Emerging Research Showcase
Join us for any of our upcoming events that bring NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences research and innovations to industry stakeholders who can utilize them in the real world.
Upcoming Events
Fall 2024 details coming soon!
Past Events
Generative AI in Agriculture and Life Sciences
April 2, 2024 | 3 – 5 p.m.
đź“ŤNorth Carolina Biotechnology Center, 15 T.W. Alexander Drive, RTP
The first Emerging Research Showcase of 2024 including a welcome from Dean Fox and four presentations from industry experts regarding their views of generative AI in agriculture and life sciences. Five CALS faculty members also presented research briefs on the same topic, followed by 2-minute pitches from four of our students.
Calls for Collaboration
- Jing Zhang (jzhan256@ncsu.edu) requests collaborators who want to bridge the gap between genomics and phenomics, and partners to extend her work in sweetpotatoes to other crops.
- Cong Mai (cmai@ncsu.edu) wants to hear about your challenges! How can he collaborate with you to use AI-driven processing to retrieve knowledge from images?
- Lirong Xiang (lxiang3@ncsu.edu), like most engineers, wants to know what new problem can be solved through AI, machine learning, and robotics.
- Orlando Arguello-Miranda (oargell@ncsu.edu) seeks industry collaborators and cost-share partners to use computer driven diagnostics with image based microfluidics for antibiotic resistance screening and to determine plant pathogen infections, extending these algorithms to process real world images and solve real world problems.
- Marcelo Mollinari (mmollin@ncsu.edu) seeks support for students, workshops and in kind support for genotyping, sequencing and phenotyping.
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Animal Health and Well-Being
September 26 | 3 – 6 p.m.
đź“ŤStateview Hotel, Raleigh, NC
Our first Emerging Research Showcase of the 23-24 academic year featured the latest research on animal health, including experts on species from aquaculture to poultry, swine, and ruminants. This event allowed participants from academia and industry to discuss partnership and philanthropic opportunities in various areas of animal health.
Calls for Collaboration
- Jicai Jiang (jicai_jiang@ncsu.edu) wants to collaborate with you to tailor cost-effective computations for your genomic evaluations in plants or animals. His computational models yield valuable insights into plant and animal traits while reducing CPU computational time and the associated carbon footprint.
- Vivek Fellner (vivek_fellner@ncsu.edu) has expertise in modeling ruminant responses to feed additives, chemical inhibition of metabolic hydrogen or chemical and hydrogenotroph interventions that can decarbonize carbon for energy capture, storage or dispersion. How can these tools be used to meet your company’s regenerative agriculture goals?
- Steve Hall (shall5@ncsu.edu) gave us an overview of aquaculture engineering. Partner with Steve and the rest of the NC State Aquaculture Research & Extension team to build the future workforce focused on this sustainable protein source.
- Tom Vukina (vukina@ncsu.edu) is looking to study the cost structure of animal-friendly husbandry practices and to predict which animals and practices are prone to future initiatives and which states are likely to enact them.
- Lin Walker (lwalker3@ncsu.edu) wants to partner with industry to direct more targeted poultry and egg food safety interventions to support broiler and egg producers and reduce foodborne illnesses associated with poultry and eggs.
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Talent & Workforce Development
May 4, 2023
đź“ŤThe StateView Hotel, Raleigh, NC
In a departure from our usual Emerging Research Showcase series, we’ll meet some of the faculty who focus on pedagogy, and “showcase” professional development, certificate, and professional science masters programs.
Experts’ Contact Info
- Stuart Mease, ROCS Grad Staffing: The importance of certifications/micro-credentialing in new hiring
- Kim Allen, Academic Programs for CALS: CALS Certification overview
- Danesha Seth Carley, CERSA: Regulatory Science Certification
- Meaghan Nappo, Master of Microbial Biotechnology Program
- Alex Graves, CALS Office of Diversity and Inclusion: DEIA
- Diana Urieta, Juntos; Extension Specialist: Building a Diverse Workforce
- Ben Chapman, Agricultural and Human Sciences: Academic research to improve workforce development outcomes
- Transformational leadership and organizational behavior:
- Jackie Bruce, Agricultural and Human Sciences; Leadership in Ag and Life Sciences Minor
- Katie McKee, Agricultural & Human Sciences
- Joy Morgan, Agricultural & Human Sciences; North Carolina Agricultural Leadership Development Program
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Long-Term Carbon Sequestration
February 21, 2023 | 3 – 6 p.m. ET
đź“ŤNC State University Plant Sciences Building
The focus was on technologies that “permanently” pull carbon out of the air and the implications for managing climate change. Our expert speakers covered recent advancements and barriers to large scale removal of carbon from the atmosphere. Emphasis was placed on the permanence, or durability, of the carbon once removed from the atmosphere. Specific sinks of carbon covered included agricultural soils, forests, oceans, underground geologic formations and bioproducts. Both technical and economic implications for capturing and storing carbon in these various sinks were discussed.
Calls for Collaboration
- Joe Sagues (wjsagues@ncsu.edu) requests connections to generators of large quantities of organic waste that are seeking lower cost disposal pathways.
- Alex Woodley (alwoodle@ncsu.edu) seeks collaborators who are focused on products, technologies or platforms that can mitigate climate change through reducing GHG emissions from agricultural fields, sequester carbon in soils and build resilience in these systems. Woodley conducts research at the lab, greenhouse, field and on-farm level, with capacities to measure GHG emissions and soil health/carbon parameters at a variety of scales.
- Chris Osburn (closburn@ncsu.edu) wants to work with you to develop monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) research for aquatic environments, including impoundments (ponds, reservoirs), in the coastal zone.
- Sonja Salmon (sisalmon@ncsu.edu) seeks industrial collaborators and cost-share partners to scale-up and field test biocatalytic textiles for CO2 capture applications.
- Minliang Yang (minliang_yang@ncsu.edu) is mainly focused on life-cycle assessment of bioproducts and bioprocessing and is therefore looking for collaborations in the field of low-carbon bioprocessing, plant-based food, and alternative proteins.
- Justin Baker (justinbaker@ncsu.edu) seeks collaborators on economic analysis of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies in forestry, agriculture, and bioenergy systems.
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Commercializing Academic Research: Bubblegum & Duct Tape
November 9, 2022
Sponsored in partnership with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center
đź“ŤNC State University Plant Sciences Building
These innovations are the widgets that are held together with “bubblegum and duct tape.” Along with a panel of experts who provided real-time commentary on faculty and student research presentations, an Innovation Expo was also featured (think Science Fair for grownups). Can your company collaborate with us to bring these technologies out of an academic lab and into large-scale testing or commercialization?
Innovation Expo & Pitch Videos
- Booth 1:Rodolphe Barrangou*
Engineered Lactobacilli for Use in Developing Vaccines Against Human Coronavirus (NCSU Data)- Gregg Dean
Engineered Lactobacilli for Use in Developing Vaccines Against Human Coronavirus & Rotavirus
A vaccine platform based on Lactobacillus acidophilus strain NCFM co-expressing adjuvants including FliC and FimH
- Gregg Dean
- Booth 2:Alper Bozkurt*, Michael Daniele, Edgar Lobaton, Thomas Rufty, Amanda Avila Cardoso
Plant Electrophysiology—the use of bioimpedance and surface voltage measurements to determine plant tissue characteristics and long distance internal signaling- Anders Huseth
Field Deployed Moth Trap Sensor Nodes—devices that measure temperature, humidity, barometric air pressure, wind speed, and moth trap counts across North Carolina - Jay Levine
Freshwater Mussel Activity Measurement Nodes—the use of accelerometers and environmental sensors to determine freshwater mussel health and responses to environmental changes
- Anders Huseth
- Booth 3: Kedong Da*, Wusheng Liu, Thomas Ranney
Cell suspension, plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis in Rose (Rosa hybrida L.)
- Booth 4: Michael Goshe*, Marnon Gracieux
SWAAN: A novel biophysical analytical technique for evaluating aggregate-prone protein biotherapeutics
- Booth 5: Jicai Jiang*
Software tools for million-scale genomic predictions and multi-omics data integration
- Booth 6: James Martin*, Jonathan Holt
CarboZn: Cellulose-based Zinc Nutritional Supplements
- Booth 7: Marcela Rojas-Pierce*
Design of a controllable plant protein degradation system - Booth 8: Lina Quesada*, Jeff Standish
Next-generation technology for plant pathogen detection
- Booth 8: Madison Stahr
Development of species-specific primers using long- and short-read technology for the fungal pathogen, Ceratocystis fimbriata - Booth 9: Jean Ristaino*, Amanda Saville, Tatsiana Shymanovicth, Amanda Mainello, Inga Meadows, E. Reeves, Qingshan Wei
Rapid diagnostic sensors for in-field plant disease detection - Booth 10: Edgar Lobaton*
ForaBot: Automated Foraminifera Isolation and Imaging
- Booth 11: Deepti Salvi*
Plasma-activated water for clean in-place process - Booth 12: Chadi Sayde*, Celso Castro-Bolinaga, Rebecca Hatley, Mahmoud Shehata
High-resolution scour, water depth, and water velocity sensing system
- Booth 13: Josip Simunovic*, Tawanda Muzhingi, Alex Swanson-Boyd
Formulations and Methods for Preparation of Shelf Stable Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods
- Booth 14: Ross Sozzani*, Tim Horn
MAGIC Lightsheet Imaging Chamber
- Booth 15: Stephanie Ward*, Deidre Harmon, Jason Ward, Sierra Young
Remote Animal Support Platform (RASP)
- Booth 16: Qingshan Wei*, Zheng Li, Yuxuan Liu, Yong Zhu
In-field sensors for plant disease or stress monitoring
* Indicates primary team contact
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Controlled Environment Agriculture
October 13, 2022
Hosted by Ricardo Hernandez, CALS, PSI
đź“ŤNC State University Plant Sciences Building
Highlights included overviews of various CEA initiatives from NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, an in-depth update on the Controlled Environment Agriculture Coalition and a panel of experts providing real-time commentary on faculty and student research presentations.
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Pests and Pathogens Research Showcase
September 14, 2022
Hosted by Mary Anna Carbone, Chris Jones, Yu Takeuchi and John Vogler
đź“ŤVirtual Event
NC State works alongside leading industry, government and academic partners to solve global challenges. This interdisciplinary showcase provided an opportunity to learn what NC State researchers are doing to better understand, model and manage agricultural pests and pathogens, and how partners like you can help bring new strategies, analytics and decision support systems from the lab to the field to advance sustainable agriculture.
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One Health
May 12, 2022
đź“ŤVirtual Event
One Health is an approach that recognizes that human health is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. While the linkages between agriculture and One Health are vast, NC State’s disciplinary and interdisciplinary strengths including infectious disease (plant and animal) and food safety & security create specific opportunities for us to impact the sector, at the intersection of agriculture and human health.
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STEPS: Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability
April 13, 2022
đź“ŤJC Raulston Arboretum
An introduction to the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center and brief research presentations from Center faculty, followed by facilitated small group discussions focused on different topic areas.
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Specialty Crops Improvement Program
February 9, 2022
đź“ŤJC Raulston Arboretum
Specialty crops have a rising economic, labor, nutritional and social significance. However, most of the specialty crops lack research dedication to solve some of the most pressing problems that would enable greater production, quality and accessibility of products that can sustain and improve the lives of our communities. This showcase focused on some of our most innovative research in genetics, genomics, breeding and analytics in Specialty Crops at NCSU and explored avenues to create synergies to further enhance that research and its impact.
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Farm of the Future
November 11, 2021
đź“ŤVirtual Event
Sensors, data collection, data analytics, and converting those data to actionable recommendations on-farm are critical to our faculty and students, and to our external partners. This showcase focused on our precision agriculture initiatives and how they create synergies to further enhance our research. Natalie Hummel, Global Head of New Ag Technologies at UPL, LTD, guided a panel discussion on the value of external stakeholder engagement while we build the Future-ready Farm.
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NSF Center for Integrated Pest Management
September 15, 2021
đź“ŤJC Raulston Arboretum
Our first Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) showcase event featured short talks from NC State University faculty that are interested in forging partnerships with external stakeholders. The CIPM aims to foster collaborations between NC State faculty and industry that support plant pest solutions for sustainable agriculture, health management and environmental stewardship.
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Plant Soil Microbial Community Collaborative
May 18, 2021
Hosted by the Center for Integrated Fungal Research (CIFR)
đź“ŤVirtual Event
A networking event that featured short talks from NC State University faculty who were interested in forging partnerships with external stakeholders.
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International Collaboration as a Driver of Global Reputation
April 14, 2021
đź“ŤVirtual Event
International collaboration is one driver of our global reputation and NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has strong ties to the international community. International collaborations and how they create synergies to further enhance our research were featured at this showcase, including a panel discussion on the importance of international collaboration, followed by faculty research briefs.
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Academic Entrepreneurship
February 4, 2021
Sponsored by Alexandria LaunchLabs
đź“ŤVirtual Event
Lewis Sheats, Assistant Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship, opened the program. Kultaran Chohan, Director of Licensing in the Office of Research Commercialization moderated a panel discussion, “The Importance of Academic/Industry Collaboration and Academic Entrepreneurship,” followed by faculty research briefs.
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Plant Science
November 11, 2020
đź“ŤVirtual Event
Update on the Plant Sciences Initiative and introduction to the four Platform Directors at the time, plus five plant science faculty presented their latest research.
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Human & Resource System
March 5, 2020
đź“ŤStateview Hotel
Update on the Dinah E. Gore Teaching and Research Kitchens plus seven faculty from the Agricultural & Resource Economics and Agricultural & Human Sciences departments presented their latest research.
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Food, Biochemical & Engineered System
February 19, 2020
đź“ŤDorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center
Update on NC State’s Food Innovation Lab plus seven faculty from the Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science, Bio & Ag Engineering, and Molecular & Structural Biochemistry departments presented their latest research.
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Animal & Ecological System
October 8, 2019
đź“ŤDorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center
Research from our Animal & Ecological System encompasses the Animal Science, Prestage Department of Poultry Science and Applied Ecology departments, along with the Physiology Program, Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology, Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center and Dairy Records Management Systems. Productive outcomes from the event include but are not limited to: sponsored research, defining commercialization potential or adding an external research partner to the team.
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GRIP4PSI
July 29, 2019
đź“ŤDorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center
The inaugural NC State Emerging Research Showcase–a unique opportunity to hear about, and collaborate on, research that fits the interdisciplinary mold of the Plant Sciences Initiative.