Research Activities

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provides major scientific leadership and broad-based participation in two university-wide, interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs): Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM). The IPM CRSP has introduced and explored the impact of improved integrated pest management technologies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe while SANREM CRSP has examined community-based natural resource management and conflict mitigation strategies among herders and farmers in West Africa. Both CRSPs are currently developing new worldwide programs under the leadership of Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development(OIRED).

Other research projects include:

  • Biotech Research on Rice in Asia
    Participatory assessment of social and economic benefits, costs, risks, and tradeoffs associated with the use of products arising from biotechnology research on rice in the United States and Asia (India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines), and on tobacco pharmaceuticals in the United States. (Professor George Norton, Agricultural and Applied Economics)
  • Genomic Analysis of Chickens in Nigeria
    Genomic analysis of diversity in local chickens in Nigeria using DNA tools developed at Virginia Tech. (Associate Professor Ed Smith, Animal and Poultry Sciences)
  • Effects of International Trade of Poverty in Pakistan and North Africa
    Related to the current WTO Doha Round trade negotiations: assessment of effects of international trade and trade policies on poverty alleviation in Pakistan and North Africa and technical barriers to agricultural trade facing Central America and China. (Professor David Orden, Agricultural and Applied Economics)
  • Germplasm Collection in China for New Landscape Species
    Germplasm collection trips to southwest China to seek plant species that have potential as new U.S. landscape species. (Associate Professor Alex Niemiera, Horticulture)
  • Breast Cancer Research in China
    Research with Guangzhou Medical College, China, to characterize the function of and a possible link with breast cancer of a novel mutant estrogen receptor found in a little girl. (Assistant Professor Dongmin Liu, Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise)
  • Exchange and Evaluation of Wheat and Barley Germplasm with Europe, Mexico, and Canada
    Cooperative exchange and evaluation of wheat and barley germplasm for traits of critical importance with major research institutions in Austria, France, Hungary, Mexico, and Canada. (Professor Carl Griffey, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences)
  • Parasitic Weed Control Research in Bulgaria, Mali, and Israel
    Research to control parasitic weeds (broomrape and witchweed) with colleagues in Bulgaria, Mali, and Israel. (Assistant Professor Jim Westwood (Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science)
  • Erosion Research in Ethiopia
    Collaborative research to estimate hill erosion using spatial hill damage and network assessment over hill slopes and the innovative use of remote sensing to develop high resolution watershed maps in Amhara, Ethiopia. (Associate Professor Conrad Heatwole, Biological Systems Engineering)
  • Crop Physiology Research in Botswana
    Research on the crop physiology and the development of early-season drought-tolerant maize seedlings for Botswana (David Parrish, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences)
  • Forage Research Using Invasive Weed Species in West Africa
    Research on forage uses of Casia tora, an invasive weed species becoming more prevalent in the Sahel region of West Africa. (Associate Professor Ozzie Abaye, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences)
  • Fulbright Awarded to Research GIS and Nonpoint Source Pollution in Brazil
    Fulbright Award to establish research collaboration in Geographic Information Systems and modeling for nonpoint source pollution control in Tropical Brazil. (Associate Professor Conrad Heatwole, Biological Systems Engineering)
  • Aflatoxin Research in Groundnut Products in Uganda
    A study to determine and control aflatoxin (a potential cancer-causing microtoxin) levels in groundnuts and groundnut products in local and export markets in Uganda. (Associate Professor Bill Eigel, Food Science and Technology)
  • Assessing Impacts of New Peanut Technologies in Uganda and Malawi
    Assess the impacts of new peanut technologies on reducing poverty in Uganda and Malawi. (Professor George Norton, (Agricultural and Applied Economics)

Additional information about these projects and others being conducted by College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students, staff, and faculty can be found on the OIRED website.

International Programs