Researching the future

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: August 28, 2008

Things we use every day were developed in university laboratories, corporate research centers and even in garages. But because research is so removed from the end users of the products and processes it makes possible, it’s hard to connect research to the things that have changed our lives.

That’s what makes it so important to pay close attention to the work being done at the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research. At its Institute for Sustainable and Renewable Resources, the focus is on helping the local economy — and solving some tough problems.

In the best possible world, the new plant varieties developed at the Institute will be grown in local fields to the benefit of local farmers — and the community as a whole. That’s one role of the Institute for Sustainable and Renewable Resources.

What’s the advantage of daylilies that flower longer or impatiens that are resistant to certain viruses? Some companies are already talking about buying those new, improved flowers that were developed right here in Danville.

The strawberry’s potential is being researched, too. Future improved strawberry plants could produce fruit that will stay ripe longer or have even more antioxidents.

Some plants that could be used as biofuels — decreasing our dependence on foreign energy sources — are being researched in the Institute’s labs.

Years from now, the people who have daylilies that flower longer or more disease-resistant impatiens probably won’t know where they were developed. The same thing can be said of strawberries that last longer, or a variety of switchgrass that helps to power the economy.

Will it ever matter to most people that the research that made those plants possible was done in Danville?

Probably not.

But what has mattered to our community is that this work — which had to be done somewhere — is done in our community every single day. That’s one of the things the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research does for the Dan River Region.

There’s a big difference between bringing new jobs to the community and changing the economy. We’ve seen that this community — which some gave up for dead — is able to attract thousands of new jobs. But through the research that is being done here, we’ve also seen that the work to change the local economy is well under way.