Racing Toward Tomorrow

From COVID-19 and climate change to innovative approaches in virtual reality, these NC State professors are at the forefront of now and tomorrow.

June 24, 2022 Juliana Proffitt McCully 5-min. read

From COVID-19 and climate change to innovative approaches in virtual reality, these NC State professors are at the forefront of now and tomorrow.

Matt Koci has directed his passion for science outreach to help people make sense of the pandemic, the novel coronavirus and vaccines, and inspire the next generation of scientists to imagine a future life on Mars.

Natalie Cooke and Suzie Goodell received the Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching for a VR-based pedagogy they have been refining since 2015, well before the pandemic pushed growth in the virtual space.

And Elsa Youngsteadt, who works at the intersection of insects and climate, received an Environmental Entomology People’s Choice Award for most downloaded and shared papers for a project she co-authored studying fire and bees.

Matt Koci: From the Pandemic to Mars

When the fact-checking site Snopes.com asked Koci to address COVID-19 conspiracy theories and misinformation, he was reluctant to enter the social media spotlight. Still, he embraced it because he believes it’s important for scientists to engage with the public.

“Most people are just trying to make sense of what’s going on. In times of great stress, the human brain craves an explanation and will tolerate even the ridiculous – it’s like the idea the Wolfpack can’t win unless I’m wearing my lucky underwear. There’s a pandemic, and it’s scary, and nobody knows what’s happening, so folks latch onto the first seemingly plausible answer.”

Koci, a professor in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science, is a virologist and immunologist focused on host-pathogen interactions and understanding how the gut immune system tells friend from foe.

While the pandemic has focused attention on pathogens and immunity, “Nuggets on Mars” asks middle-schoolers to consider the future of biotech, ag science and producing enough food for an estimated 9 billion people in 2040, the same year some predict we’ll see colonies on Mars.

“I’ve joked with the kids that I’d like to go to Mars, but I don’t want to eat soy paste the whole time, so I’d like somebody to figure out how we could have a barbecue up there.”

The project challenges teachers and students to think through all the issues: “If it’s a couple-month rocket ride, eggs aren’t going to keep for that long. Are you going to hatch them? Are you going to have birds running around pooping in the space capsule?

“How do we make things happen once you get there? How many do you need, and what will they eat? Are you going to raise them for eggs, meat, [or] a little of both? What do you do with the poop? Do you take your own water, make your own oxygen? All the stuff you need on Mars, you’ve got to come up with.”

Koci hopes the project will inspire the next generation of scientists to think creatively about logistical and technical challenges that will lead to the next big ideas.

“Whether any of it is possible, the technologies to address those challenges could solve the waste management problems, limited resources, land and space issues of the future here on Earth.”

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Natalie Cooke and Suzie Goodell: Hands-on in Real Time

Thanks to a digital learning grant and 360-degree videos, nutrition students can practice how they will interact with diverse client populations before they ever meet in person — and the practice is invaluable.

Cooke and Goodell, professors in nutrition science who have co-taught a community nutrition service-learning class, say the integrated virtual technology has improved student confidence and efficacy.

“It’s one thing to watch a video, but to be able to put on a headset, look around the room and feel like you are in the room, that’s the kind of vicarious learning students need,” Cooke says.

“Students tell us: I can feel like I’m in the community before I’m in the community because I haven’t been a senior adult or a refugee, or it’s been a long time since I was a teenager or elementary schooler.”

And, Goodell adds, students learn skill sets beyond nutrition, from video production and technology to thinking about how to collaborate.

Cooke and Goodell are quick to defer the spotlight to acknowledge the whole team: “This multi-year virtual reality project wouldn’t have been possible without the technical expertise of Mike Cuales (DELTA), Cathi Dunnagan (DELTA), and Jessica White (FBNS-DELTA), who provided hours and hours of work on the project. We recommend that DELTA be the first contact for any faculty member interested in exploring the use of innovative technology in the classroom – they’re the experts,” Cooke said.

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Elsa Youngsteadt: Where Insects and Environment Meet

Youngsteadt, an assistant professor of applied ecology, works to understand ecological responses to human-made stressors like urbanization and warming, especially among plants and insects.

“Our specific interest is in bees because of their importance as pollinators, because they have a beneficial and economically important role, and because there is evidence they’re responding to climate change,” she says.

She hopes data will offer a better sense of what to expect; how to manage non-urban habitats in the future; and even how we might customize climate predictions or potential adaptations in different regions.

“How well pollinated are your plants? Which kinds of bees are visiting them and are those bees doing their job? How sensitive are these species to climate change? Are the best pollinators also the most sensitive?”

Youngsteadt’s lab is also doing the first systematic survey of arboreal ants conducted in North America, a project that involves climbing trees in natural areas to document which ants are foraging and nesting in the canopy. They have found 19+ species so far, she said, “up from not being sure we would find anything when the project started in 2020!”

An additional study of urban trees using bait stations hopes to address questions about how development, urban warming and fragmentation might affect ant communities compared to those in North Carolina’s natural forests.

“When it comes to climate change, we’re not doing great, but we can’t give up. We need to try and understand this for the next generation, so let’s do our best to not make it worse and do what we can now.”

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