Extension
Programs
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Total Daily Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Program
Brian Benham's extension program strives to develop and disseminate knowledge that promotes effective water resources management to improve water quality. His team mainly focuses on developing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) through applied research and extension that includes working with students, stakeholders, state and federal agency staff, and consulting engineers.
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Land & Water Synergy Program
Zachary Easton oversees the Land & Water Synergy Program, which focuses on the balance between soil & water resources, environmental change, sustainable land use, and policy. Current programs involve developing a pay-for-performance incentive systems to scale up legacy nutrient treatment and piloting a program using bioreactors to remove groundwater nitrogen, for which the landowner is compensated directly for the amount of nutrient removal provided.
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Extension Energy Program
John Ignosh oversees the Extension Energy Program, which works to improve the financial and environmental sustainability of agricultural production systems. To achieve this goal, Ignosh and his program focus on the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and nutrient management technologies.
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Virginia Household Water Quality Program (VAHWQP)
Erin Ling oversees the Virginia Household Water Quality Program (VAHWQP). VAHWQP helps Virginia’s well and spring owners test the quality of their water, understand maintenance of these sources and address possible problems. Other activities of Ling's extension program include applied research focused on private water supplies, development of water quality education and outreach materials, youth water quality education, and social marketing for community-based watershed organizations.
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Integrated Management and Utilization of Bioresidues Program
Jactone Ogejo's program focuses on advancing and improving the management and use of bioresidues from the food systems supply chain. He aims to increase the knowledge of recovering value and minimizing the adverse impacts that bioresidues present to our society. Specifically, Ogejo develops and disseminates educational programs to advance and transition managing bioresidues in the food systems supply chain from the current linear model to a circular economy model. His work involves improving the handling, safety, use, and environmental stewardship of bioresidues.
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Urban Stormwater Management Program
The objectives of David Sample's extension program are: 1) to increase awareness of the impacts of urban stormwater and available stormwater control measures (SCMs), also known as best management practices (BMPs, 2) to advance the technical capabilities of professionals engaged in designing and implementing SCMs, and 3) to facilitate the evaluation and implementation of new stormwater treatment technologies.
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Climate Change Impacts and Resilience Program
Water Use and Irrigation Program
Julie Shortridge aims to translate novel approaches to managing climatic and water related insights into practical recommendations for agricultural producers, water managers, and municipal agencies. Her program on Climate Change Impacts and Resilience supports a diverse group of clientele in understanding and addressing risks from climate change and extreme weather. Her Water Use and Irrigation program develops and delivers educational resources that inform producer decision making about whether or not to introduce irrigation into their operation, and, if they do, to improve their irrigation management skills.
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Precision Ag Technologies and Data Management Program
Abhilash Chandel’s program aims to develop and translate appropriate technological solutions to crop producers for effective decision making on “when”, “where”, and “what amount” of crop inputs (water, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and others) to be applied to sustainably manage abiotic (heat, drought, nutrients) and biotic (pests, diseases, weeds) problems. Specifically, we develop digital tools based on web, smartphone, drones, and robots, among others towards an effortless, cost-effective, and most importantly, user-friendly crop production. The program further develops and delivers training, workshops, demonstrations, and other educational resources to the clientele for them to develop understanding and utilize such technology for enhanced productivity and sustainability.
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Sustainable & Intelligent Bioprocessing Lab
Yiming’s program focuses on improving the seafood industry's safety, sustainability, and resilience. Current programs seek to enhance seafood safety by improving traceability, devising innovative methods for seafood byproduct utilization, integrating advanced machine vision technologies to enhance seafood processing operational efficiency, and implementing high-pressure processing to extend the shelf-life and maintaining the sensory quality of crab meat.
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Virginia Streams Program
Tess Thompson's program focuses on increasing the awareness of how to manage, restore, and protect streams. Specifically, she is developing an educational program for landowners interested in reducing streambank erosion on their property and improved analytical tools for stream restoration professionals. Her work on the impact of urbanization is targeted at improving stormwater regulations and practices to protect urban streams from erosion.
Supplementary Resources
To know more about BSE faculty's published research associated with extension programs and general information about National Extension Foundation, check out the links below.