Research Highlights
The College of Agricultural Sciences supports just over 240 active research projects that address the critical issues of profitability, environmental impact, youth development, health and safety, resource utilization, conservation, and aesthetics. The following summaries of research activities within each unit provide an overview of the breadth of science-based data and analysis developed to respond to our land-grant mission.
The latest research can be found within each department. See links below.
Agricultural and Biological Engineering
The research focus areas in this unit are Biological Process Engineering and Biomaterials, Natural Resource Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering.
Agricultural and Extension Education
Research is within three program areas: agricultural and extension education, youth and family education, and leadership and communications. Within each program, the five areas of focus are: program development and evaluation, educational processes, administration and supervision, communications and leadership, and research processes.
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
There are four main program areas in this unit: Agriculture and Food; Environment and Natural Resources; Community, Regional, and International Development; and Population Processes and Change.
Crop and Soil Sciences
This unit focuses on Crop Ecology and Management, Crop Breeding and Molecular Biology, Biogeochemical Processes, Land Use, Soil and Water Quality, and Turfgrass Science.
Dairy and Animal Science
The research focus areas in this unit are Reproductive Biology and Health, Ruminant Nutrition and Physiology (including metabolic regulation), Nutrient and Environmental Management, Equine Nutrition and Physiology, Animal Genetics and Genomics, Lactation and Growth Biology, Production and Management (beef cattle, swine, sheep), and Companion Animal (dogs and cats) Behavior and Welfare.
Entomology
Entomological research resides in four main program areas: Human and Animal Health, Pollinator Health and Sustainability, Pest Detection and Response, and Chemical Ecology.
Food Science
The research focus areas in this unit are Food and Health, Food Processing and Manufacturing, Food Safety and Microbiology, and Food, Choice and Consumer Behavior.
Forest Resources
This unit conducts research in Forest Ecology and Management; Wildlife and Fisheries Ecology and Management; and Wood Products Properties, Manufacturing, and Marketing.
Horticulture
Research is centered on five general areas: genetics and breeding, the adaptation of new technologies for the efficient production of horticultural crops, the physiology of horticultural plants, the post-production handling and marketing of horticultural plants, and the effects of root zone ecology on horticultural plants.
Plant Pathology
The research focus areas in this unit are Agricultural Biosecurity and Food Safety; Air Pollution and Plant Responses to Environmental Stress; Biological Control of Plant Diseases; Diseases of Fruits, Vegetables, Turfgrass, and Ornamentals; Epidemiology and Atmospheric Environment Studies; Foreign Disease Diagnostics and Invasive Species; Forest Pathology; Host-Parasite Interactions: Pathology and Resistance; Molecular Fungal Genetics and Systematics; Mushroom Science and Pathology; Mycotoxicology; Root-Pathogen Interactions; and Plant Virus Ecology and Virus-Vector-Specificity.
Poultry Science
The research focus areas in this unit are Animal Reproductive Biology; Quality, Composition, and Safety of Animal Source Foods; Environmental Management of Food Animal Enterprises; and Regulation of Animal Growth, Production, and Metabolism.
Veterinary and Biomedical Science
Research in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences embraces the "One-Health" continuum of animal and human health, and involves clusters of highly interactive faculty in Veterinary Diagnostics and Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis.
