARS and its critical research mission,” said CALS Dean Garey Fox. “Dr. Lommel’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in shaping the future of agricultural and life sciences research. His dedication and remarkable contributions have left a lasting legacy.”

Grunden’s responsibilities as NCARS assistant director have included overseeing the seven CALS research centers and CALS proposal development services, assisting with capacity funding reporting for the college, and providing guidance for strategic investment and development in the CALS research enterprise. She is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Microbiology in NC State’s Department of Plant and Microbial Biology.

Grunden has studied the physiology of beneficial microorganisms and their biotechnological applications for crop improvement, carbon capture, soil health and sustainable agriculture. Another focus of her research is understanding interactions between plants and microbes. In her role as a research program leader, Grunden has developed ways to use microbes and microbial enzymes for crop improvement, biofuel production, fertilizer production and bio-decontamination through projects funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, National Science Foundation, DSM Nutritionals Inc. and HanesBrand Inc. 

Grunden currently leads a $32 million multinational Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) funded Collaborative Crop Resilience Program, which is focused on harnessing plant microbiomes to enhance crop resilience. She is also an investigator on the NNF-funded Biocatalyst Interactions with Gases (BIG) Collaboration to develop scalable immobilized enzyme systems for carbon capture and nitrogen fixation, and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to develop and implement microbial-induced carbonate precipitation technologies to repair storm-damaged infrastructure such as levees and bridges.

Grunden earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in microbiology and cell sciences from the University of Florida. She served as a postdoctoral fellow with the University of Georgia’s Department of Biochemistry before joining NC State as an assistant professor of microbiology in 2000. 

Fisher has served as NCARS assistant director for NC State research stations and field labs since 2022, with responsibilities for managing intellectual property licensing and agreements and for commodity relations. A Philip Morris Professor in NC State’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Fisher has collaborated on flue-cured and burley tobacco research at multiple field labs across the state, publishing 58 refereed journal articles and 202 peer-reviewed Extension publications. 

Fisher previously served as an assistant director for NCARS on a half-time basis from 2018 to 2021. He devoted 20% of his time to assistant director duties from 2012 to 2018. He was a professor and Extension tobacco specialist from 2014 to 2021, when he was named an interim assistant director of NCARS.

A three-time graduate of NC State, Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and both master’s and doctoral degrees in crop science. He worked as a summer research technician, a graduate assistant and an Extension associate before joining the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences faculty as an assistant professor in 2002.

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.