USDA Recognizes Forestry Project

Eight team members from NC State are among the winners of a prestigious U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s Honor Award for a research, education and extension project to maintain and restore forests and ecosystems.

Faculty, staff and graduate students from the College of Natural Resources are part of  the multistate Conifer Translational Genomics Network.

The award, which was presented last month, recognizes exceptional leadership, contributions or public service supporting the goals of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Here are the NC State recipients, all from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources.

> Dr. Steve McKeand, director, Industry Cooperative Tree Improvement Program

> Dr. Ross Whetten and Dr. Fikret Isik, co-project directors

> Joshua Steiger, research assistant

> Jaime Zapata, Funda Ogut, W. Patrick Cumbie and Jin (Sherry) Xiong, graduate students