Issue: 668

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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Sept. 12, 2011 No. 668

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COLLEGE NEWS
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COLLEGE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS CLIMB
* Undergraduate enrollment this fall rose more than 8 percent to 3,584, up nearly 300 students from 3,298 students last fall semester. Adding graduate students brings the College's total enrollment this fall to 4, 211.
* Fall registrations in the College's online learning courses and programs climbs to a record 914, up from 801 last fall semester.
* International student enrollment in CALS for fall semester, which includes on- and off-campus enrollment, is 59 for undergraduate students and 168 for graduate students.

NSF INVESTS $20 MILLION IN IOWA'S RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH
The National Science Foundation is investing $20 million and the Iowa Power Fund another $2 million to build Iowa's research capability in sustainable energy systems. Iowa's public universities will make up the core of the research project. Bruce Babcock, economics, will lead the energy policy platform. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/sep/EPSCoR

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH DAY TODAY, SEPT. 12
The ISU Neuroscience Research Day will be held Friday, Sept. 16, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall, Ensminger Room. Registration deadline is today, Sept. 12. For questions or to register, contact Katie Blair, kblair@iastate.edu, 4-7252.

NEW ON THE HOMEPAGE: FORESTRY STUDENT TALKS ABOUT TIMBERSPORTS
Justin Edwards, a senior in forestry, shares his knowledge about timbersports. He plans to attend graduate school and study environmental communication. Go to http://www.ag.iastate.edu to view his and other student profiles. If you know of a faculty, student or staff member to highlight on the web page, contact Barb McBreen at barbmc@iastate.edu, 4-0707.

FACULTY, STAFF INVITED TO CALS DIVERSITY COMMITTEE MEETING, SEPT. 13
The CALS Diversity Committee is offering a series of professional meetings for faculty and staff during fall semester. The intent is to inform, dialogue and promote diversity with the support of CALS. The first meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 13, 12 to 1 p.m. in 220 Curtiss Hall. For more information contact Aurelio Curbelo, acurbelo@iastate.edu, 4-1701.

STUDENTS USING TWITTER SUBJECT OF LUNCH AND LEARN, SEPT. 14
"Twitter as a Medium of Student Engagement and Collaboration" will be the topic of the Brenton Center's Lunch and Learn on Sept. 14, 12 p.m. in 8 Curtiss Hall. Tom Paulsen, agricultural education and studies, will present. During the spring 2011 semester, 21 students in AGEDS 417, Supervised Teaching in Agriculture and Life Sciences, used Twitter. Agricultural education and studies faculty facilitated the discussion and shared resources with the student teachers throughout their 14-week experience. Pizza and refreshments will be provided. If you plan to attend, please email Amy Pilcher at apilcher@iastate.edu or 4-1862.

ABSTRACTS FOR BORLAUG STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION DUE SEPT. 19
The 10th annual Norman Borlaug Graduate and Undergraduate Student Poster Competition will be held Oct. 10 in the Memorial Union Great Hall, following the 2011 Norman Borlaug Lecture. This year's topic is world food issues. Abstracts are due Sept. 19. For more information contact: James Hollis, jhollis@iastate.edu, 4-9567.

DONATE BOOKS FOR CALS UNITED WAY FUNDRAISER THROUGH SEPT. 30
Paperback and hardcover books (not textbooks) are being collected through Sept. 30 in 138 Curtiss Hall. The college will be sponsoring a book sale in October with proceeds going to the 2011 ISU United Way Campaign. Contact Carla Persaud with questions, cpersaud@iastate.edu, 4-1823.

VILSACK TO SPEAK ON GLOBAL FOOD INSECURITY, OCT. 11
Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Iowa governor, will speak on global food insecurity on Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union South Ballroom.

RANDALL EDUCATES IOWANS ON PRODUCING MAPLE SYRUP
Jesse Randall, natural resource ecology and management, has the only existing mobile maple syrup evaporator at the Clay County Fair this week to educate Iowans on producing maple syrup. Randall will have a daily class to explain the history of syrup and the process to produce it, which has not changed much since the Civil War.

HOFFMAN RECEIVES HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM UKRAINIAN UNIVERSITY
David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs, accompanied Provost Elizabeth Hoffman to the Ukraine to commemorate a 20-year partnership with the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine. Hoffman received the university's Honorary Doctorate in front of thousands of academic leaders, politicians and students on Sept. 1. This is "Knowledge Day" in the Ukraine and a major celebration takes place at educational institutions to honor the pursuit of academic excellence. CALS has two Ukrainian exchange students this fall. Twenty CALS students and four CALS faculty/staff were in the Ukraine in May for a travel course.

PROVOST HOFFMAN RECEIVES AWARD FOR WOMEN IN ECONOMICS
The Department of Economics will temporarily display the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award, recently received by Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman. The Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession gives the award annually to an individual who has furthered the status of women in the economics profession through example, achievements, increasing our understanding of how women can advance in the economics profession, or mentoring others. More: http://www.econ.iastate.edu/about-department/announce/news/36-2011-hall…

ANIMAL SCIENCE INTERN ORGANIZES PORK PRODUCERS PUBLICATION
Jessie Droppert, a senior in animal science and the 2011 Iowa Pork Producers Association Pork Checkoff intern, organized the summer 2011 issue of "The Pork Producers Headlines." The issue focuses on the new brand campaign released in the spring.

eCARLY: GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER INTERN SHARES RESEARCH
Leslie Nelson talks to Carly Martin, the student intern in the CALS Communications Service, about her summer in Iowa as part of the George Washington Carver Internship program. Nelson, a senior in biology at the University of New Mexico, was analyzing crystals found in plant cells.

DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Sept. 21: CALS Fall Convocation, 4 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room.
Sept. 23: BioCentury Research Farm open house, 1 to 4 p.m.
Sept. 23: Deadline for spring 2012 distance education course development awards

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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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NIFA SYSTEMS SCIENCE GRANTSMANSHIP WORKSHOP AVAILABLE ONLINE
The webinar for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture systems science grantsmanship workshop, held at the Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, on Aug. 9, is available online.

FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/research/fundingResources/

Sept. 19: Desert Tortoise Disease Research; four awards, $300,000 each.

Oct. 3: NSF Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5300&WT.mc_ev=click

Oct. 5 (concept papers): U.S. Forest Service STEWARD Strategic Activities Fund (SAF); $800,000 to $2 million.

Oct. 7: Energy, Power and Adaptive Systems. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13380&WT.mc_ev=click

Oct. 7 (concept papers): Zambia Economic Resilience Program for Improved Food Safety; five awards, $24 million total funding.

Oct. 11: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503622&WT.mc_ev=click

Nov. 4: Arctic Black Carbon: Reduction of Black Carbon from Diesel Sources; $1 million.

Dec. 5: Lab to Marketplace: Tools for Biomedical and Behavioral Research (SBIR [R43/R44]); at least one PI must be employed by a small business concern. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-335.html

Dec. 6: NSF Interface between Computer Science and Economics and Social Sciences (ICES). More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11584/nsf11584.htm?WT.mc_ev=click

Dec. 22: Fiscal Year 2012 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program; 18 awards, $8.5 million total funding.

March 2 (letter of intent): Silvio O. Conte Digestive Diseases Research Core Centers (P30). More: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-11-022.html

March 16 (concept papers): Supporting Universities to Partner Across the Pacific (Indonesia); five awards up to $1 million.

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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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LADDER TO THE MOON
This morning the moon was setting behind Beardshear Hall. View the photo taken from Curtiss Hall and others you can download as screensavers on the college's homepage under About the College. Download photos online.

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INFOGRAZING
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ROAD SAFETY: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Getting harvest from the field to market can be dangerous work, but doing it in traffic on Iowa's highways and county roads extends the hazards to other drivers and their passengers. Conditions creating additional risks on Iowa roadways during harvest are drivers who don't understand how to avoid collision with agricultural equipment, those who are driving distracted, and heavier than normal traffic on rural highways due to flooding and construction detours. Charles Schwab, agricultural and biosystems engineering, says highway safety is a shared responsibility for both the motor vehicle operators and agricultural equipment operators.

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INTERNAL VOICES
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MUELLER ON IOWA CROP SCOUTING COMPETITION
"Getting the students excited about Integrated Pest Management and making sound decisions at an early age sets a great base for their education." Daren Mueller, plant pathology and microbiology, on the Iowa Crop Scouting Competition, a new program designed to build awareness of Iowa agriculture through hands-on learning and teamwork. High school students from around the state participated in the event, held by ISU Extension and Outreach and sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

LASLEY ON LEARNING TO SPEAK IOWAN
In Iowa, where 63 percent of the counties have a shortage of physicians, according to the federal government, foreign doctors provide the backbone for many communities. While these doctors are multilingual, cosmopolitan and well-trained, they often do not know anything about Iowa. Mercy Medical Center in Mason City requires all foreign medical residents at the hospital to attend two sessions taught by social scientists: Topics for Small Talk with Iowans and An Intro to Working Effectively with White Europeans in Iowa. Paul Lasley, sociology, says "In Iowa we have our uniqueness. It's something about growing up on a farm." More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240531119033279045765262940525071…

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MARGINALIA
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TAKLE WAS LUTHER'S FIRST NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLAR
Gene Takle, agronomy, was named Luther College's first NCAA Postgraduate Scholar in 1966. An article in a recent issue of the Luther Alumni Magazine, reminiscing about the event, reads: "There was very little Norse student-athlete Gene Takle hadn't accomplished by the time he wrapped up four years at Luther in May 1966. Victorious in his first collegiate cross country competition, the fleet-footed farm boy from Walnut Grove, Minn., went on to graduate near the top of his class and capture three national titles in cross country. In his senior year, noted the 1966 Pioneer, Takle won every cross country meet in which he competed while setting records in all but two of those races." The intent of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholar program is to honor the NCAA's best student-athletes and encourage their postgraduate pursuits. To qualify, a student-athlete must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.2 and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which he or she was nominated.

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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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