North Dakota State University

Fargo, N.D., April 19, 2013 — Three NDSU researchers will be presenting at two international Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) conferences from April 30 to May 2 in Orlando, Fla.  Dr. Val Marinov, Cherish Bauer-Reich, and Layne Berge will present research at RFID Journal LIVE! and at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on RFID, to highlight NDSU technology breakthroughs.

Bauer-Reich, research engineer at NDSU’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), will present an invited talk titled “The Object is the Antenna: Use of Ferrites in On-Metal RFID Tags.” As part of the IEEE International Conference on RFID, Bauer-Reich will discuss research at CNSE to develop on-metal RFID tags that use the structure of the tagged object as the antenna.  This research has been featured in publications such as RFID Journal, R&D Magazine and Gizmag. Her talk will be part of a workshop on Enhancing Near-Metal Performance of RFID.  The workshop also features speakers from MIT, University of Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, and University of Tampere in Finland.

Layne Berge, a graduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at NDSU, will present a paper titled “A UHF RFID Antenna for a Wireless Sensor Platform with a Near-Isotropic Radiation Pattern,” as part of the IEEE conference. 

The paper is a result of Berge’s research for his master’s thesis and was co-written with his advisor Dr. Michael Reich, senior engineer at NDSU CNSE.  The research focuses on developing spherical sensor platforms that can communicate using RFID protocols, regardless of orientation.  This is useful for sensors that cannot be deployed with a guaranteed orientation, such as those dropped from aircraft.

Dr. Val Marinov, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at NDSU, was invited to present at RFID Journal LIVE! on May 2 to discuss a “New Method for Embedding RFID in Paper that Could Reduce Counterfeiting.” Researchers at NDSU have developed a method for embedding ultrathin passive RFID chips on paper or other flexible substrates. The embedding method involves chips thinner than most commercial RFID chips on the market today. RFID-enabled paper could be used to dramatically reduce counterfeiting, as well as to improve the tracking of paper documents of all kinds. In addition, this method could enable the production of paper-based RFID tags at a cost lower than that of today's conventional RFID tags. The research has been featured in RFID Journal, as well as in numerous scientific publications.

The IEEE conference attracts international participation from researchers in industry and academia. It is held in conjunction with RFID Journal LIVE! 2013, the world's premier conference and exhibition focused on RFID and its many business applications. Approximately 2,500 people attend the annual event.

Fargo, N.D., April 19, 2013 — More than 30 NDSU researchers participated in "Preparing Your NSF-CAREER Proposal" held on April 18 in the Memorial Union. The all-day workshop was designed to assist faculty and postdoctoral students who are or will be potential applicants for the NSF-CAREER grants program.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a highly competitive program that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research. CAREER grant awards provide five years of funding support. New proposals are accepted annually in the last week of July.

The workshop was sponsored by the ND EPSCoR and the NDSU Office of Research, Creative Activities and Technology Transfer, with presentations by The Implementation Group (TIG), a consulting firm from Washington, D.C.

In addition to reviewing criteria and processes for the NSF CAREER program, the workshop included a panel of successful NSF CAREER recipients at NDSU.  Since 1996, eighteen faculty members at NDSU have received prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER awards.

“NDSU researchers continue a standard of excellence that reflect the institution’s ability to attract the best and the brightest among new faculty researchers,” said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer. “Providing workshop tools and support can enhance continuing success for researchers pursuing this competitive grant award opportunity.”

March 26, Fargo, N.D. – A patent-pending technology to produce nanospheres developed by a research team at North Dakota State University, Fargo, could enable advances across multiple industries, including electronics, manufacturing, and biomedical sectors.

The environmentally-friendly process produces polymer-based nanospheres (tiny microscopic particles) that are uniform in size and shape, while being low-cost and easily reproducible. The process developed at NDSU allows scale-up of operation to high production levels, without requiring specialized manufacturing equipment.

A 3a.m. Eureka! Moment

Dr. Victoria Gelling, associate professor in the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at NDSU, had a “Eureka!” moment when she woke early one morning – 3 a.m., to be precise, an hour when most of us are still sleeping. Gelling used early morning creativity to imagine a new way to oxidize monomers, which are relatively small and simple molecules, into polymers, which are larger, more complex molecules that can be used to create synthetic materials. Dr. Gelling hypothesized that oxidizing ozone in water might accomplish this task.

Later that day in the lab, Dr. Gelling and her team tested the hypothesis. On the first try, they created a suspension of nearly perfectly rounded, uniformly-sized nanospheres, ranging from 70 to 400 nanometers in diameter. In addition to their uniform size, the nanospheres stay suspended in the solution, and are easily removed using a centrifuge.

“The synthesis of the nanospheres is rather simple, with no other chemicals required other than water, ozone, and the small molecules which will become the polymers,” said Gelling. “We also have tight control of the size, as they are beautiful, perfect marbles.”

Given their uniform size and shape, the nanospheres could have uses across multiple industries. According to Dr. Gelling, such nanospheres could be used to:

-Produce high-performance electronic devices and energy-efficient digital displays
-Create materials with high conductivity and smaller parts for consumer electronics
-Deliver medicine directly to diseased cells in the body
-Provide antibacterial coating on dressing for wounds
-Develop nanosensors to aid in early disease detection
-Create coatings that provide increased protection against corrosion and abrasion

The process to develop nanospheres discovered at NDSU’s Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials was developed with support under Grant Number W911NF-09-2-0014, awarded by the U. S. Army Research Office.

NDSU’s research team for this technology includes Dr. Victoria Gelling, graduate research assistant Abhijit Jagnnath Suryawanshi, Omerga, MS, India; Chris Vetter, MS ’11, Moorhead, Minn., and Jessica Lamb, Fargo, N.D., now a graduate student at Cornell University.

The patent pending nanospheres technology is available for licensing/partnering through the NDSU Research Foundation. Contact 701-231-8173 or  jtolstedt@ndsurf.org

A brief video describing the NDSU-developed nanospheres is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndK-NzULfAk

Additional information about this technology and other NDSU innovations available for licensing are available at  http://www.ndsuresearchfoundation.org/rft351

About the NDSU Research Foundation
The NDSU Research Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that supports NDSU in its teaching, research and public service missions. The Foundation manages the intellectual properties developed by faculty, staff and students doing research at NDSU and facilitates commercialization of these technologies. By commercializing intellectual property, the Foundation is able to create resources that are returned to the individual inventors and to the University to promote continued research. www.ndsuresearchfoundation.org

About NDSU
NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota, USA, is notably listed among the top 108 U.S. public and private universities in the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education’s category of “Research Universities/Very High Research Activity.” As a student-focused, land grant, research institution, NDSU is listed in the Top 100 research universities in the U.S. for R&D in computer science, chemistry, physical sciences, psychology, social sciences, and agricultural sciences, based on research expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation. www.ndsu.edu/research

Fargo, N.D., March 5, 2013 — Imagine washing down a prescription pill with some orange juice at breakfast. By lunchtime, a fleet of designer genes is released into the blood stream, targets diseased cells and infiltrates them. By the afternoon, the genes have completed their interrogation of the billions of DNA sequences in diseased cells to bind and fix, with 100 percent accuracy, the mutated gene causing a disease.

“By the time you drift off to Jay Leno, your genetic disease is cured,” said Glenn Dorsam, assistant professor in NDSU’s Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Science.

The vision may be closer to reality than some think. Dorsam will discuss the developing field of designer genes in “Finally, Designer Genes That Won’t Make You Look Fat and May Save Your Life” on Tuesday, March 12, at 7 p.m. in Stoker’s Basement, Hotel Donaldson.

“I would like to convey the history of scientists using this technology—mistakes, breakthroughs and disease intervention,” Dorsam said. “Also, I’ll talk about some fun facts about DNA and how our cells work.”

Through new techniques, scientists are able to replace diseased DNA sequences with healthy DNA sequences in order to combat disease, including HIV.

“The take-home message is that it’s extraordinary to be able to manipulate the blueprint that makes our bodies,” Dorsam said. “We can do that in real time after we’re born by correcting genetic mutations and genetic errors.” 

The presentation is part of the NDSU College of Science and Mathematics’ Science Café series. Each month, a scientist presents on a different topic and time is allowed for discussion with the scientist and other attendees. Attendees must be 21 or older or accompanied by a parent or guardian.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.

Fargo, N.D., March 1, 2013 — Erin Nyren-Erickson, a graduate student in pharmaceutical sciences at North Dakota State University, took top honors in Innovation Challenge ’13, the second annual student innovation competition sponsored by NDSU and the NDSU Research and Technology Park. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony on Feb. 28.

The competition was part of the fourth annual Innovation Week, Feb. 26-28, to showcase and encourage student ingenuity at NDSU. It included three tracks: tangible innovations, intangible innovations such as services, processes or methods, and corn-based innovations.

“In just two short years, NDSU students have taken the Innovation Challenge competition to a new level,” said Brenda Wyland, interim executive director of the NDSU Research and Technology Park. “The innovation taking place on campus is astounding, and we can’t wait to see these new ideas in the marketplace.”

Nyren-Erickson, one of 22 finalists, won the $5,000 tangible innovations track and the $5,000 best in show prize for a new kind of test for contaminants in heparin, a blood-thinning drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires to be screened. Nyren-Erickson is from Fargo. Her innovation adviser is Sanku Mallik, professor in pharmaceutical sciences.

Team Improving Osteointegration won the $5,000 intangible innovations track for their method of determining the ideal pore size for growing cells that will allow a novel dental implant, also being developed by NDSU students, to integrate into a patient’s jaw bone.

Team members are:
-Emily Steil, a senior majoring in zoology from St. Cloud, Minn.
-Shelby Schields, a junior majoring in zoology from Beulah, N.D.
-Sarah Lindblom, a junior majoring in zoology from Fergus Falls, Minn.
-Hannah Green, a junior majoring in music from Iowa City, Iowa
Their adviser is David Wells, professor in industrial and manufacturing engineering.

Team Corn Oncologists won the $5,000 corn-based innovations track sponsored by the North Dakota Corn Council. Their project is corn resistant starch nanoparticles as encapsulation material for colon cancer drug delivery. The encapsulation material has the potential to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to the colon while minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy.

Team members are:
-Dusan Petrovic, a senior majoring in chemistry from Smederevo, Serbia
-Nilushni Sivapragasam, a graduate student in chemistry from Colombo, Sri Lanka
-Darshika Amarakoon, a Dec. 2012 cereal science graduate from Gampaha, Sri Lanka
-Su Hyeon Hwang, a junior majoring in food science and technology from Seoul, South Korea
Their innovation adviser is Pushparajah Thavarajah, assistant professor in the School of Food Systems.

Team Midwest Best won the $1,000 People’s Choice Award for their software program that uses cameras to record video to help determine fault when car accidents occur. The video also can help identify perpetrators when a vehicle is broken into.

Team members are:
-Bryce Heustis, a sophomore majoring in finance from Devils Lake, N.D.
-Drew Spooner, a sophomore majoring in marketing and management from Fargo
-Anna Haugen, a sophomore majoring in accounting from West Fargo
Their innovation adviser is Kay Hopkins, academic adviser in the College of Business.

“This week wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors,” Wyland said. “Their willingness to champion Innovation Week demonstrates the commitment they have to our future leaders and their ability to diversify the economy through innovation.”

NDSU is a student-focused, land-grant, research university listed among the top 108 research universities in the nation by the Carnegie Foundation. 

The NDSU Research and Technology Park and Technology Incubator are home to fast-paced, high-growth companies that promote technology-based economic development in North Dakota. The companies compete globally or have the potential to. To operate within the park or Technology Incubator, a company needs to be involved in the advancement and development of new technology and be willing to establish a working relationship with NDSU. The companies work in the fields of material sciences, biosciences and life science technology, information technology, nanotechnology, and advanced manufacturing and sensors/micro-electronics.

Fargo, N.D., March 1, 2013 — The Center for Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience and the NDSU Department of Psychology will hold a two-day workshop on Bayesian data analysis, presented by John K. Kruschke, professor of psychological and brain sciences and adjunct professor of statistics at Indiana University. The workshop is set for Thursday and Friday, March 21-22 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Reimer’s Room at the McGovern Alumni Center.
 
The two-day event begins with “Bayesian Estimation Supersedes the T Test,” an introductory talk about the benefits of Bayesian data analysis and how it compares to 20th century null-hypothesis significance testing. Kruschke also will discuss how Bayesian analysis software functions. The talk is scheduled for Thursday, March 21, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater. 

Following the colloquium, Kruschke will hold a hands-on workshop on how to do Bayesian data analysis with R and JAGS free software. This workshop is considered ideal for researchers who want a ground-floor introduction to Bayesian data analysis. No specific mathematical or statistical expertise is presumed. 

Kruschke is a seven-time winner of Teaching Excellence Recognition Awards from Indiana University. His research interests include the science of moral judgment, applications of Bayesian methods to teaching and learning, and models of attention in learning, which he has developed in both connectionist and Bayesian formalisms. He has written an introductory textbook on Bayesian data analysis. 

The workshop is free of charge. Space is limited to the first 75 people who register. 

For more information or to register, visit www.indiana.edu/~jkkteach/WorkshopNDSU2013.html or contact Mark Nawrot at mark.nawrot@ndsu.edu. 

The workshop and colloquium are made possible by the support of the Center for Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, College of Science and Mathematics, NDSU Graduate School, Distance and Continuing Education, Human Development and Family Science and the Office of the Provost. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.

Fargo, N.D., March 1, 2013 — Erxi Wu, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at NDSU, co-wrote the article, “Neurotransmitter substance P mediates pancreatic cancer perineural invasion via NK-1R in cancer cells,” which was published by Molecular Cancer Research, an American Association for Cancer Research journal.
 
According to the authors, pancreatic cancer significantly affects the quality of life due to the severe abdominal pain. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear. This study aimed to determine the relationship between substance P and pancreatic cancer perineural invasion, as well as mechanism of substance P mediating pancreatic cancer perineural invasion which cause pain in patients with pancreatic cancer. 

The authors showed that substance P is not only widely distributed in the neurite outgrowth from newborn rat dorsal root ganglions but also expressed in pancreatic cells. NK-1R is found to be overexpressed in the pancreatic cancer cell lines tested. Substance P induces cancer cell proliferation and invasion and the expression of MMP-2 in pancreatic cancer cells; and NK-1R antagonists inhibit these effects. Furthermore, substance P is also able to promote neurite outgrowth and the migration of pancreatic cancer cell cluster to the dorsal root ganglions, which is blocked by NK-1R antagonists in the co-culture model. 

“Our results suggest that substance P plays an important role in the development of pancreatic cancer metastasis and perineural invasion, and blocking the substance P /NK-1R signaling system is a novel strategy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer,” Wu said, noting the paper was co-written with Qingyong Ma lab at Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. “Collaborating with Dr. Ma, we together would like to find better cancer therapeutics and elucidate the mechanisms of the targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer,” Wu said. 

Wu’s research interests include tumor therapeutic targets, drug discovery and biomarkers. For more information about Wu’s lab, visit www.ndsu.edu/pharmsci/faculty_staff/erxi_wu. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.

Fargo, N.D., March 1, 2013 — Several College of Human Development and Education faculty at NDSU gave presentations and had research published.

Dean Aakre, Extension specialist, presented “Generations in the Workplace” as one of the professional development workshops at the University of Missouri Extension Program Conference, “Positioning for the Future,” in Columbia, Mo.

Kara Wolfe, hospitality leadership director at Bradley University and former NDSU faculty member, along with WooMi Jo Phillips and Amelia Asperin, both assistant professors in NDSU’s apparel, design and hospitality management department, had their manuscript, “Examining Social Networking Sites as a Data Collection Channel in Hospitality and Tourism Research,” accepted for publication in the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism. The article is scheduled to be published in 2014.

Abby Gold, assistant professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences, and colleagues Vani Chopra and Marla Reicks published a paper in the fall 2012 issue of The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues titled, “Barriers to Healthful Eating Among Midlife Women During Eating Occasions Focused on Nurturing Family.”

Jane Strommen, assistant professor of human development and family science and Extension gerontology specialist, and Greg Sanders, associate dean and professor in the College of Human Development and Education, presented a poster at the 65th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America San Diego in November. Their presentation was titled “Growing Old in Place: The Experiences of Rural Elderly.”

Kristen Benson, assistant professor of human development and family science, coordinated a pre-conference meeting in Charlotte, N.C., prior to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy on visioning for the future of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Affirmative Caucus, a group that conducts affirmative research and advocates for inclusive clinical practice.

Benson also presented at the National Council on Family Relations annual conference in Phoenix. The first presentation was with Susan Johnson, a recent graduate of NDSU’s human development and family science couple and family therapy master’s program. Their presentation was titled “Parental Perceptions of Raising a Gender Nonconforming Child: Therapy Implications.” She gave a second presentation with Brad van Eeden‐Moorefield, associate professor at Montclair State University, titled “A Conditional Process Model Explaining the Perceived Stability of Gay Couples.” Benson also was an invited speaker at the West Fargo school counselors December meeting where she presented on gender identity and children in schools.

Dani Kvanvig-Bohnsack, academic adviser, has published a review of the book “Thriving in Transitions: A Research Based Approach to College Student Success” in the National Academic Advising Association’s Journal. The review is available at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Journal/View- Articles/articleType/ArticleView/ArticleID/1219/Thriving-in-Transition-A-Re- search-Based-Approach-to-College-Student-Success.aspx.

Erika Beseler Thompson, a first-year student in the Institutional Analysis option area, had an article accepted for publication with her colleagues Frank Heley, Laura Oster-Aaland, Elizabeth Crisp Crawford and Sherri Nordstrom Stastny. Their article, “The impact of a student-driven social marketing campaign on college student alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors,” will be published in Social Marketing Quarterly.

Jodi Burrer, a graduate of NDSU’s Master’s of Athletic Training Professional Program, along with health, nutrition and exercise faculty members Pamela Hansen, associate professor; Kevin Miller, assistant professor; and Bryan Christensen, associate pro- fessor, had a manuscript accepted in the International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training. Their manuscript, “Fracture blisters following a posterior elbow dislocation: A case study,” describes the unusual occurrence of fluid-filled blisters forming over an athlete’s elbow following acute elbow dislocation. These blisters are rare and usually only occur following especially traumatic events, such as car accidents. However, in this athlete, no fractures occurred and the case was resolved with conservative treatment. The article will be published this year.

Jarett Peikert, a graduate of the Advanced Athletic Training Master’s Degree Program; Kevin Miller, assistant professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences; Jay Albrecht; Jim Deal, professor of human development and family sciences and Jared Tucker, a former faculty member, had a manuscript accepted in the Journal of Athletic Training. Their study, “Pre-exercise ingestion of pickle juice, hypertonic saline, or water does not affect aerobic performance or thermoregulation,” examined whether drinking salty drinks impacts exercise time to exhaustion or the body’s ability to dissipate heat. The authors observed drinking the salty drinks did not improve time to exhaustion or increase core body temperature. The article will be published this year.

Denise Lajimodiere, assistant professor in the School of Education, along with Kelly Sassi, assistant professor in the School of Education and English education; Katherine Bertolini; and Gerald Kettering had their article, “Reading the White Space in a Multi-cultural Field Experience” accepted in Multicultural Education. Lajimodiere also had the article, “American Indian Females and Stereotypes: Warriors, Leaders, Healers, Feminists; Not Drudges, Princesses, Prostitutes,” accepted to Multicultural Perspectives.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.

Fargo, N.D., March 1, 2013 — Two faculty members of the Department of Animal Sciences were published in the December 2012 issue of the Journal of Animal Science. 

Carl Dahlen, Extension Service beef cattle specialist and assistant professor of animal sciences, co-wrote the article “Use of embryo transfer seven days after artificial insemination or transferring identical demi-embryos to increase twinning in beef cattle.” 

The writers’ objectives were to determine pregnancy rate, fetal loss and number of calves born in beef cattle after a fixed-time transfer of an embryo seven days after a fixed-time artificial insemination of cows and after the transfer of two demi-embryos into a single heifer recipient. Other co-writers were from the University of Minnesota, Advanced Reproductive Associates LLC and the North Florida Research and Education Center at the University of Florida. 

Larry Reynolds, University Distinguished Professor at NDSU, co-wrote a letter to the editor of the Journal of Animal Science. The writers urge the directors of the National Institutes of Health and USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture to continue the Dual Purpose with Dual Benefit: Research in Biomedicine and Agriculture Using Agriculturally Important Domestic Species program. 

Both items can be found at www.journalofanimalscience.org. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.

Fargo, N.D., March 1, 2013 — In 2007, a disease found elsewhere in the world began cropping up in potato plants in the United States. Named after the dark stripes it creates on cooked potatoes, zebra chip pathogen spreads by potato psyllid insects. From tablestock to chipping potatoes, it affects all market classes of potato plants causing them to die four to six weeks after infection.

To fight the invasive disease and develop disease management strategies for the $3.5 billion U. S. potato industry, researchers from across the country came together to offer their expertise.

That team, named the Zebra Chip Leadership Team, includes NDSU University Distinguished Professor of plant pathology, Neil Gudmestad. He and four other members were recently presented the Partnership Award by Texas A&M AgriLife for their outstanding collaboration. The honor recognizes individuals or teams that develop and participate in partnership efforts with communities, industry, agency, university and/or associations that advance the mission of Texas A&M AgriLife to serve Texans and the world.

“I am just one member of this research team, but I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish in such a short period of time,” Gudmestad said, noting they have published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts since they formed in 2009 after receiving a five-year $10.2 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

Gudmestad serves as a co-director along with John Trumble from University of California-Riverside and Charlie Rush from Texas A&M. Each leads a different aspect of the research.

Gudmestad oversees a team of pathologists studying the bacterium’s variability, detection and biology. Specifically, his group is working to sequence a new biotype dominant in the United States. Through working with another research group in New Zealand, where the disease also is economically damaging, they hope to learn what competitive advantages the new strain has gained and how it differs from the strain it replaced. The subgroup also is working to develop molecular technology for pathogen detection to improve disease control and provide more powerful tools to study pathogen epidemiology.

Rush is responsible for the epidemiology and risk assessment team, while Trumble, an entomologist, leads a team working with the insect vector that transmits the zebra chip bacterium.

Other team leaders include James Supak and J. Creighton Miller. Supak, a retired Texas A&M administrator, serves as a liaison between the research team and the “Texas Initiative,” a consortium of the Texas Department of Agriculture, potato processors and potato growers who contribute approximately $1 million annually to zebra chip research. Miller, a potato breeder in the horticultural sciences department at Texas A&M, leads research searching for genetic resistance to zebra chip.

Gudmestad said zebra chip is a primitive unculturable bacterium with four biotypes, two of which affect potato production in the United States. Zebra chip doesn’t harm the consumer. It is aesthetically unpleasing and when cooked it creates an unpleasant bitter taste due to over-caramelized sugars in the affected areas.

His experience with the disease started almost 20 years ago, when Gudmestad and Gary Secor, NDSU plant pathology professor, first observed the pathogen in 1994 in the León region of Mexico. Later reported in Texas, it has since spread to New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

“It went from a minor disease to a major disease of potato in the United States and New Zealand within a decade. It’s what invasive pathogens do when they get into a country and there is no natural resistance in a plant species such as a potato,” Gudmestad said, noting the economic losses due to zebra chip in New Zealand are calculated to be more than $100 million annually. He said the most recent agriculture economist figures indicate the cost of controlling zebra chip in the Unites State exceeded $15 million in 2012.

He and Secor first began studying zebra chip at NDSU in 2005. Although the disease isn’t in North Dakota, it’s of interest because several growers affected by the disease are headquartered in the state.

“It is difficult to work on a disease that is 1,500 to 2,000 miles away,” Gudmestad said. “I immediately started collaborations with a Texas A&M colleague I knew, Dr. Charlie Rush, a very experienced epidemiologist.”

The collaboration evolved over time. Today, more than 30 scientists representing seven universities and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers from seven states contribute to zebra chip research to improve growers’ outcomes.

The Zebra Chip Leadership Team has received two major accolades for their work.

The Partnership Award is a Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence, the highest employee award given by Texas A&M AgriLife, which has teaching, research, extension education, laboratory and forestry facilities throughout Texas. It was presented Jan. 8 at Texas A&M University, College Station.

They also received the second highest honor from the Entomological Society of America – the Team IPM Award.
Gudmestad said the Texas A&M recognition is especially rewarding. “It is a great honor for the entire team,” he said. “But it is particularly rewarding to be honored by another university.”

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.