The Jones Avenue Healthy Harvest site. Photo: OPOC

Rutgers University has received a $2.4 million award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) through the Research Facilities Act Program to support the modernization of agricultural research, teaching, and community engagement facilities that will support the ongoing development of Healthy Harvest and related programs. The project will replace an aging greenhouse and renovate the adjacent headhouse on the Jones Avenue Healthy Harvest site, creating a modern facility that will serve students, researchers, agricultural professionals, and community members throughout New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic region.  

Rutgers Gardens student interns at the Jones Avenue Healthy Harvest site. Photo: OPOC

The Rutgers project is one of 36 projects selected nationwide through USDA NIFA’s Research Facilities Act Program. In October 2026, NIFA announced more than $121 million in awards to universities and research institutions across the country to modernize, expand and build state-of-the-art agricultural research facilities. According to NIFA, these investments are designed to strengthen the nation’s capacity for food and agricultural research, accelerate innovation, and support workforce development through facilities such as laboratories, greenhouses, and integrated research hubs.  

The proposal was led by Cara Cuite, Associate Director of Community and Student Engagement at the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health, who serves as principal investigator and leads programming for the Healthy Harvest Living Laboratory. Healthy Harvest is a hub for experiential learning, food systems innovation, research, workforce development, and community partnership, bringing together students, faculty, Extension professionals, and community members to address food systems and environmental challenges. The Healthy Harvest urban agriculture spaces are managed by Rutgers Gardens, the university botanical garden, within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). 

The interdisciplinary team of grant co-investigators includes Laura Lawson, Executive Dean, SEBS, and Executive Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; Jennifer Shukaitis, Family and Community Health Sciences educator; A.J. Both, Extension Specialist and controlled-environment agriculture expert; Lauren Errickson, Director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship; Christopher Hack, Director of Rutgers Facilities Contract Services at Rutgers Institutional Planning & Operations (IP&O); Brian Schilling, Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension and Senior Associate Director of NJAES; and Mazen Shehat, Senior Associate Dean of Finance and Administration for SEBS and NJAES.   

Healthy Harvest at Jones Avenue, New Brunswick. Photo: OPOC

A distinguishing feature of the project is the inclusion of Rutgers planning, facilities and operational leaders as co-investigators. While facilities professionals often support implementation of capital projects, it is unusual for experts in finance and construction to be integrated directly into the leadership team starting at the proposal stage. This collaborative approach helps ensure that the facility is intentionally designed to meet long-term research, teaching, Extension, workforce development, and community engagement needs. 

“This award recognizes Rutgers’ long-standing commitment to integrating research, teaching, Extension and community engagement to address critical agricultural and food system challenges,” said Lawson, Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “The new facility will provide transformative opportunities for students, researchers, and community partners while strengthening Rutgers’ role as a leader in agricultural innovation and workforce development.”  

“This investment will help us create a space where education, research, and community engagement come together,” said Cuite. “As we continue building out the Healthy Harvest site on Jones Avenue and associated programming, we are especially excited to welcome students, families, farmers, community organizations and other partners into the new facility designed to support learning, discovery, and collaboration for years to come.” 

    

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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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Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor Mark Robson CC’77; GSNB’79, ’88; SPH’95. Photo: Luca Mostello

A new endowed legacy professorship at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences will recognize and support exceptional faculty in plant biology.

The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved the creation of the Robson Endowed Legacy Professorship on Oct. 1. The professorship was established through a gift from Mark Gregory Robson and Patricia Mykalosky Robson.

Robson first came to Rutgers in 1973 as an undergraduate at the newly established Cook College. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Rutgers and began his Rutgers career in 1979. Today, he is a distinguished professor of plant biology, associate vice provost for graduate education at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

“I have spent my entire adult life at Rutgers, first as a student, where I had wonderful teachers, and then for many decades as a teacher, where I have had exceptional students,” said Mark Robson. “I feel truly fortunate to have been the beneficiary of an education at a public land-grant university. We felt strongly that this was an appropriate way to demonstrate our commitment to teaching and service excellence at Rutgers.”

Teaching and mentoring have been a significant part of Robson’s Rutgers career. In 2024, he received the Sustained Career Teaching Excellence Award, recognizing his decades of teaching and commitment to student success. His other honors include the Daniel Gorenstein Memorial Award in 2021, the Clement A. Price Human Dignity Award in 2020 and the Chancellor’s Award for Global Impact, among others.

Robson’s ties to Rutgers began even before he became a student. He grew up on a New Jersey farm, where his family interacted with Rutgers agricultural agents and participated in 4-H. 

The professorship is designed to honor, retain or recruit an exceptional faculty member in plant biology, with a preference for someone who demonstrates a passion for educating students or goes above and beyond what is required of them. It will support teaching, research and professional activities in the field.

Rutgers’ Board of Governors approved the creation of legacy professorships in 2020, allowing current, emeritus and retired faculty members and their families to create endowed positions honoring their legacy at the university.

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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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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Max Häggblom, Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, was elected Vice President of the International Society for Microbial Ecology.

For Max Häggblom, curiosity about the microbial world began in central Finland, where growing up in an industrial town exposed him early to the environmental consequences of chemical pollution. A fascination with what microorganisms could do with unusual chemicals eventually became a career exploring some of the most remarkable and consequential metabolic capabilities on Earth.

Now, Häggblom is bringing that curiosity and a longstanding commitment to scientific service to a new international leadership role. The Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) has been elected vice president of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME), the leading scientific society dedicated to advancing microbial ecology. 

Häggblom will serve two years as vice president, followed by two years as president and two years as past president, giving him a six-year leadership role within the society.

“It is indeed a distinct honor to be elected ISME Vice President and I look forward to serving the society,” Häggblom said.

His connection to ISME stretches back more than three decades. As a young postdoctoral researcher, he attended the society’s fifth meeting in Kyoto in 1989.

“I was hooked,” he said.

Häggblom’s research has been driven in part by a fascination with what he calls the “unusual appetites” of microorganisms—their ability to metabolize and detoxify chemicals, respire metals and metalloids, and survive in extreme environments.

That interest took root during his undergraduate training at the University of Helsinki. In a microbiology journal club, he was assigned a paper on microbial degradation of chlorinated compounds. The subject immediately captured his attention, leading him to join the laboratory of Professor Mirja Salkinoja-Salonen and study the metabolism of chlorinated phenolic compounds, pollutants associated with Finland’s pulp and paper and sawmill industries.

The work became the focus of his master’s and doctoral research. Later, as a postdoctoral researcher with Lily Young, currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, he became fascinated by anaerobic microorganisms and, in particular, anaerobic organohalide respiration—a process in which halogenated organic compounds serve as the terminal electron acceptor for respiration.

“It is a topic that has kept me busy ever since,” he said.

Today, Häggblom’s research group explores, cultivates and characterizes novel microorganisms from diverse habitats, including soils, sediments and marine sponges. The goal is to understand microbial ecosystem processes and connect microbial diversity and function across scales, from genomes to biomes.

Max Häggblom sampling for soil microbes in the Malla Nature Reserve, located at Kilpisjärvi in northwestern Lapland, Finland, one of his research team’s study sites.

His research encompasses the dehalogenation of organochlorine and organobromine pollutants in oxygen-free environments, bacteria associated with marine sponges, selenium- and arsenic-respiring bacteria, and the microbial ecology of Arctic tundra soils.

Häggblom remains especially enthusiastic about a classic approach to microbiology: enrichment culture, pioneered by early microbiologists Martinus Beijerinck and Sergei Winogradsky, combined with modern molecular ecology.

“I am huge fan of the classical enrichment culture technique, combined with molecular ecology,” he said. The approach allows researchers to select for and identify microorganisms with particular metabolic traits and then investigate their physiology and ecological interactions in their natural environments.

“There is always a new chemical pollutant or intriguing habitat to explore,” he said.

Häggblom’s new ISME role builds on a long history of service to the scientific community. Early in his career, he became involved with professional societies through peer review, symposium organization and other activities, first with the American Society for Microbiology and later with the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS).

He has also served as editor in chief of FEMS Microbiology Ecology since 2011 and has been chair of the Rutgers Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology for more than 15 years.

For Häggblom, scientific societies are about more than professional obligations. They create opportunities for researchers and educators to develop relationships, exchange ideas and build careers.

“While this society service can be time-consuming it is also tremendously rewarding, fostering professional development and cultivating connections with researcher and educators around the globe,” he said.

Max Häggblom, bottom left, pictured with “the Bloomers,” members of the Häggblom lab in 2024.

As he takes on the ISME vice presidency, Häggblom is particularly interested in expanding opportunities for early-career scientists.

“Now as a senior scientist I find delight in mentoring and inspiring the next generation of scholars and educators,” he said. “I am passionate about advancing the reach of our scholarly societies by promoting education and fostering professional development.”

He hopes to help create more opportunities for members to build international networks and friendships, while making it easier for scientists at every career stage to participate in the society. The biennial ISME Symposium remains a central gathering point for the field, but Häggblom sees potential for additional training, mentoring activities and workshops.

“I look forward to ensuring that we provide opportunities for the next generation of scholars to build their network of collaborators, that we foster a belonging and development of friendships across the world, and that we enable everyone to become engaged in our society activities,” he said.

Häggblom also sees microbial ecology as increasingly central to some of society’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, health and biotechnology.

“I think that microbial solutions will be central to solving these challenges – microbes and microbiomes have untapped potential,” he said.

He believes scientific societies have an important role to play in bringing that potential into broader conversations about the future of the planet. Häggblom points to recent efforts to unite microbiology societies around climate action, including the ISME Climate Change Committee and the 2025 Global Strategy Meeting on Microbes and Climate Change in Washington, D.C.

Häggblom considers the challenge is not simply to advance microbial research but also to communicate its importance.

“We need to expand on this commitment to raising awareness and communicating about the importance of microbes for a healthy planet and a sustainable future,” he said.

That emphasis on connection—between disciplines, researchers, communities and generations—runs through his vision for ISME.

Max Häggblom visiting in the lab of the Australian Institute of Marine Science to study dehalogenating bacteria of marine sponges.

With research, department leadership, editorial responsibilities and now an international society leadership role, Häggblom acknowledges that maintaining balance is a work in progress.

“Likely not that well,” he said when asked how he balances research, leadership and personal life.

He currently leads a research group that includes a postdoctoral researcher, approximately half a dozen doctoral students and an equal number of undergraduate researchers. He also continues to serve as department chair and editor in chief while taking on new professional commitments.

“’No’ is not in my vocabulary,” he said, acknowledging that he is frequently drawn into new activities.

But he has found an outlet that takes him far from the laboratory and the university. Every Tuesday evening, Häggblom rehearses with the Greenwich Village Orchestra in New York City, performing in approximately six concerts each year.

For a scientist whose career has been built around exploring the extraordinary capabilities of the microbial world, the music offers a different kind of connection.

As he begins his six-year leadership journey with ISME, Häggblom brings with him a career grounded in scientific curiosity, a commitment to service and mentoring, and a conviction that understanding the microbial world is essential to understanding—and addressing—the challenges facing the planet.

The current ISME Executive Board includes Gabriele Berg, president; Max Häggblom, vice president; Raquel Peixoto, past president; and Joana Falcão Salles, treasurer.

    

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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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Jennifer Sun, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, will study how microbes influence insect chemosensory behavior. Photo: Luca Mostello/Rutgers University.

Bugs are formidable foes, spreading disease and destroying billions of dollars in crops annually. Conventional controls, such as insecticides, are losing their effectiveness amid growing resistance and environmental concerns.

Novel controls are needed – and a Rutgers-New Brunswick researcher has been awarded $2.1 million in federal funding to find them.

Jennifer Sun, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers-New Brunswick, has received a Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institutes of Health to study how microbes influence insect behavior.

Sun said her research could help identify new ways of controlling insect pests that are safe and effective.

“We want to find insect control strategies that are precise, species-specific and gentle on our environment,” she said.

At the heart of her research are efforts to understand the role of bacteria and fungi in the sensory systems that drive an insect’s instinct to eat, mate and reproduce.

Sun’s past work has demonstrated the importance of bacteria to fly’s ability to find food. Her team also has extended its investigations to mosquitoes, demonstrating that their desire to seek a blood meal may be driven by microbes on the sensory organs rather than in the gut, as was long believed.

The National Institutes of Health award will support Sun’s lab to conduct three connected lines of study over the next five years:

First, her team will raise germ-free fruit flies and mosquitoes to determine how microbes affect olfactory behavior-regulating proteins on the insects’ mouths, antennae, legs and wings.

Second, through field collections throughout New Jersey, they will investigate environmental drivers of insect-microbe interactions, mapping how climate, pollution and habitat shape microbial communities in sensory organs and, in turn, influence insects’ actions. 

Finally, they will test whether certain bacteria and fungi might modulate insect behavior, paving the way for potential alternatives to chemical insecticides.

Jennifer Sun. Photo: Luca Mostello/Rutgers University.

Sun’s work has implications for both health and agriculture. In New Jersey, the Asian tiger mosquito is well established and transmits a range of diseases, including dengue, Zika and chikungunya. At the same time, fruit flies, such as the spotted-wing drosophila, pose threats to the state’s soft-fruit and berry industries.

Globally, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that invasive pests cause at least $70 billion in farm losses every year, while a 2016 assessment by French researchers found that associated health losses top $6.9 billion annually. 

But most chemical control strategies are either failing because of insecticide resistance or falling out of favor because of the dangers to human and ecological health.

Sun’s connection to Rutgers is long-standing. She studied Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences from 2009 to 2013, returning in 2019 as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. 

In 2022, she received a Rutgers Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, which supported the first two years of the research program now funded by the MIRA grant.

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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