The North Carolina State University (NCSU) announced that Dr. Tom Rufty was named the first Bayer Environmental Science professor of sustainable development.
Rufty is currently director of the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education and professor of environmental plant physiology of the Department of Crop Science at the NCSU. His areas of research include resource acquisition by plants and plant communities and plant responses to environmental stress.
“This is a great honor for me personally and for all that are involved in our research programs” said Rufty. “I’m proud to be a part of the contributions towards environmental research and sustainable development that we are making here at NCSU.”
The new Chair of Sustainable Development, endowed by Bayer CropScience´s business operations unit Environmental Science, will help to further the long-standing collaboration between NCSU and Bayer CropScience on environmental projects.
“Continuing our work with NCSU is a major part of our Protecting Tomorrow… Today (PTT) sustainability initiative,” said Nick Hamon, Director of Development and Technical Services at Bayer CropScience LP. “I look forward to working with Dr. Rufty in developing practical solutions to environmental issues that affect our daily lives.”
Current collaborative efforts between NCSU and Bayer CropScience include studies relating to managing carbon sequestration in trees and turfgrass, biodiversity surveys and research into improving plant health to better manage environmental and insect-related stress.
Rufty will be formally introduced tomorrow at NCSU’s sustainability symposium entitled Stewards of the Future: Research for Global Sustainability at the Jane S. McKimmon Center on the NCSU campus.