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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. 19, 2011 No. 669
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COLLEGE NEWS
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CALS FALL CONVOCATION SEPT. 21
The CALS Fall Convocation will be Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. The program will include brief comments from Dean Wintersteen and the introduction of the College's new faculty and staff since last fall. A reception will follow.
DuPONT AWARDS GRANT FOR CORN BREEDING FACULTY POSITION
DuPont, through its Pioneer Hi-Bred business, has awarded a grant to ISU to establish a corn-breeding program through support of a new faculty position and a graduate research position.
CONSUMERS WILLING TO PAY FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD
A study by Wallace Huffman, economics, shows that consumers are eager to get their hands on foods that are genetically modified to increase health benefits, and even pay more for the opportunity. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/sep/HuffmanGMO
U.S. NEWS RANKINGS: BIOLOGICAL/AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING SECOND
U.S. News & World Report's 2012 "America's Best Colleges" annual rankings have been released. In biological/agricultural engineering, ISU is the second ranked program among all national universities. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/sep/usnews
REWRITING THE BOOK OF NATURE DISPLAY OPENS TODAY
A traveling exhibit commemorating Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication On the Origin of Species opens today in the Molecular Biology building. CALS and LAS are sponsoring the display. The display was developed by the National Library of Medicine within the National Institute of Health and will be open to the public until Oct. 29. More: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/darwin/
FARMLAND OWNERSHIP AND LEASES TOPIC OF SEPT. 21 WEBINAR
Iowa Learning Farms will hold their monthly webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at noon. Ed Cox, one of the principal researchers on the Sustainable Agricultural Land Tenure Initiative, a project supported by the Leopold Center, will discuss a recent two-year study that focused on Iowa farmland ownership and lease agreements.
BIOCENTURY RESEARCH FARM OPEN HOUSE SEPT. 23
The BioCentury Research Farm will hold an open house Friday, Sept. 23, 1 to 4 p.m. Guests will have an opportunity to see the work being conducted since the facility opened two years ago. At 2 p.m., Larry Johnson, director, will offer a presentation for faculty on how to partner with the BioCentury Research Farm.
THREE MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR MAP-WORKS USER'S GROUP
The CALS Map-Works user's group has three meetings scheduled for this fall: Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in 124 Kildee Hall; Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in 124 Kildee Hall; and Oct. 10 at 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in 107 Kildee Hall. Contact Curt Youngs with questions, cryoungs@iastate.edu, 4-5541.
OPEN FORUM TO REVIEW GOVERNANCE DOCUMENT, OCT. 11
An open forum to review the college governance document will be held Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Memorial Union Campanile Room. The document has been revised to reflect the name change from the College of Agriculture to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to reflect new policies adopted by the faculty senate in the last couple of years, and to clarify language to be consistent with university policy.
HARMON RECEIVES TWO ASABE HONORS
Jay Harmon, agricultural and biosystems engineering, received the Henry Giese Structures and Environment Award and was named an ASABE Fellow at the 2011 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annual international meeting. More: http://news.engineering.iastate.edu/2011/09/13/7092/
CALS CREATES ADVISING ACADEMY
The inaugural meeting of the Louis M. Thompson CALS Advising Academy was held Sept. 8. The Advising Academy is designed to bring together those individuals who have already received at least one CALS or ISU advising award, and use their experience to provide guidance and counsel on how to maintain and improve our tradition of excellence in advising. The ISU Agricultural Endowment Board provided a grant to support the establishment of the Advising Academy.
ABE FACULTY CO-EDITOR OF BOOK ON DISTILLERS GRAINS
Kurt Rosentrater, agricultural and biosystems engineering, has co-edited a book on distillers grains, which was recently published by American Oil Chemists Society Press. "Distillers Grains: Production, Properties and Utilization" is described as a reference to increase understanding of distillers grains and promote better use of the co-product. KeShun Liu, a research chemist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, is the book's co-editor. Rosentrater joined Iowa State in 2011 and is an assistant professor researching the sustainability of biorenewable resources. He earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in agricultural engineering at Iowa State.
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 (Carla Persaud) and 2102 Molecular Biology Building (Linda Wild). The college will be sponsoring two book sales on October 5 and 6 with proceeds going to the 2011 ISU United Way Campaign. Contact Carla Persaud with questions, cpersaud@iastate.edu, 4-1823.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Sept. 23: Deadline for spring 2012 distance education course development awards
Oct. 11: Tom Vilsack to speak on global food insecurity, 5 p.m., Memorial Union South Ballroom
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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2011"“2012 CELT TEACH GRANTS
Grants of up to $2,000 each will be awarded for one-time faculty development initiatives related to enhancement of teaching and learning at the department level. Faculty from any ISU academic departments (includes interdisciplinary programs) are eligible to receive TEACH grants.
ISU PUBLICATION SUBVENTION GRANTS PROGRAM
Publication subvention grants are available to support the publication of the scholarly writings and other worthy productions of ISU faculty and staff, as well as selected manuscripts by others whose manuscripts deal with topics related to the State of Iowa and the surrounding region. The grants are not intended for commercial projects, such as high-volume textbooks, or rewriting of existing projects for a new medium. Approximately $100,000 per year will be available, and individual grants cannot exceed $20,000. Applications should be submitted electronically (in PDF format) to Gaye Simonson (gmsimon@iastate.edu) by Oct. 7.
AAAS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POLICY FELLOWSHIP COMPETITION
The American Association for the Advancement of Science seeks candidates for AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships. The fellowships are provided primarily as an educational opportunity to individuals interested in learning about the science-policy interface while applying their scientific and technical knowledge and analytical skills to the federal policy realm. Candidates are sought from a broad array of backgrounds and a diversity of geographic, disciplinary, gender, ethnic perspectives and disability status. Fellows represent a spectrum of career stages and come from a range of sectors, including academia, industry, nonprofit organizations and government. Successful applicants must hold a doctoral level degree in social and behavioral sciences; medical and health sciences; biological, physical or earth sciences; computational sciences and mathematics; and engineering disciplines. Applications are due Dec. 7.
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/
Oct. 5: Translational Research at the Aging/Cancer Interface (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-230.html Â
Oct. 15, Jan. 15: FDA Small Scientific Conference Grant Program (R13).
Oct. 21 (letter of intent): Research Infrastructure for Demographic and Behavioral Population Science (R24). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-12-186.html
Oct. 27: U.S. North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grants.
Oct. 31 (letter of intent): Research Opportunities in Space Biology.
Nov. 2 (letter of intent): Human Heredity and Health in Africa: H3Africa Biorepository Grants (UH2/UH3). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-11-011.html
Nov. 8: Fall 2012 EPA Science to Achieve Results Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study.
Nov. 8: EPA Fiscal Year 2011 Request for Proposals for the Environmental Education Sub-Grants Program.
Nov. 11: Migratory Bird Joint Ventures Midwest Region FY 2012 Opportunities.
Nov. 17 (letter of intent): Discovery Research K-12.
Dec. 1: Burroughs Wellcome Fund Accepting Applications for Collaborative Research Travel Grants (math, physics, chemistry, computer science, statistics, engineering) acquire new research technique, facilitate collaboration, attend a lab/lecture course.
Dec. 5: Development of Novel and Emerging Technologies for the Accurate Detection and Diagnosis of Polymicrobial Infections In Biomedical Laboratory Animal Models (SBIR [R43/R44]). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-340.html
Feb. 5: Social Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics of Aging (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-11-337.html
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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CALS DESK DIRECTORY UPDATED AND AVAILABLE ONLINE
The CALS desk directory has been updated and is available online. Please email changes or corrections to jstewart@iastate.edu.
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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LOCAL ARTIST TRANSFORMS HORTICULTURE HALL
"On this project, it has been a lot of fun to find out at ISU they are known for the Delicious apple, they are known for certain types of geraniums"¦a lot of things have happened here that impact everybody." Sarah Grant, artist and founder of Sticks, a Des Moines-based art and design company. The Sticks team is working on a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall mural in the atrium of Horticulture Hall.
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MARGINALIA
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PAPERS OF BOTANY PROFESSOR AVAILABLE IN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
The papers of Iowa native and long-time ISU professor Lois Hattery Tiffany are now available in special collections at the library. Tiffany, informally known as "The Mushroom Lady," taught mycology and botany. The collection contains Tiffany's professional papers from 1940 to 2010, as well as photographs and diaries from more than 30 years of annual Botany Club field trips all over the country.
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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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