National Award Recognizes College’s Agricultural Testing Labs

SUNY Oswego’s enterprising Agricultural Testing and Analysis Labs at the Port of Oswego and the Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation won a national Award of Excellence at the University Economic Development Association Annual Summit in Roanoke, Va., in October.

QUALITY ASSURANCE—Alison Taylor ’16 M’17 (left), a graduate student in chemistry, and Iain Thompson ’17, a biochemistry major and cooperative education student, demonstrated some of the testing procedures they apply to grain samples at the college’s Agricultural Testing and Analysis Labs at Shineman Center (pictured) and at the Port of Oswego, to assure quality, quantity and food safety of grain shipments passing through the port. At the national University Economic Development Association’s Annual Summit in October in Roanoke, Va., the college made a presentation on its business partnership with the port and Perdue AgriBusiness, with the goal of providing a model for other universities seeking to respond to the resource needs of business and industry.

The labs—created to close an export loop in the regional economy—utilize trained student chemists to test and analyze grain shipments, meeting the needs of one of the Port of Oswego Authority’s largest customers, Perdue AgriBusiness, and providing on-the-job business experience for undergraduates.

HONORING ENTERPRISE—Biochemistry major Iain Thompson ’17, who works at SUNY Oswego’s Agricultural Testing and Analysis Labs as a cooperative education student, displayed the national University Economic Development Association’s top award Tuesday in the Talent + Place category for the labs project, created in partnership with the Port of Oswego Authority, Perdue AgriBusiness and government leaders such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The UEDA honored the program for “synergistically connecting Talent + Place in ways that enrich participation, and otherwise enhance quality of place.”

For more information about the college’s Agricultural Testing and Analysis Labs, con- tact Anthony Contento at 315- 312-2032 or anthony.contento@ oswego.edu.