College News
Gamma Sigma Delta Award Nominations Due March 11
Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture, seeks nominations for its annual awards. The awards will be presented at the initiation and awards ceremony at 5 p.m. April 5 in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. Awards include the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award; three Mission Award of Merit for teaching, research and extension; and an Alumni Award of Merit. GSD also is seeking nominations for faculty, staff and alumni membership. The award nominations are due March 11 to Robert Martin, awards committee chair. The nomination forms are being distributed and are available online.
New Award to Recognized Student Recruitment
The College of Agriculture has established a new award to recognize outstanding service in student recruitment and retention. Members of the faculty and professional staff with a minimum of five years of service at ISU are eligible. The award includes a $500 stipend. Recruitment and retention activities for undergraduate students through learning communities, clubs and other efforts are among the award criteria.
Ag Economists to Testify in Trade Dispute
ISU economists Dermot Hayes and John Lawrence will testify March 8 in Washington, D.C. at the final phase of the U.S. International Trade Commission investigation of live swine imports from Canada. The National Pork Producers Council, eight state pork associations, and individual pork producers petitioned the commission claiming damages from dumping of Canadian live swine in U.S. markets at less than fair value. The U.S. Department of Commerce agreed with the petitioners in October 2004 and imposed preliminary antidumping duties on the majority of live Canadian hogs entering the United States. The commission will issue a final determination on the case in mid-April.
College Faculty Invited to 'Connect with Iowa'
The fourth in a series of "Connect with Iowa" community visits will be March 28 to Webster County. Dean Catherine Woteki would like 12 to 15 faculty members to accompany her on the trip. The day will include visits to a diversified crop and livestock family farm and Fort Dodge Animal Health, lunch with the Fort Dodge Rotary, a visit with high school and community college agriculture students and a roundtable discussion with community leaders. The registration deadline is March 9. Contact Joyce Shiers, 4-2518 or jshiers@iastate.edu.
ISU Receives $900,000 Grant for SCN Research
Iowa State has been awarded a grant for $900,000 to investigate the process by which soybean cyst nematodes infect soybeans.
Program to Address Asian Soybean Rust Questions
A satellite program presenting information and answering questions about Asian soybean rust will be held from 10 a.m. to noon March 11. The program will feature Iowa State experts and representatives from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Soybean Association.
New Service Available at Plant Transformations Facility
The Plant Transformation Facility has begun offering rice transformation services. Rice is not only the world's most important crop for human consumption; it is uniquely well suited to scientific research. Researchers who are working on other monocotyledonous crops such as corn or wheat may choose to test their hypotheses in rice first. The shorter life cycle allows the process to be completed more quickly. The cost of a standard rice transformation project is a tenth of the corn service. Contacts: Marcy Main, research associate, at mmain@iastate.edu or Kan Wang, at kanwang@iastate.edu, for technical questions.
Dairy Science Banquet to Honor Alum
The Dairy Science Club will honor alumnus Karl Sera at its banquet Sunday, March 6. Sera will be recognized as the club's distinguished graduate. He graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in dairy science in 1955 and joined the American Soybean Association in Japan where he works as an international marketing consultant. The banquet starts with a social hour at 11 a.m. with the banquet at noon in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased by March 2 by contacting Ilene Carlson, 4-6021 or icarlson@iastate.edu.
Deadlines and Reminders
Feb. 28: Proposal deadline for College mini-grants program to support innovations in learning and teaching
March 1: Deadline for Center for Integrated Animal Genomics Spring Grant Program applications
March 1: Deadline for abstracts for the Third International Symposium on Genetics of Animal Health on July 13 to 15, Iowa State University
March 8-9: Agriculture and the Environment Conference
March 9-10: John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture, Ames and Centerville
March 15: Proposal deadline, Grants for Distance Education Program, http://www.brenton.iastate.edu/grant.htm
March 31: Nomination deadline, 2005 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture, http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/spencer_020805.htm
April 12: Science in Ag Day workshop, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., http://www.agstudent.iastate.edu/biorenewables/biorenewables.htm
Communications Kiosk
A Tangled Web of Terms
Should the terms internet, web and net be capitalized? That's the topic of a recent article in Copy Editor. Norm Goldstein, editor of the Associated Press Stylebook, said that it may depend on whether the publication you produce is traditional or "wired." He recommends keeping the capitalizations even though such magazines as Wired News are not using capitalizations, but using lowercase for on-line use. (Copy Editor, October-November 2004)
Infograzing
College Offers Faculty Support for Conferences
The College of Agriculture will support faculty who wish to attend the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation regional grants conferences. The college will cover up to $1,000 of each person's travel expenses. The NIH Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants Administration is April 7-8 in Albuquerque and June 23-24 at West Lafayette, Ind. The NSF Regional Grants Conference is April 4-5 in Oakland, Calif. Contact Elena Polush, 4-8493 or elenap@iastate.edu.
EDUCAUSE Publishes First Web-Only Book
Iowa State College of Agriculture alums Diana Oblinger, vice president of EDUCAUSE and director of the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, and James Oblinger, chancellor of North Carolina State University, have edited EDUCAUSE's first Web-only book, "Educating the Net Generation." The e-book is available in PDF and HTML formats, with Web-only resources listed on its homepage. A file of the complete book is available for download and printing. (EDUCAUSE, Feb. 25)
Rules Apply to Parking University Vehicles
There are rules for parking Iowa State vehicles at private residences. University vehicles may be driven to a private residence and parked overnight if the driver is to depart early in the morning before Transportation Services opens. It must be parked off the street and secured. Transportation Services reminds university employees that vehicles are for official business only and are to be used by authorized faculty and staff. The rules regarding ISU vehicle use are outlined online.
Administrative Internship Applications Due March 11
The Office of the Provost has continued its program supporting internships in administrative offices on campus. Applications should be sent to the Office of the Provost, 1550 Beardshear Hall by 5 p.m. March 11. Contact: Julie Tarbox, 4-6410 or jtarbox@iastate.edu.
External Voices
Taking a Stand on Science
"Above all, we have to take a stand on science no matter what. ... And that means that we need objectivity, relevance, accessibility, sustainability and flexibility in research, so that in the end we can develop policies based on science."
--Elsa Murano, Texas A&M University System vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences and former U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for food safety from 2001-2004.
Marginalia
Rice Helps Hold China Together
Rice is a Chinese staple in more than one way. The legend that ancient Chinese craftsmen working on the Great Wall used glutinous rice porridge in the mortar has been verified, Xinhua news agency reported. Archaeologists researching an ancient wall around the city of Xi'an, a former imperial capital and home to the famed terracotta warriors, were stumped by the ingredients of a resilient mortar holding bricks together. The hardened paste reacted similarly to glutinous, or sticky, rice in chemical tests, a researcher with the Xi'an Preservation and Restoration Centre of Cultural Relics said. The 40-foot wall was built during the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and remains well preserved today. (Reuters)
Next issue: March 7
Ag Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
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