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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
June 21, 2010 No. 607
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COLLEGE NEWS
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ISU EXPANDS INVESTMENT IN REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS WORK
ISU has a long history of research and extension efforts related to fruit and vegetable production across the state. Yet recent retirements combined with budget cuts have reduced ISU's capacity to continue this important work. A coordinated effort among CALS, ISU Extension and the Leopold Center will enhance those efforts and improve the economic viability of regional food systems in the state.
BIOCHAR MEDIA DAY, JUNE 23
The media have been invited to see biochar in action on Wednesday, June 23, 9:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Biorenewable Research Laboratory. Among the presenters is David Laird, agronomy, who will speak on biochar and soil interactions. The event is sponsored by the Bioeconomy Institute.
U.S. BIOCHAR INITIATIVE CONFERENCE, JUNE 27-30
ISU's Bioeconomy Institute is the lead organizer, sponsor and host of Biochar2010: U.S. Biochar Initiative Conference on June 27-30 in Ames. The conference is designed to advance understanding of the science and policy issues related to biochar as both an agent for carbon sequestration as well as an amendment for soils.
SAVING THE SOIL AND MAINTAINING CORN YIELDS: AGRONOMY RESEARCHERS SAY YES TO BOTH
Agronomy researchers are testing between-row cover grasses as part of research looking at ways to reduce soil runoff and keep vital nutrients in the soils while crop residue, called stover, is removed from farm fields to produce biofuels. Two years into a study, research is showing that yield can be maintained at high levels using environmentally friendly practices. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/jun/covercrop
CALS STUDENT EARNS SCHOLARSHIP FROM NATIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION
Tim Valicka, a senior in horticulture, earned the second place prize of $1,500 for his paper "The Superintendent's Dilemma" in the 2010 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Student Essay Contest. More: http://www.gcsaa.org/news/NewsReleases.aspx?id=3661e005-6e7a-4139-9fdb-…
RETIREMENT RECEPTION FOR TOLLEFSON, JUNE 23
A retirement reception will be held for Jon Tollefson on Wednesday, June 23, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in 1009 LaBaron Hall. Tollefson is a professor, and former chair, in the entomology department.
DAIRY FARM CELEBRATION, JUNE 25
The ISU Dairy Farm will be the site of a Dairy Month celebration this Friday, June 25, from 6 to 11 a.m. The event is open to the public and will include tours of the milking parlor, barns and a discovery center for children, which opens at 7 a.m. Free samples of milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream will be available courtesy of Iowa's dairy processors.
RETIREMENT RECEPTION FOR MARY SCHRANDT-PROUTY, JUNE 28
A retirement reception will be held for Mary Schrandt-Prouty on June 28, 3 to 5 p.m. at the Borlaug Learning Center on the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm, near Nashua. Schrandt-Prouty served as the Northeast Area Extension Education director and most recently has worked on ISU Extension ag and natural resources programs. There will be a short program at 4 p.m. She is retiring June 30.
BBMB 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, REGISTRATION DEADLINE JUNE 30
The 50th anniversary celebration of the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology will be held July 23-24. The focus will be on bringing people together and promoting interaction. Registration deadline is June 30. More: http://www.bbmb.iastate.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i…
IOWA LEARNING FARM HOSTS "TROUBLED WATERS" EVENT, JULY 1
An event commemorating rivers and other water bodies will be held July 1, 5:30 p.m. at Black Hawk State Park near Lake View. "A "˜Troubled Waters' Evening" will feature speakers discussing watershed and water quality issues, tours of the Iowa Learning Farm Conservation Station and a showing of "Troubled Waters."
ABSTRACTS FOR RNA IN MOTION CONFERENCE DUE JULY 9
RNA in Motion: The 19th Annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Conference will be held September 9-12 in Ames. During the symposium, experimental and computational scientists will convene at ISU for informal discussion and interaction and to enable collaborations. Abstract deadline is July 9. The department of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, the RNA Club and the Office of Biotechnology are sponsoring the conference.
TWO NEW APPOINTMENTS FOR LEOPOLD CENTER ADVISORY BOARD
Joe Colletti, senior associate dean of CALS, and George Malanson, geography professor at the University of Iowa, will serve four-year terms on the advisory board for the Leopold Center. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2010/060710_advisory.h…
CALS FACULTY SPEAK AT ENSMINGER SCHOOL IN SPAIN
Six faculty from CALS attended and spoke at the 2010 Ensminger School "“ Adapting Animal Production to Changes for a Growing Human Population "“ held May 19-21 at the University of Lleida, Spain. Ensminger Schools are designed to be conferences that are offered around the world to help train people of different regions in modern animal agricultural practices. ISU speakers were Max Rothschild, Maynard Hogberg, Anna Johnson, Jack Dekkers and Sue Lamont, animal science; and Ramesh Kanwar, ag and biosystems engineering.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
June 24: ISU Weed Science Field Day, Curtiss Farm on South State Street, 8:30 a.m., Mike Owen, mdowen@iastate.edu, 4-5936.
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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CAYUSE 424 version 4.2 PREVIEW SESSION WEBINAR SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 23
Cayuse will be offering a 30-minute Webinar on Wednesday, June 23, at 1 p.m., to preview Cayuse 424 version 4.2. This Webinar is highly recommended due to the significant enhancements that have been made in the area sub-award functionality and will demonstrate some of the new features, functionality and user interface improvements in version 4.2, which was released on June 19. Please contact Cayuse Support at support@cayuse.com or (503) 297-2108 Option #2 with questions concerning the Webinar.
USDA SEEKS LONG-TERM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN GHANA
The USDA is seeking a U.S. specialist to provide program analysis and coordination of technical assistance to the USAID Ghana Mission's Economic Growth office, which supports economic growth, agriculture and food security programs. The specialist will assist the EG team in meeting its requirements for monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the implementation of its program portfolio and provide technical support for program design, policy and regulatory reform, special technical studies and training relating to agriculture and food security. A letter of interest and capability statement are due by June 25. Contact Roxanne Clemens (rclemens@iastate.edu) to receive the project notice.
FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
June 28: Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit; development of computerized contaminant transport models for stream ecosystems, up to two years, $64,000 for FY 2010, $113,000 project total.
July 2 (letter of intent): Development and Sustainable Manufacturing of Adjuvanted Pandemic Influenza Vaccines in Developing Countries (antigen sparing strategy); up to three awards, $650,000 to $2 million for one year, additional funding possible for second year.
July 15: NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership Projects "“ Strategic Growth Areas: $12 million total anticipated funding, 50% cost share required.
July 15: USDA Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Commercialization Assistance Program; $100,000 total funding for two years.
July 20-22: Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program; 425 awards, $500,000 for five years, $80 million total anticipated funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08557/nsf08557.htm?govDel=USNSF_25
July 26: EPA Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program; one project per region, $53,000 per project.
July 30: EPA Facilitating Tribal Climate Change Adaptation Planning and Communicating Climate Change Impacts; three awards, $50,000 to $150,000 per year for up to five years, $550,000 total anticipated funding.
Aug. 5 (preapplication): DoD Spinal Cord Injury Investigator-Initiated Award; three awards, $500,000 total direct costs over three years, $2.4 million total anticipated funding. See also Spinal Cord Injury Translational Research Partnership Award.
Sept. 7 (letter of intent): Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (U19); eight awards, $1 million direct costs per year for five years, $12.4 million total anticipated funding. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-10-013.html
Sept. 10: Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers (T42); new projects up to three years, $1.8 million per year, $20 million per year total anticipated funding for new, renewal and continuing awards. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-217.html
Sept. 30 (letter of intent): Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award (R01); six new grants, up to $1.6 million over five years, $2.4 million (direct costs) total anticipated funding. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-10-004.html
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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COMMON VS. MUTUAL
What is "common" is shared by two or more people (born into different families but having a common ancestor). What is "mutual" is reciprocal or directly exchanged by and toward each other (mutual obligations). The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003.
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INFOGRAZING
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ONE HEALTH: RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM TO BE HELD SEPT. 15
"One Health Symposium: People, Plants and Animals" is being planned for Sept. 15 in the Scheman Building. The goal is to foster transdisciplinary collaboration in the health sciences that may lead to multi-investigator federal grant proposals and eventually training grants. The symposium will include a keynote presentation by Roger Mahr, CEO of the One Health Commission, and a luncheon presentation by Josephine Briggs, director of NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Interspersed amongst these talks will be faculty presentations and discussion of these topics. The day will conclude with a poster session to highlight our research activities. More: Jim Bloedel, biomedical sciences, jbloedel@iastate.edu
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INTERNAL VOICES
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MOORE ON GROWING CORN IN A PERENNIAL SOD
Having more than one species thrive on the same piece of ground is not a new idea, says Ken Moore, professor of agronomy. Traditional prairies contained many different species of grasses and plants that complemented each other as they competed for water, sun and other inputs. "From an ecological perspective, it seems intuitive that we can do this. Nature does it all the time. The prairies that existed before farmers got here were complex plant communities that changed with the season." More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/jun/covercrop
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT EXCITED TO LEARN ABOUT BIOBASED RESEARCH
"One of the exciting things with the workshop is to see what research is going on and what potential next steps there could be. We're always looking for products that we could move into more biobased. If we know where the research is going now, that might help us identify more opportunities." Craig Shore, founder of Creative Composites Ltd., about the Midwest Biopolymers and Biocomposites Workshop held May 11 at ISU. The workshop was sponsored by the Center for Crops Utilization Research, Biopolymers & Biocomposites Research Team, Bioeconomy Institute, Institute for Physical Research and Technology and Center for Industrial Research and Service.
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MARGINALIA
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ROVING CULINARY ADVENTURE COMES TO IOWA, JULY 29
"Outstanding in the Field" is a roving culinary adventure "“ literally a restaurant without walls. Since 1999 they have set a long table at farms or gardens. The consistent theme of each dinner is to honor the people whose work brings nourishment to the table. Ingredients for the meal are almost all local and generally prepared by a celebrated chef of the region. Outstanding in the Field will be at the Sunstead Farm in Waukee on July 29. More: http://outstandinginthefield.com/
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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