Grady Miller, a crop science professor, has a vested interest in the Olympics but for a different reason than most.
During the summer of 2007, Miller and other scientists met with local Chinese officials to prepare for the 2008 summer Olympics.
About four years ago, this group was formed to discuss the issues surrounding turf facilities at the Olympics, according to Miller.
He said a committee of people from around Beijing invited experts to participate in the forum.
“There’s a committee associated with the group that usually entails local people where the Olympics could be held that contacts certain people and asks them to participate,” Miller said.
Miller said he was asked to join this group for a tour of the Olympic facilities in Beijing during the summer of last year.
“I guess the main purpose is information exchange,” Miller said. “You look at sites, and you have discussions and presentations on things that have worked or have not worked in your country.”
Mark Aldridge, a second year student in the Agricultural Institute, said he is proud of the Wolfpack’s presence abroad.
“It’s cool to know that a professor you see around the halls is advising for the Olympics,” Aldridge said. “It shows the real world applications of what we’re learning.”
According to Miller, the summer climate in [North Carolina] most closely resembles the climate of Beijing out of all the climates in the U.S.
“I haven’t looked at climatic conditions over the full year of Beijing versus the Raleigh area, but certainly while we were there in May and June, it was a warm period much like we were having here,” he said.
The preferred turf solution in North Carolina, according to Miller, is Bermuda grass as base grass while over-seeding with cool-season grass for temporary use.
While the climate in Beijing closely resembles that of North Carolina, the facilities in are different. Miller said he was surprised to find that athletes would be competing on a variety of surfaces, depending on the event.
“We’re pretty consistent in what we use… they’re going to go ahead and play games on a pretty wide variety of different surface types,” Miller said. “They’re going with primarily warm-season grasses, but they actually are going to use some cool season grasses.
Management of different types of grasses can make life tough for grounds crews according to Kenny Carrick, a senior in agronomy-turfgrass management concentration.
“Maintenance practices on cool season and warm season grasses are basically the same but for cool season, water application rates are much more important under extreme temperatures,” Carrick said.