Omkar Kannan, 14 months, sits on his mother, Rajani Srinivasan’s lap while he plays with balloons at the Blackland Research and Extension Center’s 100th birthday party.  Srinivasan is an AgriLife research scientist at Blackland, which was created in 1909 as part of Texas AgriLife Research (formerly Texas Agricultural Experiment Station), the state research agency affiliated with the Texas A&M System.  It is one of 13 off-campus research and extension centers that performs research and delivers education programs to ensure a safe and affordable food supply; save and restore the environment; and strengthen the economy, according to its Web site.

–Reprinted with permission of Temple Daily Telegram