TIP News & Events

A large group of people outdoors in front of pine trees under a blue sky, posing for a group photo.

2026 NCSU TIP Short Course

The Tree Improvement Program at NC State University is hosting a Short Course in Savannah, GA during the week of November 30, 2026. The short course covers the implementation of a pine breeding program including:

  • Grafting, pollen collection/storage, and controlled pollination

  • Progeny testing field practices and experimental design

  • Reproductive biology, including cone dissection and phenology

  • Seed deployment using provenance data and breeding values

  • Fundamentals of recurrent selection programs

Contact me about this short course!
A man and woman standing together in front of a red wall with large white letters spelling 'HISTORICAL'. The man is wearing glasses, a gray suit, light blue shirt, and red tie. The woman has long blonde hair and is wearing a red and black patterned dress with a black blazer.

$50K Endowment to support forest research

NC State professor Fikret Isik and his partner, Paula Barnes Cardinale, have made a planned gift to support graduate students interested in production forestry and forest health. This couple’s gift will fund supplemental stipends, with priority given to North Carolina residents in the Cooperative Tree Improvement Program, followed by students from other states and those in the forest genetics program.

More about this gift
A forest scene with tall pine trees, some marked with red spray paint, and a ground covered with brown pine needles.

Reviving a Southern Icon: How Science is Securing the Future of Longleaf Pine

We recently had an opportunity to site down with representatives in the College of Natural Resources to introduce Tertius Venter, our new Longleaf Tree Improvement Manager, and the give an inside look at the Longleaf Project we started in 2024 with The Longleaf Alliance. We really enjoyed the conversation and happy to share the written piece:

Read the CNR story!