Cornell seal
Back

Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

Search for News & Stories

A man running outside while holding an American flag and wearing a mask

Multimedia

News

More student veterans join a welcoming community
At Cornell, “I was welcomed with open arms,” she said, “and I was really surprised – because it was almost like an instant family.” Cunningham is now a junior transfer student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “In all of my...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
  • Agriculture
A brown spider with large black eyes

Multimedia

News

Buzz kill: Spiders ‘hear’ airborne prey via their legs
But these spiders also can capture insects flying behind them with precision, and scientists have long wondered how. Cornell scientists have confirmed that these spiders use metatarsal sensitivity – sensors at the tip of the leg – to detect...
  • Neurobiology and Behavior
  • Entomology
  • Environment
Flooded lot on a sunny day

Multimedia

News

Community Flood Watch Project engages residents in reporting and mitigation
Residents of Jamaica Bay, coastal neighborhoods located in Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens (Queens County), are experiencing tidal flooding at increasing frequency—as often as twice a month. Tidal flooding is also called sunny-day flooding...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • New York Sea Grant Institute
  • Environment
Students holding nets standing in tall grass and woods trying to catch bugs

Multimedia

News

Silver linings: Innovation, kits, tech animate a hybrid semester
She needed alcohol to preserve the soft-bodied insects she’d collected near her home in Missouri, for her entomology class at Cornell. But it wasn’t included in her box of supplies, because alcohol is too flammable to ship. Her local drug store...
  • Entomology
areal shot of manure pit cover

Multimedia

News

Dairy farm manure cover and flare off systems reduce odors and methane
Thanks to Climate Resilient Farming grant funding from the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, New York Farmers are implementing innovative manure management techniques for environmental stewardship, farm viability, and the...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Agriculture
  • Dairy
Hungry customers outside a food truck in Buffalo, NY

Multimedia

News

CCE helps Buffalo get school food truck rolling
With a splashy paint scheme designed by a local artist, the “Farm to School to You” food truck – developed with input from Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) – will visit sites throughout the city to bring free meals to families in need...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Food
  • Health + Nutrition

Multimedia

News

Summer interns discuss storytelling project in CCE podcast

When the pandemic nixed the in-person component of their 4-H Rural Storytelling Project internship, Madison Albano ‘21, Wendy Ying Lau ’21 and Seth Bollinger ’21 put together a virtual program for kids across three New York state counties...

  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Communication
4-H Rural Storytelling Project graphic

Multimedia

News

Bridging divides with the 4-H Rural Storytelling Project
Each year the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Summer Internship Program invites dozens of students from across Cornell to engage with CCE staff on a broad variety of applied projects. This summer, three interns worked with 4-H program...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
Play

Field Note

Multimedia

Aimee Schulz: In the field with a phenotyping robot
Aimee Schulz is a second-year Ph.D. student working with Edward Buckler, adjunct professor of plant breeding and genetics. Her research in the Buckler Lab for Maize Genetics and Diversity examines the plant’s competitive ability. Shulz said,...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
  • Agriculture
painted stones

Multimedia

News

Reflections on an unconventional 4-H camp season
This summer 4-H camp leaders across New York State found themselves with a difficult task: preserve the camp spirit while following COVID-19 health and safety requirements. They rose to the task with unusual, engaging, fun and creative projects...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
Two yellow and green moths pinned to a box

Multimedia

Spotlight

Corrie Moreau: Sharing 7 million insects with the digital world
As director and head curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection, Corrie Moreau has numerous tasks on her to-do list, including one that could last her entire career: digitizing the collection’s 7 million specimens. Digitization is a...
  • Department of Entomology
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Biology
Dean Kathryn J. Boor

Multimedia

Spotlight

In podcast, outgoing CALS dean reflects, ponders trends
Before she moves on to new roles – as dean of the Cornell Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education – Boor joined Cornell Cooperative Extension’s “Extension Out Loud” podcast to reflect on her journey through agriculture, as both...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Food Science
  • Agriculture
People erecting biocontrol tents in wooded area

Multimedia

News

Bio control experiments aim to balance biodiversity
CCE Educators Sharon Bachman and Laura Bailey are partnering with Carrie Brown-Lima, director of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute, to control the invasive plant using biocontrol measures. In this episode, "Extension Out Loud"...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Environment
DNA illustration

Multimedia

News

Evergreen idea turns biomass DNA into degradable materials
Watch this video about how Cornell researchers are developing biodegradable plastics and gels by using DNA from fish, onions, algae and other organic matter.
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Plants
  • Biology
two men talking with audio recording equipment

Multimedia

News

Podcast features Cornell Local Roads program
Part 1 with David Orr David Orr, director of the Cornell Local Roads program joins Extension Out Loud. Do you know who maintains the road you live on or the road you drive to work on? Maybe you’ve never thought about it less there’s a pothole or...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
A moth with water splashing off of its wing

Multimedia

News

Armor on butterfly wings protects against heavy rain
For moths and butterflies, getting hit by a fast-falling raindrop is like a bowling ball falling on a person. Now, new research shows how natural surfaces break up the raindrops to deflect potential damage.
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Plants
  • Biology
A green grape with a white substance on it

Multimedia

News

Robots armed with UV light fight grape mildew
Researchers at Cornell AgriTech have deployed robots in local vineyards, where they are using UV light to kill pathogens like downy mildew and powdery mildew — without harming the growing plants.
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section
A Zoom call where all the students are using virtual reality goggles

Multimedia

News

Six stories of six weeks of virtual learning
Instructors navigated technical and logistical difficulties, as well as the shifting realities of a global pandemic. But amid the challenges, students and faculty found opportunities for innovation, connection and intellectual growth. Here are...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering

Multimedia

News

CALS remembers animal science professor Jerrie Gavalchin

Her research focused on autoimmune disease and immunology in animals, with the goal of developing ways to improve animal health and production. She joined Cornell in 1999 as an adjunct associate professor in the Baker Institute for Animal Health...

  • Animal Science

Multimedia

News

Extension Responds: Resilience Across New York State

  • Cornell Cooperative Extension