10/23/08 WSU Research Grant Part 3

WSU Research Grant Part 3. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. WSU has recently been awarded a total of $3.3 million in grants by the USDA for ag research. Associate Dean and Director of Ag Research, Ralph Cavalieri says the money will be used to further research on a number of areas. But how does a research grant affect students attending? CAVALIERI: You've put your finger on a real issue and that is there's been a lack of federal attention in terms of research grants since the 70's on this area so there are very few faculty members who have the expertise to do the research or to teach about it. So WSU will be looking to improve their faculty in the near future. CAVALIERI: We're moving very aggressively to attract and put in place the faculty members we need to do this. We believe the opportunities are fantastic in our state and we should be able to put together a truly world class team of faculty members. Cavalieri says they will be looking at developing specific programs. CAVALIERI: The Biological Systems Engineering department is in active discussions for example with WSU Tri-Cities and the College of Engineering to figure out how to have a graduate tract in automation mechanization. That's going to be important to help produce the people the industry will need as we move forward in this area. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.