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COLLEGE NEWS
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WALLACES FARMER STORY: COLLEGE GRADS IN DEMAND
Animal science students Justine Hosch, Beth Baudler, Mike Slattery and Stacey Roberts were highlighted in the July 2009 issue of Wallaces Farmer in a story about the availability of agricultural jobs for recent graduates. The story quoted College alumni, faculty and staff about academic programs, job prospects and the quality of graduates. (See Internal Voices for a quote from the story.)
WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING INTERNS PRESENT RESEARCH
Interns with the Program for Women in Science and Engineering's summer internship, partly funded by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will be presenting their research in a poster session and reception on Friday, July 24, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Kildee Hall atrium. Preceding the poster session is a speaker and awards program from 1 to 2 p.m. in 1204 Kildee. Involved in the summer internship program as mentors are College departmental faculty, including: Amy Andreotti, Basil Nikolau and Gustavo MacIntosh (BBMB); Diane Birt, Kevin Schalinke, Wendy White and Matthew Rowling (FSHN); Clark Coffman and Maura McGrail (GDCB); Joan Cunnick, Joshua Selsby and Christopher Tuggle (animal science); Fred Janzen and Nicole Valenzuela (EEOB); Mark Gleason (plant pathology); Brian Hornbuckle (agronomy); and Michelle Soupir (ABE).
CORN AND CLIMATE REPORT INCLUDES COLLEGE AUTHORS
A group of climate scientists and other experts representing Iowa State, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Great Plains Institute last week warned that the nation's food security could be at risk in a warming climate. The warning came in a report called the Corn and Climate Report. Extension corn specialists and agronomy professors Roger Elmore and Emerson Nafziger and Eugene Takle, agronomy professor and director of the ISU Climate Change Initiative, were among the report's authors.
ABE INVOLVED IN BIOREACTOR PROJECT
A tile line bioreactor will be installed July 22 at a demonstration in rural Hancock County. Agricultural and biosystems engineering faculty Matt Helmers and Alok Bhandari and graduate student Laura Christianson helped with the design of the bioreactors, which process and remove nitrogen from the water flowing through the tile line. Agriculture's Clean Water Alliance and the Iowa Soybean Association will monitor nitrate levels at the bioreactor site to evaluate its performance. Also involved are USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Reding's Gravel and Excavating Co. Inc., Agridrain Corp. and the Des Moines Water Works.
BHANDARI LEADS DENITRIFYING BIOREACTOR RESEARCH
Iowa farmers could have another practice to add to their nitrogen management toolbox. The Leopold Center is supporting a new study to test how well bioreactors remove nitrates from water that comes from tile-drained fields. Alok Bhandari, agricultural and biosystems engineering, is leading the multiyear project. Details: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2009/071609_bioreactor…
BIOCENTURY RESEARCH FARM MANAGER HIRED
Andrew Suby has joined Iowa State's BioCentury Research Farm as manager. The BioCentury Research Farm's processing facility is scheduled to begin operations next month adjacent to the Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Research Farm west of Ames.
NEW IOWA STATE LAB AVAILABLE FOR TESTING FOOD COMPOUNDS
A new lab at Iowa State that enables quick identification of beneficial compounds in food is available to researchers working on preventing spoilage, improving food quality, controlling foodborne pathogens and enhancing the growth of probiotic bacteria. The Discovery Lab is being operated within the university's Center for Crops Utilization Research for on- and off-campus clients.
CALS WEB FEATURE: CARVER INTERN WORKS ON WATER QUALITY
Terence Parker, a high school senior in Houston, Texas, is one of 14 students participating in the George Washington Carver Internship Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Parker is working with Amy Kaleita in ABE on water quality research.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
July 21: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, Veenker Memorial Golf Course
July 30-31: "Enhance Your Iowa Plate Conference"
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Aug. 25 (preapplication required): Biological Systems Research on the Role of Microbial Communities in Carbon Cycling; $250,000 to $1 million per award, $12 million available.
Sept. 9: Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP); $50,000 to $750,000 per award, 20 awards.
Sept. 15 (preliminary proposal): Undergraduate Research and Mentoring in the Biological Sciences URM); eight awards, $4 million available. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06591/nsf06591.pdf
Sept. 21 (letter of intent): Revolutionary Genome Sequencing Technologies - The $1,000 Genome (R01). Up to $1.5 million (direct costs) over four years per award, two to seven awards, $5 million available. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-09-011.html
Sept. 25: Delivery and Development of Instructional Materials (NASA); 12 awards, funding levels not specified.
Oct. 14: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB) 2010 Competitive Areas: Broadening Participation in Biology and Biological Informatics; 15 fellowships, $6 million available. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09573/nsf09573.htm?govDel=USNSF_25
Oct. 14: Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP); $350,000 over two to five years, four to eight projects.
NSF STEM SCHOLARSHIP PRE-PROPOSALS DUE JULY 31
Pre-proposals for College submissions to the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program are due July 31 to Senior Associate Dean Joe Colletti (colletti@iastate.edu). This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students, enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level degree in science and engineering disciplines. Faculty split between colleges may only submit to one college. The College pre-proposal chosen will be notified by 5 p.m. on Aug. 7. The letter of intent is due to NSF on Aug. 11 and the full proposal is due to NSF by Sept. 14. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5257
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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SIX SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS
You can embrace social media, but don't get too caught up in the technology. That's advice from two leading experts in the field who discussed the growing impact of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media tools at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education 2009 Summit for Advancement Leaders. Elizabeth Allen of the Caltech Alumni Association and Michael Stoner, president of mStoner, listed common social media myths:
--You can control the conversation (not true)
--Social media is inexpensive (not necessarily)
--Social media is fast (not necessarily)
--Social media is hard (not necessarily)
--You don't need a Web site (wrong; your Web site is more important than ever)
--You can't measure social media (you can, if you are clear about outcomes you want)
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INFOGRAZING
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IOWA LEARNING FARM FIELD DAY SET FOR THURSDAY
The Iowa Learning Farm will host a field day at the Max Schmidt farm in Howard County Thursday, July 23, at 5:15 p.m. The field day will focus on crop residue management and conservation farming practices to reduce soil erosion and improve soil and water quality.
EXTENSION BEE HEALTH WEB SITE LAUNCHES
The eXtension Bee Health web site has been launched through a collaboration initiated by NC-508, Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Honey Bee Health, a Hatch-funded multistate rapid response project. Support came from Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service directors, Agriculture Research Service administration and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
CAST RELEASES REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE SOYBEAN PRODUCTION
The newest special publication from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology -- Sustainability of U.S. Soybean Production: Conventional, Transgenic, and Organic Systems -- defines sustainable agriculture and evaluates its implications in the production of U.S. soybeans. More: http://www.cast-science.org/displayProductDetails.asp?idProduct=164
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INTERNAL VOICES
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HOGBERG: COLLEGE GRADS STILL IN DEMAND
“Even in today's tough economic times, industry people are calling me wanting students to hire. That's a testament to the respect they have for ISU and the education we give our students.”
--Maynard Hogberg, chair of the animal science department, quoted in a Wallaces Farmer article about job prospects for College graduates (see College News).
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MARGINALIA
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AGRICULTURAL STUDIES SENIOR FETCHES $1 MILLION IN GIFTS AND PLEDGES TO ISU
It took more than 36,000 phone calls to prospective Iowa State donors by Dustin Bueltel, senior in agricultural studies, to be the first student caller at Iowa State University Foundation's PhoneCenter to rack up $1 million in gifts and pledges. He has worked in the center since his freshman year and has received several gifts of more than $10,000 with at least one $20,000 gift. Last year, Bueltel and other callers from the PhoneCenter raised more than $3.6 million in gifts and pledges, supporting all areas of the Iowa State campus. More: http://www.foundation.iastate.edu/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8641
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
SUBSCRIBE
Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."
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