{"id":960,"date":"2021-03-03T09:58:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T14:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.ncsu.edu\/rdo\/?page_id=960"},"modified":"2025-07-03T14:22:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T18:22:32","slug":"grip4psi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.ncsu.edu\/rdo\/funding\/internal-funding\/grip4psi\/","title":{"rendered":"Game\u2010Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences Initiative (GRIP4PSI)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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About the Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI) was conceived by NC State and its partners to address local and global challenges \u2014 and is envisioned to be a world-class transdisciplinary research initiative that will facilitate the convergence of research and development of innovative discovery tools across a wide spectrum of disciplines including plant sciences, engineering, economics, modeling and data analytics. It is the vision of the PSI that a productive and effective research and technology agenda will be the result of a portfolio of projects that are complex, highly integrated, driven by data and informatics, and that result in sustainable food and agricultural systems that are predictive and proactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Award Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The GRIP4PSI call for proposals was intended to attract a wide breadth of disciplinary faculty to the field of plant sciences and catalyze the formation of effective and collaborative interdisciplinary teams that will challenge conventions, explore new ideas and open up new avenues for sustainable research funding. ORI envisioned that GRIP4PSI project teams would span multiple colleges at NC State, include external partners, develop from the full range of technical capabilities at NC State and beyond, and boast world\u2010class junior and senior faculty with clear potential for sustained success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A three-stage (pre-planning proposal stage, planning proposal stage, full proposal stage) submission and review process was employed for this large-scale seed funding initiative. Pre-planning proposals were reviewed by ORI and senior NC State faculty, with guidance from the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the PSI Launch Director to ensure alignment with PSI research platforms. Planning proposals and full proposals were each reviewed via a two-stage process, beginning with ORI and senior NC State faculty and ending with leadership from funders of the GRIP4PSI initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Award Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Funding for GRIP4PSI was committed by ORI, the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Science and Technology (KIETS), and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), College of Engineering (COE), College of Natural Resources (CNR), College of Sciences (COS), Wilson College of Textiles (WCOT) and Poole College of Management (PCOM). Teams awarded GRIP4PSI funding will be considered, as a whole or in part, to be occupants of the new Plant Sciences Building<\/a> to be constructed on Centennial Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRIP4PSI teams received up to $650,000 over three-and-a-half years to complete research and outreach objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRIP4PSI Winning Projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Feb. 14, 2020, ORI announced the teams who were selected as winners of GRIP4PSI awards. The response to the GRIP4PSI call was exceedingly positive: ORI received 20 pre-proposals \u2014 which spanned all 10 of NC State’s academic colleges, included more than 187 NC State faculty and involved talented collaborators from key external partners. Following the oral presentations by the five teams selected as finalists, the GRIP4PSI review panel deliberated and debated the merits of each proposal team. It was a difficult decision, but in the end, the four project teams described below were chosen as the winners.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n GRIP4PSI Metrics<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Big Data for Better Sweetpotatoes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n North Carolina is a sweetpotato powerhouse. By comparing the shape and quality characteristics of hundreds of thousands of sweetpotatoes to their growth conditions, NC State researchers are working to make the crop even more profitable for growers. \n <\/p>\n \n

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\n \n Rooted in science<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Plant Aid: A GRIP4PSI Big-Data Project to Detect Plant Diseases Faster<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n Early detection of crop diseases can make or break a farmer\u2019s growing season. A team of researchers at NC State is working to combine small sensors with big data to detect diseases plaguing tomato fields, before symptoms are visible to the naked eye.\n <\/p>\n \n

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\n \n Detect to perfect<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Fertilizer of the Future<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n Making nitrogen fertilizer requires a substantial amount of energy. NC State researchers are testing different methods of on-farm fertilizer production with the goal of completely rethinking how nitrogen-based fertilizers are produced and used. \n <\/p>\n \n

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\n \n Grow into the future<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

FUN-CROPS<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\n Could fungi that live inside plant leaves be harnessed to create better, more resilient crops? An interdisciplinary team will study the drivers that allow plant fungal symbionts to improve resistance to drought and disease in their hosts. They\u2019ll work to determine the scale at which fungi can be manipulated across the landscape, identify highly beneficial fungi and the genes associated with their benefits, develop methods to identify fungi that are not visible to the naked eye, and explore potential policy implications and stakeholder responses to fungal manipulation in crops.\n <\/p>\n \n

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\n \n FUN-CROPS<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

Game\u2010Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences Initiative (GRIP4PSI) Kickoff Event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A virtual kickoff celebration was held on Oct. 28, 2020 to celebrate the awarded teams and hear about their exciting upcoming work.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n GRIP4PSI Kickoff Event<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

GRIP4PSI Reviewers and Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Review Committee<\/h2>\n <\/summary>\n

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ORI would like to offer special thanks to the scientific and administrative review panels for their participation in this program. Without their time and expertise, this effort would not have been possible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n