Cultivate Magazine - Winter 2022 - USU College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

The magazine for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences •

CONNECTIONS • MINDS • INNOVATIONS

Winter 2022

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

Kenneth L. White Dean, College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences; Vice President, Extension and Agriculture

The end of each year and start of the next is always a time for reflection and looking ahead. Every year comes with its own public and private challenges and victories and there are days when we may feel world-weary.

But my hope for our collective future is constantly renewed as I work with Utah State students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the university.

I see people advancing our understanding of human and animal health and ways that improve and protect it. I learn of Aggies exploring the best ways to use vital natural resources, create better spaces for individuals and communities, use and invent technologies that serve people everywhere, and teach rising generations important life and work skills.

In 2021, we faced new challenges with more tools than our predecessors had, but we are driven by the same curiosity, scientific rigor, and commitment to research, teaching, and service that have always been guiding principles at Utah State. We will move ahead with optimism for the future and appreciation for the past.

I know I speak for many people when I say that one highlight of 2022 will be celebrating 100 years of our college’s tastiest legacy: Famous Aggie Ice Cream.

In this issue of Cultivate, you’ll read about the history of ice cream production from its start at the Utah Agricultural College and stories about more recent developments. Throughout the year the Aggie Creamery will revive recipes from the past that are no longer on the menu. There will be new flavors to try and celebrations of the treat that has created learning opportunities for food science students and made life sweeter for 100 years. �

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Aggie Ice Cream then and now. Photo and image editing by McKay Jensen. Historic photo courtesy of USU Special Collections and Archives.

Featured

17 Now Serving: 100 Years of Aggie Ice Cream

Happy Birthday, Aggie Ice Cream! For a century now, students, faculty, alumni, and Cache Valley residents have made Aggie Ice Cream part of their personal and family traditions, and some notable graduates have shaped the state’s ice cream landscape.

20 Origin Story: Aggie Blue Mint

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Shortly after its creation in 2004, Aggie Blue Mint became the top-selling flavor of Aggie Ice Cream. Former creamery director Don McMahon recalls its start as a contest entry and the tastiest-ever class project.

21 Ardeshir Zahedi, October 1928 – November 2021

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Alumnus and two-time Iranian ambassador to the United States Ardeshir Zahedi lived a remarkable life and leaves a legacy at his alma mater.

22 Creating Opportunities for Other Kids from Wyoming

Joe Crum’s football skills earned him a scholarship to Utah State. Now, after building a career in the business of agriculture, he’s helping to pave the way to college for young people from his hometown.

24 Bioinformatics: Big Data Pushing the Boundaries of Human Knowledge

The ability to analyze vast amounts of information is changing what it is possible to discover and the future will look different because of data science.

Researchers at USU are working across disciplines to make discoveries that will serve people worldwide.

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PLUS 4

USU Welcomes its 10th Class of Veterinary Medicine Students

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National Graduate Student Teaching Award Presented to ASTE’S Michelle Burrows

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Amria Farnsworth Honored by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

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CAAS is Home to USU’s Top Advisors

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New Equine-Human Science Building Under Construction

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Dietician Returns to her USU Roots to Help Aggies Live Healthier Lives

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10 Soils Judging Team Earns National Wins 11 2021 Faculty Retirements 19 Don McMahon: A Career at the Aggie Creamery

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Dean:

Kenneth L. White

Executive Director of Development: Brandon Monson

Director of Marketing: Mike Whitesides

Editor:

Lynnette Harris

Graphic Designer: Mike Wernert

Copy Editors: Julene Reese Ethan Brightbill

SEE CULTIVATE ONLINE caas.usu.edu/cultivate

Cultivate is published by the dean’s office of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and distributed free of charge to its alumni and friends.

Submit story ideas, comments, and unsubscribe requests to Jean.Edwards@usu.edu or 4800 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-4800.

In its programs and activities, including in admissions and employment, Utah State University does not discriminate or tolerate discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by University policy, Title IX, or any other federal, state, or local law. The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations and/or USU’s non-discrimination policies: Executive Director of the Office of Equity, Alison Adams-Perlac, alison. adams-perlac@usu.edu, Title IX Coordinator, Hilary Renshaw, hilary.renshaw@usu.edu, Old Main Rm. 161, 435-797-1266. For further information regarding non-discrimination, please visit equity.usu.edu,or contact: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 800-421-3481, ocr@ed.gov or U.S. Department of Education, Denver Regional Office, 303-8445695 ocr.denver@ed.gov.

Since its creation in 2008, Utah State University’s Student Organic Farm has given students hands-on learning experiences in organic vegetable production and provided community members with delicious produce.

A few students receive modest stipends as interns through the Utah Conservation Corps AmeriCorps program. A community-supported agriculture program provides subscribers with weekly boxes of freshly harvested organic produce during the growing season while the rest is sold at a roadside farm stand or donated to food pantries on campus and in Logan.

In 2021, students grew more than 35 different kinds of fruits and vegetables and harvested about 4.5 tons of produce.

Here, with a sampling of the farm’s 2021 harvest are (left to right) McKenzie Israelsen and Melanie Robinson, seniors in plants, soils, and climate (PSC), Icelyn Ionel, a senior in environmental science, Madison Vasa and Nate DuCasse, juniors in PSC.

Photo by McKay Jensen Cultivate | Winter 2022 3

Some of the 30 new vet med students admitted this fall, 2nd-year peer mentor Henry Clinger (back, left end), and faculty mentor Ralph Meyer, associate department head of USU’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

USU Welcomes its

10th

By Ethan Brightbill

Class of Veterinary Medicine Students

The 10th class of Utah State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine arrived at Utah State University in mid-August for a week of orientation activities that concluded with a somewhat non-traditional White Coat Ceremony.

Aimee Thompson has been looking forward to attending USU for years.

“I applied to USU because it was my top program,” Thompson said. “I’ve been looking at USU since I was in seventh grade, and I actually took pictures outside the vet science building way back then. I found out about the program through family who live here when the program started. It’s nice to be close to Nevada where I’m from and in a great program that I’m familiar with.”

USU’s School of Veterinary Medicine is part of the Washington-Idaho-Montana-Utah (WIMU) Regional Program.

Students admitted to Utah State’s School of Veterinary Medicine spend two years in Logan before moving to the Pullman campus of Washington State University, where they focus on clinical work, specializations, and complete their doctor of veterinary medicine degrees. Typically, orientation and the White Coat Ceremony —

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symbolic of students taking their initial step into the profession — are done through a program-wide gathering in Washington. Due to COVID-19, the USU cohort remained on campus and participated in the livestreamed ceremony and many of their family and friends joined them in Logan.

Another first-year student, Austin Haws, cites his love for Cache Valley, the split between schools, and the program’s rigorous reputation as the reason why he applied.

“I know several people who went through the program, and even worked with some of them, like Dr. Kyle Heaton, Dr. Dalen Wood, and Dr. Michala Lindley,” Haws said. “They weren’t at the USU site, but they had great things to say about the program in general. I also like the two-year split, the hands-on experience and the small class size. It just sounded really exciting.”

While attending Utah State and the WIMU Regional Program marks a new chapter in the lives of many of the class of 2025, for some, it’s also a connection to family and the past.

“My mom’s a nurse, so I come from a medical background,” Thompson said. “However, I also have a deep passion for

National Graduate Student Teaching Award Presented to ASTE’S animals. My family has owned a ranch in Nevada since the 1870s, and I’m from the sixth generation, so animals have always been a big part of who I am. More importantly, I live in a very rural community where the closest medical help for people or animals is at least an hour and a half away, so I also have a desire to help underserved communities in rural areas and improve the health of humans and animals alike.”

Michael Bishop, director of student and academic affairs for USU’s School of Veterinary Medicine, notes that while the program has expanded to include new areas of veterinary knowledge as well as subjects like communication, conflict resolution and financial and business management, the students’ talent continues to drive the program.

“They’re an amazing group of people to work with, and it is interesting and satisfying to be a part of this phase of their professional journey,” Bishop said. “It’s a transformational experience that affects them not only on an intellectual level, but emotionally, socially, professionally, spiritually, and even physically.”

While competition to get into the limited number of veterinary programs in the U.S. is fierce, Utah State emphasizes cooperation and collaboration once the students arrive in Logan. Orientation activities ranging from icebreakers and a ropes course experience to exercises that identify personal strengths all help the incoming class bond before the school year begins in earnest.

“Everybody keeps mentioning how this is going to be such a family,” said Haws during a networking dinner for students and faculty. “I think that’s going to be true. We’ll have genuine camaraderie between us and grow as a cohesive unit and succeed. And I think that’ll be really cool.” �

MICHELLE BURROWS

By Madison Leak Michelle Burrows, a recent Ph.D. graduate of the Department of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education, was named a recipient of the North American College and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Graduate Student Teaching Award. Burrows was honored to receive the award that recognizes her passion for teaching.

“I work hard to gain a variety of experiences to provide my students with the best educational experience I can, and it’s nice to be recognized for that,” Burrows said. “Humbling, actually.”

The NACTA Graduate Student teaching award recognizes individuals who represent the very best in agriculture-related higher education. USU’s agricultural education degree program prepares students to become teachers in secondary schools and community organizations in a range of areas, including plant, animal, and natural resource sciences, agribusiness, agricultural mechanization, and agricultural economics.

“My biggest motivation is my students,” Burrows said. “I want to provide them with the best possible learning experience I can. I want them to enjoy their classes and appreciate the work both on my end and theirs that goes into the learning process.”

As a high school agriculture teacher in Nevada, Burrows attended a conference in Utah where she met USU faculty members Tyson Sorensen and Becki Lawver, who introduced her to the new Ph.D. program in the ASTE department. Burrows always knew that pursuing a Ph.D. was something she wanted to do. As a first-generation college student, education is very important to her, and she credits Sorensen, Professor Debra Spielmaker, and Lecturer Kenna Kesler for their willingness to offer advice and collaborate with her.

She values their influence on her teaching.

“My experience at USU has been so much more than earning a degree,” Burrows said. “I was also able to gain experience in teaching undergraduate classes, supervising student teachers, mentoring undergraduate researchers, and helping fellow graduate students.” �

Learn more about USU’s career and technical education Ph.D. program at ASTE.USU.edu/degrees/CTEPhD

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in brief Amria Farnsworth (third from right) with fruit harvested by the USU Gleaning Team (aka Cache Community Gleaning).

Amria Farnsworth Honored by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

By Madison Leak Amria Farnsworth, a recent graduate of USU’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences (NDFS), was named the state’s 2021 Outstanding Dietetics Student by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (UAND).

Farnsworth graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a minor in hunger security studies. She also served as co-director of the USU Gleaning Team (now known as Cache Community Gleaning), a volunteer organization whose members gather excess fruits and vegetables from local growers, including older Cache Valley residents who are no longer able to harvest the fruit in their yards. Growers and volunteers keep some of the produce, and the majority is distributed to community members in need through local food pantries.

Mateja Savoie Roskos, assistant professor of community nutrition, was impressed by Farnsworth’s efforts.

“Amria truly is the epitome of an active and engaged citizen,” said Savoie Roskos. “Her gleaning project has already demonstrated significant success over the short period of time it has been implemented.”

In 2019, Farnsworth’s team rescued nearly 15,500 pounds of produce from local trees and properties. The USU Gleaning Team prevented that produce from ending up in a landfill and instead distributed it to food-insecure students via the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) on USU’s campus.

“Considering the SNAC pantry relies on donations and oftentimes has limited fresh produce available for patrons, this is a very significant contribution to improve campus food security, not to mention the environmental impact of reducing food waste,” Savoie

Roskos said. “Speaking from my own experience with food gleaning programs, I am blown away by the speed at which Amria and her team developed and expanded this program. It clearly demonstrates her leadership, networking, and communication abilities.”

Farnsworth was shocked to be named the state’s outstanding dietetics student.

“One of my greatest desires is to combine my knowledge of nutrition and public health to work toward creating communities where food access and food choice is equitable for all,” said Farnsworth.

“For a statewide organization like UAND to notice and commend my efforts is pretty wonderful. It is incredibly humbling to have my efforts recognized, especially by mentors who I greatly admire and respect.”

Farnsworth currently works in a research position for Create Better Health Utah, a statewide program of USU Extension, and intends to become a registered dietitian. After taking the certification exam, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health.

When Farnsworth first enrolled at USU, it was for a degree in elementary education. It took time for her to realize that she wanted to change fields.

“Naturally, I turned to the all-knowing internet and took about 100 Buzzfeed quizzes,” Farnsworth said. “It was silly, I know, but it was the gentle push I needed and eventually led me to dietetics.

Coming to USU was the perfect decision. I’ve absolutely cherished my experience here academically and socially with the connections I’ve made. I’m proud to be an Aggie alum!” �

Visit the Create Better Health Utah website at extension.usu.edu/CreateBetterHealth for healthy recipes that adults and children can prepare and healthy lifestyle strategies. Utah residents can also enroll in a free online course that covers menu planning and shopping, food preparation, heathy individual and family lifestyles, and more.

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CAAS is Home to USU’s

Top Advisors

By Marcus Jensen and Lynnette Harris Utah State University’s Advising Awards Committee announced the 2021 USU Advisor of the Year award recipients and both top advisors are now in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. Tami Spackman (left), advisor in the Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences (ADVS) was named Professional Advisor of the Year and Dawnetta Mahnken (right), who was then an advisor in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, was named New Advisor of the Year. Mahnken and has since joined the CAAS Student Services team, advising students in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences.

Spackman and Mahnken were selected by the committee based on their accomplishments and service providing academic advising centered on student needs, implementing tools and technologies, and collaboration with advising colleagues. Each advisor received a monetary award from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and is nominated for the 2022 National Academic Advising Association’s regional awards.

Over the 19 years Spackman has been advising ADVS majors, she focused on working with students to achieve their goals, including graduating, starting or continuing their careers, or being accepted to veterinary medical school. Her rapport with students moves beyond students’ academic careers, often turning into lifetime friendships developed with alumni.

“This is outstanding and well-deserved recognition for everything Tami does, specifically in advising our students and more broadly the department, such as course/room scheduling every semester, serving on the ADVS Curriculum Committee, tracking catalog updates, and so much more,” said Dirk Vanderwall, ADVS department head. “These activities require a Herculean effort in any year, but the magnitude of Tami’s contributions

became even more evident in the face of the upheaval to academic instruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tami’s knowledge and academic advising skills allowed us to navigate the pandemic in a manner that best served the needs of our students.”

Mahnken, an advisor since 2019, focuses on helping students create purposeful college pathways. She uses software and tools such as Degree Works and takes advantage of professional development opportunities offered by University Advising.

“My favorite resource is Degree Works,” said Mahnken. “I can help students build personalized plans to graduation to maximize their coursework and understand how different choices will impact their college plans. Not all students engage in college at the same speed or focus, and Degree Works helps to build conversations for students to personalize their college pathway.”

“I am so proud of the hard work that all of our advisors do throughout the year to help our students succeed,” said Mykel Beorchia, director of University Advising. “I am particularly proud that, despite the challenges of the pandemic, our students were able to receive the same, award-winning guidance provided by our team, as the infrastructure and procedures were already in place to offer remote advising to statewide students.”

CAAS Associate Dean for Student Services, Brian Warnick, said recognition for both advisors is well-deserved.

“The priority for Tami and Dawnetta is the success of the students they advise, and both genuinely care about their students,” Warnick said. “Excellent academic advising is the most effective way to positively impact student persistence.

As the number of undergraduate students enrolled in the college has doubled over the past 10 years, the CAAS advising team has improved in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Tami has advised students for many years and been instrumental in shaping the “student first” approach to advising in the college. Dawnetta is an excellent fit in the college and comes to the team well-prepared to broker student success.” �

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New Equine-Human Science Building

Under Construction A 300% increase in students enrolled in a program in less than five years is extraordinary. But when that program is in equine and human science, the need for space to accommodate horses and humans is also extraordinary. To support students, faculty, and community members who are served by equine-assisted therapies and activities programs, construction is underway on a new Equine-Human Science Center at the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences’ Animal Science Farm in Wellsville.

Among the activities the new building will house is RideAbility adaptive riding for people of all ages who have been diagnosed with physical or cognitive disabilities. Participants in the program have conditions including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain injuries. Adaptive riding can help improve their balance, strength, and flexibility. In addition to inducing physical improvements, activities with horses can have calming and relaxing effects on people working through mental health issues.

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By Lynnette Harris

Another activity in need of the new space pairs military veterans with horses for riding and ground-based activities that have become important to veterans dealing with emotional and physical trauma and substance use disorders. The Equine Encounters program helps veterans and provides USU students who are earning degrees or minors in equine-human science with important practical experience. The program has received a third year of funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The new facility will also be the site of instructional clinics for students and community equestrians, opportunities for more research, additional training and conditioning space for horses, and continuing education training and certification workshops for professionals.

Assistant Professor Judy Smith notes there will be a full-sized dressage arena to support para-dressage riders. The program’s riding simulator will also move to a new simulator studio to support instructor development and research. The simulator is one of fewer than 10 in use in the U.S. and the first used in a university setting. �

in brief

Dietician Returns to her USU Roots to Help Aggies Live Healthier Lives

By Marcus Jensen In Utah State University’s aim to help students, faculty and staff live healthier lives, registered dietitian Brooke Lister was hired in October. She works out of the Aggie Recreation Center and splits her time between offering services and programs to the general student body and also to faculty and staff through Employee Wellness.

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to come here and serve the USU campus community and be a resource for students and employees,” Lister said. “I am passionate about the field I am in and the impact it can have on health.”

USU students, faculty, and staff can schedule nutrition consultations with Lister and her team of undergraduate nutrition students, who are gaining great real-world experience working with clients.

“Sessions are designed to assess your dietary needs, answer nutritional questions, establish nutrition goals and learn the best way to fuel your body,” Lister said. “We know there are many questions and ideas about nutrition out there and we want to be sure to provide students and faculty with the resources they need to be successful and healthy at USU and beyond.”

Beginning in the spring semester, the program will also offer small group learning and discussion opportunities as well as cooking demonstrations and virtual presentations.

Lister is a USU graduate, completing her undergraduate degree in nutrition, dietetics, and food science in 2018. After graduation, she completed an internship through the USU Salt Lake Center Dietetics

program, which gave her opportunities to use her skills in various settings and expand her knowledge.

“I had the opportunity to do rotations in a variety of different settings, including an outpatient diabetes clinic, WIC, school district food service program, and a clinical rotation at St. Mark’s Hospital,” she said.

“I started out as a dietitian in the wellness supplement industry, but for the past two years, I worked at Davis Hospital and Medical Center as a clinical dietitian, which provided me with a lot of different experiences.”

Lister is completing her master’s degree in public health with a nutrition emphasis and is scheduled to graduate in May 2022. �

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in brief

Soils Judging Team

Earns National Wins

By Lynnette Harris

Something about a virtual national competition and an awards ceremony presented via Zoom feels a bit anti-climactic … until your team wins.

Members of Utah State University’s soils judging team gathered in the Agricultural Sciences and Research Building soils lab to view the outcome of the 2021 Virtual National Soil Judging Contest rather than at some far-away hotel with 20 other collegiate soil judging teams.

There they learned that their many hours of study and training were rewarded with the first-place win for the overall group score. The USU team also took first place in the group texture evaluation competition, fifth place in pedon description and interpretation, and team member Jacob Andrews placed third in individual texture evaluation.

Many people view soil as just “dirt” that needs to be to be put to some good use. But knowing a soil’s texture, capacity to hold and move water, root-limiting properties, and other characteristics determine what can grow in it or be built on it. This understanding is critical for growing crops, situating septic system fields, and building roads, homes, or skyscrapers. And if you can’t tell loamy sand from silty clay loam — or any of another 10 classifications set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — this is not your game.

Typically, collegiate soils judging teams gather at a host school for the national contest and spend time there in labs and soil pits. As was the case with most events in 2021, the contest was run virtually due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The USU team’s coach, John Lawley, a veteran of teaching soils science and training students on the soils judging team, said students were disappointed by not being able to travel, but faculty members nationwide worked together to create challenges that meant students were able to examine, classify, and interpret soils from all over the country.

He added that evaluating soils by examining photographs is much like what professional soil scientists routinely do and a good, practical experience for the students. Teams were given strict specifications about what tools and methods they were allowed to use and which were off-limits. Students went to work in timed rounds and submitted their evaluations to a panel of judges who determined the scores and rankings.

“This contest allowed a breadth of soils to be included that have not been possible in previous national competitions,” Lawley said. “For example, they examined soil from Alaska and soils that are unique to specific locations that they wouldn’t normally see.” �

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USU’s soils judging team achieved the top overall group score in the 2021 National Soils Judging Contest. Pictured here (left to right, back row) are the team’s coach, John Lawley, an attempt to include a cell phone photo of missing team member Connor Campbell, Kahlin Wacker, and Jacob Andrews, (left to right, front row) Katie Goodsell, Sabrina Greenwood, and Logan Banner.

2021 Faculty Retirements Charles Carpenter

Roger Coulombe

Elias Perez

Edward Reeve

Linda Davis

Gary Stewardson

Randy Mabbutt

Julie Wheeler

Don McMahon

Allen Young

Ron Munger

Lon Youngberg

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Roller Coasters On Old Main Landscape architecture and environmental planning student Kyle Young combined an assignment in the advanced geospatial and visualization of the environment course with his love of roller coasters and ultimately designed a roller coaster in a virtual world where tracks swirl around Old Main. The course introduces topics surrounding geographic information and geospatial technologies and explores their applications in the context of landscape architecture and environmental planning, though few projects result in a stomach-clenching virtual reality ride.

See video at TinyURL.com/USUQuadCoasters

Tart Cherry Research Tart cherry sales are a significant part of Utah’s agricultural economy, yielding between $7 million and $21 million annually. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Utah State University and Michigan State University have been awarded $1.97 million over four years from the United States Department of Agriculture to study more efficient ways of managing this major crop, with the goal of helping farmers tackle obstacles such as drought, pests, low yield and soil health. Professor Brent Black in the Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate and Extension fruit specialist, has over 30 years of experience researching crop management and serves as the project lead.

Maple Syrup Research Plant scientist Youping Sun was awarded $500,000 in grant funding from the USDA for a project dedicated to developing a maple syrup industry for the Interior West through research and Extension efforts. With several native maple species, Sun believes there is an opportunity to bring the maple industry to life in Utah. He has also received substantial grant funding to study and develop more drought-tolerant landscape plants and was honored with a 2021 Distinguished Achievement Award for nursery crops research from the American Society of Horticultural Science.

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Grazing Greener With a $6.8 million grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a diverse team of collaborators will work over the next five years toward resolving the tangled issue of how to produce beef as an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable food. The research team includes plant science Professor Jennifer McAdam (center), Eric Thacker (right) associate professor and Extension rangelands specialist, and is led

by Professor Juan Villalba (left), in USU’s Department of Wildland Resources. The strategy they think will provide answers is ‘smart foodscapes’— islands of nutritionally dense and botanically diverse plants strategically placed on rangelands to improve cattle nutrition and reduce environmental impacts while increasing biodiversity and extending grazing seasons.

in brief

What’s New in Aggie Chocolate?

Utah State University’s Aggie Chocolate Factory is proud to announce a new collaboration with Twenty Degrees, a sustainable cocoa bean supplier that sources beans from around the world. The Aggie Chocolate Factory is now producing chocolate from Villa Riva Cacao grown in the Dominican Republic. The company’s name is a reference to the cacao belt, the area between 20 degrees north and south of the equator where the world’s supply of cacao is grown. The Twenty Degrees website describes Villa Riva beans as bright and fruity, “reminiscent of berries [and] tropical fruit.”

Cranberry Salsa Winners Food science students from across the U.S. and Canada competed with new sauces, condiments, and dips using Ocean Spray cranberries, and USU students Melissa Marsh, Annalisa Jones, and Weston Christensen won the $5,000 first-place prize.

The goal was to promote home cooking and help consumers incorporate cranberries into everyday foods, not just holiday meals. USU’s winning entries were two cranberry hot sauces, one with flavors of lime and jalapeno in addition to yellow cranberries and a red cranberry-based sauce with smoky flavor notes and some heat.

Father’s Diet and Infant Health A National Institutes of Health grant of more than $1.5 million will support USU researchers’ study of the role of a father’s nutrition in infant health. A research team consisting of faculty members Mirella Meyer-Ficca, Ralph Meyer, and Rakesh Kaundal as well as Clara Cho at the University of Guelph, and Kevin Welch from the USDA Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory on the USU campus received the grant to study how male mouse diets affect the health of their offspring. Principle Investigator Meyer-Ficca explains that the big picture of this study is to answer the question, “How can anything we are exposed to in our environment change offspring health through the father’s germline?”

The team will focus first on niacin in a mouse model that closely resembles human vitamin metabolism.

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in brief

Ag Communicators Win National Award USU’s chapter of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow was named Chapter of the Year for community service and member recruitment. In 2020, students partnered with the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art to create an audio tour that focused on art and Utah agricultural history to accompany an exhibition celebrating American agriculture.

Individual students also received awards during the national Ag Media Summit, including senior Kailey Foster, who was awarded first place for a brochure she created for Sheep Genetics USA.

Sheep Day 2021 Students seeking a new perspective on ranching created a record turnout for the fall semester Sheep Day trip to Evanston, WY. The event drew 150 participants this year and was a unique opportunity for students to get a first-hand look at J.B. Broadbent Ranch, one of the largest sheep operations in the region. Sheep Day was first organized in 1989 by now Emeritus Professor Lyle McNeal. This year students evaluated rams for breeding soundness, administered vaccines, and had a full day of memorable handson experiences.

See video at TinyURL.com/USUSheepDay2021

Land, Water, and Air at USU In December, Utah State University announced the creation of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air and released the institute’s inaugural report on natural resources in Utah. The report is a snapshot of key issues and concerns and is intended to help inform policymaking in the state. It features highlights from 45 researchers, including many in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences whose work focuses on countless aspects of land, water, and air stewardship.

“Utah State University has a long and rich history of using research, outreach, and education for addressing the quality of life in Utah,” said USU President Noelle E. Cockett. “We are ready and willing to contribute our collective expertise as the state addresses drought, wildfires, declining snowpack, expanding urban areas, the loss of wildlands and farmlands, and other natural resource challenges. This report details several important and emerging issues in land, water, and air stewardship as well as possible solutions that communities, agencies, and state leaders can consider as they make decisions for the future.”

Learn more at the institute’s website: usu.edu/ILWA.

Find more details, videos, and more news on these and other stories at caas.usu.edu/news/index.

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Leading in Ag Safety The word “agriculture” usually brings to mind crops and animals, but it’s the people working in agriculture who feed the world. Michael Pate, an associate professor in agricultural systems technology is serving as president of the International Society for Agricultural Health and Safety. The position allows him to apply his dual passions for agriculture and helping others to improve safety in a hazardous industry that all people rely on.

Construction Technology and Management Program

After two years of construction, a new house built by students in USU Blanding’s construction technology and management program is nearly ready for sale. Students in the program gain experience working with architectural drawings, floor layout, wall and roofing systems, siding application, soffit and fascia applications, and the installation of windows, doors, stairs, and interior trim. Students in the program learn concepts in a classroom setting which are then applied during hands-on training at the building site. In just two semesters, students can earn a certificate of completion which helps them immediately enter the workforce. Students can also apply those credits toward an associate degree and continue their education.

Top Research Honor Michael Clayton, a graduate student in the Department of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, who completed his veterinary pathology residency at the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UVDL), was awarded first place honors from the American Association of Veterinary Diagnosticians for his presentation, Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Farmed Mink in Utah at the association’s annual meeting. The UVDL was instrumental in confirming cases of the virus in mink in early 2020.

USU Eastern Welders Win National Title USU Eastern’s welding fabrication team won the national title for college teams in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference for the third consecutive year. The 2021 team consists of welding students Branson Gross of Vernal, Matt Warren of Mapleton, and Nate Wright of Payson. Together, they excelled at the contest’s task of making a dip tank at the Price campus’s welding facility. This year’s competition was done virtually with judges watching cameras trained on the students. The dip tank will be donated to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a non-profit that builds beds for children in need, where it will be used to treat large pieces of lumber.

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By Ysabel Nehring and Lynnette Harris Happy Birthday, Aggie Ice Cream! January 21, 2022, marks the centennial anniversary of the quintessential Aggie treat, and to honor this milestone, USU will celebrate all year with new and returning flavors and special events.

The Aggie Ice Cream tradition is a cherished part of university history, stretching back to the days of the Utah Agricultural College (UAC). In 1920, a new professor arrived who would forever transform the college creamery as well as the ice cream business throughout the state of Utah.

Gustav Wilster, the father of Aggie Ice Cream, previously taught at the Queensland Agricultural College before moving to the United States. Wilster taught at Iowa State University and came to revitalize the UAC’s curriculum in the Department of Dairying after some activities on campus had been pushed aside by the 1919 influenza pandemic.

Though milk from the college dairy had been available on campus — and an all-you-candrink supply of free buttermilk at the entrance to the Animal Industries Building fed many a hungry student here for decades — Wilster arrived ready to study and teach dairy food processing, including ice cream. Using newly purchased machinery and a passion for teaching, Wilster reopened the Aggie Creamery in January 1922 with a new focus on selling student-made ice cream to the student body and the public.

Student Life chronicled the event. “The Dairy Department under the direction of Professor Gustav Wilster is now making lacto ice cream, which has never before been produced in Utah, the formula for which he brought from Iowa. It is a frozen ice cream made from pasteurized milk that has been ripened with pure culture and then had sugar and flavoring added. This new product is meeting with great favor locally.”

In the summer of 1922, Wilster and his students’ skills were put to the test at the annual UAC Farmer’s Encampment. About 2,500 people camped on the Quad and enjoyed ice cream, milk, and cheese produced by the Aggie Creamery.

Although his time at USU was brief, Wilster left a great and lasting impression on the college and the students he taught. Several of his students went on to found successful and iconic Utah ice cream businesses, including Casper Merrill who opened Casper’s Ice Cream and invented the Fat Boy Ice Cream sandwich, and members of the Farr family, owners of Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden.

Other of Wilster’s students, including A.J. Morris and Paul B. Larsen, later joined the faculty and continued the tradition of reaching out beyond the university by conducting annual ice cream short courses for people in the dairy industry. The printed program from one such weeklong course in 1949 shows Laird Snelgrove, another well-known name in Utah ice cream history, conducting the sessions that featured Morris and Larsen teaching.

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Professor Morris, who was extremely cognizant of the nuances of ice cream, could identify students by the quality of their ice cream. While traveling through the Midwest one summer, he stopped at an ice cream parlor. After tasting the ice cream, he commented, “This is one of my students’ ice cream.” Sure enough, a former student managed the ice cream operation, and Morris was delighted to see the fruits of his labor so many miles from campus.

The school’s creamery has moved over the decades from its original spot in the basement of Old Main to a small building on the Quad and later to the Animal Industry Building. The Aggie Creamery is now in the C. Anthon Ernstrom Nutrition and Food Sciences Building, named after the professor who replaced Morris as head of dairy manufacturing in 1968. Professor Ernstrom also founded Heart to Heart Foods, which later developed the regionally famous Creamies ice cream pop. Production of ice cream and award-winning cheese is now done in a lab named for another long-time faculty member and influence on the dairy products industry, Emeritus Professor Gary Richardson.

The Aggie Creamery production and store both underwent renovations in 2018, with the addition of a Soda Shoppe. Bridgett Liberty currently manages the production of Aggie Ice Cream.

“It hasn’t mattered over the last 100 years who is in charge,” Liberty said. “It

hasn’t mattered who they were or where they came from, what they did, because there’s a standard that Utah State has set that we’re the best ice cream maker, and that has not changed regardless of who has been in charge.”

As a testament to Aggie Ice Cream’s quality, the Creamery was awarded the Best of State: Ice Cream in 2021, an honor previously awarded in 2016. Aggie Ice Cream was also voted Logan’s best ice cream in 2017 by a Logan City poll and Utah’s best ice cream in 2016 by KSL. In 2017, Deseret News readers voted Aggie Ice Cream as the best over the BYU Creamery.

Liberty attributes Aggie Ice Cream’s longevity to the quality of the milk produced by the USU Caine Dairy, a commitment to traditional methods, and community support.

“We’re all connected,” she said. “You can’t be in the agricultural business and not be connected. From the local farmers that grow the feed to the cows cared for on the farm to the business relationships we have with Gossners and other local plants, it’s all connected.”

For a century now, students, faculty, alumni, and Cache Valley residents have made Aggie Ice Cream part of their personal and family’s traditions. Countless students have celebrated finishing finals, graduation, birthdays, and other milestones with Aggie Ice Cream. Stop by the Aggie Creamery just about any time, but especially on summer

evenings, and you’ll find families making memories while they enjoy their favorite flavors Bridgett emphasized that the centennial celebrations will focus on giving back to the community.

“Aggie Ice Cream wouldn’t be what it is without support from the community and customers who come faithfully all the time,” said Liberty.

This support is not only local, but regional, and sometimes global. With online purchasing becoming available in 2020, Aggie Ice Cream has been shipped as far as Switzerland, over 5,000 miles away. �

To be certain you don’t miss the chance to try some new flavors or enjoy some favorite “oldies” during the Aggie Ice Cream Centennial celebration, please follow @AggieIceCream on Facebook and Instagram.

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By Madison Leak When Don McMahon and his wife sat down to make a list of pros and cons about leaving their home in Australia to move back to the United States, Aggie Ice Cream was the first bullet point on the “Pros” list.

Perhaps it was foreshadowing his future, as Don McMahon would become one of the most influential professors to oversee the Aggie Creamery.

McMahon completed his bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology when Tony Ernstrom moved in nearby. Ernstrom, then the head of what is now USU’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, was in Australia on sabbatical.

The two became friends, and Ernstrom invited McMahon to complete his graduate studies where the sagebrush grows.

McMahon made his first move to the U.S. in 1979 and earned his Ph.D. in food science. Upon completing his graduate studies, he moved back to Australia and began working for Kraft Foods in cheese research and development. A faculty position opened up at USU, and though he and his

wife had just purchased a home, they were excited by the opportunity to return to USU and made the move back to Utah in 1987.

His research focused on a variety of dairy products, including ultra-high temperature pasteurized milk and improving the performance of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. McMahon later became more involved with the Aggie Creamery when he became director of the Gary H. Richardson Dairy Products Laboratory.

Micelle received the Most Cited Award from the Journal of Dairy Science, an honor that indicates the importance of research to the industry as gauged by how frequently the article is cited by other scientists. The article was the culmination of almost 20 years of work and to date has been cited more than 270 times by food scientists worldwide.

McMahon also devoted much of his time to the Western Dairy Center, housed at Utah State, serving as the center’s director

“If there wasn’t a creamery, it would take far more time to procure milk from the farm, bring it to the lab on campus, and do all of the other work necessary to even begin a project.”- Don McMahon

“We’re not just making ice cream,” McMahon said. “Of course, we want to make ice cream, but really, it’s integral to our teaching and research in food sciences.”

Using the creamery as a resource for graduate students is something that McMahon doesn’t take for granted.

“Having staff at the creamery who work with this equipment all the time is very helpful,” McMahon said. “It makes it much easier for a student to come in and get the information, help, and milk that’s available to them to do whatever project they are working on. Whereas, if there wasn’t a creamery, it would take far more time to procure milk from the farm, bring it to the lab on campus, and do all of the other work necessary to even begin a project.”

The creamery’s top-selling Aggie Blue Mint was created under McMahon’s direction as he assisted students in developing the ice cream that embodies Aggie pride.

In 2009, McMahon’s research article Supramolecular Structure of the Casein

until his retirement. McMahon was influential in creating the BUILD Dairy program which stands for building university, industry linkages through learning and discovery. It funds research through the dairy checkoff program, aka DairyWest, with support from companies in the region.

“The thing about BUILD Dairy that I’m proud about is its focus on students,” McMahon said. “It funds student research at Utah State and within the region. Currently, one-to-two million dollars of external funding come into the program every year, which means new food science faculty members have support for their research programs that attract students, develop students’ knowledge and skills, and broaden our graduates’ career opportunities.”

In August of 2021, McMahon finished his 34 years on USU’s faculty and happily retired, but it’s safe to say that his legacy will continue through the students he has taught and in the smiles shared and memories made surrounding Aggie Ice Cream. �

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By Don McMahon, former director of the Aggie Creamery, emeritus professor of dairy foods technology, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences The Aggie Creamery participated in Day on the Quad during the first week of fall semester 2004, scooping free Aggie ice cream for students. Along with Whitney Wilkinson from USU Public Relations and Marketing, we organized a Design an Ice Cream competition and invited students to submit ideas for new flavors.

We received about 300 recipe ideas (including a couple of joke recipes for flavors like ham and eggs and broccoli and carrots) and from those, we chose five: chocolate ice cream with marshmallow swirl and graham crackers, vanilla ice cream with brownie chunks and swirls of chocolate and caramel, peppermint ice cream colored blue with white chocolate chunks, cake batter ice cream with chocolate and brownies, and vanilla ice cream with blueberries and swirls of raspberry and chocolate fudge. The peppermint recipe was submitted by Sarah Casperson with the suggested name of Aggie Iceberg.

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The next step was assigning food science students in the dairy technology and processing class that I taught to come up with prototypes of the top suggested flavors. As part of this course, students learn about technologies used in the dairy foods industry to convert milk into a variety of products, and the laboratory segment on freezing and making ice cream is always popular. Part of the learning process is to source ingredients. That meant finding white chocolate pieces designed specifically for ice cream as regular white chocolate becomes too hard when used in ice cream. The white chocolate we use melts more at room temperature, and we have to keep it in our -20°F freezer until it’s ready to be used. We had a good peppermint essence that we used in our Cookie Mint and Chocolate Chip Mint ice creams but we needed a blue coloring that didn’t look too much like bubble gum or candies that make your mouth blue.

My students found that pieces of white chocolate in the blue ice cream did not have enough contrast in color to be obvious. One of the great appeals of ice cream is that we enjoy contrasts in our food. Ice cream provides more contrasts than almost any other food: contrasts in color, texture (smooth ice cream versus crunchy chocolate, nuts, and cookies), temperature (cold ice cream versus hot fudge), and in taste (creamy sweet ice cream versus the added components).

To increase the contrasts in Aggie Iceberg, I suggested adding chocolate cookie pieces.

My students and others evaluated the ice creams, made some additional changes, and Steve Larsen (then our Aggie Creamery technical specialist) made enough of three of the recipes to invite other faculty, staff, and students to a taste-off. The highest scoring ice cream was blue mint with cookies and white chocolate. The three students who originally suggested the recipes were given the remaining buckets of their ice creams to enjoy with their family and friends.

With the addition of chocolate cookies, the concept of icebergs in a sea of blue mint ice cream no longer applied, and it needed a new name. That same year, we were working with USU Public Relations and Marketing (and an outside marketing firm) to update the label design for our half-gallon cartons of ice cream and to introduce single-serve cups. Part of this effort was to display the creamery’s heritage as one of the initial programs when Utah State University was founded in 1888. Whitney Wilkinson suggested the name “Aggie Blue Mint” and it became the first flavor to specifically call out its special association with USU. We have continued that tradition with other flavors developed by the creamery, including Aggie Bull Tracks, True Aggie Night, Aggie ROTC, and Aggie Space Debris. But, so far, Aggie Blue Mint remains the most popular flavor of Famous Aggie Ice Cream. �

ARDESHIR ZAHEDI October 1928 – November 2021 Notable Utah State University alumnus and donor, Ardeshir Zahedi, died on November 18, 2021, at his home in Switzerland.

He was 93.

Globally celebrated as a lifelong champion of world peace and understanding, Zahedi had a hand in shaping more than three decades of geopolitical history. Twice he served as Iran’s ambassador to the United States.

“Ardeshir has had an incredible impact on global peace throughout his lifetime,” said USU President Noelle E. Cockett. “He reached across the world and made a difference. We will be forever grateful for his foresight and humility, as well as his generosity to USU.” Zahedi’s widely respected and far-reaching influence and diplomacy were also hallmarks of his service as ambassador to the United Kingdom’s Court of St. James, Iran’s foreign minister, and head of the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly.

He worked closely with seven U.S. presidents, entertained countless iconic artists and celebrities, and yet once proclaimed, “I was born at Utah State University.”

“Ardeshir Zahedi is probably the most internationally distinguished graduate of Utah State University and he truly loved this university and Cache Valley,” said Ken White, dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. “He was a remarkable man, and he credited Utah State and his experiences here as the start of many good things that happened in his life. We are grateful for his love and support. His compassionate deeds will live on after him, and I hope that generations of students who experience his generosity through his endowment will appreciate his generous spirit and the extraordinary life that it represents.

By Lynnette Harris and Maren Aller

Above: Ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi with President Gerald and First Lady Betty Ford.

After leaving his home in Iran to study at Utah State University in 1947, Zahedi later graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s in animal science. He then returned to tumultuous times in Iran, where he shaped the country’s modern political history while serving as

“In the nine years that I have known him, he has been much more than a donor, he has become a dear friend. But he was like that with everyone.

He was like a magnet who just drew people to him, and they went away feeling better and buoyed up from spending time with him.”

- Dean Ken White

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JOE CRUM Creates Opportunities for Other Kids from Wyoming

By Lynnette Harris Joe Crum is a paradox. A kid from a small Wyoming town who earned high school first-team all-conference honors in football, basketball, and track, but who doesn’t consider himself a “natural” athlete. The “little Crum” next to older brother Gary who played for the Miami Dolphins, but who worked up to bench pressing 475-480 pounds in college. A guy who grew up a solid fan of University of Wyoming football and assumed he’d become a Cowboy and follow in his father and brother’s footsteps, but who took an offer to play at Utah State. Joe is so thoroughly an Aggie that he packed a U State flag from his home in Texas to adorn his Logan hotel room the weekend of November’s USU vs. Wyoming game — and hoped that his nephew, Wyoming’s 6’ 7” offensive tackle Frank Crum, would have a great game but that his teammates would not.

He’s a former player who sees a neurologist to address memory and cognition problems that stem from having had multiple, severe concussions but recalls details of games and individual plays and players from 40+ years ago. He’s a man who is proud of his commitment to outwork anyone in order to reach his goals yet sees God in the details of his life, even the disappointments.

He’s what some might call a gentle giant, but “gentle” isn’t likely to be how the guys who played football with and against him would describe him.

Joe was in high school when USU’s football staff stopped off in his hometown of Rawlins one Friday night before that weekend’s match-up between Utah State and the University of Wyoming. There wasn’t a lot to do in Rawlins, so USU’s coaches went to see that night’s high school game.

The next week, USU assistant coach Terry Shea called to say that USU was interested in Joe. “Several colleges offered me football scholarships,” Joe said. “My dad always told us that ‘Sports is a means to an end.’

He’d point out great players like Johnny Unitas and say, ‘He’s got to do something for the rest of his life after football,’ so I thought a lot about where I could get the education I wanted. I also wanted to go somewhere

Photo by McKay Jensen

an aid to his father, the prime minister, and as adviser, confidant, son-in-law, and friend to the last shah of Iran. His maternal grandfather served as the first prime minister of Iran. He received important honors from his home country and governments around the world as well as honorary degrees from 11 universities, including a doctor of law and humanities from USU. After graduating, Zahedi’s deeply held feelings and support for USU remained constant. He gave back to the university in numerous ways, including creating the Ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi International Endowment in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, and contributing to various additional scholarships across the university. He was inducted into the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences Alumni Hall of Honor in July 2002 and received a Distinguished Service Award from the USU Alumni Association in 2007. To honor his generosity to the college and impact on the world, the Ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi Atrium was designated in USU’s Agricultural Sciences Building, where a portrait and story of his work are displayed.

“Seeing his portrait in the atrium reminds us that many people around the world know the headlines about the glamourous parts of his life, but the remarkable thing to us is not that he withstood monumental upheavals and challenges, but that he emerged from them with his generous spirit and concern for humanity around the world intact,” White said. “His attachment to USU after so many decades reminds us that the things that happen for our students while they are on our wonderful campus might result in outsized impacts in the world. His portrait captures a nobility that isn’t just the result of a family’s position or wealth. It is an attribute of his incredible character. �

why i give

1982 Football program courtesy of Utah State University Archives (USU_16.1/2:55).

to make my own way and not be known as Gary’s little brother.”

Joe came to USU and set a very high bar for hard work that first semester, but he nearly lost his football scholarship when he simply dropped everything — including all his finals without notifying anyone — to comfort loved ones back home and be a pallbearer when one of his closest friends died in an industrial accident. When he returned to campus, Joe decided he had to get serious about his classes. He became the guy who sat in the front row of all his classes, went to tutoring sessions almost daily so his assignments didn’t get derailed when he didn’t understand something, studied hard, and trained even harder than before.

“I got a key to the weight room because coach was tired of me knocking on his door at night to get a key so I could go

work out,” he said. “Me and my roommate, Clancy O’Hara, would work out about three nights a week during the season and watch Johnny Carson in the weight room on the little black and white TV with tinfoil on the antennae. That was always my thing: I will outwork you. I will out tough you. Therefore, you won’t have a chance.”

The description of Joe Crum in the 1982 USU Football Guide reads, “Capped a strong spring workout season with a selection by his teammates as one of USU’s ’82 tri-captains. Regarded as ‘dirt tough’ by coaches. Likely USU’s strongest football player, bench pressing 475-480 pounds.

‘His attitude is everything’ says line coach Rod Marinelli … exhibits outstanding work habits.”

Joe was named to the first-team allleague his junior and senior years and was expected to go in the first or second round of the NFL draft. On the roster of that allWest Coast team, he’s the only one of the 22 players listed who wasn’t selected in the first three rounds. That’s because on draft day he was in traction at a hospital in Salt Lake City due to serious back injuries.

“That was a blessing from God because I’d already had seven concussions, some that required a resuscitator and being in the hospital,” he said. “We just didn’t know the dangers then. One more might have been the end of it.”

Later, he was set to play for the United States Football League’s Pittsburgh Maulers. As he was working out in Logan to prepare for the rigors of pro training camp, news came that the league had folded. It was the afternoon of the last day to add or drop USU classes that quarter. Aggies of that generation remember that adding or dropping classes in the 1980s meant getting a paper form signed by professors and turning it into the registrar’s office by the end of the business day. Joe wasted no time, enrolled for the last eight credits he needed to graduate, and is thankful to this day that he didn’t play more football that would likely have caused additional brain injuries.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in agricultural economics. After starting a career in banking (“but

I’m not a suit-and-tie-every-day guy”), Joe worked for Purina Mills, where he helped to launch Purina Livestock Management Services and worked with cattle producers across the southern states. Later, he was with Treasure Valley Business Group, selling potatoes for fries in the U.S. and Mexico. He’s now been with Wilbur Ellis, a Texas-based company involved in agricultural research and agribusiness, since 2005. The experience has shown him even more of what’s possible for people working in agriculture.

“Ag has always been deep and dear to my heart,” Joe said. “I am interested in giving back to ag because it has long been my business. When I was a kid growing up, there just weren’t a lot of opportunities in Rawlins unless you wanted to go into the mining industry, or gas and oil, and those were very up and down. I didn’t want that. I wanted to go to college, and I knew athletics could be a way out.”

Joe is giving back to agriculture and people in and around his hometown by endowing a scholarship in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. The endowment will grow and the scholarship will be available to graduates of Wyoming Indian, Rawlins, and Wind River high schools.

His early banking career experiences connected Joe with indigenous people living on the Wind River Reservation, and often with the pervasive poverty and poor living conditions there. More recently, his work with Wilbur-Ellis has included working with the Navajo Nation and its extensive, high-tech farming operations outside Farmington, New Mexico.

“I want to give opportunities to someone on the Wind River Reservation or from my high school to be able to attend Utah State, get a degree, and build a career in the ag sector,” he said. “Utah State came to my game on that Friday night and took a chance on an underweight kid from Wyoming. If they hadn’t, I would not have the kind of life I’ve had. I want to give young people from Wyoming who may be somewhat disadvantaged, or just don’t see what’s possible, the same kind of opportunities that I have had.” �

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BIOINFORMATICS Big Data Pushing the Boundaries of Human Knowledge

By Ethan Brightbill Imagine you are a scientist studying how the genetics of wheat and a particular fungus interact. The fungus has maybe 5,000 genes. The wheat might have more than 50,000 — 10 times the number of the fungus. But to understand the relationship between pathogen and plant, you need to look at how the fungus and wheat genes affect each other.

That means potentially more than 250 million possible gene combinations.

Until recently, explained Assistant Professor Rakesh Kaundal, that sort of research would have been more than a little time-consuming.

“To find the function of those interactions,” Kaundal explained, “it would take a thousand years or even more to do experiments one by one.”

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Kaundal — not to mention other scientists — did not have a millennium to spare.

Instead, he taught himself computer programming and earned a postdoctoral degree in bioinformatics on top of his doctorate in plant breeding and genetics. In doing so, he joined a growing number of scientists and engineers who use big data to push the very scope of what human beings are capable of studying.

As a member of the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate faculty and director of the Utah State University Bioinformatics Facility, Kaundal has been instrumental in bringing high-performance computing (HPC) to USU. With money from grants and other sources, he secured a graphical processing unit (GPU) node for students and faculty alike to use in their research.

“It’s almost 500 times faster than central processing unit-based HPC,” Kaundal said. “The machine learning algorithm my students

Left: Researchers and students all contribute to advances in USU’s Bioinformatics Facility. Pictured here are (back row, left to right) Rousselene Larson, David Guevara, Rakesh Kaundal, Shelby McCowan, and Andrew Jouffray; (seated, left to right): Kartik Saini, Naveen Duhan, Kolton Hauck, Raghav Kataria.

use for training and testing used to run for one month, two months, even more. With a GPU, it can finish in three days.”

With the ability to process larger amounts of data in record time, researchers are better able to understand whatever subject they choose to study. Sifting through such large amounts of information allows them to spot patterns and relationships that simply wouldn’t be apparent at a smaller scale.

“The mission is how to get from information to inference,” he explained.

The work done at the USU Bioinformatics Facility, also known as the Kaundal Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Bioinformatics Lab (KAABiL), has far-reaching implications. Kaundal and other USU researchers are applying HPC to infectious diseases, plant and animal genetics, soil microbiomes, subcellular functions, and above all, developing more efficient databases and algorithms so that other researchers can better catalogue and understand data.

In other fields, the use of algorithms and big data has led to everything from more efficient spam folders to the camera technology in Tesla self-driving cars to the rapid genetic sequencing that created the COVID-19 vaccines. Likewise, the work at KAABiL

is leading to concrete advances in science and technology. From drones that can weed fields without human supervision to developing salinity-resistant plants needed to combat world hunger, the future will look very different in part because of data science.

And while computing power can outpace human capabilities, the work at KAABiL is not done in isolation. While Kaundal is a major force in the lab — his work has been cited almost 600 times and has appeared in publications including Briefings in Bioinformatics, Scientific Reports, the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and more — both he and his lab group are firm believers in the power of teamwork in science. Kaundal has collaborated on more than 30 projects, including four with United States Department of Agriculture labs and several with outside universities, industry scientists, and international colleagues. The KAABiL website is home to a collection of university-produced software that other researchers can access for free.

When asked what students and others interested in bioinformatics should do to prepare themselves, Kaundal mentioned the importance of learning a computer language, studying biology, practicing public speaking, and learning to work with people from diverse fields and backgrounds. But he also doubled down on the importance of contributing to the greater good of science and society as a whole.

“My advice to students is to think more broadly about how you can serve science or humanity in general,” said Kaundal. “That is true for every discipline. We are not working for ourselves. That’s why we are in academia.”

Researchers like Kaundal aim to make their mathematical models 100% accurate in sorting data. In many fields, nothing less than that kind of precision will suffice. But Kaundal never forgets why his work matters in the first place.

“The major goal,” he said, “is to give back to the community.” �

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NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

Of f i c e of the Dea n 4 8 0 0 Old M ain Hill L o g a n, UT 84322- 48 00

THE BASTIAN AGRICULTURAL CENTER As more of Utah’s agricultural land is converted to commercial and residential developments, one family has made a gift of $41.25 million to Utah State University to honor and preserve the state’s farming past, present, and future. This gift represents the largest single donation in USU history.

The Bastian family, in concert with USU Extension, has founded the Bastian Agricultural Center, which will be dedicated to educating the public about contemporary agriculture and inspiring future generations through education and programs in science, engineering and technology applied to agriculture. The center will be located at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park and Event Center in South Jordan. The Bastian family previously gave an additional $6 million toward the initial creation of the center.

The goal of the USU Bastian Agricultural Center is to provide information and experiences to an increasingly urban population, including adults and 4-H youth, local government, constituents, and corporate leaders. The center will provide a space to share the most recent agricultural knowledge and will feature four areas of focus and facilities dedicated to natural resources, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), plant production and education, and equestrian, livestock, and animal production.

Learn more at the center’s website: BastianAgriculturalCenter.org