On September 19 the Position of the Director for the USDA
Global Change Program Office will be terminated. I have been
reassigned as the Director of the Natural Resources Institute
at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural
Research Service, Beltsville, MD. I will be in transition
between the Global Change Program Office and the Natural
Resources Institute Office between now and the 1 Sep.
The Natural Resources Institute is comprised of several
laboratories focused on pesticides, environmental chemistry,
crop modelling, farming systems, hydrology, remote sensing
and instrumentation, sustainable agriculture and soil
microbiology, as well as other areas. I have been given the
mandate to initiate the development of a virtual institute
focused on sustainable agriculture. This will be a unique
undertaking for ARS and will probably involve some paradigm
shifts in how whole system research is designed, implemented
and conducted. SANET will obviously be an invaluable link to
you and your interested client groups and I intend to keep
the linkages open. Moving from a few sustainable agriculture
research projects into a fully focused institute will take
time, patience and support from the community. I look
forward to hearing from everyone, particularly as we begin
the strategic planning process and seek involvement in
obtaining research priorities.
Gary R. Evans, Ph.D.
Director
Natural Resources Institute, BA
Rm 214, Bldg 003, BARC-W,
USDA, ARS
Beltsville, MD 20705
phone: 301.504.7338
email: evansg@nalusda.gov