Think Magazine - Summer 2017 by NC State Graduate School

S U M ME R 2017

Graduate School S U M M E R 2 017

Editor: Cynthia Adams Contributors: Cynthia Adams, Natalie Hampton Designer: Julie Sanders Photographers: Nancy Evelyn, Freeman Fotographics, Marc Hall, Natalie Hampton, Becky Kirkland, Roger Winstead

Table of Contents PRAGYA ADHIKARI

Perfectly formed but tasteless? A solution.

SOPHIA WEBSTER

THERESE ANNE FOWLER

Observations from a bestselling writer.

SAYED MASHAHEET

Genetically altering mosquitoes and Zika.

New research assists wheat production.

SHAHNEE HAIRE

Aiding flood victims comes natural.

ANDREA BRANDT

Transforming how prosthetics work.

CHANDLER MANESS

Saving firefighters from deadly exposures.

BRIANNA HESS MASSIE

Using peanut shells to adsorb hog waste.

ON THE COVER: Story on page 16. Photo by: Marc Hall

54,123 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $.877 per copy.

READ THINK ONLINE AT GRAD.NCSU.EDU

A Message From the Dean

JUST WHEN I THINK I COULDN’T BE MORE IMPRESSED BY OUR STUDENTS, I REALIZE THAT ACHIEVEMENT KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES.

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

In March,

our 12th annual Graduate Student

The answer: All of the above are research endeavors by NC

Research Symposium represented the work of more than 200

State University graduate students. North Carolina State is their

graduate students. Students from every discipline graphically

institution of choice.

display via poster presentations the originality and research promise their research holds for North Carolina and the nation. It is staggering to behold! Some of their work is profiled within this issue. Before you turn the page, I challenge you as readers to consider a riddle.

Within these pages, you will learn how graduate students play a vital role in the mission of NC State. They research, teach, lead, and innovate, guided by mentors. A newly created Academy of Outstanding Mentors established by the Graduate School will be sharing their expertise with the University community.

What do these disparate things have in common? · tomatoes that don’t taste like tomatoes being studied and re-bred; · stopping the deadly Zika virus through genetic research;

We invite you to remain engaged in this community, on any level, as have many who support fellowships for graduate education. Read on! 

· designing fire garb to protect fire fighters from toxic exposure.

Maureen Grasso

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Growers bred tomatoes for conformity of size and firmness. But we lost one very special trait: flavor.

ď&#x201A;Ť

Pragya Adhikari

Tomatoes! Gorgeous but tasteless: A tomato is a tomato, right? Wrong. Can NC State researchers restore that sunshine-in-your-mouth tomato goodness? BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

merican tomatoes have a problem, says NC

such as disease resistance, yield, fruit size, and firmness,” says

State doctoral student, Pragya Adhikari. The fat,

Adhikari.

juicy and delicious taste has been bred right out of them. They may appear larger and firm—and more plentiful—but increasing yields did not correlate with good flavor. “The flavor in a tomato, the gene that controls

the flavor, is not one gene but many, many

Can we do it? Can we lovers of tomatoes puhleaze get back flavorful, juicy tomatoes? Yes, Adhikari reassures. “We can do it through the molecular breeding approach. Dr. Klee’s research group has also identified the genetic loci controlling the biosynthesis of some of the volatile compounds lacking in modern tomatoes through whole genome

genes” she explains. “As breeders tried to breed them for size,

sequencing and genomewide association study. Through breeding,

weight, firmness, the tomato would be hardy.” But, as she

we can restore these flavor volatile chemicals by selecting for

explains, the genes that contribute to flavor were lost. “We didn’t

the genetic loci controlling their biosynthesis.” Another emerging

lose it all at once, but one by one while breeding for other traits;

technique is through genomic selection, which is more popular in

if we compare the commercial tomatoes with the heirloom, the

wheat and corn. But of course, she adds, genetic engineering is

taste is much different.”

a testy matter for a leery public. “Although, she says thoughtfully,

As far back as 2012, National Public Radio, NPR, decried a decline in flavor. For many of us, anticipation of a sloppy and flavorful “kitchen sink tomato sandwich,” of White Trash Cooking fame, spells summertime. As with many things, taste is subjective. But the science of flavor is not. The flavor of tomato is a result of interactions of sugar, acids and many volatile chemicals. University of Florida researcher Professor Harry Klee has compared commercial and heirloom tomatoes. “His group quantified flavor-associated

“Flavor Saver tomato is the first commercially grown genetically engineered food approved for human consumption.” But in order to avoid genetic engineering due to regulatory issues, researchers are focusing on crossing of commercial tomato lines with a good flavor line. It is a more tedious and time consuming process, but the public is more accepting of cross-breeding. “In Nepal, my home, they have temporarily banned GMO,” Adhikari notes. But the problem for the tomato doesn’t end with flavor. The

chemicals in modern heirloom, and wild accessions. What

problem extends to something called bacterial spot disease,

they found is, there are so many flavor chemicals missing in

something that is her research focus.

commercial tomatoes compared to heirloom tomatoes,” says Adhikari. (See sidebar on sensory taste panels.) “Flavor phenotyping is difficult and expensive, so most of the breeding programs are focused to improve other traits

Adhikari works with diseases of tomatoes and breeding for disease resistance. She is involved in research at the intersection of plant pathology and breeding. She began working on bacterial spot disease resistance at State in 2015.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

“It is a very serious disease caused by at least four species and four races of Xanthomonas. This disease affects all aboveground parts of tomato plants,” she explains. Tomatoes are largely grown in the western part of the state. Top production areas are counties in western North Carolina and in the Piedmont. Growers have difficulty managing bacterial spot disease in their fields. Lacking a commercial resistant cultivar, growers rely upon F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

copper spray and streptomycin for management of this disease. During a field trip to western North Carolina, the researchers

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

collected symptomatic leaf samples from different fields for

The tomato is native to Mexico and

assessing bacterial spot strains. “We found that almost all

Central America where it was cultivated

bacterial isolates are resistant to copper,” Adhikari adds, which

by the Aztecs and Incas as early as

means they are resistant to one of the two methods currently

700 AD. It was introduced to Spain in the

used for treating them.

16th century by the conquistadors and

“There is not a commercial cultivar, but we breed the wild

soon spread to Portugal and Italy, then

resistance with the cultivated to make a disease-resistant line. As

later into Europe. It wasn’t until the mid-

the disease is caused by multiple species, breeders are trying to

1800s that the tomato became a staple in

pyramid all resistant genes against multiple species in one plant.”

the U.S., although some Native American

The disease problem was first detected in the 1980s.

tribes and the Creoles of New Orleans

According to Adhikari, bacterial spot of tomato is distributed

already had a long history of its use.

worldwide with distinct distribution of each group or race.

Heirloom Tomatoes - Sacramento MGs

Significant losses have been reported from Michigan and Ohio

sacmg.ucanr.edu/What_are_Heirloom_Tomatoes

and also from Florida, all due to bacterial spot. She is searching for which race of Xanthomonas is dominant in NC, so as to breed tomatoes accordingly against that race. “The disease is seed borne. One infected seed has a potential to cause high disease incidence in a commercial field. The detection limit is one in ten thousand seeds.” The same problem exists in Nepal, she says. A different race of tomato is grown there, yet the problem is worldwide. Adhikari is now assessing the bacterial spot isolates of North Carolina for diversity analysis, race profiling and sensitivity to

O S U. E D U

BACTERIAL SPOT DISEASE Bacterial leaf spot is caused by four species of Xanthomonas. It infects all varieties of tomato in the Midwest and causes moderate to severe damage on tomatoes, making them non-marketable due to quality issues. http://u.osu.edu/vegetablediseasefacts/tomatodiseases/bacterial-leaf-spot/

copper and streptomycin. “After we know which race is dominant in North Carolina, we can breed accordingly against that race. My research will contribute a small amount. We are looking for a section in the DNA controlling bacterial spot disease resistance.” It takes around 8-10 years to release a new tomato variety. “My research focuses on detecting QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci) underlying bacterial spot resistance in tomato.” She will continue this over the next two years as she completes her research, working with her principal investigator, Dilip R. Panthee, a tomato breeder and associate professor of horticultural science at NC State and Frank J. Louws, plant pathologist, professor,

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

and director of the Center for Integrated Pest Management at

With the advent of heirloom tomato growers and loyal seed-

NC State.“I can identify it (bacterial spot causing pathogen-

savers, it is possible to find many of the heirloom tomatoes that

Xanthomonas spp),” Adhikari says, “I can distinguish it from other

may be gnarly and oddly shaped or even oddly colored. Their

pathogens by culturing the leaf lesions into a growth medium.”

heirloom names—Cherokee Purple, or Mortgage Lifter—are as

Getting a disease-free tomato is a problem when you consider

colorful as the more perfect alternatives are in reality. But it is

the complexity of the disease, she admits. (Having formerly

in their imperfection that we find what is missing: heirlooms

worked with grapes before coming to State, Adhikari says the

possess the flavor we crave.

research techniques for grapes are the same as for tomatoes.) “In 2000, growers had a problem of bacterial speck of

Back in 2012, NPR interviewed Eric Rice, owner of Country Pleasures Farm near Middletown, Md. He told NPR how he first

tomato, a different disease caused by a different pathogen, but

experienced heirloom tomatoes while a graduate student in

now, we have a problem of bacterial spot of tomato, indicating

North Carolina.

an ecological shift of pathogen. If we look at the bacterial spotcausing pathogen, races of the pathogen are also changing from

“I decided I really liked them” Rice said. In their gnarly form, he found perfection in imperfection. 

year to year. We are expecting race T4 to be dominant in North Carolina. One of the objectives of my research is to confirm the dominancy of race T4 in North Carolina.”

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Therese Anne Fowler

When Life Imitates Art: The Letter Z was the beginning of many things for best-selling writer (and now producer) Therese Anne Fowler

Therese Anne Fowler graduated from NC State with an MFA in 2005, soon after the creative writing program was first created. Many successful works followed for the prodigious writer. But only 12 years later, Fowler captured lightning in a jar with the best-seller Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (published in 2013) now adapted as an Amazon original series. Fowler is a producer on the series and on the cusp of completing her newest book, which follows the life of Alva Vanderbilt, and takes place in the Gilded Age. These literary successes came on the heels of three prior books, published in rapid succession. Other works include: Exposure (2011), Reunion (2009), and Souvenir (2008).

BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

It is morning

her last novel receiving strong critical and audience reviews, Fowler has reason to be in good spirits. There is a newfound audience and fan base that has discovered Zelda Fitzgerald

at Aloft on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, an art- and light-filled

thanks to Fowler’s creative projects (which also include a

hotel conveniently offering a framed view of the iconic Memorial

televised series bearing her producer credit).

Tower via the lobby window. It is a cool day, one threatening rain and the sky is gloomy. But Fowler is not. Wearing a gray cashmere wrap that approximates her eye

When Fowler turns in search of a coffee, there it is, a physical sign of a labor of love and risk: a subtle, tiny letter behind her left ear. The letter Z. This tiny emblem is a commemorative

color, she arrives for an interview and smiles easily. With another

tattoo, she explains. It heralds the fact that Z: A Novel of Zelda

novel already in draft (set in the Gilded Age) and an adaption of

Fitzgerald was a bestseller—her first—right out of the gate.

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

7 9

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

Later, she adds the tattoo represents something more. It was as if Fowler sensed the voice of her subject throughout the writing of the book. “As if she was there,” Fowler says, indicating

writer husband, John Kessel, is a professor of creative writing and American literature at NC State. However, Kessel, an award-winning and much-published

her ear. “Zelda was right here, talking in my ear, making sure I

science fiction writer in his own right, is now “in phased

got the story right.”

retirement,” Fowler adds. This will mean two notable writers in

Then she laughs—“No, I don’t mean that literally,” Fowler adds.

one household, both writing full time.

Tattoos may be uncomfortable to undergo, but so is the

So, is it ironic that she has written about Scott and Zelda

writing process. Fowler wrestles with the exact date the small

Fitzgerald, two creatives who also lived together? Zelda’s own

letter was inked there. “Probably in May 2013,” she guesses.

ambitions as a writer are well known. Fowler laughs at the

2013 was a year of appearances and media events surrounding

suggestion that there is any parallel to her own life. “It is a lot

the book release. “I got the tattoo done while I was between

more peaceful in our household for sure,” she says. Beyond their

some tour events. I was on tour for eight months,” she

personality differences, Fowler points to the fact that she met

explains.

her husband as a more mature and stable adult. “Scott and Zelda

(The title, Z, it happens, was Fowler’s own idea. It was also

were so young,” she stresses. “So young.”

the working title on the manuscript when it sold, she explains.

Also, her husband “is so established in his career,” Fowler adds.

Other titles were kicked around for months; finally, the director

She was considering entering law school—something that

of marketing suggested they go with it. This, too, is a piece of

she felt was also interesting. “I could have stayed that course,”

pleasing synchronicity for Fowler.)

she muses, “sociology or law.”

It so happens that the single letter tattoo is the latest of other,

Fowler says while completing her undergraduate degree, she

more complex ones. What does it mean—all the ink? Somehow,

wrote her first creative piece. The short story was modeled after

the two things became intertwined as Fowler wrote, researched

a Robert Heinlein story, about a family taking a trip to the moon.

and worked her way through the completion of the historic

“Fortunately, I managed to show a little ability, and changed the

fiction, an account of Zelda Fitzgerald’s early life and marriage to

whole course of my future.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fowler sips coffee and describes how she sought a much

YEARS OF RAPID CATCH UP

more elaborate tattoo while still in the midst of writing the best seller. Also, during that time she had gotten to know some rock

In 1997 Fowler had returned to NC State to complete a degree

climbers, adventurous types, and many of them with tattoos.

in sociology. She was an adult student, divorced and rearing two

“I had never paid attention to them (tattoos) and I was intrigued,” she says. “Once you get one, there’s some kind of strange compulsion to do it again.” Over the course of writing and editing, she submitted to the

young children, ages 4 and 7. In 2000, she completed her undergraduate degree and entered Graduate School, intending to earn a doctorate. Fowler transferred into the MFA program while it was in its infancy.

tattoo artist’s needle more than once. Her first tattoo is elaborate

“There was a steep learning curve for me coming from

Japanese script that means, “Each moment, only once.” There is

sociology,” Fowler says.

a red emblem that signifies harmony. Now, she was inked. That verb, of course, was meaning-laden. Book advances are typically modest, and so are sales. As Fowler explains, “I was paid well, right from the start. Well enough to quit

“I was the only kid on the block who hadn’t read the short fiction of, you know, every literary icon. There were a couple years of rapid catch up.” But catch up she did. Since completing her MFA, Fowler has

my day job, as the saying goes, in part because I sold foreign rights

been prodigiously writing. She published four works in rapid

to Souvenir (her first published novel) all over the world.” Fowler

succession. Those works include the publication of Souvenir

appreciates this is great good fortune. Imagine how lucky, she says,

in 2008, followed by Reunion in 2009, and Exposure in 2011.

to be able to now focus solely upon the work and craft of writing.

Exposure was based in part upon real events that Fowler

(She did, however, enjoy her time teaching at NC State.) Her

experienced with her teenage son. It remains an important book

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

to Fowler, and one that resonated with readers and found a following. She says, “It was a pretty good book.” A Wisconsin public school superintendent wrote online: “Exposure is a worthwhile and relevant tale about the perils of growing up in a modern digital age where the standards of morality are ever changing. Well recommended.” The book drew critical acclaim but the sales were not what Fowler hoped. She concedes it might have been “under published.” After the publication of Exposure, Fowler had submitted a draft of a new novel to her publisher before deciding to pull it. (This was not the first time that Fowler made a difficult decision after completing a manuscript. She had previously set aside a ON A MISSION: THE TELLING OF ZELDA FITZGERALD’S STORY

novel in progress in order to write Exposure.) Pulling the novel this time resulted from “a bolt out of the

Two weeks prior to the publication of

blue.” While on the front porch overlooking a ravine, journal in

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald on March

hand, Foster recalls the moment. “It was late morning in 2011.

26, 2013, Therese Anne Fowler was

The sun was streaming.” And then, a random question struck her.

interviewed by National Public Radio.

“And I thought, what about Zelda Fitzgerald? I stopped what I

During that interview, Fowler observed

was writing, mid-sentence, and wrote what about Zelda Fitzgerald?”

the following, which underpinned the work.

She adds, “I was interested in historical fiction, had read it all my

"I went looking for some preliminary information,” the writer said, “and very quickly was struck by the way the

life and was kicking around some ideas for such a book when I was struck that day by the thought of writing about Zelda.” The moment was powerful. Fowler felt there was no denying

surface-level knowledge about Zelda

it. “I had to consider what that was.” Fowler allowed herself to

doesn't begin to describe the person

explore the question, to explore the deeply controversial, often

that she really is. You know, I had come

maligned, Zelda as a subject. She began preliminary research,

to the project with the idea that she was

although ambivalent about the idea of writing about the woman

just F. Scott Fitzgerald's crazy, disruptive

she (wrongly) believed Zelda to be. That changed when she

wife. I didn't really know anything

learned just how wrong she was.

about her. And very quickly I recognized

The Zelda she chose to write about was still young and

that she was very, you know, badly

unformed, on the cusp of becoming the legendary Zelda. As the

misrepresented in popular culture. So

work developed, the beautiful, talented, and willful Alabama-born

the more I learned, the more compelled

belle was still only a teenager.

I was to set the record straight — it became kind of a mission." Fowler’s book was subsequently

Fowler set the novel in 1918. Zelda Sayre soon met F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the pair destined to become a Jazz Age golden couple, were on the threshold of adulthood. They would become

nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards

known both for their co-dependent, doomed lives and their

Best Historical Fiction.

creative talents. Fowler followed the thread of their lives, tracking the relationship through until F. Scott’s sudden death in 1940. She cast Zelda in a different vein than previous writers had; Zelda as a creative force, unfairly eclipsed by Scott’s enormous talent. “She had writing talent,” says Fowler, “but I would never say she

“Aren’t all writers different versions of crazy? Different flavors?” replies the author to a question about Zelda Fitzgerald’s dysfunction. “I’m a pretty benign person as writers go,” says NC State alumna and writer Therese Anne Fowler. “I was always a writer—of bad poems, essaylike musings, story ideas, and research papers. I just wasn't writing fiction. Didn't think it was something a person could just DO. It seemed to me the kind of thing that only special, charmed, larger-than-life people did.”

was as good as he was--though she might have become so if

Paula McLain’s about Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley

she had been able to further develop her talents.” Fowler

Richardson. These had helped serve as “an example of historical

mentions that Zelda “was a highly skilled ballet dancer and

biographical fiction, and helped me feel there was perhaps a

painter, too.”

market for what I was attempting as well.”

Written in first person, the book is unlike other works that

Her new work was not inventing characters whole cloth, but

had depicted Zelda as an object of scorn or pity, and a mad

creating a fictional account around real people and the events of

impediment to Scott’s greater genius. Told in Zelda’s own voice,

their lives.

Fowler fleshed out a woman and talent worthy of a different

Also, Fowler’s novel was part of a larger Fitzgerald revival,

treatment, and deserving of a far kinder fate. (The book ends

coinciding with the much-anticipated release of Baz Lurhmann’s

before Zelda died March 11, 1948, while a patient undergoing

remake of The Great Gatsby. Fact-based fiction held commercial

treatment at Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC.)

and literary appeal: as it happened the timing for Z was ideal.

At the completion of the draft, Fowler believed this departure from her prior novels “was going to save my career or end it.” By October of 2013 the novel was out, and almost

The Fitzgerald legend was so oversized and the carnage of their mutual tragedy sufficiently large for many writers to draw upon, parsing through the wreckage of the Lost Generation. Within a

immediately it was clear the novel was going to catapult Fowler

very short time period, it was obvious that Z was a hit. The work

to a larger stage herself. Declining to read the reviews, she

had elevated Fowler's career.

asked her agent and editor to read them first and “would see if she wanted it in her head or not.”

Meanwhile, Fowler’s friend and colleague Lee Smith published Guests on Earth in October 2013. (Smith’s haunting

Fowler was finding a growing genre of novels inspired by

book, also a first-person historical fiction, concerned the tragic

famous figures. Before writing Z, she read Nancy Horan’s book,

events at Highland Hospital where Zelda had perished.) Smith’s

Loving Frank, concerning Frank Lloyd Wright’s affair, and later

book also enjoyed strong reviews and critical success.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

More Fitzgerald-fueled books were to come. In 2013 R.

present when they were shooting season one. The costumes

Clifton Spargo published Beautiful Fools: the Last Affair of Zelda

were meticulous. The lushly realized Biltmore hotel suite where

and Scott Fitzgerald. In 2015, Stewart O’Nan depicted Scott

the Fitzgeralds honeymooned was created in a studio. There was

Fitzgerald’s turn as a Hollywood script doctor, in part to subsidize

the bathtub where the couple took leisurely baths. It was a real,

Zelda’s treatment at Highland Hospital, in West of Sunset. It was

working bath tub with working spigots. The mosaic tile was set.

here in Hollywood that Scott died.

It was a pitch-perfect scene.

“If Scott had not been drinking,” Fowler muses. She talks

“They also recreated Max Perkins’ office, with the same

about his brilliance and Zelda’s, and what might have been.

attention to detail, the same deal.” Fowler was struck by this,

“Had Hemingway not been an influence, had Scott not been

saying while on set she noticed and read a letter in a typewriter,

weak,” Fowler continues, and pauses. “Aren’t all writers different

realistic in voice, only visible to the actors. “There is a letter in

versions of crazy? Different flavors? I’m a pretty benign person

the secretary’s office outside Max Perkins’ office.” These details

as writers go.” Later, she writes an email explaining that she saw

indicate a level of commitment to the production, she says.

herself “in Laura Ingalls Wilder and as Jo in Little Women.”

Fowler marvels at the richly imagined sets and costumes and level of production detail. The premiere event was held in New

AN ADAPTATION

York City on January 25. During filming of the first season, Joe Lewis, the executive in

The best-seller status of Z afforded Fowler opportunity to focus

charge of the production, told Fowler, “Thank you for making this

solely upon her writing. Yet more good news was to come

happen." She exclaims, “He said that to me!”

when actor Christina Ricci read Fowler’s novel and indicated

Fowler discusses some of the literary perks afforded her by

her interest in getting the book adapted. Amazon Studios was

her success. One memorable perk meant a visit to the home of

interested in acquiring the rights to the book for a television

Fitzgerald’s legendary agent Maxwell Perkins extended by Charles

series. “Amazon is attached to a lot of original work that no

Scribner’s granddaughter. “Everyone loves Max. You can’t not love

one else is doing, like Manchester by the Sea,” Fowler

Max. He had some failings, but, well, don’t we all?”

points out. Fowler became a producer on the Z pilot and series when Amazon Prime green-lighted the adaptation. “It was incidental to the way my agent put together the deal,” she explains. As she describes it, “You don’t see it (producer credits) happening in film the way you do in television for adapted works. You start as a producer; it’s almost in name only. I

But moral failings are, after all, the substance of many a novel. Fowler tells a story about a recent reader reaction to Z. They pressed for her opinion about Scott Fitzgerald’s true sexuality. She ruminates, hazards an opinion on this, and then, Fowler stops short. “It’s important to remember how young they (the Fitzgeralds) were,” she stresses.

had a consulting role up front.” Fowler didn’t have the right to approve the script but did participate. “I’m not J.K. Rowling,” Fowler laughs. She consulted

REVISITING NC’S MOST FAMOUS GILDED AGERS: THE VANDERBILTS

with the writing team before they produced the first season. “I made contributions up front. (It was) a rewarding thing.” There were few conditions. “Amazon only said, ‘Do it with integrity.’” An example was in an episode in which Zelda and Scott visit a

In Fowler's artistic life, there seemed to be a surprising number of coincidences. The Fitzgerald connections pop up in many personal ways, with unusual synchronicities. On April 3 this year, she sends an email.

Harlem speak-easy. “One of the writers was interested. Obviously

"Do you know that today is the Fitzgeralds' wedding

the Harlem renaissance was happening. Do you think Zelda and

anniversary? It's also the date I learned, four years ago,

Scott would have realistically been interested at that time?” Fowler

that Z would debut on the NYT best-seller list. Nice symmetry,

agreed they likely would have been, and the scene was included.

there. Oh—and here's a couple of weird but cool coincidences:

Fowler was able to be present for filming the pilot and was

the date of Zelda's death is the same as my mother's; Scott's

first novel was published on the same date that Z was; my husband's birthday is the same date as Scott's." Fowler's newest book is written in third person. The subject of the new (as yet untitled work) is Alva Vanderbilt, nee Smith, who married and (scandalously, as divorce was rare) divorced George's brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt. Again, there are N.C. ties. Biltmore House in Asheville was built by George Vanderbilt, a grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. George was Alva’s brother-in-law. “Imagine,” Fowler muses, “if Jane Austen and Edith Wharton co-wrote a novel about Alva Vanderbilt, it might look something

WIKIPEDIA

like this one." By Fowler's lights, Alva elevated the Vanderbilt name. Here, again, was a southerner born in Alabama, like Zelda. Also like Zelda, she was fiercely original. She was a suffragette and a free spirit, quoted as saying, “First marry for money, then marry for love.” She apparently loved a good party as much as Zelda, reportedly spending $3 million on a masquerade ball. Fowler says the Vanderbilt book is nearing completion. She

WUNC

completed revisions at the end of April, and the book is slated for publication early next year. Alva Vanderbilt, touched a bit by scandal, another woman who

Zelda Fitzgerald was a novelist, American socialite and the wife of

refused to live in the shadow of fame, seems the perfect next

American author F. Scott Fitzgerald.

character as imagined by Therese Anne Fowler. 

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband as “the first American Flapper.” Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, best known as F. Scott Fitzgerald, was an American Jazz Age novelist and short story writer. Fitzgerald is frequently called one of America's best writers. This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night are his finished novels. The Last Tycoon, was published after his death.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Shahnee Haire

Reaching Higher Ground: Extending Aid to Flood Victims BY NATAL IE HAMPTON

urricane Matthew blew into North Carolina in

Helping out was something that comes natural for Haire. In her

October, on the heels of epic storms that had

role as a regional public health educator, she served nine counties,

already dumped heavy rain in counties upriver

working with schools, health departments, and neighborhoods to

from Lumberton. Within a few days, the huge

reduce childhood obesity by increasing opportunities for physical

volume of water from the two events breached a

activity, such as walking and biking. She recently changed

dike in downtown Lumberton, forcing nearly 2,000 people from

positions and now works with the N.C. Department of Health and

their homes and into shelters.

Human Services, Division of Public Health.

NC State graduate student Shahnee Haire, who was a

She also runs a youth development organization that she

regional public health educator coordinator based in Robeson

developed called WOW—Workshops on Wheels. The organization

County during the hurricane, saw the human side of the disaster

provides workshops for underserved youth in Robeson,

first hand while working in an emergency shelter in St. Pauls.

Cumberland, Columbus and Durham counties on topics ranging

Along with other county employees, she helped people displaced

from health and bullying prevention, to healthy relationships.

by flooding who had lost everything and had no place else to go.

As a student in the youth, family, and community sciences

She remembers the story one resident told her—how the

graduate certificate program, Haire has learned skills that helped

woman had gone to her car, parked outside her home, and noticed a small amount of water creeping into the driveway. When she came out a short time later, the water was deeper. “She noticed that the water was rising and that it was closer

her professionally, especially while working with flood victims. “One class I had was all about being able to relate to all ages, multi-generational homes,” she said. It helped her to understand the complexities of homes where older adults or grandparents

to her car,” Haire said, recalling the woman’s story. “She was

were raising grandchildren. She could understand the importance

living in a retirement community, so she called 911, but it was

of finding activities to keep children and youth engaged, in order

hard to get through because there were others calling.”

to give their parents and caregivers “time to figure out what’s

The woman alerted the other residents to the situation. “They all went to the road because it was dry there—they waited for

next,” Haire said. After Hurricane Matthew, the scene in the local emergency

several hours for someone to come and get them. All of them

shelters was surreal, filled with people from all walks of life who

were safe, and they all stayed in one of the shelters,” Haire said.

had lost everything, Haire said. “It was very touching to hear

This was just one of the stories Haire heard in the shelter from residents displaced by the flooding. And when her work hours there were over, she returned as a volunteer. “I took my fingernail polish so I could go out and help paint nails for kids, parents, just something to lift spirits and help with self-esteem,” she said. She also helped Matthew victims to file their paperwork

people’s stories—these were just regular, normal people who lost a home.” Though the flooding brought hardship to many in eastern North Carolina, it also brought out the best in people, Haire observed. “At the St. Pauls shelter, the mayor came by. The military and the Red Cross brought in cots; people in the community brought

with insurance companies and with the Federal Emergency

cots. People donated items—thousands of new pillows, blankets,

Management Agency.

clothing, Pampers, toiletries,” she said.

BECKY KIRKLAND

She continues to support flood victims, many of whom were

Haire chose NC State’s certificate program in youth, family,

still living in hotels and motels as of March, unable to return to

and community sciences because it offered instruction that

their homes. The youth in her WOW program were getting ready

supports her passion for working with youth.

to collect toothbrushes and toothpaste for flood victims. WOW is also partnering with another program, Youth Empowered Solutions—YES—to increase the number of healthy

“I wondered how could I link my business, my passion for public health to youth. That’s what brought me to NC State.” As a part-time student taking one to two courses at a time,

corner stores in rural North Carolina. Youth will learn advocacy

Haire isn’t sure when she will complete her certificate. She’s

skills by contacting their legislators to find ways to reduce food

grateful for the flexibility and opportunities that her graduate

deserts in their communities.

program provides, and she plans to apply for the master’s

“So we have youth in two rural counties in North Carolina who will learn how to reach out to their legislators to decrease

program in the fall. “So far I’ve enjoyed the program I’m in. I enjoy that it’s distance

food deserts in their area, to make sure there are more healthy

learning. There’s a lot going on, but I’m able to stay engaged in

options,” Haire said. “The youth get communication skills during

class and learn, and I don’t feel overwhelmed,” she said. 

these workshops, they’ll be able to learn to work as a team to accomplish a goal, what are healthy corner stores, and they’ll learn how policy effects their day-to-day lives.”

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

UNDER FIRE: CHANDLER MANESS FOCUSES UPON PROTECTING FIREFIGHTERS FROM TOXIC EXPOSURES

M A RC H A L L

Chandler Maness

BY N ATA L I E H A MP TO N

handler Maness is on a mission. The master’s student in textile chemistry hopes to develop gear for firefighters that will help protect them from cancer and other diseases that have become an occupational hazard for so many.

“It’s astounding how high the rates of cancer and other

diseases are for firefighters,” he said. “And firefighters are not always informed about the risks of their environment. I hope we can contribute to a decrease.” Maness looked for a graduate program that would allow him to pursue his passion for materials development, when his undergraduate professor, Bryan Ormond, told him about the Textile Protection and Comfort Center. The lab is recognized for its mannequins and instrumentation used to test a variety of materials and ensembles used in firefighting. One high-profile mannequin is PyroMan, a life-sized human figure used to test ensemble flammability. As an undergraduate at NC State, Maness studied polymer and color chemistry in the College of Textiles. After graduating, he enrolled in the textile chemistry graduate program and began taking classes and working in Research Triangle Park the following semester. Maness briefly pursued research involving textile composites, but Ormond later invited him to participate in materials research in TPACC. “I actually didn’t start with the ambition to come to TPACC. When I first started grad school, I had a full-time night shift job as a quality-control chemist. I tried to orchestrate a research program with (my employer), but it didn’t pan out,” Maness said. “Then I talked with Bryan, and he actually had an opening that summer,” he said. “I learned about the project, and how it could develop into a thesis.”

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

M A RC H A L L

One thing that surprised Maness was learning how many firefighters are unaware of the health risks that come with their profession. Maness, left, and his advisor Bryan Ormand observe one of the test mannequins as smoke seeps out of the hood.

And Maness was sold.

by firefighters—including the hood—aims to protect them from

Since entering the program, he’s been working to improve

dermal exposure to the particulate matter generated by fires.

firefighters’ gear—called a turnout—hoping to reduce the

“Whenever a firefighter goes to a fire, there is a lot of smoke,

particulate material from fires that gets into the turnout and may

and in the smoke there are a lot of microscopic particulates,”

contribute to higher incidents of cancer.

Maness said. “Those particulates contain toxic compounds and

The flash hood, which covers the firefighter’s head and

carcinogens that are part of the reason that firefighters have

neck, is of particular interest since skin around the jawline

such a high rate of cancer. So the scope of the overall project is

and neck is thinner and more vulnerable to toxins. While a

to kind of develop a turnout and ensemble that prevents these

firefighter’s breathing apparatus can help minimize inhalation

particulates from getting to the skin.”

of these substances, the personal protective equipment worn

Maness and his team are seeking materials that would

minimize firefighters’ exposure to toxins, such as asbestos, benzene, styrene, heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, many of which are carcinogenic. Given that Maness’s role in the overall project involves materials research and evaluation, he developed lab equipment to help evaluate the effectiveness of different materials and designs. One piece of equipment is a small wind tunnel designed to test different types of material for particulate permeability. Fabric samples are inserted into a chamber, where aerosolized

M A RC H A L L

fluorescent microspheres are blown at them to see how much fluorescence penetrates through. Two mannequins also test how easily smoke can penetrate firefighters’ gear. Maness pumps smoke into the

“We visit fire stations in Raleigh and take the (turnout)

mannequins, and it comes out through the firefighters’ gear

prototypes to get feedback,” Maness says. “We want to know,

so that researchers can observe where the smoke comes out,

‘How does it feel? What’s different?’ We get good and bad

identifying potential weak points in the ensemble design. A torso

feedback, but mostly the firefighters appreciate what we’re

and head mannequin is designed to evaluate materials for the

trying to do.”

flash hoods that protect firefighters’ heads. When smoke is pumped into the mannequin, researchers

One recent afternoon, Maness visited Raleigh Fire Station 8 not far from campus, along with Ormond and research associate

observe the hood in a dark room with bright lights shining on

Cassandra Kwon. He brought several turnouts to Raleigh

it to characterize the particulate-resistant capabilities of various

firefighter Corey McGee, who has tried them in the past.

test materials. The more the smoke leaks from the flash hood in the test, the more particulate matter can get in during a fire. The second mannequin, a complete body, tests the

McGee was impressed with some of the changes that Maness and the project team had made to the turnouts. He liked the fact that the design was less bulky around the waist

entire turnout to determine where smoke escapes. Here the

than earlier models. He also tested the pants to see how easily

researchers are looking at the turnout design, and often, they

they could be staged with his firefighter boots—so that he could

discover that smoke drifts out around the waist, wrists, and ankles

quickly put on the boots and pants in the event of a fire.

—places where particulates are likely to get in during a fire. Maness was recently recognized for his work by the

One thing that has surprised Maness was learning how many firefighters are unaware of the health risks that come with their

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. At the

profession. Learning about the risks makes them all the more

association’s international meeting, he took first prize in the

grateful for the work done by the TPACC. The exposure to these

Herman and Myrtle Goldstein Paper Competition for writing and

toxins is “what we could call a ‘long-term silent killer,’” he said.

presenting on his research involving these mannequins. In seeking the most protective materials and designs,

“My main concern right now is just the overall well-being of firefighters, after reading and doing research for my thesis. The

researchers must also be aware of the need to balance protection

rates of cancer, as well as other maladies like lung problems and

against functionality—how easily firefighters can maneuver in the

heart problems, are much higher for firefighters than the rates in

turnout, as well as their physical and thermal comfort.

average civilians,” Maness said.

To get an expert opinion on various materials and styles,

“Obviously, my hope and the hope of all my co-workers is

Maness and his colleagues visited local fire and emergency

that the research we do will contribute to a decrease in those

management stations to talk with the firefighters themselves. In

rates, and I imagine that firefighters will feel the same.” 

the lab, these researchers are looking for materials that are light, breathable, heat-resistant, durable and maneuverable.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

The Marathon to Genetically Alter the Aedes aegypti Mosquito

Sophia Webster

NC State’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology is working to prevent disease transmission.

Sophia Webster is on the front lines. BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

nside the Duke Energy Hall at the James B. Hunt Library

healthy adults. Although the Zika virus has been identified for

last October, Sophia Webster took to the stage as the fourth

over 70 years, it had slowly advanced into the public arena as

contestant in the Three Minute Thesis competition. The

a dominant public health worry. Zika was spreading within the

competition was hotly contested. All were PhD candidates

United States.

selected during preliminary rounds. Only ten finalists

remained.

When the competition ended, Webster won the People’s Choice Award and a hefty cash prize. Beside me, a cheering

Webster paused and squared her shoulders before beginning

her carefully timed, three-minute speech. Looking much taller

student nodded and murmured, “Good for her! She deserves it!” Another thing that Webster had successfully communicated

than her 5’7”, she explained her doctoral work. The title alone

was this: The tedious and long work of genetically modifying

was a mouthful.

mosquitoes required patience. “And even more than patience…

“Genetically Engineering a Killer-Rescue Gene Drive in Aedes aegypti” was the minutes-long topic of Webster’s doctoral thesis. (Much-distilled, too, as a thesis can often run to as many as 80,000 words or more.) The research, which concerns modifying the mosquito that

it feels like a lot of luck. Sometimes the genes go into the organism and stick, and sometimes they don’t.” A month later, she detailed the challenges of the work. “I’m not trying to kill mosquitoes,” she explained while working at NC State’s Thomas Laboratory. “After all, there are over 4,000

carries Zika to render the population unable to transmit disease,

species of mosquitoes,” she pointed out. To eradicate their

found an attentive audience. In minutes, Webster shared how

populations would be nearly impossible, and eradication efforts

researchers might intervene to replace the mosquito population

have been met with little success. Genetically modifying disease-

with one that can no longer transmit disease.

transmitting pests, however, was another matter.

Unchecked, the common pest can carry uncommonly

Meanwhile, NC State researchers had not been idle. As

dangerous viruses, such as dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika, and

Webster had explained last fall, she and fellow scientists had

malaria. “Aedes albopictus is one of the dominant mosquitoes in

been exploring new options. They chose a different tactic than

North Carolina,” Webster explains. It is capable of transmitting

British biotech researchers, who released sterile mosquitoes into

Zika, but it is not an important vector for Zika that we know of.”

the wild.

Webster’s subject matter had captivated the 3MT audience.

“My research is not using sterile mosquitoes; instead, it

It was early fall, but the problem of Zika transmission remained

is a gene drive system that will use releases of genetically

a dominant news theme. The disease had become a media

engineered mosquitoes to push an anti-pathogen gene through

topic of ever-greater frequency, with devastating consequence

the wild population. The only way for this anti-pathogen to spread

for pregnant women and children, and also affecting otherwise

at a biologically relevant timescale is for mosquitoes that do not

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

“With over 4,000 species of mosquitoes, new technology is not to kill them, but change the population,” Webster explains.

inherit the anti-pathogen to die. (This is part of the system I am

working on is the killer and rescue component, but not the anti-

building.) This ensures that only mosquitoes that inherit the anti-

pathogen--other researchers are focused on this effort”.

pathogen survive, and those that do not inherit it die.” Inside NC State’s Insect Transgenesis Facility, Webster used

She explains: “I’m building the car (gene drive system), and other researchers are working on putting the passenger (anti-

a micro-injector and a screening scope after first completing

pathogen) in it. The technology I’m working on doesn’t spread

molecular and cloning work in attempts to ultimately alter the

as quickly as other gene drive systems; it only spreads by the

genome of Aedes aegypti.

mosquitoes that don’t inherit the antipathogen dying, and the

The preparation and hatching of eggs is the first of many intricate procedures she must undertake. Days yield to months as Webster works through the steps. A

ones that do inherit survive to pass on the inability to transmit disease to the next generation of mosquitoes.” Webster discusses how other researchers do similar work,

female mosquito first requires a blood meal in order to produce

employing different tools. “Others work with the anti-pathogen

eggs, which must then be harvested and injected with genetic

component, but I work with the vehicle that will push the anti-

material before incubation.

pathogen through the population. Theoretically, with the system

“I’m creating genetically engineered mosquitoes with a system that will drive an anti-pathogen through a wild population. You have to manipulate things for a mosquito to inherit this,”

I’m building, any anti-pathogen could be linked up to the system and pushed through using the Killer-Rescue gene drive.” Ultimately, she will do small cage experiments with her line,

Webster explains. “This way, the system will force the population

but which won’t entail releases into the wild. That, she hopes,

to inherit this anti-pathogen. By releasing this genetically

will come in time.

engineered mosquito, when they mate with the wild population,

The NC State research is attractive on many fronts. Outright

only the mosquitoes who inherit the anti-pathogen will survive.

eradication is simply not feasible—the sheer variety of mosquitoes

Those mosquitoes who do not inherit the anti-pathogen, thus

is too staggering and widespread spraying is frowned upon in

those that are still able to transmit disease, will not survive.”

many regions of the United States for environmental reasons.

The modeling for a Killer-Rescue, or K-R, gene drive system

The rollout is months long in the orchestrating. The work of

was the brain child of two NC State professors, Fred Gould

genetically modifying/engineering mosquito embryos is not fast

and Alun Lloyd. They published the modeling paper for the K-R

nor can it be. Over the next four to six weeks, Webster screens

system in 2008. “They came up with the idea, initially called

20,000 mosquito larvae underneath the screening microscope.

‘Killer-Rescue.’ They modeled the idea of suppressing the

The minute larvae must be kept on a wet sponge.

population and replacing it with this anti-pathogen,” she says. Max Scott, Webster’s advisor, has guided her portion of the

“We screen the larvae because adults can fly,” she says. “The larvae are so fragile and must be kept moist at all times

K-R effort, which involves isolating different genes from the

since they are aquatic. I take a tiny paintbrush and try to move

mosquito in order to help create their system. “The portion I am

them without squishing them or letting them dry out. When I

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

first found one, identified by fluorescent glowing red eyes, I ran

200-mile coastal relay race only two weeks earlier. “I ran about

into my PI’s office! It was so exciting, having a line of genetically

36 miles of the relay,” she says, downplaying the achievement.

engineered mosquitoes finally going.” Webster must even make the needles used for the injection

As she discusses her early love of science, Webster throws up her hands. There are no scientists in her immediate

of the genetic material into the eggs, material “which will alter

family. Her father works in international development and her

the mosquito’s genome if successfully assimilated.” The prepared

mother is an English teacher. Yet there was a definite focus

genes are called a construct.

upon exploration and knowledge, she explains. Curiosity was

Each step is undertaken under strict controls and setbacks are commonplace. “It can take months to build a construct. I’ve made 12

something that was nurtured—especially by time spent in the outdoors away from TV screens. “When I was a little kid, we didn’t have cable or video

different ones.” Then Webster must line up the eggs and inject

games,” Webster explains. “So, my Mom would shoo us out

them. “I had an entomology background, but not one in genetics,

the door and say, ’Go play outside!‘ I loved playing in the dirt. I

so it was a learning curve,” she adds.

remember playing outside into the evenings, staying outside with

When Webster injects the mosquito eggs with genetic material, she deals with thousands at a time—yet another tedious process. “It can take up to 10 days of injections, injecting

my sister.” Webster was so at home in the natural world that this no doubt jump-started her growing love of science. As a teenager, Webster decided to become a medical doctor

200-600 a day. Afterwards, you keep them in a moist warm place

or a physicist. She attended Virginia Tech, studying biology as a

and hatch them.” The larvae are always hatched in distilled water.

foundation for medical studies. In her junior year, she accepted

On one occasion, Webster discovered something amiss with the

an internship at INOVA hospital in Fairfax, Va., working with a

lab’s distilled water tank.

cardiac surgeon to preview what she believed would be her

“I had a good hatch rate after spending numerous long days injecting—a bunch swimming around. The next day they

future occupation. “I observed a few different surgeries. By the end of the

were dead.” She guesses the chlorine in the water killed them,

summer, I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to

and shrugs.

be in a hospital all day.”

Soon after hatching the eggs, Webster looks for tell-tale

So Webster abandoned the idea of medical school and

green, or red, fluorescence in the larvae which alerts her if the

explored other options in STEM fields. She became a teaching

genes are successfully integrated into the mosquito—the genes

assistant to an entomology professor. Although entomology

that will render it genetically modified.

satisfied her curiosity about the natural world, she found it

“The transformation efficiency is only 1-5 percent,” Webster explains. “It is not without its many difficulties, but I have no doubt this will be done in the future,” she says confidently. Actually, she already knows her research is working. Four to six weeks afterward, she screens to determine if the

wasn’t her true niche. “I collected insects, and I was really into bees; but, I still wanted to tie something back to human health.” In her last year at Virginia Tech, Webster applied to NC State, noticing a National Science Foundation IGERT fellowship (for integrated graduate education research training). The IGERT

mosquitoes have developed the tell-tale killer or rescue traits

program, by definition, means to catalyze a cultural change in

by the mosquito’s eye color. “The eye marker is a fluorescent

graduate education, for students, faculty and institutions and

protein isolated from jellyfish; it fluoresces their optic nerves.

focuses upon collaborative research outside the usual boundaries.

The rescue has red, but the killer has green eyes.”

The fellowship also offered a generous stipend and tuition waiver.

After many hundreds of efforts, Webster says “I often see the mosquito larvae when I close my eyes,” and smiles. She has the resilience and patience of a marathoner, which

The fellowship was unlike anything Webster had done. “We had students in communications, biomathematics, economics and biology.” Webster, of course, was the biology student.

is her release. At least running allows Webster to control the

Webster clicked with the IGERT agenda, which prepares

pace—something that is nearly impossible to do inside a lab.

scientists to be expert communicators. They learn to “talk about

Webster, fit and intense, is an avid runner. She was part of a

the controversy that genetic engineering raises in economic,

cultural, social and technological settings. The IGERT has played a huge role in my development as a graduate student.” The fellows’ very first course was a month-long course which took place in Lima and Iquitos, Peru. In order to speak a common language, the fellows had to learn how to communicate across disciplines. The group of six was required to begin working towards publishing on an assigned topic by the beginning of 2016. The students’ work was ultimately published in Genetic Control of Malaria and Dengue. Since then, The Genetic Engineering and Society program has been developed in the Hunt Library. The group project also became a useful bridge to Webster’s

N ATA L I E H A M P TO N

present doctoral research. Webster began working within

IT IS A SATURDAY AFTERNOON in

the area of genetic engineering and its role in society. “My

downtown Raleigh, and there is a crowd

research didn’t change, because I’m not working with the virus

at the Museum of Natural Sciences’

whatsoever. I’m tackling the vector (mosquito) and not the virus.

Daily Planet Theater. Visitors have taken

Any mosquito virus could theoretically be tackled by the system

a break from their museum tour to listen

I’m trying to build.”

to five NC State graduate students share

Webster’s experiences as an IGERT fellow had also enabled her to better communicate her science—something that no doubt helped her to compete successfully in the 3MT

their research presentation from the Three Minute Thesis. Three Minute Thesis is an

competition last fall. This, she says, is immensely important. The

international competition where PhD

public must understand scientists’ work if they are to value it,

students share their dissertation

especially the highly controversial topic of genetic engineering.

research in just three minutes. NC State

Four years into her doctoral work, Webster will graduate

has hosted its own competition since

in December 2017. With some luck, her next stop will be the

2015, and the 2016 competition was

Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Webster already plots her

held in October. Ten finalists competed,

course, methodically and patiently; knowing well that life for a

and Sophia Webster was chosen the

researcher is not a sprint, but a marathon. 

“People’s Choice” winner by the audience.

FOR FURTHER READING:

The five NC State 3MT finalists

https://cals.ncsu.edu/news/engineering-a-new-mosquito/

came to the museum in December to share their research with the public and show off the high quality of research conducted by graduate students at NC State. The finalists gave their 3MT presentations, with the single slide they prepared for the competition. Afterward, the five students took audience questions about their research, pleased with the opportunity to engage the public in conversations about science. —Natalie Hampton

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Sayed Mashaheet

With a goal of feeding the planet, Sayed Mashaheet asks a singular question: does ozone stress make plants sick? Sayed Mashaheet’s research into wheat and ozone tolerance could actually help prevent a worldwide famine. BY N ATALIE HAMPTON

ere is how: The NC State University PhD alumnus and postdoc is working to develop resilient wheat varieties that are more tolerant to ozone—a pollutant often associated with climate change— and more resistant to wheat rust, a devastating

disease that looks like rust on wheat stalks. In 1998, researchers discovered a new strain of wheat rust

in Uganda. It was confirmed in 1999 and named Ug99. This new strain of the disease can destroy a wheat crop, leaving farmers and their families without food or income after working hard for an entire growing season, even if the disease reaches the field only a few weeks before harvest. “At the time it was detected, this wheat rust strain was BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

capable of overcoming most of the wheat varieties worldwide. It was a big problem that continued to spread and evolve,” Mashaheet said. Today, many variants of this wheat rust strain are found in countries across Africa and the Middle East. Around the globe, scientists are in a race against the disease, working to develop wheat varieties that are resistant to rust. The rapid pathogen evolution, the airborne spores, the difficulties of BECKY KIRKLAND

Sayed Mashaheet at his field lab on Lake Wheeler Road. Wheat and other plants are exposed to ozone and evaluated.

fungicide application and the lack of resistant varieties makes it hard to prevent the disease or stop its advance. Mashaheet’s work specifically focuses on identifying lines of wheat that are tolerant to ozone, a toxic gas that can weaken wheat, making it more susceptible to diseases like wheat rust. “If wheat rust reaches Asia, with a large portion of the world’s population, and significantly high ozone pollution, famine is a real possibility,” Mashaheet said. When Mashaheet got his scholarship from his home country of Egypt in 2012 to begin his doctoral program at NC State, the new strains of wheat rust weren't there yet. But in 2015, Ug99 was discovered in Egypt’s wheat crop. Mashaheet came to NC State to work with Fitzgerald Booker with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research

S H UT T E RSTO C K

Services, but Booker died of cancer before they could meet.

“Ozone sensitivity in wheat is just like

Two other NC State faculty members—David Marshall, NC State

asthma for a human,” Mashaheet said.

plant pathology professor and USDA-ARS researcher, and Kent

“Wheat (exposed to ozone) doesn’t

Burkey, NC State crop science professor and USDA-ARS crop

perform well because ozone oxidizes

physiologist—stepped in as Mashaheet’s advisors.

the chlorophyll and all the enzymes,

Marshall’s group has been on the front lines of the race

and it breaks it down so the functions

against wheat rust, searching for resistant varieties, and

aren’t delivered. So you would expect

Burkey has decades of globally recognized experience in ozone

the yields are going to go down, and the

sensitivity research.

plants are going to get yellow.”

Mashaheet’s research confirmed that plants stressed by ozone exposure were more likely to be infected by rust. He compared plants under ozone stress with plants in clean air, and found that ozone exposure caused plants to be less resistant to rust. “It gives an advantage to the pathogen (rust) because the plant is weakened by ozone stress,” he said. Marshall’s work involves seeking genes for rust-resistance in wheat. Researchers around the globe believe that plants must have a set of multiple genes for rust resistance in order to defend against the disease. Mashaheet’s research begins with wheat varieties identified as rust-resistant; he is testing these varieties to determine which are also ozone tolerant. While researchers focus on finding plants that are robust and

At the 2016 annual meeting of the American Phytopathological society, Mashaheet’s research on the crossroads between ozone sensitivity and rust susceptibility was recognized by the Phytobiome Journal poster award, sponsored by the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

healthy, growers desire wheat that is high yielding. By crossing

Egyptian introvert to serve as a teaching assistant in two courses

rust-resistant, ozone-tolerate plants with a high-yielding plant, he

in my second language.”

hopes to develop a line of wheat that will meet growers’ needs. Maintaining and expanding wheat yields also is important for

Though his teaching experience is with college students, he branched out to a tougher audience while at NC State—teaching

world food security. By 2050, food production must increase by

preschoolers about his work. He and his wife Camellia have three

70 percent, in order to feed a projected world population of 9

children—two daughters and an infant son.

billion people. Wheat and other cereal crops are expected to play a major role in feeding the world. And unfortunately, higher ozone levels tend to be more of a

Mashaheet wanted to share his wheat research with students in his daughter’s preschool class. He helped them to grow wheat at school and showed them how weak strains of the disease

problem in parts of the world with higher populations and higher

look on their plants, comparing it to video from Africa of what the

food insecurity, areas like China, India and the Mediterranean

devastating rust strains can do to wheat.

region, Mashaheet said, adding, “Ozone hits where it hurts.” During his postdoc research, Mashaheet has discovered 10 genes that produce plants with ozone tolerance. “The leaves on these plants look very healthy—it’s easy to tell the genes are

His reward was a thank-you booklet of photos and quotes made by the students who expressed their thanks for all they learned. “This was more important to me than anything,” he said. “It has been a nice journey,” he said of his years at NC State. “I really enjoyed it, and I hope it will lead me to a new stage.” 

working,” he said. In addition, he has collaborated with NC State food safety researchers to determine if ozone stress can cause plants to

FOR FURTHER READING:

carry more pathogens that can make humans sick.

PhD student wins for national poster contest; https://cals.ncsu.edu/news/ ph-d-student-wins-for-national-poster-presentation/

In the spring, Mashaheet was seeking a new opportunity in plant pathology research. He ultimately plans to return to his home country of Egypt, where he is a faculty member engaged

Mashaheet's Three Minute Thesis presentation: https://youtu.be/ Z2wHqrI-PeY

in teaching and research at Damanhour University. While he was a doctoral student at NC State, he participated in the Graduate School’s Certificate of Achievement in Teaching program to help hone his teaching skills. As guest speaker at the Graduate School’s spring Celebration of Graduate Student Success in April, he told honorees that the program “helped an

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Brandtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research is critical to the 600,000 individuals in the U.S. alone with major lower body amputations, a number that is expected to more than double by 2050 largely due to increased rates of diabetes.

M A RC H A L L

Andrea Brandt

When High Tech Bionics Merge with the Human Side of Science in Order to Meet Individual Needs

BY NATAL IE HAMPTON

hen lower limb amputees are fitted with a powered prosthesis, a technician sets the device’s performance parameters in a clinical setting where the person is walking on a flat, level surface. But those clinical conditions don’t correspond to all the walking conditions and movements that an amputee will experience in life. PhD biomedical student Andrea Brandt is studying how above-knee amputees adapt to using a powered prosthesis for activities like carrying a load. She wants to change the prosthetic knee mechanics to relieve

amputees from compensating or working so hard when they do carry loads. She hopes that what she learns will allow amputees better mobility and control of movement. What most amputees want is a prosthesis that is adaptable, allowing them to return to activities they really enjoyed before having a leg amputated, Brandt said. Her goal is to develop prostheses that adapt to the amputee users, rather than amputees having to adapt to their prosthesis—the ultimate bionic leg that can automatically adjust for specific activities and conditions. Brandt didn’t set out to be a biomedical scholar. After earning an undergraduate degree in math, she took a year off from education to think about what was next for her. She was looking for a field that combined, “a human side and a math side.” Biomedical engineering seemed “one of the most fulfilling ways” to do that, she said. She chose the Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, part of the joint NC State-UNC Biomedical Engineering Department. The lab is widely recognized for its gait lab equipment—sort of a high-tech treadmill—that records whole-body

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

movement and evaluates novel control and rehabilitation techniques for prostheses, orthotics, computers and other assistive devices. According to the program’s website, “Our research goal is to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities.” Brandt especially enjoyed the opportunity to study at both UNC and NC State. Early in her student career, she actually spent more time at UNC. “It’s nice to get access to the human, medical side,” she said. “UNC has a great School of Medicine, and NC State has

M A RC H A L L

a great engineering program.” Brandt’s human motor control class through the Human Movement Science Department at UNC was one of her favorite classes, and she found it very informative for her work. So amputees face challenges when walking under different conditions that are not supported by a pre-programmed activity mode, or variations within an activity mode, such as using the “level ground walking” mode or carrying a load like a backpack, small child or groceries. Research has found that even carrying 10 lbs. of groceries can be difficult for amputees, forcing them to shift their weight more to their intact leg. Such shifting can lead to joint and back problems like osteoarthritis, scoliosis and sometimes injuries from falls. S H UT T E RSTO C K

“When people get a prosthesis, they go to the clinic and the clinician will adjust the prosthesis settings for them, and that’s

Though powered prosthetics have

what they’ll use in their daily life,” Brandt said. “They aren’t

helped amputees with mobility, they

testing a number of conditions, like people don’t pick up a bag of

have limitations because they are

groceries and see how they walk, or carry their child on their hip.

tuned in a clinic under a narrow set of

So the first question for us to understand was, does this make a

conditions. Even prostheses that can

difference, and in what way?”

be adjusted for different activities like

Last summer, Brandt and her team enlisted help from

climbing stairs offer a limited range of

volunteer amputees who tested an experimental powered knee

activity modes, and amputees have

by walking on the lab’s force-measuring treadmill. Participants

to manually push a button to switch

were fitted with a weight against their backs that simulated the

between them.

task of carrying a backpack.

Opposite page: Research subject Charles Humphries will be a student at NC State next year in mechanical engineering. Andrea Brandt is pictured working with Humphries above and on page 33.

“The amputees give us valuable feedback—how they felt, changes they would like to make with the prosthesis,” Brandt said. In March, Brandt and postdoctoral scholar Stephanie Huang joined their professor, Helen Huang at the Museum of Natural Sciences’ Science Café, regular discussions by local scientists that are open to the public. They showed the audience different types of prosthetic knees and feet and explained how each can adapt to different activities.

M A RC H A L L

Working with the amputees in the research study is meaningful, Brandt said. “It sounds cheesy, but we’re really helping people,” she said. “Not every lab can actually develop something and test it on the people it’s going to be helping.” Brandt was inspired by one participant in the study last summer. He later became an intern in the neuromuscular lab, and he hopes to become an engineering student at NC State. “Not only has he helped us gain valuable insight into how

FOR FURTHER READING: Brandt at the Science Café: http://naturalsciences.org/calendar/event/science-cafe-the-bionic-humanmaking-fantasy-a-reality/ Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory: http://nrel.bme.ncsu.edu/index.html Read Brandt’s paper on her research: http://nrel.bme.ncsu.edu/Publications/2016/EMBC16_BRANDT.pdf

amputees use prostheses, but I hope we’ve helped him gain lab experience and research experience,” she said. The lab research with amputees also helped Brandt recognize individual issues, making the goal of adaptable prostheses more important. Graduation is still a couple of years away for Brandt. But she continues her research, helping bring life a little closer to routine for amputees. 

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

BECKY KIRKLAND

Brianna Hess Massie

The Determination of

Brianna Hess Massie to Contribute to Hog Farming Success

BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

ere are a few things NC State University doctoral

so she has an objective sense of smell that serves her well in

student Briana Hess Massie knows:

her present work.

She knows a good deal about the myriad

“I was part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture market

environmental issues of commercial hog

quality and handling research unit,” she explains. “In food science,

operations and the challenges they pose. Massie

they have a cucumber, sweet potato and peanut lab, and part

is well-versed in waste technologies that might make for a more

of your duties are to do a sensory lab.” The experience trained

pleasant scenario for hog farming and its environmental impact.

Massie in objectifying tastes and smells, among other things.

With an organic solution in hand, one inexpensively and

However, after her graduate work, she segued into civil

easily implemented, farmers could revolutionize how hog

engineering and waste technologies due to the work of NC State

wastes are handled, and, as a true bonus, also change how the

University’s Praveen Kolar, a bio-engineering professor. Massie’s

operations smell.

work was called to his attention, and he was immediately

Massie had prior research experience analyzing peanut skins

interested.

and hull wastes. She now imagines a future wherein something

“I had a two-part master’s thesis. The first part was removal

abundant and cheap, much like peanut hulls or egg shells, might

of arsenic and cadmium from hog waste, and the other part was

be used to mitigate a smelly problem and remove heavy metals

making a food product out of peanut skins into a polyphenol

from hog wastes.

nutraceutical. Often, peanuts are grown where cotton is grown,

Her nose for a solution was developed during early graduate

and the pesticide used on cotton contained arsenic, so, it is

studies at NC State University. The doctoral student, now

still in the soil. In the peanut skins there is arsenic. And, we

completing her degree in bio-engineering, also has studied

are learning that plants do uptake it, so arsenic is more of a

chemistry and food science. Massie trained as a sensory

concern.”

panelist while completing her master’s degree in food science,

Massie saw the peanut wastes were valuable and useful.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

She wanted to put those unused skins and hulls to use. She determined that she wanted to work in the area of adsorption, and so she reached out to various departments, including engineering. “I started emailing departments. Professor Praveen Kolar was interested. He wanted to look at the issue of biomass and adsorption.” That, Massie explained, became her main research focus. Massie entered doctoral studies in biological and agricultural ROG E R W I N ST E A D

engineering and began working under Kolar. Kolar had a keen interest in applied technologies. He has done graduate research in India, at Louisiana State University and at the University of Georgia prior to arriving at NC State. He has worked in aquaculture in India, his native country, with sustainable shrimp farming. At LSU, he earned a second master’s degree while researching sustainable oyster farming and processing. Kolar came to NC State in 2009 after completing a doctorate at UGA, where he had worked with aquaculture and biological filtration with nitrogen. At NC State, Kolar’s work centered upon biomass and green

S H UT T E RSTO C K

At top, a waste lagoon outside Kinston, N.C. Massie explores how cheap, simple peanut hulls or egg shells could solve some of the bigger problems concerning hog farming operations: peanut hulls cost pennies per ton. Hulls and shells are light and cheap to transport. Both offer cheap, simple adsorption of wastes.

technologies, and the wastes generated by food harvesting and production. He studied ways to take wastes such as shrimp shells as catalysts for converting oil into biodiesel. He was also examining ways to alter the poultry and hog farming industries' environmental impact, alleviating the odors inherent in both operations. Massie explains that she left chemistry behind because she wanted to go into an applied science versus one that was theoretical. Here in Kolar’s lab, Massie found a way to put her background into action. THE ROAD TO THE FLATLANDS How did the young researcher’s background and interests culminate in this work and at this place? Massie, who grew up in Appalachia, is from the hill country of Virginia and new to the flatlands, she says. As far as geography goes, she still prefers the hills to the Triangle, and when she has the rare opportunity to go hiking, she misses the mountains of her youth. “I grew up in Russell County, Va., near Bristol,” explains Massie. She was one of three children and her grandfather was once a coal miner. At the time, there were better workplace regulations within the industry, and coal was thriving, she says.

M A RC H A L L

And her Appalachian family did not discount education. “I had the advice to do good and read books.” Her mother was an educator who instilled a love of learning.

In 2009, N.C. hog farmers raised an average of 8,389 hogs. Smaller farming operations had become exponentially larger, more like enclosed factories, relying upon clay-lined, open

“My mother has two master’s degrees. And, my mom was the

lagoons for disposal and containment of excrement and wastes.

first in her family to go get a four-year college degree.” Massie

Unlike hog operations in other states that use pits for waste

adds shyly, “But I’m the first to earn a PhD.” Massie’s father also

management, N.C. hog farms still employed lagoons.

urged her to get an education or else “face a life of dead-end ‘grunt jobs,’” she says.

By 2012, the USDA’s 2012 agricultural census reported that Duplin County ranked first in the nation in hog and pig sales.

She liked science. Yet there were no scientists in Massie’s

Sales of $614 million that year represented 3 percent of the

family. In fact, her mother “doesn’t really like science. She

national total. The industry was geographically concentrated,

doesn’t like for me to talk about it.”

largely confined to contiguous counties within the state’s coastal

Today, Massie’s doctoral work concerns swine lagoons.

plain. One mapping service observed, “This cluster of counties

“Brianna is focusing on adsorbents for removing odors and

is often referred to as ‘Swine Alley.’” The location posed other

heavy metals from lagoon water,” explains Kolar. While the numbers of actual hog farms in operation are lower, the numbers of hogs per herd has grown substantially. Fewer farms handled much larger herds.

environmental concerns—born of volume, waste management issues were of a large-scale. “There are 2,400-ish hog farms here, and each will have a lagoon in N.C.,” says Massie. “In N.C., we have 8 or 9 million

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

ROG E R W I N ST E A D

NC State has been proactive, working with hog waste management in earnest since 2010, for the benefit of the environment and the industry. As of the 2010 census, North Carolina is among five states where pigs approximate the same number as humans.

hogs at a time. North Carolina accounts for 80 percent of southeastern U.S. hog production.” This means that N.C. pork production ranks second only to

“When they first started building them, they were unlined, and they seeped into water supply,” Massie says. There was another problem at work, delivered by Mother Nature. Storm

Iowa. The issue of wastes, too, is a matter of scale, as N.C. farms

patterns were changing in both intensity and impact. An increase

morphed from farms with 945 or fewer heads of hogs in 1992,

in what were once considered “500-year storms” meant that

into fewer, but much larger, commercial operations in this century.

existing lagoons within coastal areas were even more problematic.

A 1997 moratorium on building hog farms then led to an

During hurricane events and tropical storms, berms were

overall decline in hog farms. Older, grandfathered lagoons were

threatened. The breach of lagoon berms could cause the

not clay lined, but newer ones were. The older lagoons were of

contained wastes to spill or wash out. The wastes could in turn

more concern.

cause fish kills and have other impact. Contaminants in the

wastes could enter the water supply. The contaminants within

At NC State, Praveen Kolar’s

the lagoons included bacteria such as e-coli and high levels of

work as a bioengineer centers

nitrates, copper and arsenic.

upon innovations in biomass

Farmers recycled lagoon wastes, using them as fertilizers.

and green technologies. He

Typically, the wastes are sprayed in nearby fields.

frequently concentrates upon

“The way they dispose of the treated liquid in the swine

the wastes generated by food

lagoon is, waste comes in, the bacteria breaks it down, and the

harvesting and production. He

material stays in the lagoon for an amount of time to allow the

seeks ways to use hog wastes

pathogens to be reduced. But, there are nutrients in the treated

for positive purposes.

wastes, so they spray this on crops,” Massie says. There are very specific regulations guiding the use of the

N A N C Y E V E LY N

treated wastes, she adds. Nonetheless, other issues arise when potentially toxic levels of nutrients concentrate in the soil. Massie’s research specifically tackles a subsection of that concentration: Her focus is copper. How does copper get into the wastes? “Copper gets built up in the (waste) water because copper actually comes from

technologies, or ESTs, to assist better hog waste practices.

feeding the swine this in the food supplements. These metals

NC State University was charged by state government with

are good at controlling enteric pathogens in the gut, and the pigs

determining those technologies. Kolar’s work in biological and

then grow better.”

agricultural engineering dovetailed with those technologies.

And so, excess copper is excreted as waste into the lagoon

This was not simple work from an economic stance either.

water. When waste water is sprayed onto crops, the copper can

ESTs were needed; yet costs to enact them were a considerable

reach a concentration within the fertilized plants that hampers

hurdle. A problem of scale doesn’t explain all issues facing ESTs.

growth.

“Swine lagoons are huge,” Massie says. Plus, there were

“Until you get reduced (plant) growth that is visually

definite financial concerns. The farmers usually owned the

observed, the nutrients are sitting in the soil to wash

facilities, but not the pigs. They are paid to raise them, bringing

away.” When copper enters creeks and rivers, it has further

the pigs up to market weight. It falls to the farmer to shoulder

repercussions. Massie explains, “Small vertebrates are affected.

the costs and risks of the operations and lagoons, not the owner

Fish will not grow as well and will have offspring with defects.”

of the herd. “Most farmers are operating at small profit margins,”

AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY

says Massie. “It’s hard for them to invest in much technology,

THAT COSTS PEANUTS

because just opening up a swine lagoon can cost $50-60,000.” Existing swine lagoons were grandfathered in since

In 2014, NC State University professor Praveen Kolar was

regulations were enacted with the intention to protect

working with research concerning swine lagoons and biogas. He

surrounding lands. A percentage of the grandfathered lagoons

had long worked to develop a catalytic process that could remove

still remain in use.

a large percentage of the smell generated by rendering plants. Now, his work focused upon methods to remove the stench from

CHEAP AND EASY SOLUTIONS

pig wastes and to find ways of using waste materials for positive purposes.

"NC State wanted to find inexpensive, simple ways to offset how

The university had been working with hog waste

wastes were treated. My focus was trying to find a way that

management in earnest since the year 2000, when the

was cheap-to-free, would work with existing swine lagoons, but

“Smithfield Agreement” funded environmentally superior

would not be heavily technical,” explains Massie.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

Kolar and other researchers have tested activated carbon in mitigating wastes. Yet there is an even cheaper option, Massie believes. Massie thinks adsorption is a better solution in dealing with

analysis, it is a structural issue. Heretofore, many operators could not afford to upgrade waste treatment processes. Massie considers the impact of their research, even if there is a cost to the farmer. “Best case: you extend the sustainability

hog wastes. Adsorption refers to adhesion of molecules to the

of the hog farming system, so you’re keeping them in business,

surfaces of solids or liquids they contact. “We think adsorption is

therefore lessening the watershed effects and keeping the costs

the best way to do it. I added the component that the best thing

low and extending the industry,” says Massie. “And, it mitigates

to do is to use waste products that are already there.”

the environmental impact. Operationally, it is pretty well

“You can get a lot of bulk products like peanut shells coming out of the food industry. You can buy peanut shells for pennies a ton, and so transportation is also cheap. So you put

controlled as far as the watershed safety; but, lagging behind, concerning the compounds that are building up there.” She considers the down side. “Worst case: the adsorbents

the adsorbent in the swine lagoon. Then transport the adsorbent

don’t work,” she says. “It’s pretty much a question of the scale,

somewhere else rather than in the field where the sprayed

which is enormous. Human waste is treated very well. But it’s

copper would have gone. The main problem is, it is being sprayed

expensive. You don’t have that money to put into the agricultural

and concentrated in a concentrated area, like Duplin County,

sector. We are never going to get to the point that agriculture

where most of the hog farms are. It’s not super toxic. Again, it’s

is going to be zero impact. And, the technology is often too

just a matter of scale.”

expensive.” Massie says her research is still on bench scale; it will

A SIMPLE MODEL WITH A COMPLEX SOLUTION

probably be tested in reality after she completes her doctorate this year.

Massie’s model is simple. It mitigates harmful levels of copper

There’s yet another plus: “With adsorption, you can make it

and by-products. She has proven that eggshells will take copper

happen quickly.” And, luckily, there is little red tape with getting

out of effluent in swine lagoons. “Now, we’re looking at ways

adsorption techniques approved.

to improve that efficiency. We’re on the point of proving this is

Massie is optimistic. “It’s not so long to get from bench

something you can do reliably and cheaply, and hit the sweet

shop to implementation. I guess the blue sky view is my

spot between using a cheap material and not having to truck in a

technology will be a safety gap before a truly viable technology.”

load every single day.” She feels close to a working model. “If I had control, the final system would look like, say, materials like egg shells and bones that contain calcium carbonate and minerals. You have very reduced copper in the lagoon, so I’d like to pump the lagoon effluent out and aerate it in a secondary pond and filter it through a bed of adsorbent. So that, when the liquid comes through, the dissolved copper would adhere to the surface and the adsorbent. Then the levels would be lower and could safely go on the fields as sprayed fertilizer.” Who will pay for the costs of an adsorbent, no matter if it’s only peanuts? “Most of the large pork producers own the animals and farm out the work of raising these animals to the farmer,” she explains. The farmers’ margins are already small, and the cost of adding new technologies is high. “Yes, there are many very large overarching problems with hog farms,” notes Massie, “but you could say the same thing for communities located near large industrial complexes.” In the final

Kolar and other researchers have tested activated carbon in mitigating wastes. Yet there is an even cheaper option, Massie believes.

BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017

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