Honors College students board the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences/New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station shuttle for a field trip in a new seminar that takes them to 12 off-campus research locations in six New Jersey counties. Photo: Chris Gutierrez

A new seminar helps undergraduates connect their interests to research they never knew existed

For Dave Bushek, the obstacle to bringing students to Rutgers’ field stations across New Jersey was getting them there.

A visitor to Rutgers’ shellfish research facilities wondered why more students weren’t seeing them, too. Bushek, a professor of marine and coastal sciences, explained that transportation from campus was the problem. The visitor offered a solution. 

Following Honors College students on a first-ever journey to all of the Rutgers research stations in New Jersey to discover how science shows up for the state and its people. Graphic: Michelle Cody

“The person made it possible for us to purchase a shuttle,” Bushek said.

This fall, a white, 18-passenger shuttle bus is carrying students into areas of Rutgers that many never knew existed. Their destinations include research farms, shellfish laboratories and centers devoted to clean energy and food innovation. 

Along the way, the undergraduates at Rutgers-New Brunswick will investigate a question that reaches beyond any single stop: Where might they fit into this work?

The new interdisciplinary honors seminar, “Beyond Campus: Research at Rutgers Off-Campus Stations,” brings together 12 students for a semester of Friday visits to places where university research meets the needs of New Jersey’s communities and industries. Leading them are Bushek, and Peter Oudemans, a professor of plant biology, both faculty members of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

Over 10 Fridays, the students will visit 12 research locations in six counties.

For Kyle Yoon, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Closter, N.J., the course offered a departure from familiar routines.

“Currently I have only taken lecture style classes at college and when I saw the hands-on approach this seminar provided, I wanted to experience it for myself,” Yoon said. 

Peter Oudemans, left, a professor of plant biology, and David Bushek, a professor of marine and coastal sciences, created a new honors seminar to introduce students to the breadth of Rutgers research and help them see how their own interests and skills could contribute to it. Photos: Chris Gutierrez

The instructors, who oversee Rutgers’ marine field stations and research farms, want students to discover how their interests could contribute to work happening throughout the state.

Already, some connections are emerging.

Bushek recalled asking students whether they thought their majors related to the work they would encounter. Nobody raised a hand.

He then asked a civil engineering student how people get around on a farm. Roads, the student realized, require engineering. Bushek asked a mechanical engineering student what farmers use to harvest crops. Machinery, the student realized, requires engineers, too. 

For Oudemans, those moments of epiphany get to the purpose of the course. He wants students to see that rigorous research should also address problems that matter beyond the laboratory.

“You need to do your science well, but it has to be good for something,” he said.

Veronica Girgis, an Honors College student majoring in food science, selects a Scarlet Sunrise tomato during an exercise in a new honors seminar designed to show students the hands-on aspect of science. Photo: Mike Lucas

The first class offered a close look at what that means. After an introduction to Rutgers’ land-grant mission, students visited the hazelnut breeding program led by plant biologist Thomas Molnar. Working in six groups, the students located assigned trees and harvested 50 clusters of nuts from each, Bushek said. They then analyzed productivity, comparing trees with different parentage and characteristics.

The exercise opened a window onto the work behind a possible new agricultural industry. Students learned breeding a successful hazelnut involves decisions about traits, size and commercial uses, along with the effort of connecting growers and companies.

In subsequent stops, students will learn about sustainable agriculture, Rutgers-bred cranberries that are used worldwide, shellfish breeding, coastal ecosystems and food processing.

They will witness efforts that span generations of Rutgers research, from shellfish work begun in 1888 and cranberry research in 1918 to newer food and clean-energy centers.

For Foysal Sorwar, an Honors College sophomore studying biological sciences, the itinerary offers a new perspective on a familiar state. Originally from Bangladesh and raised in Elizabeth, N.J., Sorwar learned to appreciate gardening through his mother and is curious about the research behind food production.

“It gives me a new perspective of the other side of New Jersey that I would not get to see this close otherwise,” Sorwar said.

Rutgers professor and plant breeder Thomas Molnar explains his work developing new hazelnut varieties to students during the first field trip of a new honors seminar. Photo: David Bushek

Students will meet scientists whose working days unfold in fields, among experimental crops and beside tidal waters. Bushek has spent his career in such places. Once, when approached about moving to campus, he declined. Asked why he would pass up being where the academic action was, he had a ready answer.

“My action is my research,” Bushek said. “I can walk out the back of the lab, and I’m in the field where I’m going to do it.”

That proximity also brings researchers close to the people who depend on their findings

At the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Port Norris, N.J., members of the oyster industry still walk in to discuss problems, Bushek said. At the blueberry and cranberry research center, Oudemans and his colleagues work with growers on concerns that can threaten a harvest or a livelihood.

After MSX, a disease caused by a single-celled Protozoan, began devastating Delaware Bay oysters in 1957, Rutgers researchers studied the parasite and bred disease-resistant oyster lines.

These relationships help explain why Rutgers maintains a presence throughout the state.

Brian Schilling, director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, introduced students to Rutgers’ land-grant mission, which combines teaching and research with practical service to the public. The university’s farms and field stations are part of that statewide system, along with Extension offices in all the state’s 21 counties.

The exchange works in both directions.

“A problem comes in from the field, often through extension, into our research community,” Schilling said. “Answers are developed, and then they go back out through extension to the farmer community.”

Sometimes the response involves breeding a disease-resistant plant. Sometimes it means testing equipment before growers commit their own money.

“Let us kick the tires and see if this is going to work,” Schilling said. “If it doesn’t, let us fail with it. If it works, let us help you succeed with it.”

Students have work to do, too. They prepare questions before visits, keep field notebooks and write reflections. Their final multimedia projects will explain how research addresses a New Jersey challenge.

Kanishk Sharma, an Honors College sophomore studying computer science, data science and economics, already sees possibilities. A friend’s account of working at the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve helped inspire an interest in the course.

Hazelnuts gathered by students during a class exercise help illustrate how plant breeders compare trees for productivity and other desirable traits. Photo: David Bushek

“Hearing about how she used technology to study marine environments made me realize how much overlap there can be between computing and environmental science,” Sharma said. “I am hoping this course gives me a chance to experience that connection myself rather than only learning about it in a classroom.”

The instructors hope those connections will endure beyond the final assignment. Bushek said he wants students to be sharing their discoveries years from now. Oudemans said he hopes they will find places where their talents are needed.

Even ordinary surroundings could begin to look different.

At the Rutgers Plant Science Research and Extension Farm, often called the Adelphia Farm, in Freehold, N.J., students encountered more than 51,000 turf plots under evaluation. Rutgers has developed more than 500 improved turf cultivars with the seed industry that are used in high profile locations including several 2026 World Cup venues, at Yankee stadium and Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters golf tournament is played. 

Reflecting on the students’ encounter with Rutgers’ turfgrass research, Oudemans offered one prediction.

“You’ll never look at turf the same.”

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

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Image by hansstuart1nm, licensed via Adobe Stock (Education License)

Along the white sandy shores of the northern Gulf of Mexico, two endangered species share the same narrow strip of coastline — but they don’t always want the same things from it. From a new study published in the journal, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, affiliate of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute Brooke Maslo, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, alongside co-authors Lydia Heilferty, Sara Zeigler, and Thomas Schlacher, explore what it takes to protect both beach mice and snowy plovers.

By compiling related publications from 1980 to 2023, the authors synthesize the habitat preferences of both beach mice and snowy plovers. Beach mice are tiny, pale-colored rodents that live in vegetated sand dunes. Snowy plovers are small shorebirds that nest on flat, open, sandy beaches with very little plant cover. While they live side by side, these two species have very different habitat needs — and that creates a real problem for land managers trying to help both.

Climate change makes this harder. More frequent and intense storms will reshape future coastline environments. This puts pressure on managers to act quickly — and sometimes reactively — in ways that may not serve all species.

However, there could be some overlap to serving both species. The authors recommend maintaining a diverse mix of beach and dune features rather than optimizing for just one species. Vegetation that appears in both habitats can be planted. Dune heights can be regulated to appeal to both beach mice and snowy plovers. Ultimately, more work needs to be done to investigate the intersection of these preferred ecosystems.

 This “habitat mosaic” approach could benefit not only mice and plovers, but also other coastal species like least terns and black skimmers — and could inform coastal management policy at the state and federal level.

“As wildlife are continually confined to managed open space habitats, meeting the conservation needs of all species becomes increasingly challenging. Identifying congruence among species of conservation concern is essential to preserving population viability.” -Brooke Maslo

You can read the full study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109603

This article was written with assistance from Artificial Intelligence, was reviewed and edited by Kenneth Tam, and was reviewed by Brooke Maslo, a co-author on the study.

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Anna and Ava from Hunterdon County 4-H spent the past year as youth leaders with the NJ 4-H Agriculture Ambassador Program, educating the public about agriculture, sharing their knowledge, and highlighting the important role agriculture plays in our everyday lives.

The future of agriculture depends on young people who can champion the industry, communicate its value, and help shape its direction. Fourteen New Jersey 4-H members from eight counties have been selected for the 2027 NJ 4-H Agriculture Ambassador Program, a statewide leadership initiative preparing teens to represent and promote agriculture across New Jersey, and led by Melissa Bright, 4-H agent, Somerset County.

Launched in fall 2024 through a partnership between National 4-H Council and Nutrien, the program gives high school youth opportunities to deepen their understanding of agriculture while developing skills in leadership, public speaking, communication, and advocacy. Open to active New Jersey 4-H members in grades 9 through 13, the program welcomes teens with interests spanning farming, animal science, food systems, and natural resources.

Avery from Gloucester County 4-H, proudly serving as NJ 4-H Agriculture Ambassadors.

Throughout the program year, ambassadors will connect with agricultural industry professionals, explore career pathways, and learn about current issues affecting the industry. “Educational programs, agricultural tours, leadership development experiences, and outreach activities help them build confidence in communicating agriculture’s importance to diverse audiences,” said Bright.

The 2027 cohort represents Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Salem, Somerset, Union, and Warren counties. Together, these young leaders will build connections across the state while gaining firsthand insight into the people, practices, and systems that sustain New Jersey agriculture.

By equipping youth with the knowledge and skills to engage their communities, New Jersey 4-H is helping cultivate a new generation of agricultural advocates, professionals, and leaders prepared to advance the industry’s future.

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The surprise discovery of a natural fruit fly repellent could lead to new controls for one of New Jersey’s biggest blueberry pests. Photo: Keisuke Ferguson

Rutgers scientists have identified natural repellents against an invasive blueberry pest, a scientific breakthrough that was accidentally discovered when fruit flies invaded their laboratory.

The accident, more than a decade in the making, could one day transform how commercial crops are protected.

“As a kid, this is what I thought science was – you stumble on something and go, ‘Eureka!’” said Beth Ferguson, a postdoctoral researcher at the Rutgers Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research, and lead author of the study, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. “Of course, that doesn’t happen most of the time, which is why I call this a very happy accident.”

Each summer, Ferguson and colleagues conduct research on an invasive fruit fly, the spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). Found in New Jersey in 2011, the fly is one of the biggest threats to commercial fruit production, particularly soft-fleshed fruit such as blueberries.

Unlike other Drosophila flies, which lay eggs on and feed on rotten fruit, the spotted-wing drills into intact, ripening fruit, using a saw-like tube to deposit its eggs. The fly larvae hatch and destroy the fruit from within. 

The resulting spoilage is costly to producers. In 2025, New Jersey growers produced 47.5 million pounds of blueberries, with a production value of more than $94 million. The state consistently ranks among the top blueberry producers nationwide, and blueberries are New Jersey’s No. 1 crop. 

But growers spend heavily on chemical insecticides, which do not always provide complete control and can harm nontarget organisms.

In their lab, Ferguson and colleagues breed colonies of spotted wing to test new, nonchemical management strategies. And nearly every summer, something curious happened to the colonies they raised: the enclosure, located close to the research center’s kitchen, would be invaded by a common fruit fly, D. melanogaster, which led to die-offs of the spotted-wing flies.

With thousands of flies in these containers, not even a skilled researcher can differentiate them with the naked eye, said Ferguson. But fly colonies do have different smells, and when enough D. melanogaster flies had reproduced to outnumber the spotted wing flies, the scent was unmistakable. 

“We’d notice a smell change, going from a spotted wing-smell – like corn meal – to a very heavy vinegar decay odor, which is the telltale smell of melanogaster,” said Ferguson.

In nature, the two flies often avoid competition. But the accident of placing the enclosure near the kitchen, where melanogaster flies would feed on rotting fruits, fueled a hidden rivalry.

Ferguson noticed that as the vinegar smell intensified, a strange film-like deposit was forming on the flies’ food source. As with dogs marking territory, fruit flies mark food and egg-laying areas by depositing fecal and gut fungi. Ferguson swabbed the film and worked with colleague James Polashock from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify the yeast.

She and lab director Cesar Rodriguez-Saona then reached out to Jennifer S. Sun, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers–New Brunswick, and a coauthor of the paper. 

Sun and undergraduate researcher Tia Hart ran a series of tests to confirm the spotted wing’s aversion to melanogaster’s fungi and how exposure affected the fly’s egg-laying preferences. “Our first question was whether this is truly repulsive to spotted wing,” said Sun. “The answer came quick.”

What she found was striking: The yeast “elicited aversive responses” in spotted wing while remaining attractive to melanogaster. Spotted wing flies also laid far fewer eggs after having encountered the yeast. 

Further testing will be needed to assess how the lab-produced compound might behave in nature. Ferguson said it can take years from discovery to gain regulatory approval. 

But already, the eureka moment is paying dividends. 

“I’ve been using it as a model for my students, explaining that when an experiment yields unexpected results, they shouldn’t assume that they did something wrong,” said Sun. “Instead, they could ask why it’s happening, and if there’s another phenomenon we could be studying. When the scientific process is used in experimentation, the result could be a very fruitful project like this one.”

This work was funded by several grants, including $2.1 million (award number R35GM165839) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

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Professor Ramu Govindamy pictured with the Frank Panyko Distinguished Service Award presented by the Food Distribution Research Society at its annual conference in Hershey, PA, on October 5.

Recognition honors more than two decades of leadership, scholarship and service in agricultural marketing and food distribution

Ramu Govindasamy, professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was presented the Frank Panyko Distinguished Service Award by the Food Distribution Research Society (FDRS), one of the organization’s highest honors recognizing sustained leadership, service and contributions to the field of food distribution research. Govindasamy received the award during the FDRS Annual Conference, held October 4–6, in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

“FDRS has been an important part of my professional career for many years,” Govindasamy said. “I am honored to receive the Frank Panyko Distinguished Service Award and grateful to the many colleagues, students and friends who have contributed to my experiences with the society. I look forward to continuing to support FDRS and its mission.”

The award recognizes members who demonstrate exceptional commitment to advancing the society through leadership, mentorship and professional service while helping shape the next generation of researchers and practitioners.

Govindasamy’s relationship with FDRS spans more than two decades. Since first participating in the society’s annual meetings in 1995, he has contributed extensively through research presentations, publications and leadership roles that have advanced scholarship in agricultural marketing and food distribution.

He has served on the FDRS Board of Directors, reviewed nominations for the society’s Applebaum Award, coordinated poster presentations, moderated technical sessions and judged the annual Food Marketing Challenge. In 2018, he served as president of the organization, helping strengthen collaboration among researchers, educators and industry professionals.

Among the highlights of his presidency was organizing the inaugural Direct Agricultural Marketing Summit, which brought together organizations including the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Farm Credit, the Farmers Market Coalition and the National Value-Added Conference to promote collaboration and innovation in direct agricultural marketing.

Govindasamy also played a key role in strengthening the visibility of the Journal of Food Distribution Research, supporting efforts that led to the journal’s inclusion in SCOPUS, a leading international database of scholarly literature.

At Rutgers, Govindasamy has built an internationally recognized program integrating research, teaching and Extension focused on agricultural marketing and food distribution. His work explores direct agricultural marketing, farmers’ markets, locally grown and ethnic produce, organic products, agritourism, consumer behavior and food distribution systems.

His research has helped connect academic scholarship with practical solutions for agricultural producers, food businesses and communities while informing marketing strategies and consumer engagement across the food system.

Throughout his career, Govindasamy has also been committed to mentoring students and early-career professionals. Through conference presentations, professional workshops, student competitions and collaborative research, he has created opportunities for emerging scholars to engage with leaders across the food distribution industry.

The award nomination, submitted by FDRS colleague Greg Fonsah, recognized Govindasamy’s decades of exemplary leadership, scholarship and service to the organization.

The recognition reflects Govindasamy’s enduring contributions to agricultural marketing research and Extension, as well as his commitment to strengthening the connections among research, education and industry that benefit producers, businesses and consumers alike.

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The 2026 EduCATE Resilience Action Team Cohort.

The Rutgers Department of 4-H Youth Development and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) formally began their new educator-community climate resilience initiative for the greater Jersey City and Newark areas this past July at Liberty Science Center and the Liberty State Park Nature Center.

The year-long program is designed to support Resilience Action Teams in select middle and high schools. Through school clubs, students will work toward implementing local, community-based projects aimed at making the areas they value more resilient to the effects of climate change.

The inaugural cohort includes Academy I Middle School, Infinity Institute, and William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City; Lincoln Middle School in Kearny; Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology in Newark; and Union Hill Middle School in Union City.

Participants practice a landscape design exercise at the Liberty State Park Nature Center using a map of the surrounding area.

The kickoff brought together educators and administrators from each school, who will collaborate to run their school’s club during the coming school year. With support from the Rutgers Department of 4-H Youth Development and graduate student mentors, the teams will use a co-designed club curriculum centered on fun and engaging activities. The curriculum takes a problem-based learning approach, focusing on analyzing research data and using landscape architecture design processes to develop meaningful projects in their communities. Youth will come to Rutgers University in spring 2027 to share their ideas and results.

The department partnered with various Rutgers-affiliated groups and specialists to provide a robust, multifaceted kickoff designed to prepare educators to guide their students through the initiative.

This included James Shope (Assistant Extension Specialist in Climate Services, Department of Environmental Sciences), who presented on the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center’s State of the Climate report. Additionally, Ashlyn Spector (Environmental Analysis and Communications Group Unit Manager, the Center for Urban Policy Research) walked the teams through NJAdapt, a cache of New Jersey specific climate data visualization tools.

Alayne Toretta (County Extension Department Head and 4-H Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Warren County) and Kaitlin Gannon (Education Coordinator, JCNERR) led team-building activities that emphasized community planning and group problem solving. In addition, Alexis Lo (Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability (CUES) Project Manager and Lecturer, Department of Landscape Architecture), modelled the landscape design activities the teams will lead their students through to construct their project, and Edward Cohen (Associate Director, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education) and Brielle Kociolek (Senior iSTEM Education Coordinator, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education) showcased various problem-based learning methods to potentially use.

These speakers and activities were all complemented by Marissa Staffen (County Extension Department Head and 4-H Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex County) and Rodrigo Sanchez-Hernandez (4-H Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Hudson County), who spoke on how Rutgers 4-H could provide county-level support.

Union Hill Middle School presents some resiliency design ideas with Nesheiwat.

The kickoff also offered an opportunity for the school teams to connect with local civic stakeholders and brainstorm ways to implement projects that can be supported and sustained within their communities.

“We want young people to truly feel like they have the agency to work with their school and community members to see a project through,” said Janice McDonnell, SEBS Associate Dean of Research Impact, 4-H STEM Agent, and co-PI on the initiative.

Community stakeholders at the kickoff included Amanda J. Nesheiwat (Director of Sustainability & Community Outreach, Hudson County Improvement Authority); Christine Morales (Kearny Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability); Kevin Force (Supervising Planner, Hudson County Division of Planning); Marytrine De Castro (Council President, Town of Kearny); Shannon Evans (Kearny Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability, Town of Kearny); Victoria Bruno (Strategic Programs Manager, Newark Office of Sustainability), accompanied by Marilyn Cerrato and Roselyn Muniz (Assistant Gen Green Coordinators, Newark Office of Sustainability).

Other speakers at the kickoff included Caleb Stratton, borough administrator for Atlantic Highlands, and Kevin Lyons, professor of professional practice in the Supply Chain Management Department at Rutgers Business School. Stratton spoke about his experience as the former chief resiliency officer for the city of Hoboken and how select city infrastructure projects were designed with flooding and community culture in mind. Lyons, drawing on his experience as director of both the Center for Local Supply Chain Resiliency and the Rutgers Business School Public Private Community Partnership Program, discussed previous projects in the greater area that leveraged existing supply chain systems to uplift community spaces and rearranged supply chains to become more circular.

Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology practices a landscape design exercise with Bruno, using a satellite map of their school and the surrounding area.

Together, the kickoff sessions gave educators the tools, connections and support needed to help students move from learning about climate resilience to identifying and addressing challenges in their own communities. The initiative will continue throughout the school year as students develop their projects with guidance from their educators, Rutgers 4-H, graduate student mentors, and community partners.

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Melissa Bright, 4-H agent in Somerset County and past chair of the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Animal Science Working Group, coordinated the National 4-H Animal Science Career Night focused on veterinary science. Featured speakers Hannah Neill, clinical instructor of Large Animal Field Service at the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine at Rowan University, and Michelle D’Alessandro of Belle Mead Animal Hospital in Hillsborough, New Jersey, shared their educational journeys, professional experiences, and perspectives on working with companion animals and livestock. They also answered questions from youth considering careers in veterinary medicine.

Participant evaluations highlighted the program’s impact. After the event, more than 80% of respondents reported knowing “a lot” or “a great deal” about veterinary science careers, compared with 12.5% before the program. Additionally, 75% said they had learned about a veterinary career they had not previously considered, while 37.5% expressed strong interest in pursuing a career in veterinary science.

By connecting youth directly with practicing professionals, the program expanded awareness of career possibilities and helped participants better understand the educational pathways and opportunities available in veterinary medicine. The National 4-H Animal Science Career Night series continues to create valuable connections between young people and professionals, encouraging exploration of future careers in animal science and agriculture.

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Mosquitoes can carry viruses that threaten human health, making surveillance and prevention a continuing public health priority. Image: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new approach to capture waste from mosquitoes could strengthen early warning systems for emerging health threats

When public health researchers want to know whether diseases such as COVID-19 or polio are circulating in a community, they can look for genetic evidence in wastewater.

Entomologist Dana Price holds a tube containing mosquito waste collected for genetic analysis. Courtesy of Dana Price.

Entomologist Dana Price wondered whether the same principle could be applied to mosquitoes. The question led to an unconventional experiment.

“What we did, colloquially, was build a mosquito toilet,” said Price, an associate professor at the Center for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a lead author of a study published in Microbiology Spectrum.

The device, Price said, is deceptively simple: a 3D-printed funnel coated with a superhydrophobic (water-repelling) material that causes liquid to bead up and slide into a collection tube. 

The tiny traces of mosquito waste it captured revealed a hidden world.

By sequencing genetic material in mosquito excrement, Price recovered a complete West Nile virus genome, found the first known evidence of a Hedwig-like virus in the Americas and detected several viruses that may be new to science. The approach also identified parasites and confirmed the mosquito species that deposited the waste droplets.

Findings from the study suggest mosquito waste could become a powerful surveillance tool, allowing scientists to search broadly for familiar pathogens as well as threats they don’t yet know exist, Price said.

“If you don’t look for it, you won’t find it,” Price said. “But what if you don’t know what to look for?”

Mosquito surveillance historically involves collecting large numbers of insects, sorting them by species, combining them into pools and grinding them up for laboratory testing.

The labor-intensive process requires scientists to preserve the insects carefully, so their genetic material doesn’t degrade. During an outbreak, those steps can delay information needed to direct mosquito-control efforts. Conventional tests also target specific pathogens, so researchers must know what they are looking for.

Mosquitoes excrete small amounts of liquid containing genetic traces of viruses and other organisms. Because the waste contains far less mosquito tissue, and therefore less mosquito DNA, than a crushed insect, the scientists reasoned that viral material might be easier to find.

Dana Price of the Center for Vector Biology sets a mosquito-waste collection trap in the field as researchers work to adapt the approach for real-world surveillance. Courtesy of Dana Price.

The researchers collected two groups of 50 wild Culex mosquitoes from a yard in New Brunswick, N.J., in 2021 and 2022. They placed each group in a screened container over the funnel and fed them a sugar solution. The mosquitoes produced drops of waste, which slid into a tube.

The scientists used shotgun metagenomic sequencing – used to sequence all genetic material present in a mixed sample. Computers then assembled the millions of fragments generated and compared them with known sequences in scientific databases.

The 2022 sample contained a complete, high-quality genome of West Nile virus, which can cause serious neurological illness in people.

The researchers identified the virus as belonging to the NY07 genetic variant previously found in the region. Such detail eventually could help scientists track how genetic variants of a virus emerge, spread and change.

“What came out was an entire viral genome,” Price said. “Rather than just positive or negative, we have genetic data.”

The researchers were even more intrigued by evidence of a Hedwig-like virus, which hadn’t previously been reported in the Americas.

Hedwig virus was first identified in Europe in snowy owl tissue, prompting scientists to name it after Harry Potter’s famous white owl. Some of the infected birds also had West Nile virus.

Scientists don’t know whether Hedwig-like viruses make birds sick, facilitate West Nile infections or simply coexist with other viruses. The Rutgers finding doesn’t establish that the virus is a threat, Price said. It shows that it has been circulating where no one knew to search for it.

“We didn’t even look for it specifically,” Price said. “We just looked for everything, and we found Hedwig in there.”

He currently is working with officials at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife to screen organ and tissue samples for the virus. The samples are collected from deceased birds during a post-mortem examination.

A virus found for the first time in a region may have recently arrived or may have gone unnoticed for years. Because few broad mosquito-virus studies have been conducted in North America, organisms that seem geographically restricted may prove widespread.

“The more data we generate, the more we start to wonder if everything is everywhere,” Price said. “Although we don’t yet know how much of everything is everywhere, it may be a lot more than we realize.”

The samples also contained sequences so different from known examples that the researchers classified the viruses as potentially new. They included a partiti-like virus, a picorna-like virus and a possible new virus associated with single-celled parasites infecting the mosquitoes. More study is needed to confirm they are previously undescribed species.

Most appear to infect mosquitoes, other insects or microorganisms living inside mosquitoes and are not known to cause human disease. Some insect-specific viruses may even interfere with mosquitoes’ ability to carry West Nile, dengue or Zika viruses.

The waste also contained traces of trypanosomatids, a group of single-celled parasites known to infect mosquitoes. Mosquito DNA confirmed that the insects belonged primarily to the Culex pipiens group, a West Nile carrier.

Price said the research was an initial demonstration, not a replacement for existing surveillance. It examined 100 mosquitoes from one location, which were transferred to the funnel in a laboratory.

Researchers also cannot conclude from waste alone that a mosquito can transmit a virus, Price said. It could be infecting the mosquito or another organism inside it or simply passing through.

For now, the technique can answer a broader question: Is a pathogen circulating in this environment?

The team is working toward a field-ready trap that would collect mosquitoes and their waste. Price eventually envisions a system that could prepare samples, sequence genetic material, analyze the results remotely and alert scientists to a possible threat in real-time.

“The pie-in-the-sky idea is a device that we place in a forest somewhere, and it’s constantly just beaming back data to us,” Price said.

Such a system could be especially valuable in remote or resource-limited areas, he said. It could reveal known pathogens before they cause widespread illness and expose the ones no one yet knows to look for.

Other Rutgers researchers on the study include: Mehdi Javanmard from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Rutgers School of Engineering; Taewon Han, an assistant research professor from the Department of Environmental Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; 

Nicole Wagner, a laboratory researcher; and former undergraduate students Miranda Barnes and Fiona Bezhani.

This article first appeared on Rutgers Today.

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The 2026 Summer School on Sustainability Governance cohort gathers at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, August 24–28, 2026.

Week-long program brought together researchers working on ocean and fisheries governance, energy justice, Indigenous land rights, food systems, and climate policy from institutions across the United States and the globe

From August 24 to 28, the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University–New Brunswick hosted its second annual Summer School on Sustainability Governance, bringing nearly 30 doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars to campus for a week of intensive training, collaborative discussions, and interdisciplinary cohort-building.

Organized by Human Ecology faculty Pamela McElwee, professor, and Rachael Shwom, professor and department chair, and supported by the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) and the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, the program addresses a growing need for graduate training that equips emerging scholars to understand governance challenges across disciplines and knowledge systems. Building on a successful inaugural cohort in 2024, this year’s summer school continued to strengthen an international network of researchers working to translate social science insights into practical governance solutions for an increasingly complex world. The program reflects the Department of Human Ecology’s growing leadership in interdisciplinary research that examines how institutions, communities, and policy systems respond to complex environmental and societal challenges.

Participants present their working-group models of governance systems during a hands-on session.

Participants were selected from a competitive pool of more than 140 applicants and represented nearly 25 universities and research institutions in the United States, Canada, and beyond. Their research spans topics including ocean and fisheries governance, Indigenous land rights, energy justice, food systems, climate policy, and environmental governance, with fieldwork taking place in locations ranging from the Amazon and Indonesia to coastal Ghana, the Andes, and communities across the United States.

Though their research sites and methods differed widely, participants shared a common concern: how societies govern shared resources and collective risks under conditions of rapid environmental change.

“These scholars are all wrestling with a version of the same problem: how do you govern shared resources fairly and effectively when the scale of the crisis keeps outpacing the abilities of our current institutions?” said McElwee, professor of Human Ecology and co-organizer of the summer school.

Participants brought a remarkable breadth of expertise. Ana Lucia Araujo Raurau, a doctoral student in geography at Clark University, examines how governance of Indigenous territories in Amazonia shapes forest stewardship. Ahmad Hidayat of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studies forest carbon markets in Indonesia, while Aline Bravo, a PhD student in anthropology at the University of Southern California, researches how changing water availability affects communities and ecosystems in northern Chile. Gustavo Valdivia, an anthropologist and filmmaker from Peru, shared his work on the Quelccaya Ice Cap in the Andes, the largest tropical glacier on Earth.

Participants present their working-group findings during another interactive session.

Energy governance was another major area of focus. Samuel Ayivi (University of Connecticut) researches offshore wind development and community trust, while Ben Williamson (Montana State University) examines how privately built transmission lines are reshaping the politics of energy infrastructure in the Northern Plains. Anna Demina (Columbia University) studies smart microgrids and socio-political decision-making, and Sindhura Polepalli (University of Miami), a former maritime legal consultant to the Government of India, researches global shipping emissions and equity in ocean governance.

Rutgers was also represented in the cohort. Wan Chantavilasvong, a doctoral candidate in Geography, studies coastal urbanization and marine ecology across Southeast Asia, while Chun-ching Tu, a doctoral student in Sociology, researches the emergence of transnational climate finance governance.

The week-long program combined plenary sessions, faculty-led discussions, structured working groups, and professional development activities that encouraged participants to strengthen their own research while building collaborations across disciplines. Highlights included participant “speed talks,” interdisciplinary faculty panels on governance in health, climate, marine law, and geography, an evening conversation with Ana Baptista, director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School and a nationally recognized expert on environmental justice, and hands-on skills sessions led by Rutgers faculty covering survey methods, geospatial analysis, machine learning, science communication, and stakeholder engagement.

Participants in the 2026 summer school outside the IFNH building on the Rutgers SEBS campus.

The program concluded with peer review, proposal workshopping, and discussions of career pathways inside and outside academia, reflecting its emphasis on preparing scholars to connect research with real-world governance and policy.

“Our goal was to send these incredible attendees back to their home institutions with a network of peers working on parallel problems around the world, so that the collaborations can continue on after this week and lead to sustained engagement and new partnerships,” said Shwom, co-organizer of the summer school and chair of the Department of Human Ecology.

For many participants, building that interdisciplinary community proved to be one of the week’s greatest benefits.

“The complex challenges of the Anthropocene cannot be adequately understood through a single disciplinary lens. Meaningful collaboration across disciplines, academic levels, and cultural perspectives is essential for producing research that is both intellectually rigorous and socially relevant,” said Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed, a doctoral candidate in Environmental Sociology at Utah State University.

“It expanded my intellectual community and, more importantly, connected me with colleagues who share an ethical commitment to more just and grounded approaches to sustainability,” said Gustavo Valdivia-Corrales, an anthropologist, filmmaker, and lecturer at Universidad del Pacífico in Peru who leads a project with the Ohio State University Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center on the Quelccaya Ice Cap.

Now in its second year, the Summer School on Sustainability Governance is designed to build the capacity of early-career researchers to work across disciplinary boundaries while strengthening a global network of scholars committed to translating social science research into equitable and effective environmental policy and practice. The inaugural program was supported by the National Science Foundation, while this year’s program was funded internally by Rutgers. Organizers are seeking additional support to sustain and expand the initiative in the years ahead.

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National Finalist – Extension Education Poster, Kate Brown (Somerset)(pictured), Claudia Gil Arroyo (Cape May), and Claudia Urdanivia (Hudson/Essex), “Interactive Learning is Key to Student Success in Online Delivery of Annie’s Project 101 Course.”

The 2026 Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference, hosted by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), was held in Denver, Colorado.

The meeting was attended by more than 1,200 extension educators, agricultural agents and specialists across focus disciplines that included agriculture, horticulture, forestry, natural resources, community development and youth programs like 4-H.

Faculty and staff in Agriculture and Natural Resources among Rutgers and county employees, won the following awards:

National Winner – Achievement Award for Extension Excellence (less than 10 years) – Jean Epiphan

National Winner – Distinguished Service Award for Extension Excellence (greater than 10 years) – Steve Yergeau

Northeast Regional Winners – Communication Awards in the following categories:

Computer Generated Presentation (PPT) with Script – Patrick McMullen (Atlantic) for “Cut Flower Production and Marketing: Soilborne Pathogens in Field Production,” presented during the Cut Flower Production and Marketing Session of the Northeast Agricultural Expo held in Atlantic City, NJ, January 20-22, 2026.

Event Promotional Package – Kate Brown (Somerset), Claudia Gil Arroyo (Cape May), and Claudia Urdanivia (Hudson/Essex) for “Networks to Reduce Risk: Annie’s Project Builds Viable NJ Farms” flyer.

Newsletter – Rebecca Magron (Hunterdon) for “Garden Scoops,” a subscription-based public email Newsletter from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Hunterdon County office.

Published Photo – Steve Yergeau (Ocean) for “Joe Pye Weed with a Monarch Butterfly” photo.

Website/Online Content – Tim Waller (Cumberland), Bill Errickson (Monmouth), Erin Quinn (Ph.D. Student, SEBS) and Steve Rettke (Monmouth) for “Rutgers Nursery IPM Website.” In its first year, the website received 1,590 visits, and the webinar PDFs had 4,553 total views from 27 states and 43 countries. The webinar recordings received 2,317 total views.

State Awards

Communication Award, Publication Category: Bill Errickson (Monmouth), “Elderberry: A Potential Niche Crop for New Jersey Growers,” https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1372/.

Search for Excellence in Agriculture Awareness and Appreciation – Michelle Infante-Casella (Gloucester)

Search for Excellence in Crop Production – Michelle Infante-Casella (Gloucester), Steve Komar (Sussex), Bill Bamka (Burlington), and Tim Waller (Cumberland), “Drone Applications in Agriculture for Cover Crop Planting, Assessing Wildlife Damage, and Monitoring for Plant Diseases.”

Search for Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture Recognition Program – Michelle Infante-Casella (Gloucester) and Steve Komar (Sussex), “NJ Sustainable Agriculture Research, Education, and Outreach Programs”

National Finalist – Extension Education Poster, Kate Brown (Somerset), Claudia Gil Arroyo (Cape May), and Claudia Urdanivia (Hudson/Essex), “Interactive Learning is Key to Student Success in Online Delivery of Annie’s Project 101 Course.”

National Winner: Third Place – Applied Research Poster, Lauren Errickson (Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship), Alex Sawatzky (RU Gardens Student Farm) and Bill Errickson (Monmouth), “Ginger Production in the Northeast: Intercropping in Variable Growing Environments to Maximize Harvest Opportunities.”

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