COLLEGE NEWS
- Plant Science Institute gathering on Saturday
- National Swine Center to be dedicated Oct. 30
- Animal scientist’s product to be marketed worldwide
- Taylor to direct college study abroad programs
- CARD, MATRIC sponsor dairy policy symposium
- ISU team places first in regional soil judging contest
- FFA students ready for state soil judging event
- Environmental economics papers online
- View the tape of USA Carver building dedication
- Gordon Bultena lecture series on future of farms
- Agriculture Career Day coming up in November
- Collegiate Farm Bureau plans ag career forum Oct. 26
- Biotechnology Career Day Oct. 20
- International funds for grad students, post-docs
- Little North American showmanship event on Oct. 23
- Forestry Club to participate in Midwestern conclave
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Adjust computer monitor to protect your eyes
- A place for your slides: Free carousels
INFOGRAZING
- Sustainable plans following natural disasters
- Scottish lipid chemist named to ISU chair
- Low crop prices not seen since 1987 and 1975
INTERNAL VOICES
- More expected from agriculture as momentum rises
EXTERNAL VOICES
- World Food Prize winner gets the job done
MARGINALIA
- Don’t forget your metal shoes at forestry conclave
- What’s that big rock in front of Curtiss Hall?
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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PLANT SCIENCE INSTITUTE GATHERING ON SATURDAY
The Plant Sciences Institute’s inaugural colloquium will be held Saturday, Oct. 16, in Lush Auditorium, Kildee Hall, from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The institute is the umbrella organization for a group of eight research centers. ISU President Jischke will make an announcement of a new gift. Colin Scanes, interim director of the institute, and the leaders of the centers will give presentations. Sixty posters on plant-science research will be on display in the Kildee Hall atrium. The event is free and open to the public.
NATIONAL SWINE CENTER TO BE DEDICATED OCT. 30
The National Swine Research and Information Center will be dedicated at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 30. ISU and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service will jointly operate the building, which will conduct research on pork industry issues such as odor, water quality, animal health and worker safety. Speakers will include ISU President Jischke and Dean Topel.
ANIMAL SCIENTIST’S PRODUCT TO BE MARKETED WORLDWIDE
Metabolic Technologies, Inc. (MTI), the company founded by ISU animal scientist Steve Nissen, recently completed an arrangement with Novartis for worldwide marketing and distribution of Juven, a nutritional supplement for AIDS and cancer patients. MTI is based in the ISU Research Park. Juven helps lessen the effects of wasting, the loss of muscle mass caused by disease. The product contains HMB, a natural muscle-building compound discovered by Nissen.
TAYLOR TO DIRECT COLLEGE STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
Shelley Taylor has been named director of agriculture study abroad in the International Agriculture Programs office. Taylor is currently the administrative assistant for the MidAmerica International Agricultural Consortium. In her new position, she will plan, direct and evaluate College of Agriculture student study- and work-abroad programs. Taylor is president of the ISU chapter of Phi Beta Delta, the honor society of international scholars, and co-adviser of the International Agriculture Club. She has a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the University of Colorado and a master’s in anthropology from ISU.
CARD, MATRIC SPONSOR DAIRY POLICY SYMPOSIUM
Dairy policies are expected to be scrutinized in upcoming World Trade Organization talks. Last week a two-day policy research symposium was held in Kansas City to analyze current domestic and international dairy issues. John Beghin of CARD and Daniel Sumner of the University of California at Davis organized the meeting, and CARD and MATRIC were two sponsors. Thirty invited academics and researchers participated in "National and Trade Dairy Policies: Implications for the Next World Trade Organization Negotiations." The Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics is planning a special issue devoted to the symposium.
ISU TEAM PLACES FIRST IN REGIONAL SOIL JUDGING CONTEST
An ISU student team took first place in the American Society of Agronomy Region 5 soil judging contest. Seven Midwest university teams competed in the contest held Sept. 27-Oct.1, hosted by Kansas State University. The first place finish earned the team the right to compete in the national contest at the University of Idaho next spring. The team was coached by Skye Wills, graduate student in agronomy, and Jon Sandor, professor of agronomy.
FFA STUDENTS READY FOR STATE SOIL JUDGING EVENT
Thirty FFA teams from high schools around the state will compete in the 1999 Iowa FFA Soils Judging Event on Saturday, Oct. 16, near Story City. The event is coordinated by Gerald Miller, the college’s associate dean of industry and extension programs. Judges include Jon Sandor, agronomy, and Richard Pope, entomology. Angela Rieck-Hinz, agronomy, and Virgil Schmitt, ISU Extension field specialist, help coordinate and score the contest. Sponsors for the contest include the agronomy department and ISU Extension. This is the 18th year that ISU has helped coordinate the event.
ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS PAPERS ONLINE
CARD is posting on its website the proceedings from the Heartland Environmental and Resource Economics workshop held last month. Two papers and photos are now online and others soon will be posted. The site: http://www.card.iastate.edu/about/heartlandconf/proceedings.html
VIEW THE TAPE OF USDA CARVER BUILDING DEDICATION
A videotape of last week's dedication ceremony of the USDA's George Washington Carver Center, Beltsville, Md., is available for viewing. Dean Topel and Charles Stewart, senior in agricultural biochemistry and national president of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources & Related Sciences, spoke at the Oct. 6 event. The VHS videotape is about one-and-a-half hours long. To check out a copy: Joyce Shiers, 4-2518 or jshiers@iastate.edu.
GORDON BULTENA LECTURE SERIES ON FUTURE OF FARMS
"Wither the Farm? Moving Beyond the Current Crisis in Agriculture" is the theme of the Gordon Bultena Lectures in Rural Life. The first will be held Thursday, Oct. 21, and will include speaker Paul Lasley, sociology, and panelists Nan Bonfils, farmer and program assistant with Practical Farmers of Iowa; Kathleen Delate, horticulture/agronomy; and Mike Duffy, economics. The second lecture, on Nov. 3, will feature Paul Johnson, director of Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The third, on Nov. 30, will include the Ron and Maria Rosmann family, who farm near Harlan. All three lectures will be held in the Sun Room, Memorial Union, at 8 p.m. The lecture series is named for Bultena, a retired ISU rural sociologist. For more information: Mike Bell, sociology, 4-2179.
AGRICULTURE CAREER DAY COMING UP IN NOVEMBER
Agriculture Career Day will be held Nov. 9 in the Memorial Union. Mike Gaul, director of agriculture career services, expects 145 employers to be represented at the largest university ag career day in the country. More than 2,000 students, alumni and visitors are expected to attend. ISU has a web page featuring participating companies and organizations, which is updated weekly.
COLLEGIATE FARM BUREAU PLANS AG CAREER FORUM OCT. 26
A forum on agricultural careers will be held Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. in 127 Curtiss. The forum, sponsored by the ISU Collegiate Farm Bureau Club, will feature people in various agricultural careers talking about the changing agriculture industry and how today’s students can prepare themselves for tomorrow's jobs. For more information: Mike Gaul, 4-4725, or mikegaul@iastate.edu.
BIOTECHNOLOGY CAREER DAY OCT. 20
Representatives from Iowa biotechnology companies will accept resumes and talk to undergraduate and graduate students about job and internship opportunities during a career day Wednesday, Oct. 20. The event, sponsored by the Office of Biotechnology and the Iowa Biotechnology Association, will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Molecular Biology Building atrium. For more information, check online.
INTERNATIONAL FUNDS FOR GRAD STUDENTS, POST-DOCS
The deadline is Nov. 15 for applications for International Funding for Graduate Students and Post-docs in the College of Agriculture. For more information: Elena Polouchkina, 4-8493,or e-mail elenap@iastate.edu. Or check online.
LITTLE NORTH AMERICAN SHOWMANSHIP EVENT ON OCT. 23
On Oct. 23, the Block and Bridle Club will host the 80th annual Little North American, a livestock showmanship contest for members of the club and the Dairy Science Club. Events begin at 8 a.m. in the Kildee Hall pavilion. There will be novice and professional divisions for beef, sheep, swine, horse and dairy. In another competition, the Sale of Champions, teams choose an animal to train and promote for a mock auction. This event is chaired by students Scott Grantz and Allison Riddle.
FORESTRY CLUB TO PARTICIPATE IN MIDWESTERN CONCLAVE
The ISU Forestry Club will participate in the annual Midwestern Forestry Conclave, Oct. 22-24, near Columbia, Mo. The conclave, attended by 300 to 400 college students, features forestry-related events and competitions, including team bucking, speed chop, match split and dendrology (see glossary in "Marginalia"). The conclave also gives students the chance to meet with professionals working in forestry.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Oct. 16: Plant Sciences Colloquium, Lush Auditorium, Kildee Hall
Oct. 16: Ag Alumni Society bus trip to ISU-Missouri game
Oct. 18: Frank K. Ramsey Lecture: 1999 World Food Prize Laureate Walter Plowright, 1226 Vet Med, 10 a.m.
Oct. 20: Biotechnology Career Day, Molecular Biology Building
Oct. 25: Think Tank on Animal Agriculture forum, 4-5626.
Oct. 30: Dedication, National Swine Research and Information Center, 10:30 a.m.
Nov. 1-5: ISU Agriculture Week
Nov. 9: Agriculture Career Day
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
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ADJUST COMPUTER MONITOR TO PROTECT YOUR EYES
Make sure your computer monitor is set properly to protect your eyesight. MacHome's HotTips recommends adjusting the monitor's position to avoid glare from external light sources such as windows and ceiling fixtures. Pay attention to potential trouble such as flicker, jitter, screen shrinkage and noise distortions or interference. A refresh rate higher than 65 Hertz should eliminate any annoying flicker (you should be able to set this by calling up your computer’s resolution options for the monitor). Check for sources of electromagnetic interference, such as halogen lamps and desk fans. Magnetic field interference from the motor of a fan placed too close to your monitor will make your screen appear wavy.
A PLACE FOR YOUR SLIDES: FREE CAROUSELS
Agriculture Information has empty slide carousels available. If you’d like one or more, stop by the office at 304 Curtiss.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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SUSTAINABLE PLANS FOLLOWING NATURAL DISASTERS
On Oct. 21, Phi Beta Delta, the honor society for international scholars, will feature a speech by architecture professor Bob Findlay entitled "The Peace Corps and Disaster Management: A Sustainable Approach." He will speak on his Peace Corps experiences in working with communities to develop long-term risk assessment plans following natural disasters. Those plans would affect many areas of community life, including agriculture. The program begins at 3:30 p.m. in the Gallery, Memorial Union. For more information: Shelley Taylor, szim@iastate.edu.
SCOTTISH LIPID CHEMIST NAMED TO ISU CHAIR
Frank Gunstone has been named to the Dean Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair in ISU's College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Gunstone, a professor emeritus at St. Andrews University in Scotland and a scientist at the Scottish Crops Research Institute, will spend a month in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. He is the author of widely respected books on lipid chemistry and more than 300 papers on the synthesis of fatty acids and identification of novel fatty acids. Gunstone will give two public lectures: "Feeding the Multitude: Where is Tomorrow's Equivalent of the Five Loaves and Two Fishes?" 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 26, LeBaron Hall auditorium; and "Feeding the Favored: Tailor-Made Fats," 8 p.m., Oct. 28, in the Molecular Biology Building auditorium.
LOW CROP PRICES NOT SEEN SINCE 1987 AND 1975
In answering questions from a news reporter this week, Bob Wisner, economics, reported the following information: The last time cash soybean prices in north-central Iowa were at today's current low level was December 1975. The last time cash corn prices in north-central Iowa were at today's current low level was April 1987.
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I N T E R N A L V O I C E S
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MORE EXPECTED FROM AGRICULTURE AS MOMENTUM RISES
"It would be hard to believe there are other agricultural colleges that have more momentum and more to feel good about than Iowa State’s College of Agriculture. Expectations are up. For whom much is given, much is expected. Welcome to the dance." President Jischke, speaking to agriculture faculty and staff on Sept. 29, after listing several recent projects and initiatives where the college has played, or will play, a key role. Jischke’s remarks were made at a forum that was part of his and Provost Rollin Richmond’s visit to the college.
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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WORLD FOOD PRIZE WINNER GETS THE JOB DONE
"My work wasn’t aimed at reducing world hunger. It was merely an effort to do a technical job to the best of my ability." 1999 World Food Prize laureate Walter Plowright, speaking at the prize’s award ceremony in Des Moines on Thursday. Plowright won for his development of a vaccine for rinderpest, a devastating cattle disease.
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M A R G I N A L I A
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DON’T FORGET YOUR METAL BOOTS AT FORESTRY CONCLAVE
Here are definitions of some of the events to be held at the Midwestern Forestry Conclave (see Forestry Club item in "College News"): Team bucking is a timed event in which two people cut through a log using a large saw. Match split is using an axe to try to split a match that is stuck upright in a stump or log. In the speed chop, competitors wearing metal boots stand on logs and use axes to cut through the wood between their feet. Dendrology is tree identification.
WHAT’S THAT BIG ROCK IN FRONT OF CURTISS HALL?
That big rock will soon have a plaque commemorating the selection of ISU’s central campus as a "medallion site" by the American Society of Landscape Architects. The society selected only three campus sites around the country for the honor -- ISU, Yale and the University of Virginia. ISU's campus was one of five Iowa locations chosen. Central campus includes 490 acres of trees, plants and classically designed buildings.