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COLLEGE NEWS
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APPLICATIONS DUE TODAY FOR ASSOCIATE DEAN/ANR PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Internal applications are invited for the CALS associate dean for Extension Programs and Outreach and the ISU Extension program director for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Applications are due today (Monday).
KEENEY LECTURE ON HYPOXIA NOV. 12
R. Eugene Turner of Louisiana State University will speak on "Mississippi River Water Quality: Policy, Farm Landscapes and Hypoxia," in the 2009 Dennis Keeney Distinguished Lecture Series, Thursday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2009/102809_Keeney.html
SUMMER SAUSAGE AND CHEESE SALE NOV. 12
The Block & Bridle Club will be selling their summer sausage and cheese on the ground floor of Curtiss Hall on Thursday, Nov. 12, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
ISU COLLABORATES ON PIG GENOME'S FIRST DRAFT
The completion of a first draft of the pig genome sequence has extra meaning for Iowa, the nation's leading producer of pigs, says Max Rothschild, animal science and member of the international research team. Rothschild has served as the U.S. Pig Genome coordinator for USDA since 1993.
RETIREMENT EVENT HONORS JERRY DeWITT
For more than 30 years, Jerry DeWitt has worked in the entomology department, ISU Extension, SARE, CALS and the Leopold Center. A retirement event honoring DeWitt will be held Dec. 5 in Room 220, Scheman Building, beginning at 5 p.m. Cost is $25 per person, due Nov. 20. For more information: Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu, 4-4333.
ENERGY DEMONSTRATION GRANTS AWARDED TO THREE FARMERS
The Iowa Farm Energy Working Group has awarded $5,000 grants to three farmers with small to mid-sized operations to demonstrate how they can meet their energy needs through energy efficiency or the use of renewable sources on their farms. The working group is funded by the Leopold Center. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2009/110209_energy.html
WANG FINALIST FOR WOMEN OF INNOVATION AWARDS
Nine Iowans will be recognized by the Technology Association of Iowa on Nov. 10 at the second annual Women of Innovation Awards dinner in Altoona. Toni Wang, food science and human nutrition, is one of three finalists for the research award. In addition to finding new ways of extracting nutrients and industrial products from plants, Wang is working with engineers and other scientists to find ways to create biodiesel algae.
UNDERGRADUATE TO PRESENT RESEARCH AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Jenna Dixon, an undergraduate in animal science, will present her research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) at the Experimental Biology international conference in April in Anaheim, California. Dixon works in the lab of Josh Selsby, assistant professor in animal science. DMD is caused by a dystrophin deficiency and affects one in 3,500 male infants, leading to wheelchair confinement by the early teenage years and death by the mid to late twenties. The long-term goals of the research are to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to DMD pathology, and to develop better therapeutic interventions to prevent or treat this disease. In studies with healthy and diseased mice, Dixon has found 40 differentially expressed proteins, to date, and expects that number to climb dramatically. Further research is being done to determine the identity of these proteins, which may lead to the discovery of pathways involved in the progression of this disease.
SOWBRIDGE 2010 PROGRAM REGISTRATION OPEN
Registration is open for 2010 SowBridge, a breeding herd educational series offered through distance learning. SowBridge is sponsored by a group of 11 state universities. The program is coordinated through ISU and the Iowa Pork Industry Center.
VETERANS HONORED IN GOLD STAR HALL CEREMONY NOV. 11
Five veterans who studied in the College of Agriculture will be honored this Wednesday, Nov. 11, during the Gold Star Hall Ceremony, 2:30 to 3:30 in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. When the Memorial Union opened in 1928, the names of Iowa Staters who died in World War I were carved into the walls. Beginning in 1984, names from World War II, Korea and Vietnam have been added. Four of the veterans being honored served in Korea: Sidney Jasper Botts of rural Elliott, animal husbandry in 1947-48, Army sergeant and squad leader; Charles Emery Collins of Melbourne, animal husbandry in 1949, Army private first class; Robert Emory Dummermuth of Elgin, dairy plant operation in 1947-48, Army corporal; William Ward Sharp of Plover, agricultural education in 1951-52, Army private first class. Michael Keith Lewis of Lake City, horticulture in 1964-67, Army staff sergeant, served in Vietnam.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Nov. 11: Lecture Recording Tools Workshop, 1 to 2 p.m., 13 Curtiss Hall, Todd Vens, trvens@iastate.edu, 4-5948
Nov. 17: CALS award nominations due
Dec. 1: Bioeconomy Conference
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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BIOECONOMY FOCUS OF VPR/ED WORKSHOP NOV. 17
A workshop on funding sources for research related to the bioeconomy is being held on Nov. 17, 12 to 2 p.m. in the Gold Room, Memorial Union. The workshop will cover funding from the Department of Energy, USDA and the National Science Foundation, and feature presentations from ISU centers and institutes with bioenergy programs. All interested faculty and staff are welcome to attend. To register, contact Laurie Engleen, lengleen@iastate.edu.
FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Nov. 15 (immediate impact pre-proposals): Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Program Immediate Impact Projects; 14 awards up to $150,000 each for one year.
Dec. 15: EPA Environmental Education Grants; $15,000 to $25,000 per award, between $2 and $3 million total anticipated funding.
Dec. 17: Regional Integrated Pest Management Competitive Grants Program - North Central Region; $80,000 for extension projects, $175,000 for joint research-extension projects, and $495,000 for research projects, $750,000 total anticipated funding.
Dec. 22 (letter of intent): NIH Roadmap Transformative Research Projects Program; up to $25 million for five years, $25 million total anticipated funding. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-09-022.html
Jan. 19: National Integrated Food Safety Initiative; $50,000 per award for conference funding, $600,000 per award for standard projects up to three years, $1 to $2 million per award for special emphasis projects up to four years, $12.7 million total anticipated funding.
Feb. 1: Bioengineering Research Grants (01); five-year awards, amounts not specified. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-10-009.html
April 15: Wildlife Without Borders - Latin American and the Caribbean; up to $25,000.
Sept. 23: International Research in Homeland Security Science & Technology Mission Areas; $200,000 to $750,000 per award, $1.6 million total anticipated funding.
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INFOGRAZING
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ISU EXTENSION PUBLICATION EXAMINES ON-FARM ENERGY USE
Equipment used in modern agriculture reduces labor, but consumes fuel and energy. A new ISU Extension publication titled “Farm Energy: How Much Energy Is Being Used on Your Farm?” offers initial steps that help farmers analyze their farm energy use.
CAST EXAMINES WATER AVAILABILITY FOR AGRICULTURE
As one of the largest users of water in the U.S., agriculture will be impacted significantly by changes in water availability and cost. To address this issue, the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology has released a new publication titled “Water, People and the Future: Water Availability for Agriculture in the United States.” More: http://www.cast-science.org/displayProductDetails.asp?idProduct=167
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INTERNAL VOICES
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BOGDANOVE ON DISCOVERING KEY TO VITAL DNA, PROTEIN INTERACTION
"A predictable and potentially customizable kind of protein-DNA binding has been hard to find in nature. As Matt [Moscou] and I talked about the possibilities, we got excited and one of us said - I don't remember who - We've got to submit this to Science, dude," said Adam Bogdanove. An associate professor in plant pathology, Bogdanove, and student Matthew Moscou, were researching the molecular basis of bacterial diseases of rice when they discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell. The results of their work will appear in an upcoming issue of Science. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2009/nov/bogdanove
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MARGINALIA
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CATT CENTER ANNOUNCES WOMEN HONORED ON 2010 CALENDAR
Women whose leadership has made a difference at ISU will be honored by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics on the fourth annual “Women Impacting ISU” calendar. Included are Pamela White, dean of the College of Human Sciences and University Professor in food science and human nutrition; Nicole Cortum, senior in public service and administration in agriculture; and Justine Hosch, senior in animal science. More than 1,000 copies of the calendar will be distributed free after a reception on Dec. 9.
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web
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 jstewart@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."
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