Welcome to the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS). NCARS is the research arm of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N. C. State University. NCARS has a statewide mandate to conduct research to undergird the agricultural industry in North Carolina. NCARS is nearly 400 scientists; more than 200 graduate students, researchers, research assistants and postdoctoral scientists; and roughly 400 technicians and support staff. Much of the work of these scientists and their associates focuses on agriculture. But the college and the Agricultural Research Service also embrace the life sciences - sciences such as botany, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, toxicology and zoology. Inclusion of the life sciences strengthens programs across the college by increasing the likelihood scientists from different disciplines will find the common ground that so often produces discoveries that make life better for all of us.

The ability to focus scientific research on real world problems is the great strength and singular success of the American land-grant university system. The North Carolina Agricultural Research Service and North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service based at North Carolina State University are partners in problem solving. Extension faculty take what scientists have learned into North Carolina fields and factories, benefiting North Carolinians in every walk of life.

At the same time, the Research Service plays an integral role in the academic life of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Our partnership with our college's Office of Academic Programs allows scientists to interact with students to the benefit of student and scientist. The student gets a taste of first-rate research. The scientist is energized by the curiosity and vigor that is so often the province of the young.

A number of our faculty members are employed by the US Department of Agriculture but have joint appointments with the university. These ties give us access to the thinking and research of scientists across the nation. At the same time, many of our scientists collaborate with colleagues in the university's other colleges, particularly the colleges of Natural Resources, Veterinary Medicine and Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Agricultural Research Service scientists also work frequently with researchers at the School of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and the School of Agriculture at NC Agricultural & Technical State University. In addition, many of our researchers maintain collaborative linkages with colleagues in other countries around the world. As our world grows more complex so do the problems we face. Our ties to other colleges and agencies allow us to take the kind of interdisciplinary approach that such problems demand.

We invite you to explore the information that is available online. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS)
201 Patterson Hall, Box 7643
NC State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7643
Telephone: 919-515-2717
Fax: 919-515-7745