COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES

	Jan Spears Professor of Crop Science	CROP SCIENCE PERSONNEL
	2126 Williams Hall Campus Box 7620 Raleigh, NC 27695-7620	CURRICULUM VITAE
	Phone: (919) 515-4070 FAX: (919) 515-7959 jan_spears@ncsu.edu

Dr. Spears’ graduate education was in Seed Physiology with graduate degrees from Oregon State University (1984) and the University of Kentucky (1988). She began her career at NC State in 1988 as the Seed Extension Specialist. Since coming to NCSU, she has developed a seed research program and began teaching in both the Agricultural Institute and the four-year baccalaureate program. She assumed the duties of Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator for the department in 2004.

Extension Program

The Seed Extension program includes applied research and on-farm tests that explore the interactions of seed quality, soil environment, and at-planting stand establishment products. Dr. Spears works primarily with corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and wheat. She also works closely with agricultural extension agents and seed growers across the state to evaluate production practices that maximize seed quality of peanuts, soybeans, and wheat.

Teaching Program

Dr. Spears teaches CS 103- Introduction to Crop Science, a freshman orientation class for students in Agronomy Crop Production, Agronomic Business and Turfgrass Science, CS 424 – Seed Biology and Ecology, and CS 067 – Cereal Grain Crop Production. A new course CS 224 – Seeds and Their Uses, will be offered in spring 2007.

She also advises students in both the four-year Agronomy curriculum and in the two-year Field Crops Technology program.

Research Program

Dr. Spears has recently worked with NCSU plant breeding programs to assess the quality of high oleic acid soybean and peanut lines. She also works with the tobacco OVT program to determine seed quality of tobacco varieties and with weed scientists to identify seed germination parameters of several different weed species.