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Spring 2002 Meeting at the USDA Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC)

Date: Friday, May 17, 2002
10:00 am - 12 noon

Place: USDA Southern Regional Research Center
New Orleans, LA

SRRC Homepage

LaSoMi Spring 2002 Meeting

Kelly Blessinger

On Friday, May 17, the Louisiana/Southern Mississippi Chapter of SLA met at the USDA’s Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans. The meeting started with a presentation about the center, and was followed by a brief business meeting and a tour of the center’s library.

The Southern Regional Research Center was one of four institutions funded by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. Finished in 1941, the mission of the center is "to achieve maximum use and profitability of agricultural products, to develop new uses for farm products, to promote human health and well–being through nutrition, to improve product safety and quality, and to develop new crop production technologies while minimizing environmental impact" (1). There are five main areas of research at the center, which include the following:

Cotton Quality and Textile Chemistry and Engineering
Food Processing and Sensory Quality and Food Safety
Commodity Uses and Environmental Science
Sugarcane Productivity, Pest Management and Utilization Research
Formosan Subterranean Termite Research

Some products that the center has been first to develop include the creation of durable press treatments for cotton, frozen orange juice concentrate, and flame retardant cotton. Some projects that are currently underway include the testing of termite products on historic buildings in New Orleans, rice fries (as a substitute for potato), methods for keeping cut fruit fresh, and a strain of cotton that grows in various colors to avoid the environmentally damaging effect of dyes. The center also conducts community outreach by partnering with John F. Kennedy High School in a mentoring program, which allows students to work at the center to gain work experience in a laboratory setting.

Following the presentation, Suhad Wojkowski, the Center’s librarian, discussed the library resources at the center, which include books, databases, working tools, and journals. The library has been a part of the building since its inception, and she is the second librarian employed since that time. The library is also responsible for the reprint collection of the documents that are produced at the center, in which around 100 documents are produced per year. Suhad has two full time staff members and two part time students to aid with the workload.

Bill Strickland from Tulane will be taking over Stephen Pomes duties as President in the upcoming year. Bill discussed plans for the SLA winter meeting in New Orleans. The LaSoMi Chapter is the host chapter for this meeting, so some volunteers will be needed for registration and other functions when the time comes near. Bill is already planning a reception for the conference that EBSCO has agreed to fund. LaSoMi is still looking for a President Elect for the upcoming year, and Bill Armstrong has agreed to take on the duties of Treasurer. Thanks to Stephen for his tenure as president and Suhad Wojkowski and the Southern Regional Research Center for hosting the meeting.

Southern Regional Research Center. Viewing Research as an Investment. [Brochure]. New Orleans, LA: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.