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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
July 26, 2010 No. 612
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COLLEGE NEWS
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ACKER SPEAKS ON AFRICA'S AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs, will join experts from the World Bank, Harvard University, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other organizations in a panel discussion on Africa's agricultural development in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 27. The event is hosted by the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora, a new organization funded through a grant received by Iowa State University from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
HORTICULTURE STUDENTS EXPERIENCE NEW TERRAIN
Morgan Wright and Winston Beck, horticulture students, spent six weeks this summer on the Island of St. John as part of a service- learning project titled EARTH (Education And Resiliency Through Horticulture). Wright and Beck taught students about horticulture, while also gaining valuable landscaping and trail-making experience.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INTERNS HOPE TO MAKE DISCOVERIES
This summer, 10 students from throughout the United States and Puerto Rico are doing research as part of the Research Experience in Molecular Biotechnology & Genomics program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. From June 1 through Aug. 7, students in biology, molecular biology, biotechnology and chemistry fields are conducting research, ranging from a gene on the corn genome that affects sterility to increasing resistance in pigs to salmonella.
HAY STORAGE COST ANALYZER AVAILABLE
Hay is the third most valuable crop produced in Iowa, yet some producers lose as much as a fourth of their crop from improperly storing it. ISU Extension economist William Edwards said a new decision aid for comparing the costs of different hay storage options is now available on the Ag Decision Maker website.
JIM RUSSELL: A GPS COWBOY
A century ago, farmers used cowbells to locate their cattle. Today, Jim Russell, animal science, tracks them with electronic collars fitted with global positioning systems. He is studying cattle movement, particularly how much time cattle spend near creeks and other water sources.
RESEARCH FARMS OFFER TOURS DURING FARM PROGRESS SHOW
The 2010 Farm Progress Show will be held in Boone from Aug. 31 through Sept. 2. The ISU Research Farms are cooperating with the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau for half day organized ISU farm tours. Groups may choose from three predetermined tour bundles: Biomass (BioCentury Farm and Ag Engineering/Agronomy Farm); Livestock (Animal Science Teaching Farms and Dairy Farm); and Horticulture and Horses (Hort Station, Reiman Gardens and campus horse barns). Each visitor will get an information sheet listing faculty contacts for more in-depth information. More: Haley Cook, Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau, 956-4601, haleyc@amescvb.com.
DESIGN STUDENTS CREATE EXHIBIT FOR FARM PROGRESS SHOW
The theme for this year's Farm Progress show exhibit inside the ISU hoop building is "Working together to care for our land." The vision for the exhibit comes from a group of College of Design students who worked on the project during the spring 2010 semester. John Lawrence, Extension to Agriculture and Natural Resources director, and Kendall Lamkey, agronomy chair, co-chaired the committee that guided the students with educational content for the exhibit and approved their concepts.
CALS ALUM WINS "ULTIMATE" WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
A team consisting mostly of ISU students and alumni, including Amy Sheldahl (biology, 2002), won the World Ultimate Club Championships for the sport of Ultimate in Prague, Czech Republic. The team won the mixed division. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/jul/ultimate
SAVE THE DATE: CALS CONVOCATION SEPT. 7
The CALS Fall Convocation will be held Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
July 26-30: PASTA class, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in 200 MacKay Hall, http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/fpwpasta/home.html
July 29: All Horticulture Field Day, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ISU Horticulture Research Station
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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CALS TO SPONSOR PARTICIPANTS FOR USDA/NIFA WORKSHOP ON SYSTEM-BASED GRANT PROGRAMS
CALS will sponsor up to three individuals to attend the one-day USDA/NIFA workshop, "Planning and Managing Systems Based Trans-disciplinary Projects for USDA/NIFA Programs," to be held at Washington State University on September 8. The participants will be expected to submit a grant application to one or more of the following NIFA programs for the upcoming round of solicitations: the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, Specialty Crop Research Initiative, Organic Research and Extension Initiative or Organic Transitions Program. Workshop speakers will offer perspectives on stakeholder engagement, systems thinking, sustainability, and tightly coupled research and extension. The program will include presentations on project team building, proposal preparation, proposal writing and rewriting, eXtension Communities of Practice, and multi-institutional projects from a sponsored programs office perspective. To be considered for CALS sponsorship, please send an email indicating your interest and the program to which you plan to submit an application to Roxanne Clemens (rclemens@iastate.edu) by Aug. 6.
FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Aug. 15 and later: USAID FY 2010 and FY 2011 Development Innovation Ventures; $100,000 to $6 million.
Aug. 16: Critical Issues: Emerging and New Plant and Animal Pests and Diseases - Development and Dissemination of New Knowledge Supporting Radiological Incident Preparedness, Response and Recovery for U.S. Animal Agriculture, and Animal-Derived Food Production, Infrastructures; two awards, $318,600 total anticipated funding.
Aug. 23: Advances in Biological Informatics; 20 to 30 awards, $8 to $10 million anticipated for new awards. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2010/nsf10567/nsf10567.pdf
Sept. 10: NOAA Fiscal Year 2011 Climate Program Office; $50,000 to $700,000 per year, one to five years depending on type of project, $21 million total anticipated funding.
Sept. 16 (letter of intent): Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development; average awards of $600,000 for three years. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2010/nsf10589/nsf10589.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT…
Oct. 15: National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Sustainable Visions Grants; $10,000 to $50,000 each for one to three years. More: http://nciia.org/grants/sustainablevision
Oct. 15: NOAA Collaborative Science, Technology and Applied Research Program; three awards, $250,000 total anticipated funding.
Oct. 19: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology; 15 fellowships per year, $5 to $6 million per year total anticipated funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2010/nsf10587/nsf10587.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT…
Nov. 10: Materials World Network: Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad; 20 to 40 awards, $2.5 to $4.5 million total anticipated funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2010/nsf10588/nsf10588.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT…
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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MUG SHOTS AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA USE
University News Service offers mug shots of faculty and staff for media use. Click on a thumbnail to open a large, print-quality photo, and then follow your browser's instructions to download. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/mugs/
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INFOGRAZING
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SUMMER CARILLON CONCERT SERIES CONTINUES JULY 27
The second concert in the music department's summer carillon concert series is Tuesday, July 27, at 7 p.m., with Min-Jin O, professor of music and carillonneur at Hyechon University, Daejeon, South Korea. A guest carillonneur will perform in August, and ISU carillonneur and associate professor of music Tin-Shi Tam will conclude the series Sept. 12 when she is joined by the ISU percussion ensemble and brass quintet. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/jun/carillon
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. Faculty presentations and discussions will be interspersed throughout the day. More: Jim Bloedel, biomedical sciences, jbloedel@iastate.edu
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INTERNAL VOICES
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JOHNSON: FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER
"I'm trying to drive the participants today back to making not only production decisions, but financial and marketing decisions"¦and spend less time listening to all the clutter in the world [and be] very focused on family, friends, the community and their farm operations." Steve Johnson, farm and agricultural business specialist with ISU Extension, admits that might be easier said than done, considering how connected people are with their iPhones, Blackberries and Internet connections right there in the cab of the tractor. But he says they have to choose to turn off some of those inputs. "Turn off CNN. Turn off Fox News. Turn off talk radio. Focus on those things you have control over." Johnson spoke to about 600 corn farmers at Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies 2010 meeting. More: http://agwired.com/2010/07/21/controlling-the-crop-controllables/
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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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