COLLEGE NEWS
- Babcock named director of CARD
- Ag students take advantage of learning communities
- Attend ag professional development program Nov. 23
- Ag Career Day attracts 1,700
- Ag Comm workshop on assignment planning Nov. 17
- BBMB sponsors career event on Saturday
- Ag faculty approves 1999-2001 catalog
- Deadline Nov. 20 for study-abroad scholarships
- World Bank the next focus of grantsmanship workshop
- Hort Farm apples go on sale next week
- Ag think tank to review goals next week
- Next Ag Online to be sent first week in December
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- College directory now available on web
INFOGRAZING
- Colleges perform about 12 percent of U.S. R&D
- Web site offers interactive ag science for kids
EXTERNAL VOICES
- What about research from the fringes?
MARGINALIA
- What scientists lack in wit, they make up in watt
...................................................
C O L L E G E N E W S
...................................................
BABCOCK NAMED DIRECTOR OF CARD
Economics professor Bruce Babcock has been named director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. He officially begins his five-year appointment on Monday. Babcock, a faculty member since 1990, has headed CARD’s Resource and Environmental Policy Division. He fills the position that was held by Stanley Johnson, who was named ISU vice provost for extension in 1996. William Meyers, CARD associate director, has served as interim director. Meyers will return to teaching and research in the economics department.
AG STUDENTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LEARNING COMMUNITIES
This fall there are 20 learning communities in the College of Agriculture, with about 245 students involved. Learning communities are groups of students who have similar academic goals, and often study or take courses together. Some live close together in the dorms. There are learning communities in agricultural business, agricultural education and studies, agricultural systems technology, agronomy, agronomy/English, animal science, pre-vet, horticulture and microbiology.
ATTEND AG PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM NOV. 23
Agriculture faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the fall professional development program, "The Spices of Life: Integrating Wellness in Professional Development." It will be held on Monday, Nov. 23, in the South Prairie Room, Holiday Inn Gateway Center. Beverages will be served at 8:30 a.m., and the program will last from 9 a.m. to noon. Participants will discuss ideas on making wellness more of a priority in the college. Speakers will include Gayle Kenny of Duke University, who will talk about research she’s done on benefits on university wellness programs. Other speakers will be from the Principal Financial Group and ISU’s Employee Wellness Program. For more information: Bill Graves, chair, professional development committee, 4-0034 or graves@iastate.edu.
AG CAREER DAY ATTRACTS 1,700
About 1,700 people visited with potential employers at Tuesday's Ag Career Day. Mike Gaul, career services director, said 145 exhibitors attended the annual event. Many employers stayed to interview students. About 250 interviews have been conducted, with more scheduled for next week.
AG COMM WORKSHOP ON ASSIGNMENT PLANNING NOV. 17
An Ag Comm workshop for faculty, graduate assistants and administrators will be held Tuesday, Nov. 17, noon to 1:30 p.m., in 8 Curtiss. The topic: "Bridging the Gap Between Assignment Planning and Assignment Evaluation." A light lunch is available. RSVP to Norma Hensley, 4-6614 or nhensley@iastate.edu.
BBMB SPONSORS CAREER EVENT ON SATURDAY
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology is holding a Professional Opportunities in the Sciences workshop for undergraduates, graduates and postdocs. It will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 1420 Molecular Biology. For more information, check online.
AG FACULTY APPROVES 1999-2001 CATALOG
On Oct. 30, the faculty approved the College of Agriculture's 1999-2001 catalog. For more information: Joe Colletti, chair, ag curriculum committee, 4-4912 or colletti@iastate.edu.
DEADLINE NOV. 20 FOR AG STUDY-ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS
The deadline for ISU Ag Foundation scholarship applications is Nov. 20. Applications are available in 18 Curtiss. The scholarships help students who want to participate in study-abroad programs offered next spring break or summer semester. For more information: Eduarda Becerra, 4-3972 or ebecerra@iastate.edu.
WORLD BANK THE FOCUS OF NEXT GRANTSMANSHIP WORKSHOP
On Jan. 14, there will be another workshop in the Successful Grantsmanship Series. "Understanding World Bank Funding Opportunities: Learning How to Develop Projects and Partnerships with the World Bank" will be held in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union, from 7 to 9 p.m. More details later. RSVP to Carla Persaud, 4-9376 or cpersaud@iastate.edu.
HORT FARM APPLES GO ON SALE NEXT WEEK
Apples grown at the Horticulture Farm will be sold beginning Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the farm. The sale begins at 8 a.m. and continues until 4 p.m., and is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18-20, but will end when the apples are sold out. Chieftain, Liberty, Gala, Jonathan, Yellow Delicious and Red Delicious varieties are available. The farm is located one and a half miles east of the Gilbert corner and Highway 69. Go to the first building on the left. To check on availability, call the farm: 232-1978.
AG THINK TANK TO REVIEW GOALS NEXT WEEK
A think tank made up of representatives from all sectors of Iowa agriculture will release its second annual report at a meeting Nov. 18-19 in Ames. The Iowa AgState Group was formed in the spring of 1997 to develop strategic plans for the future of Iowa's agriculture. The group's 1998 report will highlight recent successes plus new recommendations for 1999. Attending the meeting will be members of the boards of directors of the 11 participating organizations. CARD, the agricultural economics department and Ag Information provide administrative support for the group.
MEDIA WATCH: TRANSGENIC AG PRODUCTS
On Nov. 12, ISU faculty Max Rothschild, Don Beitz, John Mayfield and Howard Tyler were featured on a National Public Radio special, "Plants, Animals and Transgenics: A Tomato By Any Other Name." The show was one in a series of nine. The series, "The DNA Files," has been airing nightly on WOI-AM.
MEDIA WATCH: AT LAST, STURDIER S’MORES
In the Nov. 2 issue of Newsweek, a product developed by a team of ISU food science and human nutrition students was mentioned in a story on new foods. The article stated: "Researchers at Iowa State University have come up with premade s’mores, shaped like cylinders and guaranteed not to disintegrate in a toaster oven." The students’ project placed second in a national food product development competition.
NEXT AG ONLINE TO BE SENT FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the next Ag Online will be sent on Friday, Dec. 4. Deadline for copy will be Thursday, Dec. 3.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Nov. 20: Deadline, ISU Ag Foundation scholarships for study-abroad, 4-3972.
Nov. 23: College of Agriculture faculty and staff development program, 9 a.m., 4-0034.
Nov. 30: Course offering materials (for schedule of classes) for next academic year due, 23 Curtiss.
.......................................................................
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
.......................................................................
COLLEGE DIRECTORY NOW ON THE WEB
A directory of College of Agriculture administration, departments and centers is now available in PDF form on the Web. The directory, which includes contacts in college offices and some university offices, can be downloaded for viewing and printing using Adobe Acrobat Reader. It was compiled by Ag Information and will be updated regularly. If you have questions on downloading the document: Ed Adcock, 4-2314 or edadcock@iastate.edu. If you have directory updates: Marty Behrens, 4-5616 or mbehrens@iastate.edu.
...................................................
I N F O G R A Z I N G
...................................................
COLLEGES PERFORM ABOUT 12 PERCENT OF U.S. R&D
The National Science Foundation estimates that colleges and universities will perform an estimated 11.6 percent of total U.S. research and development this year, or $25.7 billion worth of work. This is a 3.1 percent increase from 1997. If university-administered, federally funded R&D centers are added, the university percentage rises to 14.1 percent, or $31.2 billion. Total U.S. R&D spending in 1998 is estimated to be nearly $221 billion -- the highest percentage of gross domestic product in six years.
WEB SITE OFFERS INTERACTIVE AG SCIENCE FOR KIDS
The USDA Agricultural Research Service has developed a web site for kids. Geared to children ages 8 to 13, "Sci4Kids" is a series of interactive stories based on projects featured in Agricultural Research, the ARS monthly magazine, and other news of interest to young people.
...................................................
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
...................................................
WHAT ABOUT RESEARCH FROM THE FRINGES?
In an Oct. 30 op-ed in Science, Paul Berg, professor of medicine at Stanford University, and Maxine Singer, president of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, DC, argued against efforts to prescribe the direction and tools of fundamental research. They wrote: "The lesson is that those who attempt to program future fundamental research, however well-motivated by medical, agricultural, or social needs, are likely to divert researchers from the fringes where the most promising discoveries are often made."
...................................................
M A R G I N A L I A
...................................................
WHAT SCIENTISTS LACK IN WIT, THEY MAKE UP IN WATT
Stand-up comics, sitcom writers and amateur jokesmiths now must confront the fact that scientists can make people laugh merely by delivering a tiny electric shock to the right spot in the brain. While searching for causes of a 16-year-old girl's epileptic seizures, UCLA researchers applied an electric probe to separate spots on the left frontal lobe of her brain. They found that an electrode touching a tiny patch of brain made her laugh. There was nothing forced or artificial about the laughter. The girl said she perceived genuine humor in her mundane surroundings when the electric laugh generator was applied. She told the researchers, "You guys are just so funny -- standing around." Her reaction "suggests a close link between the motor, affective and cognitive components of laughter," researchers said. "The duration and intensity of laughter increased with the level of stimulation current. At low currents only a smile was present, while at higher currents a robust contagious laughter was induced." (New York Times, March 10)