nacop training workshop rising to the challenge – soaring to new heights august 18, 2010, norman...
TRANSCRIPT
ARS: Making a Difference
NACOP Training WorkshopRising to the Challenge – Soaring to New Heights
August 18, 2010, Norman OKKate O’Hara
Making a Difference
A Whole Lot of Science Goin’ On ARS Facts:
• 21 National Programs• 1,100+ projects • 2,000+ Ph.D.
researchers• 100+ laboratories
(national/international)
Presentation Time:
• 6 – 8 hours• 1.5 hours
• 30 minutes
• Topic choices must be made
Making a Difference
Any Time You Shop for ProduceYou are very likely buying a product of ARS research
Without it Wheat yields would not have
doubled Milk production per cow would not
have tripled You’d be paying much more for food
than you do today Your choices would be far more
limited
Federally funded agricultural research is so successful that $1.35 is returned to the taxpayer for every dollar spent on it.
Making a Difference
Buy a loaf of bread
Drink a glass of orange juice or lactose-free milk
Use biodegradable packing or utensils
Or…
Making a Difference
Eat, read or drive a soybean
Or…
Say WHAT?
Biodiesel Printing inks Foods Lipstick Flooring Cleaners
Making a Difference
Four Regional Research Centers, strategically located to make a difference by finding new uses for crops.
Rising to the Challenge in the Past
SRRC
ERRC
NCAUR
WRRC
Making a Difference
Cotton: “The fabric of your life”
Flame-retardant finishes
Treatments for cotton textiles
Stretch cotton
Wash-and-wear cotton / wrinkle-free Freedom from the
tedium of the ironing board!!
Graphic credits: Woman ironing – blogs.ktk985.com / Pajamas – oldpatterns.com / Foot soldiers - news.bbc.co.uk
Making a Difference
“I do not have ADD, I just you ride your ironing board?”
Other kinds of freedom from the tedium.
Graphic credits: Board surfing woman - flatrock.org.nz / other – extremeironing.com
Making a Difference
Less Time in the Kitchen for Some…Early TV dinners
were praised more for the convenience
than the taste.
Graphic credits: TV dinner ad - adclassix.com / Frozen foods – ars.usda.gov
Cause of off-flavors and curdling
Sensitivity to storage temperature fluctuations
Quick blanching for improved texture and taste of fruits/vegetables
Improved nutritional value
Making a Difference
More Time in the Kitchen for Others.
“The Agricultural Research Service of the USDA has been one of our greatest sources of assistance and has unfailingly and generously answered all sorts of technical questions from food to plastic bowls.”
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child, et.al. first published 1961
Graphic credits: Julia & Julia - fyraften.nu / Julia Childs kitchen - therealestatebloggers.com / Cookbook cover - coverbrowser.com
Making a Difference
Americans Love Their Spuds(Peeling their spuds, not so much.)
New dehydration methods:
Development of potato flakes
New types of potato chips and other potato products
Graphic credits: Peeling potatoes – Life.com / Potato dishes – ars.usda.gov
Making a Difference
Opening the Era of Antibiotics
Graphic credits: ars.usda.gov / Merck ad - msd.com.ph / He will come home poster - clemson.edu
Collaborating between scientific disciplines,
institutions and countries
Finding the right microbe and the right method
Working 24/7: Enough penicillin to treat wounded Allied soldiers by June 6,
1944 – D Day
Making a Difference
Landmark Research Achievements
“Clearly represent seminal achievements in the history of chemistry.” – American Chemistry Society
National Chemical Historic Landmarks • Durable Press/Flame Resistant Cotton – New Orleans, LA• Frozen Foods – Albany CA• Dehydration Techniques – Wyndmoor, PA
International Chemical Historic Landmark • Development of Penicillin – Peoria IL
Four Regional Research Centers that continue to find new uses for crops and new ways to live sustainably
Making a Difference
Super Slurper
Absorbs 2000x its weight in water
Electrical conductor in batteries
Fuel filters Baby powders Wound dressings Disposable diapers
Making a Difference
… Revisited 30 Years Later
Targeted toward the turf, nursery, and home and garden markets, the technology is also found in Scotts “Water Smart” products
Making a Difference
Products for the Shelf
Low glycemic carbohydrate syrup
Xylitol sweetener
Wrinkle cream / sun screen
Sun butter from sunflowers
Making a Difference
Products for Business/Industry
Biodegradable hydraulic fluids and engine lubricants
Bug resistent burmuda grass -ideal for putting greens
Irradiation of red meat to kill bacteria that cause life -threatening illness
Making a Difference
Mycotoxin detection test kits for in-field use ensures safety of human food and animal feed
Injections of “good” bacteria into incubating eggs to combat Salmonella
Scientific Dairying: Higher yields from fewer cows
Products for the Farm
Making a Difference
Men Microbes @ Work
ARS Microbial Culture Collection
Nature’s “construction crew” Nearly 90,000 strains of
microbes maintained at NCAUR
Largest of its kind accessible to the public
Widely considered to be the most useful in the world
Making a Difference
The Right Microbe for the Job High throughput robotic
screening tests for the best microbe to do a job
Microbes and enzymes are bioengineered to do the customized work of breaking down and fermenting a particular feedstock, i.e. switchgrass
Scientists collaborate nationwide to identify the traits that make a feedstock usable
Making a Difference
But Do We Have A …
Graphic credits: Jetson Cartoon - occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com / info – Wikipedia.com
Food-a-Rac-a-Cycle?
The original Jetson’s cartoon was produced from 1962-1963 and its 24 episodes re-run for decades
It supposedly took place in 2062
Making a Difference
How can we ensure a safe food supply? How can we produce enough crops for both food
and fuel needs? Increase the nutritional value of our food and fight
childhood obesity? Adapt to a changing climate?
Rising to the Challenge of Our Future
Making a Difference
Some Listeria bacteria cause no problem – other Listeria has a high rate of hospitalization or fatality
DNA sequence-based assay identifies whether a Listeria strain is low risk or high risk
This assay has been adopted by Food Safety Inspection Service to make rapid determination
Safe Food
Graphic credits: packing plant - johnsondiversey.com
Making a Difference
Sustaining Food Crop Production
Wheat head scab A beneficial yeast offers a
“one-two punch” against the fungus that attacks the grain
Large scale production using liquid fermentation
Dried, shipped, reconstituted at the field to spray on crops
Making a Difference
Pennycress
Higher percentage of oil than soybeans
No food/fuel conflict
Grown in the off season = extra revenue for farmers
Developing a New Bioenergy Crop
Making a Difference
Healthy FoodsNatural fat replacers Oatrim can lower cholesterol and
mitigate blood-sugar levels Nutrim contains adds beneficial
insulin and glucagon response for diabetics and contributes antioxidant benefits
Z-Trim is used in school throughout the United States to meet nutritional requirements
Making a Difference
Children’s Nutrition Fresh apple slices are now
available at McDonalds, grocery stores like Traders Joe’s and the school lunch program
Making a Difference
Climate Change Affects Us All GRACEnet (Greenhouse Gas Reduction
through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement Network):
A project coordinated across 32 ARS locations to ◦ evaluate soil carbon status and
change in conventional and alternative agricultural systems
◦ determine the net greenhouse gas emissions from those systems
Making a Difference
Classroom Presentations Science Fair Mentoring/Judging Adopt – A – School Program Student Researcher Program Partners with CAT, Inc and
Bradley University Programs
Nurturing the Next Generation
Making a Difference
ARS Information Staff Resources
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/Index.htm
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/shopcart/shopcartintro.html
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/
ARS Image Gallery
Making a Difference
Requires a challenge.
1. Become familiar with the ARS excellence from yourarea that has contributed to the “shopping cart of ourlife”.
2. Find your excellence and make a contribution tosuccess.
Rising to a Challenge …
Making a Difference
from ARS Hall of Fame Scientists 1. Be grateful. 2. Stay focused and true to your core interest. 3. When you have no role model, become the role model. 4. Don’t wait to be given what you need. If necessary, make it yourself. 5. Embrace hard work. 6. Network, network, network! From conferences to the break room;
stimulate your thinking, your creativity by interacting with those who are more. They will attract you to the top.
7. Catch the spirit of excellence. 8. Maintain diverse interests. You may be surprised how and when they
converge. 9. Never stop learning. Learn from everything. Apply what you learn. 10. Follow the Future.
10 Components of Success