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Editor: Kelly Sprute                                                                                            May 2, 2019

NIFA Day of Appreciation Award Winners

NIFA Team Awards

The NIFA Team Awards recognize groups or teams for their outstanding achievements and significant contributions in supporting USDA’s Strategic Goals, the mission of NIFA and its client organizations through actions that clearly exceed normal job responsibilities. 

Process category was presented to the ezFedGrants Capacity Calculations Automation Team. They were recognized for developing an automated solution that calculates funding allocation amounts for all NIFA Capacity Programs and integrating it with FMMI and ezFedGrants.

The ezFedGrants Capacity Calculations Automation Team Members:Helen Chipman, Robert Smith, Pratima Boyapati, Tam Nguyen, Ne’kia Davis, Cynthia Montgomery, Brenda Barnett, Allison Owens, Jason Hitchcock, Rodney Vance, Ollie King, Elizabeth Ley, Angela Simmons. Recognized for their work George Fountain. Not pictured Daniel Cassidy, Eric Norland, Edward Nwaba, Lisa Stephens, Shaune Smith and Tina Chang.

Communications category was presented to the AFRI Coordination Team. They were recognized for making management changes to increase efficiency, enhance transparency, strengthen integrity, and catalyze integrated programs in AFRI by working and collaborating across NIFA’s program and operational units.

The AFRI Coordination Team Members: Olivia Kwong, Gabrielle Armstrong, Roderika Davidson, Mark Mirando, Paula Geiger, Jeanette Thurston, Sharon Lumpkin, Liang Lin. Not pictured: Pushpa Kathir, Peter Johnson, Sally Gifford, Melanie Krizmanich, Shawn Bennett, Erin Daly, and Nancy Cavallaro.

Director’s Awards for Excellence

The NIFA Director’s Awards for Excellence recognize employees for their outstanding achievements and significant contributions in supporting the mission of NIFA and its client organizations through actions that clearly exceed normal job responsibilities. There are awards in three categories: Administrative and Analytical, Organizational Effectiveness, and Advancing Science.

Laarina Mullings was selected to receive the Director’s Award for Excellence in Administrative and Analytical category. Laarina is a supervisory program assistant in the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability is being recognized for initiating implementation of monthly multi-agency travel meetings to enhance customer service and leading coordination of activities that support program delivery across the agency.

Angela Simmons was selected to receive the Director’s Award for Excellence in Organizational Effectiveness category. Angela is the Supervisory Budget Analyst in Budget Execution and is being recognized for establishing excellent partnerships across Government agencies to support the implementation of agency science programs.

Dr. Jeanette Thurston was selected to receive the Director’s Award for Excellence in Advancing Science category. Jeanette is the Science and Program Analysis Officer in the Office of the Director and she is being recognized for leading and promoting NIFA’s programs and improving the quality, relevancy, integrity and performance of programs and processes.

A.J. Dye Award for Diversity

The A.J. Dye Award for Diversity recognizes a NIFA employee’s accomplishments in achieving positive organizational outcomes in support of diversity, pluralism, and related innovation in program design and implementation. The award is named in recognition of former NIFA employee, Dr. A.J. Dye, who was very active in agency and extension diversity issues.

NIFA presented Dr. Otto Gonzalez with the 2019 A.J. Dye Award for Diversity for coordinating and promoting events and activities that highlight links to NIFA’s programs and agriculture to ensure employees see the diversity supported by our work.

Webinar

AFRI Education and Workforce Development: REEU Webinar NIFA will hold a Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) Fiscal Year 2019 informational webinar May 8, at 2 p.m. EDT. The REEU program develops the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. These professionals will help solve current and future agricultural challenges facing our society. No need to register, just follow the AFRI-REEU link to join, meeting number is 965-338-057. The call-in number is 888-844-9904, access code 9281079#. The REEU program is part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development Program. Contact NIFA National Program Leader, Dr. Ariela Zycherman for more information.

Award Announcements

NIFA Invests $5.8 Million in Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates

NIFA recently awarded 14 Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduate grants that will offer experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences across the nation. These hands-on educational experiences offer both research and extension training that will lead to a well-prepared and modern workforce that can fill expected gaps in the country’s food, agriculture, and related industries. These grants are part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. 

NIFA Invests $3.9 Million in Bioenergy and Biobased Product Feedstock Logistics

NIFA recently awarded four Bioenergy and Biobased Product Feedstock Logistics grants that will address the demands of commercial scale, regional systems to convert biomass into transportation fuels and biobased products.  In order to make a biobased system efficient and economically feasible, development of equipment and systems for harvesting, collecting, storing, and pre-processing are needed. The intended outcome is to optimize harvest and storage of low-density biomass while maximizing productivity to improve biorefinery infrastructure economics. In order to avoid adverse environmental impacts, these methods and equipment must align with current agricultural and forest practices and will focus on non-food biomass resources. These grants are a part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

RFA Grant Announcements

The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program
Formerly the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program (FINI)

The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program supports projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by providing incentives at the point of purchase. Read the full Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program request for applications.

Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program

The Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program helps increase the knowledge of agriculture and improve the nutritional health of children. The program brings together agriculture stakeholders from all parts of the food system to increase the capacity for food, garden, and nutrition education within host organizations, such as school cafeterias, and classrooms, while fostering community engagement between farms and school systems. The initiative is part of a broader effort to increase access and improve quality to school meals. Read the full Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program request for applications.

Renewable Resources Extension Act-National Focus Fund Projects

The Renewable Resources Extension Act-National Focus Fund Projects (RREA-NFF) grant program provides funds for pilot projects that: (1) Address emerging forest and rangeland resource issues, (2) Have national or regional relevancy, or (3) Develop new and innovative projects that can be replicated at other institutions. Read the full RREA-NFF request for applications.

Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program

Community Food Projects (CFP) Competitive Grants Program funds two types of grants: (1) CFP and (2) Planning Projects (PP). CFP goals are to meet the food needs of low-income individuals through food distribution, community outreach assistance in federally assisted nutrition programs, or improving access to food as part of a comprehensive service. The program also increases the self-reliance of communities by providing for the food needs of their communities and promoting local food access.  Read the full CFP request for applications.

NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension that solve societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. Keep informed about NIFA, USDA, our land-grant and non-land-grant universities, and stakeholders with the NIFA Update. Read past issues online, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts.

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