Davis Research 2012 by WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

Davis

College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

SPRING 2012

Putting it all together

PARTNERSHIPS POWER RESEARCH

Dear Friends, During this exciting

year when I have had the privilege of serving as interim dean, many have welcomed me to various events and introduced me as the dean of the “ag school.”

Now there is nothing wrong, please, about an “ag school.” After all, our ag school was part of West Virginia University’s very beginning as a land-grant institution in 1862. But the Davis College is so much more. Indeed, even in the broad field of “agriculture” things are not as simple as they once might have been. That is, no one does agriculture today without a ton of other concerns: business, management, ecology, environment, policy, water, nutrition. I am sure many can add to this list. My point is that if you focus on the first part of the Davis name — Agriculture — you can already see multidisciplinary work. And then you add the second phrase of our name — Natural Resources — and things get truly interdisciplinary.You might think it stops there, but it doesn’t. Just add “Design” and we are partnering with another important group. Perhaps when we think of the variety of research our Davis community does, it’s collaborative in so many significant ways as it builds on a few basic and indispensable realities: planning, development, sustainability, stewardship, all directed to human resources and natural resources. So I want to mention two things. First, I salute those whose work is featured in this research magazine, research activity which partners within and beyond the college. We could not, of course, include everyone who is working so hard in the world of discovery, scholarship, and innovation. But I hope you agree that what follows is a great cross-section of some of the exciting activities the Davis College faculty, staff, and students are involved in. And this involvement places Davis at the center of President Clements’ vision to have WVU excel in research and science. We definitely have a place at the table as we help develop the future of WVU. Second, the person who is going to help Davis develop that future is our next dean, Dan Robison. We extend a genuine welcome to an individual who brings a wonderful background to the work of leading a research enterprise like the Davis College in all its variety. Dr. Robison is himself a multidisciplinary scholar who works in hardwood silviculture and pest management, biomass energy and international forestry, environment, and sustainability. He has an abiding interest in global issues yet stays close to home with ties to Extension. As you read this latest Davis College publication, you will see that Dean Robison will fit right in. And I bet you will too.

Rudolph P. Almasy Interim Dean

Davis

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

SPRING 2012 Interim Dean and Publisher Rudolph P. Almasy 304-293-2395 Rudy.Almasy@mail.wvu.edu

College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

Contents 2

poultry scientists improve grower productivity, minimize environmental impacts, and create opportunities for student researchers. —by David Welsh

Editor David Welsh 304-293-2394 David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu

Editor Lindsay Altobello Willey 304-293-2381 Lindsay.Willey@mail.wvu.edu

Magazine Design Coordinator Susan Crist 304-293-0563 Susan.Crist@mail.wvu.edu

Change of Address WVU Foundation PO Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26504-1650 Fax: 304-284-4001 E-mail: info@wvuf.org www.mountaineerconnection.com

DAVIS RESEARCH is published once each year in the spring for the alumni, friends, and other supporters of the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design. Copyright ©2012 by the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design. Brief excerpts of articles in this publication may be reprinted without a request for permission if DAVIS RESEARCH is acknowledged in print as the source. Contact the Editors for permission to reprint entire articles. West Virginia University is governed by the WVU Board of Governors and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. WVU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution.

Dream teams: Davis College design scholars are bringing expertise and innovation to community partnerships. —by David Saville

Finding the fingerprint: Scholars from WVU have joined forces to answer some critical (and controversial) questions. —by David Welsh

A milestone in legume biology: Vagner Benedito joined forces with plant geneticists from around the globe and wound up in the pages of one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals. —by David Welsh

Address WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design Office of the Dean PO Box 6108 Morgantown, WV 26506-6108 www.davis.wvu.edu

Cleaner, safer, smarter: Teaming with industry helps

The United States, China, and the future of energy: Jerry Fletcher’s treks to China allow the sixtysomething resource economist not only to track that nation’s growing appetite for energy, but also to offer his service as a coordinator of energy research between the United States and China.

—by Trina Karolchik Wafle

Inquiring minds: Meet some of the Davis College’s emerging STEM researchers.

Leading by example: Jim Anderson and Dan Panaccione have been named Davis-Michael Professors in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design.

In brief: Highlights from the Davis College’s wide-ranging research endeavors. —by Lindsay Willey and David Welsh

Scholar in training: The McNair Scholars Program gives undergraduates a head start on a lifetime of inquiry.

—by Lindsay Willey

A message from the Provost

Cleaner, safer, smarter Teaming with industry helps poultry scientists improve grower productivity, minimize environmental impacts, and create opportunities for student researchers. Poultry is West Virginia’s largest agricultural commodity, but it faces challenges in terms of its environmental impact, particularly as it relates to water quality. The industry is increasingly aggressive in its attempts to minimize its potentially negative environmental effects, and its commitment to the issue led it to West Virginia University. WVU’s Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences is in the fourth year of a partnership with the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative, representing over 100 turkey farms in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley that produce and market conventional, antibiotic-free, and organic birds.

The objective of the partnership is to jointly determine the priority research needs of the industry that can be addressed based on the facilities and expertise of WVU faculties. To aid in that, the West Virginia State Legislature funded the renovation of a state-of-

studies per year addressing what Moritz describes as “the most pressing problems they’re facing, and doing it in real time.” Topics Division scholars, staff, and students have investigated include environmental levels of phosphorous, which can negatively impact

“We have a good working relationship with the University and feel the research farm is valuable to us.” the-art research facility at WVU’s Wardensville farm at a cost of roughly $125,000. The Cooperative also fully funds a graduate assistantship for a student in the Division. Joe Moritz, associate professor of poultry science, describes the research funded by the partnership as “entirely applied in nature and directly helping turkey growers in the state and region.” The Cooperative funds two major

groundwater in the region and leach into the Chesapeake River. They do this in a number of ways, from examining effective feeds with lower levels of phosphorous — less in, less out — that also reduces overhead for growers, as phosphorous-rich feeds carry a considerable expense. The Division and the Cooperative have also compared turkey breeds for their relative environmental impact.

Spring 2012 Photos by Mark Brown, WVU Photo

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Spring 2012

They’ve looked at the effects of increasing nutrients like amino acids in feeds and worked to develop a feed pellet with higher structural integrity, again in an effort to save growers money by lowering feed waste and increasing their returns. The health of the birds’ gastrointestinal tracts has been another topic under consideration. Projects have examined bacterial and protozoan challenges to bird health, making product safer. And the research has helped the Cooperative. “The WVU research benefits the Cooperative by allowing us to test nutritional programs on a small scale to determine if they work before putting them into practice across our entire growout program,” said Mickey Baugher, complex manager for the Cooperative. “It reduces our risk of making a cost error on nutrition. “We have a good working relationship with the University and feel the research farm is valuable to us,” Baugher added. In addition to the results for industry, the partnership has generated great opportunities for students.

Brittany West, whose assistantship was funded by the Cooperative during her master’s degree studies, was recognized for research excellence by the 2010 Joint Animal Science Meeting in Denver, Colorado.West was awarded a certificate of excellence in the Nutrition Poster Competition, as well as the Aviagen Turkey Research Communication Award. West presented research focused on strategies to improve animal performance while simultaneously decreasing feed costs and environmental impacts associated with rearing turkeys to market weight. “There are several challenges associated with maintaining a competitive edge in commercial poultry production,” West said. “Correctly choosing a genetic line of turkey can significantly impact feed conversion and breast yield, thus profitability in the market. In addition, environmental impacts of production agriculture — especially manure disposal — are becoming increasingly scrutinized and regulated.”

Kelley Wamsley, currently pursuing her PhD in animal and food sciences, presented her research at the 18th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition in Çeşme, Turkey, where Moritz was an invited speaker. Wamsley shared a paper outlining her research on manufacturing techniques to improve pellet quality of commercial turkey diet formulations and six-week male poult performance. In addition to her PhD work on poultry nutrition and feed manufacture,Wamsley is pursuing the Certificate in University Teaching program offered by WVU’s Office of Graduate Education and Life. She expects to complete her degree in December of 2013 and hopes to follow in Moritz’s footsteps, teaching poultry science at the university level and encouraging young researchers. D

Talking poultry in Turkey Poultry scientist Joe Moritz is used to traveling. He coaches WVU’s Poultry Judging Team and joins it on annual trips to national competitions, and he’s taken young researchers to professional meetings.

Moritz earned a new personal record for miles traveled for the sake of science when he attended the 18th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition in Çesme, Turkey, as an invited speaker at the end of October.

WVU was well represented at the European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition in Çeşme,Turkey. Davis College faculty and students shared their research at the event. From left: undergraduate student Angela Lamp; Joe Moritz, associate professor; and Kelley Wamsley, PhD student. Spring 2012

“This is a great opportunity for myself and my laboratory,” said Moritz, an awardwinning associate professor in the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences. “I decided to ask two of my students who have high-impact research results that are pertinent to this meeting if they would like to come along.” D

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Dream teams Dream teams Dream team Chester

Davis College scholars are bringing expertise and innovation to community partnerships. An innovative program has matched University scholars with professionals from private industry and local governments to breathe new life into some neglected spaces in the Mountain State. At Extreme Makeover: Brownfields Edition on December 2, four West Virginia communities — Chester, Shinnston, Parkersburg, and Wheeling — were matched with a “dream team” of faculty members and other experts to create redevelopment plans for projects in their communities to be one of the four initial projects of the West Virginia Redevelopment Collaborative. The West Virginia Redevelopment Collaborative is a new initiative of West Virginia University’s Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center, funded by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, designed to use a team approach to tackle obstacles involved in redeveloping brownfields. Brownfields are properties that sit undeveloped because of a variety of real or perceived environmental barriers. “The West Virginia Redevelopment Collaborative assembles experts from diverse backgrounds to work with current redevelopment projects with the potential for significant community impact,” said Carrie Staton, the program’s coordinator. “These teams of faculty experts and community leaders will work together over the next several months to move projects to the next steps of the redevelopment process.” Faculty experts came from WVU’s Davis College, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, and Extension Service, as well as several other institutions from across the state, including Concord University and WVU Parkersburg.

Four brownfield redevelopment projects were selected at the event to receive $5,000 grants and continued assistance from their dream team. The four winning projects are: Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle; City of Parkersburg; City of Shinnston; and City of Wheeling.

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Whee

Shinnston

Parkersbu

Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle, to create a new urban quarter at the site of a former pottery factory that will enhance the viability of the existing downtown and provide the City of Chester with a new walkable neighborhood and needed community access to the Ohio River. WVU’s Angela Campbell and Hodjat Ghadimi, assistant professors of landscape architecture and design, and Kevin Leyden, professor and director of the Institute for Public Affairs, have teamed with Dylan Lewis of Bowles Rice McDavid Graff and Love, LLP, Marvin Six and Patrick Ford of the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle, and Sandi Parkins, clerk of the City of Chester.

City of Shinnston, to develop a plan for the highest and best recreational use of a former City Garage site with significant community engagement and input. WVU’s Ashley Kyber, assistant professor of landscape architecture, and Chris Haddox, visiting assistant professor of sustainable design, have teamed with Concord University’s Linwood Clayton, Emma Clarke of the City of Shinnston, and LaReta Lowther of WesBanco.

City of Parkersburg, to revitalize a former marble factory site into a public greenspace with recreational amenities that will become a destination center in the community for residents and visitors. WVU’s Jenny Selin, coordinator of the Community Design Team, Kathy Wittner, assistant professor and graduate coordinator of landscape architecture, and Torie Jackson, instructor in the Business, Economics and Mathematics Division at WVU Parkersburg, have teamed with Ann Conageski and Rickie Yeager of the City of Parkersburg.

City of Wheeling, to transform the Old North Park Landfill, a former municipal landfill owned by the City of Wheeling, into a recreational complex. WVU’s Chad Proudfoot, Extension specialist in community resources and economic development, and Kudzayi Maumbe, assistant professor of recreation, parks, and tourism resources, have teamed with Ken Ellison of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and Melissa Thompson of the City of Wheeling. Spring 2012

“I very much enjoy getting out into communities, working with real people on real projects.” —Chris Haddox

The Little Kanawha Riverfront Redevelopment Project, affectionately referred to as “Rolling on the River.” The site features an abandoned marble factory, shown in the background, other industrial artifacts, and eight acres of riverfront property. Included here are some of the partners involved in the project, from the left: Carrie Staton (Brownfields Development Coordinator), Kathy Wittner (assistant professor of landscape architecture), Claire Jeran (master of landscape architecture student), Kelsey Kanspedos (landscape architecture senior),Travis Wall (landscape architecture senior), Jenny Selin (Community Design Team coordinator), Rickie Yeager (Parkersburg city planner). Not pictured is the photographer, Development Director Ann Conageski. The goal is the creation of a natural recreation destination, with green space accessible from the water, by bicycle, on foot, as well as by car. Potential amenities could include a boardwalk, public marina, restaurant, ice cream parlor, benches and shelters, bike, kayak, and other outdoor equipment rentals, and space for rowing teams to store and launch their boats.

Beyond the opportunity to put design concepts into practice, Davis College faculty find the projects rewarding in other ways. “I very much enjoy getting out into communities, working with real people on real projects,” said Haddox. “The knowledge sharing — and that goes both ways — is a fantastic way to learn and to develop best practices that can color projects in other communities. These teams are also excellent vehicles for getting us out of our silos and engaged in productive experiences with our colleagues from other academic units.” The team’s first Spring 2012

visit to Shinnston was very productive and led to the identification of several other stakeholder groups whose engagement will be crucial to a successful project. In addition, Kyber and Haddox learned a great deal more about how this project could complement the existing spectrum of recreational opportunities available in Shinnston. From a WVU Community Design Team perspective, “the brownfields collaborative gives us an opportunity to work in West Virginia communities that have identified brownfields projects and are working to improve

their sites and their community,” Selin said. “While our project might center around an old marble factory site in Parkersburg, planned to be a park, we can also form partnerships and collaborations in other areas of the city.” Selin and Wittner have already been to Parkersburg twice and are considering two different projects bringing landscape architecture students on site visits and working with a set of local partners each time. “I am looking forward to bringing in additional partners as the projects develop,” Selin said. D

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Finding the fingerprint Scholars from WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences have joined forces to answer some critical (and controversial) questions.

Photo by David Welsh

pumped from six wells that provide water to Forest Service campgrounds near Summit Lake in the Monongahela National Forest. This will allow them to establish a baseline of methane levels in the wells prior to future hydrofracking activity, which is expected to take place in the next year. The researchers will repeat their evaluation of the well water after hydrofracking takes place. The economic opportunities “High dissolved methane levels presented by vast reserves of natural alone cannot be indicative of methane gas in regions of Marcellus shale are release associated with hydrofracking” accompanied by complex, controversial said Sharma. As part of her ongoing questions about the potential study for the United States Geological environmental impact of hydrofracking Survey, Sharma has found that high extraction methods. A pair of West concentrations of dissolved methane can Virginia University researchers is be found in groundwater wells where answering one of those questions with no hydrofracking has taken place. She and a graduate student, Michon Mulder of Vinton, Iowa, who is pursuing a master’s degree in geology, have been trying to understand the sources of dissolved methane in samples collected from more than 40 groundwater wells in the Monongahela WVU faculty and graduate students are studying methane River watershed. All of levels in wells before and after natural gas extraction activity. They are, from left: Shikha Sharma, assistant professor of these samples were collected geology; Michon Mulder, master’s candidate in geology; Nicolas from areas where there is Zegre, assistant professor of forest hydrology; and Patrick no current drilling activity. Eisenhauer, master’s candidate in forest hydrology. According to Sharma, methane levels in those the support of a $27,500 grant from the samples have varied significantly. In the area of Marcellus shale USDA Forest Service. development in West Virginia, methane Nicolas Zegre, a forest hydrologist in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural in groundwater can originate from several sources. The methane is either Resources, and Design, and Shikha thermogenic — produced at great depth Sharma, a geochemist in WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, have joined with heat — or biogenic — created by the decomposition of organic matter. forces to compare methane levels in well “Methane can be formed by water before and after hydrofracking microbial activity in shallow activity. The researchers will also try to aquifers, coal seams, deep coal mines, pinpoint the source of that methane, as storage gas fields, and abandoned well as a radium isotope that degrades oil and gas fields,” Sharma said. into radon gas. Each of these sources of methane Zegre and Sharma are studying water

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is likely to have unique carbon and hydrogen signatures, and can be used to fingerprint sources of methane. “This approach allows us to understand what the source of this methane is,” Zegre said. “By understanding the difference, we have a sense of where the methane is coming from.” “This new USDA project will help us add on new data points to this study,” Sharma said. “Further, in this study Nicolas will develop a more robust hydrological model for the study sites which would eventually help us in better interpreting the methane’s fingerprint.” To define that fingerprint, Sharma is looking at concentrations and stable isotope signatures of carbon and radium isotopes of dissolved gases in the well water, while Zegre is studying the water isotopes overall. Groundwater wells for drinking water are generally dug to a maximum depth of about 400 feet, while wells associated with hydrofracking range between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in depth. Sharma and Zegre’s work will allow them to pinpoint hydrological connections, both before and after drilling into the region’s Marcellus shale. Past research on hydrofrackingrelated methane levels in well water sparked controversy, in part because of questions about the baseline data available on pre-existing methane levels for comparison. This study offers an opportunity to both establish that baseline and to study the impact of hydrofracking on well water quality. It also provides a unique opportunity for another WVU graduate student. Patrick Eisenhauer, of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, earned a BS in wood science and technology from the University in May. Undergraduate work for Muncy Hardwoods introduced him to the process of site preparation for Spring 2012

Marcellus shale drilling. That sparked his scholarly interest in the subject, which led him to WVU’s master’s program in forest hydrology. Eisenhauer describes the opportunity to work with the researchers as “absolutely amazing. I’m a very lucky individual to be working with them.” Sharma is part of WVU’s ADVANCE and WiSE initiatives to encourage and mentor women in science, technology, engineering, and medicine. Zegre’s research on the causes of flooding in West Virginia earned him a 2011 Ralph E. Powe Jr. Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated

Spring 2012

Universities. Zegre has also received funding from the National Science Foundation to study the impact of surface mining on stream flow and storm water patterns. In addition to his work on the Forest Service project, Eisenhauer is creating an index that gauges the availability of surface water and estimates any fluctuations that occur in relation to Marcellus shale drilling activity. To do this, he will synthesize county data from throughout the Marcellus shale region — more than 50 counties in West Virginia, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. D

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A milestone in legume biology The Davis College’s Vagner Benedito joined forces with plant geneticists from around the globe and wound up in the pages of one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals.

Like any researcher, West Virginia University’s Vagner Benedito is thrilled to have co-authored a paper published in the prestigious journal Nature. “It is nice to see your work reaching this level of significance,” he notes. “It’s a dream of many scientists.” But, like any scientist, he knows that the questions answered by that research are just the foundation for bigger, more complex questions on the horizon. The article, describing the aspects of a legume plant’s genome sequence that support a symbiotic relationship with a beneficial bacterium, was published in the November 2011 edition of the internationally recognized journal. “This is a tremendous achievement for Dr. Benedito and for WVU,” says Provost Michele Wheatly. “Seeing research of this caliber recognized by publication at this level affirms the University’s commitment to excellence in the STEM fields.” The article also illustrates the collaborative nature of much contemporary STEM research. It

represents eight years of work by 128 scientists at 31 institutions in eight countries. “That’s how science works,” says Benedito, an assistant professor of genetics and developmental biology at West Virginia University. “It needs people from every part of the world, contributing their expertise and insight.” Among food crops, legumes like soybeans and peanuts are unique in their ability to absorb nitrogen from the air and to incorporate it. Plants need nitrogen, but other major food crops like cereals need to be fed nitrogen in the form of commercially produced fertilizers. “Nitrogen is the most important nutrient in agricultural systems, but it’s also the most limiting, and it’s the most expensive,” Benedito says. Production of these fertilizers is an energy-intensive process. Soils aren’t great at holding nitrogen fertilizers, which can lead to chemical

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imbalances in nearby bodies of water. “There is a dream in plant science of making cereals like corn and wheat able to fix nitrogen,” Benedito says. “If we can make them do that, then food security is largely increased.” Producers would be spared the expense of costly fertilizers. Energy consumption for agriculture would be significantly reduced. Water quality would be improved by the decrease in fertilizer runoff from agricultural concerns. And the research represented in Nature is a small step in that direction. The international team of scientists determined the genome sequence of a type of legume, Medicago truncatula, and close relative of alfalfa, that provides good fodder for genetic research. In mapping the genome sequence, the scholars identified codes for almost 50,000 individual genes. From there, they sought out genes common to multiple legume species that relate to the plant’s symbiotic relationship with rhizobial bacteria. The Spring 2012

Vagner Benedito, assistant professor of genetics and developmental biology, ponders Medicago truncatula along with graduate students Christina Wyman and Lina Yang.

Photos by Mark Brown, WVU Photo

developmental biology program of WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design, Lina Yang and Christina Wyman. Yang, who came to WVU from Jiangsu Province, China, has been working with Benedito for two years. She’s studying the functions of a specific gene related to the root nodule’s role in fixing nitrogen. Wyman is interested in understanding how boron is related to nitrogen fixation and which transporter is responsible for delivering borate to nitrogen-fixing nodules. Benedito’s lab has established a partnership with Michael Udvardi, a professor with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The Noble Foundation is an independent, nonprofit institute that conducts plant science research and agricultural programs to enhance agricultural productivity regionally, nationally, and internationally. Benedito worked for the Noble Foundation prior to joining the faculty in WVU’s Davis College. Benedito recently received a grant from WVU’s Office of Sponsored Programs, which will allow him to partner with Carroll Vance for research collaboration and career mentoring. “Dr.Vance is an iconic professor of legume genetics at the University of Minnesota who changed the way we understand legumes now,” Benedito said, “and establishing this relationship with him will be a great learning experience.” D

bacteria establish themselves in the root cells of the legume plant, allowing the guest to fix nitrogen, while the legume host provides nutrients in return. Benedito and his collaborators examined the genes related to that symbiosis. “It’s a milestone in legume biology,” Benedito says. “This will generate further understanding of symbiosis and nitrogen fixation, how legumes develop and make seeds, and how they make compounds not found in other plants.” The primary work on the genome sequencing was conducted at institutions around the world: the University of Minnesota at St. Paul, the University of Oklahoma at Norman, the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, Genoscope in France, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England. Other lead institutions included CNRS/INRA in Toulouse, France, the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Oklahoma, the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands (where Benedito got his Spring 2012

PhD), MIPS in Munich, Germany, Ghent University in Belgium, and the National Center for Genome Resources in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Benedito was honored to be part of a core group of around 10 principal authors of the paper in Nature. The research could translate into breeding programs to improve crop protection and quality, among other aspects. For Benedito’s part, he will be focusing on how legumes and bacteria exchange nutrients through cell membranes. Specific proteins in the membranes have affinity to specific compounds and allow them to cross the membrane, while excluding other molecules. This activity allows the plant to deliver all nutrients needed by the bacteria while also taking up the fixed nitrogen to the plant as ammonium. He is also interested in understanding the genetic factors that influence the development of nodules on legume roots that facilitate the bacterial symbiosis. He’s aided in his research by two PhD students in the genetics and

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The United States, China, and the future of energy Professor Jerald J. Fletcher still has the stamina of the athlete he once was. He needs it. His four or five treks to China each year would wear him out otherwise. The resource economist not only tracks China’s growing appetite for energy, but also offers his services as a coordinator of energy research between the two countries. Co-founder of the US-China Energy Center at West Virginia University, Fletcher recently became director of the Advanced Coal Technology Consortium, the United States’ $25 million contribution to the advanced coal portion of the USChina Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). China will have a greater influence on the future of energy than any nation on Earth. Hungry for affordable energy so that its more than one billion citizens can one day enjoy a Western-style standard of living, China is looking to develop all of its resources, including its coal — and its energy scientists and engineers have long recognized WVU as an essential source for scholarship about coal. One of those engineers, Qingyun Sun,

earned a PhD in the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences where he conducted research on acid mine drainage. In addition to industrial experience, Sun brought with him a plethora of contacts in China’s energy sector. In July of 2002, Sun urged Fletcher to meet with Zhang Yuzhuo, then senior vice president of the Shenhua Group, who has since become the CEO. The world’s largest coal company, Shenhua was planning to build the world’s first direct coal liquefaction (DCL) plant, and Zhang invited Sun to help him review DCL technologies. Seeing the environmental perspective missing, Sun wanted Fletcher to discuss economic and environmental aspects of the project. Mindful of Sun’s ability to see opportunity, Fletcher met with them. “I took a chance on Sun’s judgment. It changed my career,” he said. To find funding for the project, Fletcher turned to Richard Bajura, director of the National Research Center for Coal and Energy at WVU. “Dick Bajura has been a tremendous supporter of our work. He is one of WVU’s greatest assets,” said Fletcher.

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Bajura has his own address book of contacts in the energy sector, especially at the US Department of Energy (DOE), through which funding for the study became available. “Shenhua Group built a 25,000 barrel per day DCL plant that began commercial production in 2011. Originally the plant was to be much larger, but the location is limited by the availability of water,” Fletcher said. “While water consumption is a problem at that location, there is no water effluent from the plant, so water quality is not an issue. For China, DCL is a reasonable alternative to petroleum.” By 2005, Fletcher and Sun’s work was formally recognized as an official component of Annex II to the Protocol on Cooperation between the US Department of Energy and the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Science and Technology in the Area of Clean Fuels. Annex II focuses on coal conversion including the use of coal and biomass; co-production of alternative fuels, chemicals, and power; ultra-clean transportation fuels including hydrogen; solid fuels and feedstocks, including coal; and carbon sequestration. WVU became

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the first, and to date only, US university to participate in Annex II. It was clear to Fletcher and Bajura that in addition to developing contacts at Shenhua, the researchers were becoming acquainted with China’s energy policy leaders. The research group was in a unique position, and Fletcher, Sun, and Bajura wanted to build upon it. In 2007, they launched WVU’s US-China Energy Center to promote affordable, safe, clean technologies for coal and other energy resources through collaborations between the United States and China. Fletcher directs the center, which today is a joint activity of the Davis College, WVU Extension Service, and the NRCCE. As the center’s associate director and Extension professor, Sun works with West Virginia state agencies and the Governor’s Office to introduce West Virginia coal and energy business people to China’s energy business leaders. To date, the US-CEC’s largest endeavor that combines research and outreach is the Advanced Coal Technology (ACT) Consortium. In November 2009, President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the establishment of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) to promote energy efficiency in buildings, clean vehicles, and advanced coal technologies. Each

Spring 2012

nation committed $75 million to support the agreement. Shortly after, the US DOE released a funding opportunity notice seeking entities to lead each of the three-prongs of the US program. Building on its growing reputation as a leader in US-China energy research, the US-CEC was able to attract other energy organizations to form a Jerald Fletcher team to respond to the advanced coal portion of the program, competing with some of the top universities in the United States. The WVU US-CEC-led team was ultimately selected for the advanced coal research arm of the program. On January 18, 2011, officials representing the United States and China agreed to a joint work plan officially launching a five-year research agenda. “This new partnership will create new export opportunities for American companies, ensure the United States remains at the forefront of technology innovation, and help to reduce global carbon pollution,” said US Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu. This past February, CERC research leaders for the United States and China

met to review their first-year efforts. One of the highlights focused on polygeneration technologies in which coal is used to produce electricity and chemicals in the same plant. “The whole purpose of the USCEC is to help move energy forward in a more environmentally benign way. Our job is to take a long term view to transition from fossil,” said Fletcher. Affordable, available, reliable energy is a cornerstone upon which robust economies are built. As the search continues for low-cost technologies to tap reliable, available, affordable, energy from the sun, wind, and water, the US-CEC will continue to address existing energy resources with an eye on the future. D

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Inquiring minds Meet some of the researchers bringing new perspectives to the Davis College’s efforts in the STEM disciplines. West Virginia University’s reputation as a practitioner of research in the STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — is on the rise. We asked some of the Davis College’s emerging STEM researchers for their thoughts on this challenging endeavor. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS

NICOLE

WATERLAND Nicole Waterland investigates the mechanisms of plants’ response to environmental changes to improve postharvest production in ornamental crops.

GLORIA

EUGENIA

PENA-YEWTUKHIW

JANET

Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw studies dynamic soil physical processes like soil water retention and movement in space and time, with the objective of understanding how ecosystems like agricultural areas, reclaimed mine sites, and grasslands change due to management and climate change.

Janet Tou explores the role of nutrition in promoting health and preventing diseases. Her research delves into the prevention of osteoporosis, renal health, and the effectiveness of dietary supplements.

OPORTO

TOU

Gloria Oporto’s research focuses on using wood as renewable material, both in the development of biomaterials and nanocomposites from wood and in developing bioenergy sources.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS

How did you become interested in a career in research? Janet Tou: My parents. My father, an electrical engineer, bought me a book on science experiments for children and I started trying these experiments on my own. My mother was also very supportive. She would find my experiments all over the house. But, she’d always make sure to ask me whether this was not one of “my experiments” before

throwing anything out. Noticing my interest, my father would give me his manuscripts to proofread when I was an undergraduate. Although we are in different fields the process is similar. This year a student in my class told me that my father had taught her father. Gloria Oporto: I became interested in a career in research when I was finishing my undergraduate studies as a chemical engineer several years back at the University of Concepcion, Chile. As a senior student it was a requirement to perform a research project, and mine involved a process to convert wood into pulp. Doing this research, I learned

12 / Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

about wood components and their great potential for novel byproducts. After that, I started working at the University of Concepcion in a department focused on applied research; I was working there for many years, very closely to forestry related companies. Finally, during my PhD studies I was performing work with wood composites, which was another great opportunity to work and learn much more about the great properties of wood. Nicole Waterland: I worked in a laboratory as an undergraduate research assistant and had wonderful mentors who really encouraged me to purse a research career. I really enjoyed studying and analyzing information in textbooks and lectures, and more importantly, internalizing the knowledge through hands-on experiences by setting up and Spring 2012

conducting the experiments, collecting and analyzing the data, and presenting them at the meetings. Through various undergraduate research opportunities I learned not only how to conduct research experiments but also the importance of research for our society. Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw: I must admit, I was attracted to science since I was a child. I was raised in Germany, and one thing that I will always remember is the creative games we were encouraged to play. I believe these games helped me to think creatively. My mother always encouraged me to experiment with small things; when I was a small child my mother always liked to hear my crazy explanations of why ice was forming on a

metal jar differently from the ice formed on a plastic jar. My parents always bought the “chemistry” game, the human anatomy doll, the encyclopedia. As a child, I was reading science or Grimm and Andersen fairy tales in my spare time. In high school I competed in the Venezuela National Youth Science Fair. It was funny, because I did not have an adviser, and I found myself competing against students working in sophisticated laboratories while I was working in my house, planting beans bought in the supermarket. (I felt a little stupid.) When I started my agricultural engineering career, I tried to work in some of the university researchers’ labs.

It was difficult, because undergraduates were not considered capable to do research. While still an undergraduate, I was able to take a graduate-level class that gave a four-month scholarship to the best student in the class. This scholarship would allow the winner to study agronomic modeling in a graduate-level South American regional institute. At the end of the class, I won the scholarship. After taking the fourmonth course, I knew that I wanted to be a researcher and teach at the university. I am lucky I have been able to become what I wanted to be. However, every day I realize that I do not know enough about the science I work on, and that I need to work harder.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS

How would you describe the climate for inquiry and scholarship at West Virginia University and in the Davis College? Waterland: The climate of scholarship and inquiry at WVU is great. There are many excellent researchers with various interests. There are ample opportunities to collaborate and interact with faculties in many different areas of research in the Davis College and the University. Oporto: From my perspective, I think we have all the tools we need to perform research at WVU and in the Davis College. Probably, we do not have all the equipment that we need in our College, but in my specific case I have been contacting people from other WVU departments such as Chemical Spring 2012

Engineering or the WVU Shared Research Facilities and I have found all I need so far. We received start-up funds and that is great for starting an investigation; however, for keeping the research running we have to apply for more funds, and this is the most complicated part since there are many researchers everywhere looking for funds. I have been working at WVU less than two years, and I got an internal project the first year I was here. I will be applying for external funds this year, and I will see what will happen. There are many options for funding research outside, but the competiveness is high. Pena-Yewtukhiw: I find myself working in an institution that offers me freedom to do research in many different areas of my interest. WVU’s environment allows me to have conversations with excellent researchers, and establish collaborations with them. I would like to have a library with more electronic journals, but people like Evansdale reference librarian Noel Kopriva definitively make a difference.

Compared to other universities, the soils group at WVU can be considered small; however, I am lucky to be part of a group with very talented individuals, and additionally, our science is needed more and more to help solve important local, state, and global problems. Tou: Studying nutrition is surprisingly political. My collaborators at WVU have been instrumental in encouraging me to seek truth over concerns about being controversial. WVU has provided funding and support that allowed me to research and to publish in topics that I might not have been able to. The academic freedom that universities claim to have really does exist at WVU. I feel this enables me to mentor students who are able to look at their results objectively and without bias. Ultimately, this will make them rigorous scientists with the confidence to stand by their research when challenged. I am extremely proud of my students when they present at conferences with confidence and conviction that has enabled them to win awards despite “unpopular” findings. D

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design / 13

Leading by

example

DAN

PANACCIONE

In their careers as educators at West Virginia University, Jim Anderson and Dan Panaccione have contributed a great deal to their respective disciplines. Their records of accomplishment have led them to be named Davis-Michael Professors in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design.

JIM

ANDERSON 14 / Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

Professorships were endowed for each of the Davis College’s five academic divisions — Animal and Nutritional Sciences, Design and Merchandising, Forestry and Natural Resources, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Resource Management — as part of a $16.2-million bequest made to the college by Morgantown sisters Gladys Davis and Vivian Davis Michael in September 2001. Anderson, a professor of wildlife and ecology management, will hold the professorship for the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources. Panaccione, a professor of mycology and genetics, will hold the professorship for the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences. Since joining WVU’s faculty in 1999, Anderson has provided new opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students by offering new courses, improving upon existing courses and curricula, being a guestlecturer in a number of courses, arranging seminar speakers to come to WVU, helping students find jobs and start careers, and serving as a mentor by providing research opportunities for students wishing to pursue careers in research in the STEM disciplines and applied management activities. In his work as director of WVU’s Environmental Research Center, Anderson has developed large and small collaborative teams to pursue interdisciplinary topics, particularly on issues such as climate science, environmental planning, and evaluation of biochar. He has also spent considerable time mentoring new faculty members on productive research avenues, obtaining grants and contracts, and navigating their way through WVU policies and procedures. He has received over $11.2 million in grants and contracts since coming to WVU.

“Jim is an innovative and extremely talented researcher who also has a high level of skill in the classroom,” said Joe McNeel, director of the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources. “This allows him to pass his findings on to our students as well as to the profession.” McNeel also praised Anderson’s leadership abilities and his dedication to service, citing projects like the development of the West Virginia Natural History Museum. Panaccione, who joined WVU’s faculty in 1992, is described by colleagues in the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences as “the go-to person”

his presentation and casual conversation to the level of the audience, be that a group of elementary school students looking at mushrooms for the first time, or a farmer wondering how Dan’s work with alkaloids in fescue has an application on a family farm or an advanced doctoral student who is trying to determine the metabolic pathway for synthesis of a compound,” said Barton Baker, director of the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences. Appointees to endowed positions must have a record of distinguished academic or professional work. A candidate’s suitability is judged in national terms, as compared with colleagues in peer institutions. The appointee must be verified at the departmental and college levels and confirmed by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs before a nomination is submitted to the President. Davis-Michael Professors are expected to assume additional responsibilities during their five-year, renewable appointments. “These professors are called upon to function in a leadership role within their Divisions, the Davis College, and West Virginia University as a whole,” said Rudolph P. Almasy, interim dean of the Davis College. Robert Dailey, professor of reproductive physiology and director of the Davis-Michael Scholars Program, is the Davis-Michael Professor for the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences. The Gladys Davis and Vivian Davis Michael gifts were made to the WVU Foundation, the private, nonprofit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of WVU. D

“These professors are called upon to function in a leadership role within their Divisions, the Davis College, and West Virginia University as a whole.”

Spring 2012

in the unit for counsel on numerous biological issues. He has become a preeminent scientist as a result of his research on ergot alkaloids, detrimental substances produced by fungi found in grain crops and forage grasses, and also by some common molds. His research is of great importance to the agricultural community, especially in the area of quality feedstuffs for animals. He has developed numerous international collaborations as his reputation has grown. He balances his research agenda with enthusiastic teaching. He is routinely ranked as one of the outstanding teachers in the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences. Primarily concerned with graduate studies, he also engages undergraduate students in his courses. He routinely mentors undergraduate students in independent research, advising participants in WVU’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience and the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates. “Dan is an excellent research scientist who has the ability to adjust

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design / 15

Anna Phoenix loves historic buildings The graduate student pursuing her doctoral degree in human and community development believes they are beautiful, unique, and convey the histories of their communities.

Where have all the

warblers gone? The state of West Virginia is quickly losing one of its most stunning songbirds. In recent years, the golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) has been experiencing population declines throughout the northeastern United States. Unfortunately, the Mountain State’s population has experienced a particularly sharp decline. Two Division of Forestry and Natural Resources researchers, however, hope extensive research and monitoring of West Virginia’s population will offer possible solutions to help preserve the threatened species. Petra Wood, a research biologist with the US Geological Survey and adjunct professor of wildlife, and Kyle Aldinger, a native of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania who is pursuing a doctoral degree in forest resources science, received a $16,000 grant from the US Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor the population status of the species and associated avian species inhabiting high elevation pasturelands in West Virginia. D Photo: Male golden-winged warbler, courtesy of Kyle Adlinger

Marrying her education and love for these buildings seemed like a natural fit. For her dissertation, Phoenix is examining the process of preserving the architecture and interiors of Stowe House in Buckingham, Anna Phoenix England, using the narratives of individuals with controlling interest in the historic property. “Utilizing the learning history method is a means to record, validate, and analyze various perspectives related to the preservation of the house,” Phoenix said. “The narratives gathered have the potential to influence future decisions made at Stowe House. They may also be useful to others undertaking similar restoration projects.”

Stowe House is an eighteenth century Neoclassical ducal palace that was once home to a prominent political family during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but is more recently known as Stowe School, a private boys boarding school. Two entities — the English National Trust and the Stowe House Preservation Trust – have distinct responsibilities in caring for the property, Phoenix explained. “The complexities arising from this partnership create a unique case study pertaining to issues surrounding historic site management,” she said. “Stowe’s dual use as a house museum and a boarding school offers an example of how partnerships such as this can be managed to the benefit of the building as well as the new use.” Phoenix hopes her research will help inspire better and more creative options for saving historic buildings. D

Govindan to lead dietetics efforts Megan Govindan wears many hats at West Virginia University. The teaching assistant professor of human nutrition and foods is a teacher, adviser, mentor, registered dietician, and consultant. She can now add director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics in the Davis College to the list. Govindan agreed to take on the role when Betty Forbes, former program director and lecturer, retired at the end of 2011. The rigorous undergraduate program is often the first stop along the path to becoming a registered dietician. After completing the

16 / Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

Megan Govindan

program, students can apply for a dietetic internship, such as the competitive dual internship and master’s program at WVU. The accredited program curriculum also meets academic requirements for membership in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. D Spring 2012

Fresher air, lower costs for poultry producers Megan McCuen gears up to inform woodland owners.

Wild, wonderful,

welcoming

Photo courtesy of Dave McGill

With its rugged beauty, it’s easy to see why people want to own a piece of West Virginia, one of the most forested states in the nation. But owning woodland property can present a range of challenges and choices. A West Virginia University student is helping those new forest owners connect with educational and management expertise. The Woodland Welcome Wagon program, funded by the West Virginia Division of Forestry, is designed to help connect woodland owners with those who can help them establish their ideal woodland, whether they plan to harvest forest resources or maintain the natural environment. D

duate n, a gra e u C c M ision of Megan the Div in t n e ources, stud ral Res u t a N d y an am. Forestr e progr h t s d a le

Spring 2012

The cost of heating poultry facilities isn’t chicken feed, and a team of West Virginia University researchers has figured out a way to cut those costs while also reducing potentially harmful — and smelly — emissions. The team designed, built, and evaluated a unit that incorporates a biofilter and a heat exchanger to reduce ammonia emissions from livestock barns, while also heating up the fresh air that is pumped into the barns. The prototype removed up to 79 percent of ammonia from the poultry house’s

emissions and cut the energy needed to heat the facility, recovering as much as 8.3 kilowatts. Tom Basden, nutrient management specialist with WVU Extension, was principal investigator on the project. He collaborated with David Workman, Hardy County Extension agent, and two employees of the Reymann Memorial Farm, a research and outreach unit of WVU’s Davis College in Wardensville: Jerry Yates, farm manager, and Chestina Merriner, a research assistant at the farm. D

A prototype biofilter in use at the Davis College’s Wardensville farm. Photo courtesy of Jerry Yates

Shoring up the sheep industry The Davis College’s commitment to developing and supporting sustainable agriculture manifests itself in the areas of teaching, research, and service. Two graduate students have expanded WVU’s efforts by earning some highly competitive grants. Kellie D’Souza and Stephanie Simpson, master’s candidates in reproductive physiology in the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences, successfully competed for two graduate student grants from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, a program of the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. D’Souza, a Morgantown native who earned her undergraduate degree in animal and nutritional sciences at WVU, is focusing

Stephanie Simpson and Kellie D’Souza earned two graduate student grants from the USDA.

on evaluating the economic and technical feasibility of breeding ewes outside of their normal breeding season. Simpson, a Weston native who also earned her bachelor’s degree in animal and nutritional sciences at WVU, is evaluating the effect of continuous suckling or “ewe-rearing” on growth, the degree of parasitism, productivity, and profitability of lamb production. D

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design / 17

A veteran’s best friend? Man’s best friend may also be a veteran’s best therapy. West Virginia University researchers and an area nonprofit are partnering with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to see if dogs can help veterans both recover and return to the workforce.

Photos

by Greg

Ellis, WVU

Photo

Faced with statistics from a 2011 report on the needs of veterans returning to the labor force that showed a higherthan-average unemployment rate and a threefold increase in post-traumatic stress disorder over the last decade, a team of

“Although there is significant interest in service dogs for veterans to aid in readjustment, the focus has not been on employment until now,” said Matt Wilson, project leader and interim director of the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences in the Davis College. D

WVU service dog trainees Cali, left, and Elkie.

Hitting the books Teaching, research, and service are at the heart of West Virginia University’s mission as a land-grant institution. A group of interior design students spent the fall semester experiencing the service aspect first-hand. “Service through design” was the unstated theme for this semester’s Contract Interior Design I (ID 355) course. For their first commercial design course, Ron Dulaney Jr., assistant professor of interior design in the Division of Design and Merchandising, challenged the senior students to schematically revitalize an abandoned building in Ronceverte, West Virginia, and design a library for the community. Image by Sarah Rowley and Joanna Stipa.

Class members presented their ideas in November 2011 to three citizens active in the town’s redevelopment efforts. D 18 / Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

Parkersburg,West Virginia native Sarah Rowley and her teammate Joanna “JoJo” Stipa of Oak Hill,Virginia, set out to create an inviting space for all members of the Ronceverte community.

Spring 2012

Surface mining research team

Conservation efforts honored

A multidisciplinary team of West Virginia University researchers working with the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Sciences, known as ARIES, has received $500,000 to continue studies on the effects of surface coal mining. Team leaders hope this research will help industry regulators implement progressive mining practices for regional application.

A Division of Plant and Soil Sciences educator has been honored for his commitment to soil and water conservation. James Thompson, an associate professor of soil science, received the Monongahela Conservation District’s Frank Glover Award at the annual banquet in October. The award remembers Frank Glover, longtime resident of Morgantown, who was active for more than 40 years in soil and water conservation in West Virginia and was responsible for helping to develop mine reclamation practices. D

ARIES is a consortium of seven major universities led by the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech with support from private industry. The new funding was provided through a grant from the Virginia Tech Foundation to the WVU Foundation.

Editor-in-chief Dr. Jeryl Jones, DVM, a veterinary radiologist and professor, is dedicated to helping West Virginia University Dr. Jeryl Jones, DVM students and West Virginia veterinarians learn more about cutting-edge animal imaging technology. She’s moved even closer to the forefront of that field with her recent appointment as editor-in-chief of Veterinary Radiation & Ultrasound, the journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology. Jones, a faculty member in the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences, describes herself as “honored and humbled” by the appointment.

Photo by Lindsay Willey

The WVU research team includes Davis College scholars Todd Petty from the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources; Mike Strager, Resource Management; and Jeff Skousen and Louis McDonald, Plant and Soil Sciences. D

James Thompson

“Veterinary radiologists are increasingly using cutting-edge technology to improve our understanding of animal diseases and improve our ability to detect and treat animal diseases less invasively,” Jones said. “As these new methods become more established, they also become more available and affordable for private-practice veterinarians and the animal owners they serve.” D

Photo by Lindsay Willey

Examining green trade

Dale Colyer

Spring 2012

In his 31 years as a member of the Division of Resource Management’s agricultural and resource economics faculty, Dale Colyer paid particular scholarly attention to issues of global development and trade. That attention and the research it motivated have coalesced into a new book, Green Trade Agreements, published by MacMillan’s Palgrave imprint. The book reviews and analyzes the environmental provisions that have become an important characteristic of the growing number of bilateral and regional free

trade agreements. This book examines the range of approaches to these environmental provisions, evaluates their effectiveness, and suggests potential improvements to the process. “Green Trade Agreements addresses the controversies which arose after the 1991 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade dispute panel ruling against the United States in the tuna-dolphin case, a dispute between the United States and Mexico over limiting imports based on fishing practices,” Colyer explained. D

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design / 19

Scholar in training The McNair Scholars Program gives undergraduates a head start on a lifetime of inquiry. Shawn Jeffries is fascinated with the notion of two unlikely species working together to benefit each other — especially when the species are trees and fungi. “When you hear the word ‘fungus,’ people often equate it to being ‘bad,’” he said. “However, some fungi are important partners for a variety of species.” A prime example is the relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and most plant species. As part of the McNair Scholars Program, Jeffries, a senior forest resources management major from Cumberland, Maryland, has spent the last six months exploring the relationship between young northern red oak seedlings and ectomycorrhiza, one of several types of myocorrhizal fungi commonly associated with most forest trees, in the WVU Research Forest. “Many forest trees have a mutualistic relationship with a certain fungus,” Jeffries explained. “Working in harmony, the tree provides the fungus with glucose and the fungus finds nutrients for the tree. This type of relationship is good for a lot of hardwoods like oak.” The relationship between the pair helps the oak trees grow and be more competitive when it comes to gathering sunlight and food which, in turn, gives the trees a better chance of survival. Specifically, he’s been analyzing the degree of the fungi’s colonization on one, two, and three-year-old northern red oak seedlings in an oak shelterwood. He hypothesized that older red oak seedlings will have a higher degree of colonization. Located 10 miles from Morgantown and encompassing 7,600 acres, the

Research Forest is essentially an oak shelterwood dominated by several species including northern red oak, white oak, and chestnut oak. Jeffries chose to focus his research on northern red oak because of its high value along the East Coast. “Northern red oak is an extremely valuable forest tree in the eastern United States,” he said. “It’s used in a variety of ways including flooring and furniture. Given its value, research is currently being conducted on the best ways to regenerate oak forests.” One way, Jeffries explained, is to set up a shelterwood cutting system. Unlike clearcutting where all of the trees are removed at once, this system removes trees over a series of cutting cycles. “The overall motivation for setting up an oak shelterwood is to give the oak trees a competitive advantage over other tree species,” he said. Jeffries sampled the root

systems of nine randomly selected seedlings — three from each development stage — in an attempt to determine when the fungus infected the roots and how the infection progresses. “We took lateral root samples from the seedlings, stained them with red dye and examined them under a microscope,” he said. “Areas colonized by ectomycorrhiza should turn red while non-colonized areas remain unstained.” Although Jeffries is still analyzing data, preliminary results indicate ectomycorrhiza to likely be present on virtually every lateral root. The results may also lead to recommendations to optimize shelterwood harvesting. “If compelling data shows that ectomycorrhizal colonization does increase with the age of the seedling, it might suggest that the mature trees of a shelterwood harvest should not be removed until fungal colonization on the seedlings root system is maximized,” he said. “This may provide additional competitive advantages for the naturally regenerating oak trees.” The McNair Scholars Program is a federally funded program designed to prepare participants for graduate education by engaging them in research at the undergraduate level. D SHAWN

JEFFRIES

Photos by Mark Brown, WVU Photo

20 / Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design

Spring 2012

A Message from the Provost

This issue of Davis

Indeed, as Dr. Benedito’s and Dr. Moritz’s work magazine highlights illustrates, researchers from the Davis College are effecting positive change on a national and even partnerships both an international stage. As Provost, I am so proud to read the stories of the faculty members and students within the Davis College and between profiled in these pages and to know that these are our scholars, our thinkers, our innovators. As West the College and the Virginia University strives to achieve national research community. prominence, the Davis College is clearly demonstrating that collaboration and partnerships are the way to go. One of the primary tenets of our WVU 2020 Strategic Plan, developed by visionary thinkers across all campuses, is to “excel in research, creative activity, and innovation in all disciplines.” What is so wonderful about the work being done in the Davis College is how fully that vision is already being realized. Researchers in Davis are engaged in diverse projects and inquiries, from historic preservation to animal husbandry to shale drilling research. Not only are many of these efforts highly collaborative, they involve scholars at all levels: from undergraduate students to graduate students, from new faculty to senior faculty like our two newly-named Davis-Michael Professors. The College also recently celebrated its exceptional female faculty at a reception that I had the honor of attending. As a STEM scientist myself, I know that women researchers in these fields — in horticulture, human nutrition, wood science, and soil science — are major players already and will be important to the future vitality of the US science and technology research base. How rewarding to see the women of Davis College recognized for their work and given a chance to honor one another. As we look ahead — to the graduation ceremonies this May, to next semester, and beyond — we find even more exciting things on the Davis College’s horizon. We will welcome our new Dean, Dr. Dan Robison, this summer. Dan brings a wealth of research and administrative experience to WVU; he also brims with vision and ambition for the College. Even as we interviewed Dan for the Dean position, many of us around the campus were struck by the energy and enthusiasm of his thinking. He will be a perfect leader to guide the College to great things, including the enhanced stature amongst our peer institutions that we hope to achieve by 2020. Also coming to Davis are new programs, such as the Peace Corps Master’s International Program, and new buildings, including the beautiful greenhouse that broke ground last fall and the new Agricultural Sciences Building. As the University’s oldest academic unit, Davis has pride of place in WVU’s land-grant mission, as well as a long-standing relationship with the West Virginia community. And this year, as we celebrate the sesquicentennial of the Morrill Land-Grant Act that established the University, it is gratifying to see the College that defined us at our inception playing a leading role in our redefinition as a land-grant institution for a new century and a new era. With a new Dean, new academic offerings, and new spaces for research and scholarship to flourish, the Davis College is poised to help us not only achieve but exceed our goals of national research prominence, educational achievement, global engagement, diversity, and the vitality and well-being of the people of West Virginia.

Dr. Michele G. Wheatly Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Spring 2012

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