NDSU University Distinguished Professors share research at new Knowledge on Tap event series

This fall, NDSU and The Study, formerly Humanities North Dakota, have partnered to host an evening with NDSU’s top researchers, featuring food and drink at Junkyard Brewing in West Fargo.

Beginning in September, there will be four monthly sessions featuring an NDSU University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor the university gives its faculty. Attendees will have the opportunity to spend the evening learning from experts in their field and asking questions.

Subject matter covered through these sessions includes how soil and oil are related, food as medicine, bringing innovation to market and exploring the connection between head and heart to how we think and feel. Each conversation is scheduled for an hour beginning at 6 p.m. and will be moderated by NDSU leadership.

University Distinguished Professor Thomas DeSutter will lead the first talk on Tuesday, September 8. DeSutter, who joined NDSU in 2006, has taught a variety of courses at NDSU, including soil science; soil and land use; environmental field instrumentation; and sampling and soil genesis and survey.

DeSutter’s research interests are saline and sodic soils, reclamation of energy-extraction-impacted soils and instrumentation for measuring soil parameters.

During his Knowledge on Tap session, DeSutter will explore how energy and agricultural industries are related, why people should care about reclaiming soil and whether soils can remain productive after being disturbed.

“North Dakota is a wonderful state, filled with abundant resources, two of which are soil and oil,” DeSutter said. “I look forward to community members joining me to explore the links between North Dakota’s two dominant economies, agriculture and the oil-gas industries and how they are interrelated.”

This conversation will be moderated by Dr. Shari R. Veil, provost and chief academic officer at NDSU. Veil brings two decades of experience in academic leadership, research and student success to her role at NDSU and is an internationally recognized scholar in risk and crisis communication.

Knowledge on Tap schedule

• Tuesday, Sept. 8; Soil and oil are related in more ways than their spelling!
  • Dr. Thomas DeSutter will explore connections between soil, agriculture, energy extraction and reclamation.
• Tuesday, Oct. 8; Food is medicine: nutrition, aging and chronic disease prevention
  • Dr. Yeong S. Rhee will discuss how nutrition affects aging, brain health and the prevention of chronic disease.
• Tuesday, Nov. 10; Tales of bringing innovation to market
  • Professor Chad Ulven will examine innovation, entrepreneurship and the challenges of moving new ideas and technologies into real-world use.
• Tuesday, Dec. 8; Metaphor and the body: explorations of head-heart dualism
  • Dr. Michael D. Robinson will consider how metaphors of the head and heart shape the way people think, feel and interact with the world.

Advanced registration for the events is required and tickets will not be available at the door. Tickets are $5 and available through The Study.