Technician
friday april
20 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Professor gets award for genetic research Entomologist Fred Gould leads first graduate program in genetic pest management. Sarah Dashow Staff writer
a continuation of last year’s remodeling of the lobby and computer lab located on the ground floor. Kala Bullett, now in her sixth year as associate director of housing for West Campus, said the main focus of the renovations is to improve the cosmetics of the nearly 50-year-old building. According to Bullett, the restoration of Sullivan, which is set to begin next month, will parallel the 2009 overhaul of Bragaw Hall and will aim to maximize space in the B and C rooms. Improvements will also include the addi-
In the future, incidences of mosquito-borne diseases may decrease due to the research of N.C. State professor, Fred Gould. For his research in genetics, Gould, a professor of entomology, received the 2012 UNC system’s O. Max Gardner Award, given to those who have made “great contributions to human welfare,” as per the award’s title. He is the fifth faculty member at the University to win the award since 2003. Gould’s research, which initially focused on agriculture, now revolves around applied evolutionary biology, a study involving the alteration of genes in a species to change how they react or adapt. “There’s a genetic basis to all of these things,” Gould said. “There’s basically selection to being more fit, so that’s what insects do. So when people develop crops that have resistance due to the common chemicals that are in your spices and other things...we try to come up with approaches to make it harder for the pests to adapt.” While Gould’s team did not develop the crops, they did find ways to improve the agricultural process. “When transgenic crops came out that had this toxin from a bacteria in it, we developed ways that could slow the rate at which pests could adapt, and the EPA picked up on this and that’s how crops are being grown right now,” Gould said. “These crops slow the evolutionary process.” This method is being used internationally in China and India and is part of the reason why Gould received the award. More recently, however, Gould has turned the focus of his research on genetic pest management and disease control. “We’re very specifically interested in insects that transmit dengue virus,” Gould said. “We take a mosquito that doesn’t transmit the virus and move those genes... so we get rid of the disease.” Gould will use what is called a selfish gene. When it comes time to release the mosquitoes, the selfish genes will be more likely to appear in the offspring of the mosquitoes,with a rate of up to 90 percent, decreasing the likelihood that later generations will carry the ability for disease transmission. In addition to his own research, Gould is leading the development of an interdisciplinary graduate program, which is drawing students from multiple areas involved with the project. The program has received a five-year grant. William
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contributed by roger winstead
Construction on the Museum of Science is finally coming to an end with the grand opening of the Nature Research Center.
Nature Research Center opens to public After months of work and collaboration with N.C. State professors, the new Museum of Science wing is ready. Juliana Deitch Staff Writer
The grand opening of the Nature Research Center is finally here. The celebration marking the opening of the new 80,000 - square-foot wing of the Museum of Natural Sciences, will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 20 and go until 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 21. The event will include activities, presentations, exhibitors and vendors from around the globe, with Ira David Wood and Chuck Davis officiating at the opening ceremonies. Dr. Meg Lowman, a research professor in N.C. State’s College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, is the director of the NRC.
Lowman described the center as a hub for research and growth. “The Nature Research Center is over the top,” Lowman said. It has the potential to really transform opportunities for students as well as scientists in general.” Dr. Roland Kays is a research professor in the College of Natural Resources and director of the NRC’s biodiversity lab. His lab will study specimens including plants, animals, insects and microbes. Kays said the Nature Research Center is all about how we know things and how people do research. “The center is showing people how we learn things, not just what we know,” Kays said. One area of Kays’ research projects uses cameras with motion sensors to identify and track the different predators that prey on chicken coops. The cameras are set up in urban, suburban and wildlife
New app gives users an electronic green thumb “I’ve never heard of something N.C. State’s turfgrass program like that, I think it’s really interestdevelops new lawn care ing for those who are into things app designed to help N.C. like lawn care,” Phil Ramsey, homeowners. freshman in first year college, said. “It may not be that useful for many Shawn Thompson students in college, the app could Staff Writer definitely be of use to those who Homeowners and landscapers are homeowners.” The new app focuses on the can now get information on caring for their lawns with a new resource main categories of lawn care and created by N.C. State’s turfgrass maintenance, which include pest control, grass types, and irrigaprogram. The University’s Lawn Care App tion. The app also gives “turf tips” was designed to assist North Caroli- and the latest news alerts covering topics from na homeowners with pest control to their lawn care. Foweather concusing on the key catditions. This egories of lawn care information and maintenance, the i s prov ide d Lawn Care App uses through the time-sensitive inforwebsite of N.C. mation to tell users State’s turfthe hows, whats and grass program. whens of how to care TurfFiles for lawns. Anyone Anthony Holmes, junior in agricultural business admin. provides turfwith an iPhone, iPad grass informaor iPod can download tion to homeowners, students and the app. Professors, researchers and staff of professional turfgrass managers. the turfgrass program provide lawn The Center for Turfgrass Envicare tips for the app. The turfgrass ronmental Research and Educaprogram has been recognized na- tion and the College of Agricultionally as No. 1 in the July 2007 issue of TurfNet Magazine. lawn continued page 3
“I find it great that an app has been created for lawn maintenance.”
areas. For the opening, everyone will bring in their cameras and Kays’ team will project the videos on a live feed around the museum. The team will also record data and update graphs that show the data throughout the night. Kays, who already has two students from the College of Natural Resources working in his lab, encouraged N.C. State students who are interested in environmental education to volunteer, do research or work at the Nature Research Center. “Students bring a lot of great energy that we want to see,” Kays said. Dr. Lindsay Zanno, a research professor in Biology and director of the Paleontology and Geology Lab at the NRC, said she and her team will be “cutting, grinding and chipping away at fossils.” People who come to the opening will have a chance to see her lab’s research and exam-
ine and learn how to construct a new name for a dinosaur skull Zanno is studying. Event attendees can submit their choices, and Zanno’s team will pick the final name. The NRC will give people access to interactive labs and research they wouldn’t normally get to see. All of the labs in the four-story building have floor-to -ceiling glass walls, and video screens throughout the center will show research and experiments as they are happening. One area of the center will show a live video of a veterinary operating room located inside the center. N.C. State students will work with a veterinarian operating on animals. “The Nature Research Center will be set up for people who are interested
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Renovations to revive interest in west campus housing Housing looking to make West Campus more desirable location for students to live. Sam DeGrave Staff Writer
With summer break approaching, the students of N.C. State are not the only people with big plans for the next few months. Over the summer, the University will be making some much-needed changes to Sullivan residence hall, officials said. Originally constructed in 1966, Sullivan Hall currently houses more than 700 of the approximately 10,000 students living on campus. The renovations will be
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Tennis ACC Tournament See page 8.
Pack takes part in Spring Game See page 8.
See page 5.
April 26 & 27 - 10am to 4pm On the Brickyard!