Quarterly Agency Update: AgriLife Research

Texas A&M AgriLife Research quarterly agency update • June 2023

Director's message

Howdy,

I hope summer has started off well for everyone. A very active Texas 2023 biennial legislative session has ended, resulting in a significant infusion of funds to stabilize and advance Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

Our priorities for the session were to:

Enhance our statewide research infrastructure with renovations, farm equipment, and laboratory equipment.
Establish a statewide opportunity to train our next generation of scientists.
Invest in the retention and recruitment of our highly valued workforce.

Securing Legislative Support

I am happy to announce, following the legislative session, that there will be a substantial increase to offset cost of living for employees of AgriLife Research.

In addition, our legislative appropriations requests were funded — $25 million to enhance research infrastructure across the state and $15 million to rebuild the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Vernon, which was struck by a tornado.

This historic increase in funds to support our enterprise would not have come to fruition had it not been for the outstanding work of our faculty and staff across the state. Thank you for all you do!

Special thanks go to Chancellor John Sharp and the Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System for their enduring support.

Welcoming Craig Huffhines to the Institute for Equine Sciences

I am pleased to announce that on June 1 Craig Huffhines began his role as Director of the Texas A&M Institute for Equine Sciences and has hit the ground running. He is now in the process of assembling internal and external advisory committees and establishing Texas A&M as the premier equine science program in the world. Craig returns to his alma mater with a skillset spanning more than 30 years in equine-related academics and executive leadership. Read more about his career and experience below.

Update on Botswana Memorandum of Understanding

In recent conversations with government officials in Botswana, we have planned to send a contingent of faculty to the country in August. The aim of this trip will be to seek out collaborative opportunities in livestock production efficiency, agricultural innovation in digital and data-driven technology, crop genetics and phenotyping, and sustainable agricultural practices. In the coming weeks we will distribute a request for nominations for faculty members who would like to participate in the trip.

Recognizing New Research Funding

Congratulations to the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture for receiving a $10 million award from the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, which will assist women from Afghanistan in obtaining degrees or certificates in teaching, nursing, engineering and other fields of study.

In addition, a team of Texas A&M AgriLife faculty members led by Joshua Yuan, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, received a $3.35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The team will focus on biodegradable plastic products and the economic feasibility of renewable aviation fuels.

Congratulations to all faculty who have had award success this year!

I look forward to ending the 2023 fiscal year in a strong position and to initiating multiple new initiatives in fiscal year 2024.

G. Cliff Lamb

Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Administrative searches

Several administrative searches have been initiated. Please encourage individuals to apply for these positions whether they are internal or external candidates:

Internal Search

Director – Center for Greenhouse Gas Management in Agriculture and Forestry (Search committee chair – Luis Ribera)

External/National-International Searches

Associate Director and Chief Scientific Officer – AgriLife Research (Chair – Mark Hussey)
Director – Lubbock Research and Extension Center (Chair – Brent Auvermann)
Director – Beaumont Research and Extension Center (Chair – Raghavan Srinivasan)
Director – Corpus Christi Research and Extension Center (Chair – Ted Wilson)
Director – Texas Water Resources Institute (Chair – TBD)

Apply for positions at Workday. For internal searches, login first at https://sso.tamus.edu.

Apply in Workday

Recognizing impact

Texas A&M AgriLife Research-led team wins state technology development award

Digital tools for measuring watershed impacts recognized by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Led by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists in Temple, a statewide effort to integrate technologies for better prediction of environmental impacts in watersheds has garnered a Texas Environmental Excellence Award in the technical and technology category.

Peach breeding program adds varieties for growers and consumers

Texas A&M stone fruit program introduced 40 new peach and nectarine varieties to the market

Whether served in pies or cobblers, shakes and ice cream or eaten straight from a roadside fruit stand, peach lovers in Texas owe much of their delight to Texas A&M AgriLife’s Stone Fruit Breeding and Genetic program.

Research news

Craig Huffhines selected as director of Texas A&M Institute for Equine Sciences

Brings more than 30 years of academic, executive leadership experience

Craig Huffhines ’90 has been selected as director of the recently established Texas A&M Institute for Equine Sciences. Huffhines returns to his alma mater in Bryan-College Station with a skillset spanning more than 30 years in equine-related academics and executive leadership.

Sand dunes, vegetation could improve sustainable infrastructure

Texas A&M AgriLife study provides insights for natural protective storm barriers along coastlines

Nature is helping scientists design better ways to protect people and property along coastlines from extreme weather events like hurricanes.

Searching for a global solution to locust outbreaks

Locust swarms impact lives and livelihoods for 1 in 10 people around the world

The Behavioral Plasticity Research Institute at Texas A&M is researching an insect that has plagued humans for thousands of years – locusts.

Are your research results ready for commercialization?

The Intellectual Property and Commercialization, IPaC, office is the technology transfer office for Texas A&M AgriLife. Our office helps secure the value of the intellectual property created by Texas A&M AgriLife researchers. We help researchers and The Texas A&M University System connect intellectual property to companies via licensing agreements — bringing Texas A&M AgriLife’s research results to the benefit of the public.

Visit the IPaC office online

Tech development

New sensor chip advances rapid, cost-effective disease diagnostics

Integrated sensor chip detects late blight disease pathogen, many others

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists and collaborators at Iowa State University have developed a sensor chip that can detect many disease pathogens with 10 times the sensitivity of currently available methods.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research, IBM streamline ‘when to water’ app and sensors for producers

Liquid Prep app aims to provide accurate data, global cost-effectiveness

Texas A&M AgriLife Research and IBM are working to develop low-cost sensors and a smartphone app, aimed to provide farmers a new tool for making real-time decisions about when to water crops.

Research funding opportunities and project support

The Texas A&M AgriLife Office of Corporate Engagement and Research Support, CERS, assists research faculty in obtaining federal and private funding for comprehensive multidisciplinary research projects. CERS aims to alleviate administrative burdens associated with larger projects, allowing faculty more focus on research activities. Read more about CERS and sign up for the office’s Weekly Funding Opportunity Newsletter online.

Visit CERS online

Follow Texas A&M AgriLife Research on social media | @txresearch