Notable Research Projects

What we Think and Do drives innovation in plant improvement, data-driven plant science and resilient agricultural systems.
Click the links below to learn about our interdisciplinary research teams and their extraordinary discovery and outreach.
Learn about our research, discovery and outreach
Grants for Game Changers
NC State provided competitive seed funding for four interdisciplinary team-based research and outreach projects tackling global challenges. The funding totaled $2.3M
Collaborative Crop Resilience Program
Interdisciplinary Research Program Targets Wheat Microbes for Resiliency

Amy Grunden is leading a six-year, $30 million study on the wheat microbiome to make the staple more resilient. The project is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the parent organization of NC State partner and biological solutions leader Novozymes.
An interdisciplinary team of experts from North Carolina State University and three Danish universities will examine the roles of plant-associated microbes and their interactions with plants. The goal is to help make crops more resilient against environmental stresses, including drought, while reducing the need for chemical treatments and irrigation.
The University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and the Technical University of Denmark will collaborate on the project.
Research Faculty
- Amy Grunden, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Oliver Baars, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Gina Brown-Guedira, USDA-ARS, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Ignazio Carbone, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Marc Cubeta, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Colleen Doherty, Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry
- Christine Hawkes, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Manuel Kleiner, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Heike Sederoff, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Ross Sozzani, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
Precision Sustainable Agriculture
Nationwide Project on Cover Crops, Big Data to Improve Agricultural Sustainability

Chris Reberg-Horton will co-lead a five-year, $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve the sustainability and profitability of agriculture by advancing the study and use of cover crops such as rye, clover and radishes.
The interdisciplinary team that includes crop experts, computer modelers and social scientists from 36 institutions, will research questions ranging from the extent to which cover crops can increase drought tolerance to how the lushness of the cover crop in different parts of the field impacts soil nitrogen levels.
Research Faculty
- Chris Reberg-Horton, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Rob Austin, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Ramon Leon Gonzalez, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Edgar Lobaton, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Roderick Rejesus, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
- Alex Woodley, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Jorgen Eriksen, Aarhus University
- Rasmus Joergensen, Aarhus University
- Morten Laursen, Aarhus University
- William Salas, Applied GeoSolutions
- Audrey Gamble, Auburn University
- Dara Park, Clemson University
- Rongzhong Ye, Clemson University
- Matt Ryan, Cornell University
- Jyotsna Acharya, Iowa State University
- Rashelle Matthiesen, Iowa State University
- Alison Robertson, Iowa State University
- DeAnn Presley, Kansas State University
- Peter Tomlinson, Kansas State University
- Lisa Fultz, Louisiana State University
- Joann Whalen, McGill University
- Dean Baas, Michigan State University
- Karen Renner, Michigan State University
- Adam Reimer, National Wildlife Federation
- Twain Butler, Noble Research Institute
- Kelley Tilmon, The Ohio State University
- John Tooker, Penn State
- Franklin Egan, Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture
- John Wallace, Penn State
- Shalamar Armstrong, Purdue University
- Eileen Kladivko, Purdue University
- Anna Morrow, Purdue University
- Linda Prokopy, Purdue University
- Ankita Raturi, Purdue University
- Kelli Dale, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
- Scott Marlow, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
- Muthu Bagavathiannan, Texas A&M University
- Vijay Singh, Texas A&M University
- Jarrod Miller, University of Delaware
- David Owens, University of Delaware
- Mark VanGessel, University of Delaware
- Carlene Chase, University of Florida
- Michael Mulvaney, University of Florida
- Mickie Swisher, University of Florida
- Danielle Treadwell, University of Florida
- Julia Gaskin, University of Georgia
- Miguel Cabrera, University of Georgia
- Alexa Lamm, University of Georgia
- Kevan Lamm, University of Georgia
- Jenn Thompson, University of Georgia
- Linda Schott, University of Idaho
- Nick Seiter, University of Illinois
- Erin Haramoto, University of Kentucky
- Hanna Poffenbarger, University of Kentucky
- Kate Tully, University of Maryland
- Kerry Clark, University of Missouri
- Charles Ellis, University of Missouri
- Ray Massey, University of Missouri
- Rob Myers, University of Missouri
- Andrea Basche, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Justin McMechan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Samuel Wortman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Richard Smith, University of New Hampshire
- Heather Darby, University of Vermont
- Meredith Niles, University of Vermont
- Matt Ruark, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Erin Silva, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Kip Balkcom, USDA-ARS Auburn University
- Kirk Iversen, USDA-ARS Auburn University
- Jeffrey Walker, USDA-ARS Auburn University
- Michel Cavigelli, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
- David Fleisher, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
- Steven Mirsky, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
- Harry Schomberg, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
- Alondra Thompson, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
- Dennis Timlin, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
- Michael Flessner, Virginia Tech
- Mark Reiter, Virginia Tech
- Doug Collins, Washington State University
Fertilizer of The Future
Harnessing New Technologies to Cut Energy Use, Protect Water and Help Farmers

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at NC State, led by Katharina Stapelmann, is setting out on an ambitious 3-year project to tackle the energy-intensive process of producing and shipping nitrogen-based fertilizer.
They will test two game-changing methods of on-farm fertilizer production and develop an on-demand, precision fertigation system to detect soil moisture and nitrogen levels and then supply water and nutrients exactly where they are needed. This should lead to less waste, less fertilizer runoff into the water supply and increased crop yields.
Research Faculty
- Katharina Stapelmann, Department of Nuclear Engineering
- Douglas Call, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
- Amy Grunden, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Luciano Gatiboni, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Ricardo Hernandez, Department of Horticultural Sciences
- Jordan Kern, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
- Anna Locke, USDA-ARS, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Marcela Rojas-Pierce, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Deepti Salvi, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
- Chadi Sayde, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- Steven Shannon, Department of Nuclear Engineering
- Rachel Vann, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Plant-Aid
Developing a Cost-Effective Sensor System to Detect Emerging Plant Diseases

An interdisciplinary team led by Jean Ristaino will develop an innovative platform to monitor crops for signs of early plant disease, empowering farmers to make real-time, data-driven decisions.
They will attach cost-effective sensors to tomato plants, checking for physical, chemical, environmental and biomolecular markers of disease or plant stress. That data — collected wirelessly on smartphones — will then be integrated with a bioinformatics and geospatial database, to alerts growers of new outbreaks. The team will use the data to model the disease spread to inform a more effective, rapid response.
Research Faculty
- Jean Ristaino, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Chris Jones, Center Geospatial Analytics
- Inga Meadows , Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- David Rasmussen, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Dorith Rotenberg, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Robert Scheller, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
- Qingshan Wei, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Anna Whitfield, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Kelly Zering, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics
- Yong Zhu, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Big Data for Better Sweetpotatoes
Big Data Platform to Take Tons of Sweetpotato Photos to Improve Productivity

A multidisciplinary team led by Cranos Williams is developing a data-driven platform to find out how to grow a superior sweetpotato.
They aim to combine information from images of hundreds of thousands of sweetpotatoes and their growth conditions to determine the factors that impact sweetpotato size and shape to increase the percentage of sweetpotatoes that are USDA grade 1. The platform will use custom imaging to detect shape, size, surface texture and internal composition, as well as the presence of harmful crop damage. That data then enters a computational platform — which will be created in partnership with Intero Life Sciences and SAS, Inc. — to improve decision-making for North Carolina growers, producers and distributors.
Research Faculty
- Cranos Williams, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Mike Boyette, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- Khara Grieger, Genetic Engineering and Society Center
- Anders Huseth, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Daniela Jones, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- Michael Kudenov, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Edgar Lobaton, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Natalie Nelson, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- Kemafor Ogan, Department of Computer Science
- Ken Pecota, Department of Horticultural Science
- Alessandra Scafuro, Department of Computer Science
- Ross Sozzani, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Craig Yencho, Department of Horticultural Science
FUN-CROPS
Using Leaf-Living Fungi to Improve Crop Resilience to Drought, Disease

A team of engineers, plant pathologists and microbiologists led by Christine Hawkes will study how plant fungal symbionts can improve crop resilience.
They will determine if fungi can be manipulated across entire landscapes, identify highly beneficial fungi and the genes that produce the benefits, develop methods to identify microscopic fungi, and explore potential policy implications and stakeholder responses to fungal manipulation in crops. The team aims to develop practical tools to adapt crops to later cold snaps, longer heat waves, bigger hurricanes and atypical droughts.
Research Faculty
- Christine Hawkes, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Peter Balint-Kurti, USDA-ARS, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Gina Brown-Guedira, USDA-ARS, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Nathan Crook, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Jason Delborne, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
- Kevin Garcia, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Josh Gray, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
- Ryan Heiniger, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Michael Kudenov, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Anna Locke, USDA-ARS, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Ross Sozzani, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
- Lindsey Thiessen, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Cranos Williams, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Talking the Plant Talk
Tiny Sensors to Translate the Language of Plants for Precision Farming

A cross-college team of plant scientists and engineers have developed small, inexpensive sensors to detect the volatile organic compounds plants use to communicate with each other.
They are using an array of these sensors to eavesdrop on crops such as tomatoes and wheat to detect pests, pathogens and other stressors before the plants show visible signs of trouble. They hope to develop a system to translate the plants’ messages reliably and accurately to help farmers prevent crop loss.
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