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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Oct. 24, 2011 No. 674
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COLLEGE NEWS
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REVKIN TO PRESENT PESEK COLLOQUIUM, OCT. 24
Andrew Revkin will present the 2011 John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Revkin, senior fellow and lecturer at Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Sciences, the former science columnist at the New York Times and current author of their Dot Earth blog, will speak on "9 Billion People + 1 Planet = ?."
IRWIN TO PRESENT DEAL LECTURE, OCT. 25
Economist Scott Irwin will present the 2011 William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. He will speak on "How Agricultural Economics Saved Futures Markets: An Untold Story of Leadership."
ISU RECEIVES GRANT TO DEVELOP BIORENEWABLE PLANT CONTAINERS
ISU has been awarded a $1.9 million grant by the USDA to develop biorenewable and biodegradable containers for the specialist crop industry. Bill Graves, horticulture, will lead the research team.
CAREER DAY DRAWS MORE THAN 1,500 STUDENTS
Mike Gaul, director of CALS career services, reports that 175 companies were represented at this year's career fair, held last Tuesday, Oct. 18. There were 1,631 student visitors representing 76 ISU majors and 12 other schools. Wednesday interview activity consisted of 636 individual interviews, up 15 percent from the previous year.
CURTISS CLASSROOM DEDICATION HONORS HAROLD AND RACHEL CRAWFORD
The Harold and Rachel Crawford Agricultural Teacher Education Complex in Curtiss Hall was dedicated Friday, Oct. 21. The complex offers state-of-the-art equipment for students and office facilities for graduate students. Donors provided more than $110,000 for the renovations.
SWINE TEACHING FARM RENAMED FOR LONG-TIME MANAGER
The Swine Teaching Farm at ISU has been named for Allen Christian, who managed the farm for more than 50 years. The renaming was announced Oct. 22 at an annual gathering of the Department of Animal Science. Christian joined Iowa State in 1959 as swine herdsman at the farm and retired in 2010.
COLLEGE HONORS ALUMS
The College presented awards Friday at the 80th annual Alumni Association Honors and Awards Ceremony. Jim Frevert, '60 farm operations, received the Floyd Andre Award. Harold Crawford, '50, MS '65, PhD '69 agricultural education, received the George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award. Lowell Catlett, dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University, received the Henry A. Wallace Award. Charles Stewart, '00 agricultural biochemistry, received the Superior Achievement Award for Early or Mid-career alumni.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESENTS AWARDS TO ALUMS
The 80th ISU Alumni Association Honors and Awards Ceremony was held Friday. Along with awards presented by each college, alums received awards from the association. Those awards included: Gerald Hunter, '53 farm operations, received the Alumni Medal. Gerald Klonglan, '58, MS '62, PhD '63 rural sociology; and Alan Tubbs, '66 animal science; both received the Alumni Service Award. Larry Ebbers, '62, MS '68 ag education and PhD '71 education, received the Award for Superior Service to Alumni.
NEW BUILDING BANNERS ADORN CURTISS HALL
The front of Curtiss Hall took on a new look last week. Banners featuring alums Nate Gebel and Andrea Falk Sellers were hung on the front of the building. Gebel graduated with an agricultural education and studies degree in 1999. He also was a member of the first class to receive the Hixson Scholarship Opportunity Award. Falk Sellers graduated in agricultural biochemistry in 1994. She is now a registered patent attorney and partner with Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP in Kansas City, Mo.
CY FEATURED ON HOMEPAGE
Matt Burt, a senior in agricultural business, has been watching Cy all his life. He always knew he would be a Cyclone, but never guessed he would be Cy. Go to http://www.ag.iastate.edu to see his story and other student stories. If you a faculty, student or staff member to highlight on the web page, contact Barb McBreen at barbmc@iastate.edu, 4-0707.
SOIL JUDGING TEAM WINS REGIONAL COMPETITION
A team of ISU students won the 2011 American Society of Agronomy Region 5 Collegiate Soil Judging Contest in Pierre, S.D. Sept. 26-30. The 2011 team also was first in the group section of the contest. In the individual contest Ben Butcher, a sophomore from Palmer, placed first; Tyler Reimers, a junior from Denison, placed second; and Scott Shannon, a senior from Irwin, placed third.
JUDGING TEAM UPDATES
* The Livestock Judging Team competed at the Premier Stockman contest in Auburn, Ind. Individually, Kyle Dice, a senior in ag and life sciences education, was high individual overall and won the reasons and sheep divisions.
* The Meat Judging Team competed at the 2011 American Royal Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest in Omaha, Neb. The team placed third in pork.
* The Horse Judging Team competed in the All American Quarter Horse Congress. Monica Madsen, a senior in animal science, finished first in the halter division and fourth overall. Liz Sample, a sophomore in ag and life sciences education, was second in the halter division and Sarah Tenley, a senior in animal science, was first in performance and was the high point overall individual.
REWRITING THE BOOK OF NATURE DISPLAY OPEN THROUGH OCT. 29
A traveling exhibit commemorating Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication On the Origin of Species is open to the public in the Molecular Biology building until Oct. 29. CALS and LAS are sponsoring the display, which was developed by the National Library of Medicine within the National Institute of Health. More: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/darwin/
JAFFE TO DISCUSS BIOTECH FOOD NOV. 1
Gregory Jaffe, a director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, will speak on "Genetically Engineered Foods: The Naked Truth" Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. Co-sponsors of the lecture include the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products and the Seed Science Center. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/oct/LecturesJaffe
ORDERS FOR HOLIDAY HAMS DUE NOV. 11
The ISU Meat Science Club is selling high quality semi-boneless hams for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Club members trim and prepare each semi-boneless ham for the curing, smoking and cooking process. They are injected with salt, sugar, spices and cure for flavor, smoked for more than two hours with natural hardwood smoke and vacuum packaged for a long refrigerated shelf life.  Hams are produced in the Iowa State University Meat Laboratory "“ a USDA inspected facility. Hams are $3.50 a pound and sold as whole (12-15 pounds) or half (7-9 pounds) portions. Place an order by calling 4-8294, emailing ISU.Meat.Science.Club@gmail.com or by filling out an order form at the Meat Lab Sales Counter or in 2371 Kildee Hall. The deadline for ordering hams is Nov. 11. Hams will be available to pick up at the Meat Lab Sales counter, located at the north corner of the Kildee Hall atrium. Pick up times are Nov. 15 and 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. for Thanksgiving hams and Dec. 13 and 15 from 4 to 6 p.m. for Christmas hams. Â
ISU BEEF NUTRITION RESEARCH SHOWCASE, NOV. 18
ISU's Iowa Beef Center and beef nutrition faculty and staff are planning the Beef Nutrition Research Showcase prior to the final home football game Nov. 18. The event will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will begin and end at the Beef Nutrition farm at 3405 North Dakota Ave.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Oct. 27: Film Screening of "Field Work: A Family Farm,"
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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VIDEO FROM PROPOSAL WORKSHOP AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING
Researchers preparing proposals for USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative or large proposals for other funding agencies are invited to view the video files from the 2011 CALS workshop, "Preparing Multi-Institutional Proposals For USDA AFRI Challenge Areas." The workshop features Lois Wright Morton, John Patience, Alison Robertson and Ken Moore, who share their experiences in leading or playing a key role in four successful multi-institutional, transdisciplinary proposals submitted to the USDA for AFRI funding. The video files also include an introduction and question and answer, and the workshop handouts are available for downloading.
OSPA TO CLOSE DURING WINTER BREAK PERIOD
The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration will be closed Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. The main phone line (4-5225) will be monitored Dec. 27 to 30, and university faculty and staff may email grants@iastate.edu for award-related activities or questions and ospa-proposals@iastate.edu for proposal-related activities or questions. Due to the potential closing of other university divisions over the winter break, PIs are encouraged to monitor routing in the Liquid Office system to ensure the GoldSheet routes to OSPA by the following dates.
* Dec. 2, GoldSheets should arrive in OSPA for proposals with budgets over $2M and due dates between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.
* Dec. 16, GoldSheets should arrive in OSPA for proposals with budgets under $2M and due dates between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.
More: http://www.ospa.iastate.edu/news/ospa-news.php?id=4
UPCOMING CAYUSE WEBINARS
Cayuse Inc. will host two webinars in November. Each webinar will be offered twice. Getting Started with Cayuse 424, an overview of basic Cayuse 424 functionality, will be broadcast Nov. 7 and 15. Detailed Budgeting in Cayuse 424 provides an overview of the essential tools available for building a detailed budget in Cayuse 424 and will be broadcast Nov. 3 and 16.
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/
Nov. 14: DOT Center for Environmental Excellence.
Nov. 14-18: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRIP). More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=6201&WT.mc_ev=click
Nov. 17: Gates Foundation Vaccine Innovation Award, $250,000. More: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/vaccines/Pages/vaccine-innovation-award.aspx
Nov. 21: Activities That Reduce Global Anthropogenic Methane Emissions.
Nov. 21: USAID Collaborative Research Support Program: Assets and Market Access Collaborative Research Support Program (grant to serve as management entity), $18 million, one award.
Nov. 22: Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503285&WT.mc_ev=click
Dec. 1 (preproposals): 2012 Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grants.
?Dec. 25 (letter of intent): National Cancer Institute Program Project (P01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-12-005.html
Jan. 17: Improvements in Facilities, Communications and Equipment at Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12505/nsf12505.htm?WT.mc_ev=click
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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ADVISOR DISSENT
"What do you call a person whose job is to offer advice? Or rather, how do you spell that job? If you said advisor, you would be in accordance with 100 percent of my students, the practice of my university and I believe most others in this country"¦ If you answered advisor, you would be right. Or, to be more precise, right from the perspective of The New York Times, the Associated Press, The Chronicle of Higher Education and history." Ben Yagoda, professor of English and journalism at the University of Delaware, in The Chronicle of Higher Education. More: http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2011/10/23/advisor-dissent/?sid=...
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INTERNAL VOICES
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CRAWFORD ON HIS CAREER IN TEACHING
"My motto is to remember that teaching is to serve, serving is to give and giving is to live. I have lived because of you." Harold Crawford, professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies, during the dedication ceremony of the Harold and Rachel Crawford Agricultural Education Teacher Education Complex on Oct. 20.
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MARGINALIA
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SEEDS FOR NEW YORK
Ed Toth, a botanist and director of New York City's native plant center on Staten Island, advocates the use of not only native plants, but those propagated from seeds that were harvested as close to New York as possible. The plant center, with six greenhouses and several acres of irrigated nursery yard, provides seed and hundreds of thousands of plants, trees and shrubs for restoration projects across the city's 1,700 parks. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/nyregion/new-york-city-native-plant-ce...
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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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