College News
President, Provost Take Part in Open Forum Wednesday
College of Agriculture faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend to an open forum with President Geoffroy and Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost Allen on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The president and provost will make a few remarks and then take questions. The forum will be held from 3:15 to 4 p.m. in the auditorium (Room 1131) of the National Swine Research and Information Center, the building connected to the National Soil Tilth Laboratory. Refreshments will be served at 3 p.m.
Braun Named Interim Plant Pathology Chair
Ed Braun, professor of plant pathology, has been named interim chair of the department for October while an internal search for a new chair is conducted. He served as chair for five years ending in 2001. In September, former chair Charlotte Bronson was named the university's associate vice provost for research.
Family Weekend Includes College Reception and Ag Olympics
The College of Agriculture Family Weekend reception will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Coffee, milk and pastries will be served. Students and their families will have the opportunity to visit with faculty and staff from the College. Door prizes will be awarded. After the reception, the Agriculture Student Council will be hosting Ag Olympics on central campus, featuring events such as horseshoes, a pie-eating contest, a wheelbarrow race and other games for students and their families.
ISU Extension's First Enologist on the Job
During the early 20th century, Iowa was the sixth largest grape producer in the country. In the last five years, Iowa has seen a rebound in both grape production and wineries. This past summer marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension -- the naming of ISU Extension's first enologist (wine scientist). Murli Dharmadhikari was appointed as extension enologist in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. As an extension enologist, he will work with Iowa's emerging grape processing industry. Support for Dharmadhikari and his program is coming from the ISU Extension, the College of Agriculture, the Leopold Center, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and private individuals. He previously was employed by Southwest Missouri State University. Dharmadhikari has been featured in an ISU Extension news release and in the Ames Tribune and the Des Moines Register.
Retired Deere Exec to Speak Friday
"ABE: Innovation That Endures (slip sticks to digitalis)" is the title of the next presentation in the Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering's Centennial Distinguished Speaker Series. Iowa State alumnus Ron Leonard, retired director of Worldwide Agricultural Tractor and Component Engineering at Deere & Co., will speak. The seminar will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in Room 101 Industrial Education II. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 p.m.
Pork Center Director Visits Washington
David Meisinger, director of the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence at Iowa State, and Elena Polush, program coordinator for the College's External Grants Program, visited Washington, D.C., last week to identify funding sources and build relationships aimed at strengthening the center's programs in research, teaching and outreach. They met with representatives of the Meat Research Institute, Department of Education, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Council for Science and the Environment and National Science Foundation.
Get the Scoop -- Buy Some Homemade Ice Cream
The dairy science club is selling homemade ice cream every Wednesday from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. in the lobby outside Lush Auditorium in Kildee Hall. A cup of ice cream costs $1 and club members have several flavors available.
Research Aimed at Reducing Livestock Production Odor
If you work in Jacek Koziel's lab at Iowa State, you get used to some odor. Koziel, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the only researcher in the country now using a $130,000 multidimensional GC-MS-O instrument to study odors from manure and barn dust.
Labor Markets Topic of Oct. 10 Miller Lecture
Robert Hunt, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, will present the Oct. 10 Miller Lecture, Economics of Innovation and Science Policy. The title of his speech will be "Matching and Learning in Cities: Urban Density and the Rate of Invention," which will examine the role local labor markets play in the production of innovations. It will begin at 4:10 p.m. in 368A Heady Hall. Contact: GianCarlo Moschini, 4-5761 or moschini@iastate.edu.
ISU Farm Income Tax School Offered in Eight Cities
Iowa State's Farm Income Tax School will be offered this fall in eight locations around Iowa. The school is a two-day training session for tax professionals, including attorneys, accountants and enrolled agents, who have farmer clientele. Now in its 32nd year, the ISU Extension program annually reaches more than 1,500 practitioners.
ISU Offers Energy and Grain Management Information
The 2005 crop season in Iowa has been one of incredible diversity. To help farmers and other ag business professionals face challenges and make better decisions, a team of ISU research and extension faculty and field specialists has been formed to address risk management, energy and grain storage issues.
ISU Looks for Grazing Alternatives to Improve Water Quality
A team of Iowa State animal scientists is evaluating how to improve the water quality of Iowa's farm streams through livestock grazing practices. Jim Russell, animal science, and his team are trying to determine how cattle grazing management practices may reduce phosphorus and sediment levels in pasture creeks.
Deadlines and Reminders
Oct. 7: Center for Integrated Animal Genomics grant proposal deadline
Oct. 8: Centennial celebration for the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Oct. 11: World Food Prize Laureate Modadugu Vijay Gupta lecture, 2 p.m., Lebaron Auditorium 1210, reception following in the Lebaron atrium
Oct. 12: Former Dean Catherine Woteki portrait hanging, 3:30 p.m., 142 Curtiss
Oct. 13-15: Breaking The Creative Barriers: The Arts and Sciences in Collaboration, Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities symposium, Memorial Union
Oct. 15: Deadline for submitting applications to the College's Grants for Distance Education: Expanding Quality Asynchronous Distance Education Offerings program, http://www.brenton.iastate.edu/grant.htm
Oct. 19: 2005 Shivvers Memorial Lecture, Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa biology professor, 7 p.m., College of Business auditorium, 1148 Gerdin, more: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/jackson_092005.htm
Oct. 28-29: Affiliates Workshop on Overarching Issues in Risk Analysis
Communications Kiosk
Podcasting is a Portmanteau
A portmanteau (plural: portmanteaux or portmanteaus) is a word that is formed by combining both sounds and meanings from two or more words. It can also be called a frankenword (incidentally, another example of a portmanteau). The term used in linguistics is blend. "Podcasting" is a portmanteau that combines the words "broadcasting" and "Pod." The term can be misleading since neither podcasting nor listening to podcasts requires an iPod or any portable player. (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting)
Infograzing
Accreditation Public Forums this Week
The Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accrediting body, next year will evaluate Iowa State. The last accreditation visit was in 1996. A university self-study, conducted in preparation for the March accreditation visit is ready for your comments. The university community can help ensure that this important document is accurate and complete by offering comments and suggestions during two public forums at 3 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Memorial Union Gallery and 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in 244 Memorial Union. The forums offer an opportunity to review the self-study process, discuss the current draft and provide comments. The self-study is available online. Those who can't attend a forum can send comments via the Web site's "feedback" link or e-mail them to David Holger, associate provost and leader of the self-study steering committee, at holger@iastate.edu.
WEBCT Show and Tell, Demo Wednesday
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and Information Technology Services-Academic Technologies, will sponsor a WebCT Show and Tell and brief WebCT 6.0 Demo, from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5 in 1230 Communications Building. Register at celt@iastate.edu or 4-5357.
Natural Resource Extension Conference in May
The fifth Natural Resource Extension Professionals Conference will take place May 14 to 17 in Park City, Utah. The theme of the conference is Finding the "Ability" in Sustainability, which will examine the issues surrounding sustainability education efforts.
External Voices
Dr. Mom Advises the Freshmen
When her daughter headed off to college four years ago, Kerry Kilburn, a senior lecturer in biology at Old Dominion University, developed a website, Dr. Mom's Guide to College full of useful tips for freshmen entering college. Tips include: Back up assignments on disk. Don't ask "Do I have to read the textbook?" Take advantage of office hours, "arguably the most underused tool available to students." And also this tip: "Maintain your beginner's mind. Leave the expectations behind, make every moment a learning opportunity, and take advantage of as many of them as possible." (Chronicle of Higher Education, September 16)
Next issue: Oct. 10
Ag Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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