NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

October 15, 1998

Vick Named Interim Director of USDA-ARS Laboratories in Fargo

Brady Vick has been named acting director of the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, a USDA-Agricultural Research Service facility located in Fargo.

The Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center includes the Northern Crop Science Laboratory, the Biosciences Research Laboratory, and the Wheat Quality Laboratory, all located on the NDSU campus. Scientists at the center conduct research on food quality and safety, environmentally safe methods of controlling weeds and insects, and on commodities such as sugar beets, potatoes, sunflowers, and cereal grains.

Vick replaces Don Zimmerman who retired in September. A national search is underway to select a permanent director.

A native of Minot, Vick received both his undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry from NDSU. After completing postdoctoral studies at the University of California in Santa Cruz, Vick in 1977 joined the USDA-ARS sunflower research unit in Fargo. He was appointed the unit's research leader in 1989.

Vick's research activities have focused on sunflower-oil quality and on plant lipid metabolism, including the discovery of biochemical pathways by which fatty acids are converted into products that help plants defend themselves against insects and disease.

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Source: Brady Vick (701) 231-1322

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136