................................................... AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter Iowa State University Feb. 11, 2013 No. 736 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... CALS CAREER DAY THE LARGEST SPRING-SEMESTER EVENT EVER Last week, Feb. 6, CALS held its most successful spring-semester career day ever. Here's a summary of the event, by the numbers: * 110 companies and organizations attended, the largest spring event ever. * 592 students attended, representing 65 majors and 12 additional schools. * Attending were 40 freshmen, 99 sophomores, 164 juniors, 234 seniors, 20 graduate students and 35 others. * The top 3 majors of students attending were agricultural business, animal science and agricultural studies. * 13 interview schedules and 75 interviews were conducted the following day, Feb. 7. Last fall's CALS Career Day also was the largest fall-semester event ever, attracting 208 employers and nearly 1,880 students and resulting in 55 interview schedules and 563 interviews conducted. In total throughout the fall semester, CALS Career Services recorded 116 interview schedules and 1,057 interviews conducted. ISU RESEARCHERS RECEIVE GRANT TO ENHANCE SOYBEAN RESISTANCE TO SDS Researchers at ISU will use a grant totaling more than $5 million to strengthen the genetic resistance of soybeans to sudden death syndrome, a disease that has cost Iowa soybean producers millions in crop losses. The five-year, $5.35 million grant from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will allow an international team that is led by Madan Bhattaqcharyya, agronomy, and includes nine ISU researchers to genetically modify soybeans in an attempt to fight off sudden death syndrome more effectively. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/02/07/soybeansd ISU LIVESTOCK EXPERTS REACT TO RUSSIAN BAN Russia has announced that it will ban U.S. beef and pork imports because of concerns surrounding the use of a feed additive that helps animals add lean mass rather than fat. But Russia's decision won't have an immediate sweeping impact on Iowa livestock producers, said Lee Schulz, economics and an ISU Extension and Outreach livestock market specialist. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/02/11/ractopamineban DOCUMENT ON STEM PROGRAMS IN THE COLLEGE AVAILABLE ONLINE CALS offers many programs that support education and innovation to help Iowa's young people prepare for careers in science, technology, engineering and math. A document is available online with selected examples of STEM programs and activities in the college. It lists precollegiate and collegiate STEM initiatives, including implementing partners. IOWA BOARD OF REGENTS' NEWEST MEMBER VISITS LAB Hannah Walsh, a University of Iowa student who's the newest member of the Iowa Board of Regents, visited the ISU Limnology Laboratory on Feb. 8 as part of her orientation about Iowa State. She was accompanied by Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance, and Joe Murphy, state relations officer. The Limnology Laboratory is directed by John Downing, EEOB and ABE. PIERRE SOIL SCIENCE LECTURE TODAY, FEB. 11 The 2013 W.H. Pierre Soil Science Lecture is today, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m. in 1131 National Swine Research and Information Center. Dani Or, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, will present "Biophysical Processes Shaping Bacterial Life in Soils -- An Unexplored Universe Under Our Feet."  CALS SCHEDULES TRAINING: REEport TO REPLACE CRIS REPORTING SYSTEM, FEB. 13 AND 26? USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will be providing online REEport training for project investigators and administrative staff on Feb. 13 and 26, 1 to 3 p.m. The CCUR theater (1951 Food Sciences Building) has been reserved by the college for a group viewing, with time after for questions and discussion. There is also a REEport User Manual available online. REEport is NIFA's singular competitive grant (non-formula) and formula grant project reporting system, building on and replacing the existing Current Research Information System (CRIS) web forms system. The changeover is scheduled for April 2. Contact Cathy Good, cgood@iastate.edu, 4-4544, with questions. RETIREMENT RECEPTION FOR JEAN TILLEY, FEB. 14 A retirement reception honoring Jean Tilley, food science and human nutrition, will be held Feb. 14, 2 to 4 p.m. (remarks at 3 p.m.), at 331 Palmer Building. Tilley has been with FSHN since 1996 working with the undergraduate program and supporting the curriculum, outcomes assessment and scholarship committees.  EPA REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR TO SPEAK AT ISU, MARCH 5 Karl Brooks, regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 7, will speak about nonpoint source pollution on March 5 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Brooks will discuss collaborative efforts of the EPA, Iowa farmers, state agencies and ISU to address water quality concerns related to agriculture. The lecture is co-sponsored by CALS. ANIMAL SCIENCE TO HOST HEAT STRESS SYMPOSIUM, APRIL 4-5 The Department of Animal Science will hold a Heat Stress Symposium April 4-5 in the Ensminger Room in Kildee Hall (Room 1204). "Effects of Heat Stress on Post-Absorptive Metabolism" will feature speakers from Creighton University, University of Iowa, University of Kansas Medical Center and Virginia Tech, and ISU speakers in animal science, genetics, development and cell biology, and agricultural and biosystems engineering. Registration is free, but you are asked to submit RSVPs to jsj387@iastate.edu. The event's sponsors are the Department of Animal Science, the Office of Biotechnology, the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Norman Jacobson Endowment. COLLEGE TO CO-SPONSOR U.S.-CHINA TRADE COMMISSION HEARING, APRIL 25 CALS is co-sponsoring a hearing on agricultural trade with China on April 25, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall Auditorium. The hearing is being held by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, created by the U.S. Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor, investigate and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China, and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action. AGRONOMY STUDENT RECEIVES FUTURE LEADERS IN SCIENCE AWARD Aaron Daigh, a Ph.D. student in agronomy, was selected by the American Society of Agronomy-Crop Science Society of America-Soil Science Society of America as a recipient of the 2013 Future Leaders in Science Award. Daigh will attend the Congressional Visits Day in Washington, D.C. on March 18-19. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS Feb. 18: "I Wish Someone Had Told Me That: Women Pursuing Professional Careers" panel, 2 to 3 p.m., 368A Heady Hall, http://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/news/news.php?id=037 Feb. 19: Collegiate FFA Free Pancake Breakfast, 7 to 9 a.m., Kildee Pavilion Feb. 23: Beef and Basketball Event April 24: Seed Science Center Symposium, Gateway Conference Center, http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/bigmap/home.html ................................................... FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ................................................... 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/ March 1 (letter of intent): USDA Organic Transitions (ORG); five to six awards, $750,000 over one to three years. May 6: NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity FY2013; 10 awards. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503446 May 15: Organic Farming Research Foundation Education and Outreach Program; $15,000, one year, research for specific agricultural commodity may require cost share. May 24 (letter of intent): NIH Genomic Centers for Infectious Diseases (U19); two or three centers, $14 million total. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-13-009.html June 5: Obesity Policy Evaluation Research (R01) Grant. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-110.html April 11: USDA NIFA AFRI Childhood Obesity Prevention; $1 million per year, five years. June 5: NIH Diet Composition and Energy Balance (R01); studies in both animals and humans. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-10-152.html July 26: NSF Instrument Development for Biological Research; 10 to 12 awards. More: http://goo.gl/Nc3Ew Aug. 1: NSF Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis; six to eight awards, $125,000 to $150,000 per award. More: http://goo.gl/u6ne4 Aug. 13: NSF Advances in Biological Informatics. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5444&org Aug. 19 (letter of intent): NIH Genetic Screens to Enhance Zebrafish Research (R01); $500,000 direct costs per year, five years. ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... BETWEEN vs. AMONG vs. AMID "Between" indicates one-to-one relationships (between you and me). "Among" indicates undefined or collective relationships (honor among thieves). Between has long been recognized as being appropriate for more than two objects if multiple one-to-one relationships are understood from the context (trade between members of the European Union). "Amid" is used with mass nouns (amid talk of war), "among" with plurals of count nouns (among the children). Avoid amidst and amongst. The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., 2010 ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... SECRETARY OF ENERGY TO SPEAK AT ISU FEB. 12 Secretary of Energy Steven Chu will speak on solving the energy and climate change challenge on Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. Chu is a distinguished scientist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics. CLIMATE CHANGE TOPIC OF HILTON CHAIR LECTURE, FEB. 12? Author and environmental affairs expert Paul Wapner will present his second lecture at ISU's 2012-13 Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair in Human Sciences on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. He will discuss how people on the front lines of climate change are making sense of their experience and the choices societies face for enduring climate hardship. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/02/04/lectures-wapner2 GRADUATE STUDENT RECRUITMENT WEEKEND, FEB. 15-16 Prospective graduate students are invited to learn more about ISU and Ames and meet with students and faculty from a variety of disciplines. More: https://apps-fshn-hs.sws.iastate.edu/  REGISTRATION OPEN FOR CURRENT ISSUES IN NUTRITION SPRING WEBINAR The Affordable Care Act was signed into law in March 2010. The Current Issues in Nutrition spring webinar will discuss how this legislation impacts consumers and healthcare practitioners and providers. Online presentations will be available to view beginning March 15. The interactive online Q&A session will be May 2, 12 to 1:30 p.m. More: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/cin/home.html ................................................... INTERNAL VOICES ................................................... XIN: EGG INDUSTRY CUTS FOOTPRINT BY 50 PERCENT The egg industry's carbon footprint is 50 percent less today than it was in 1960, according to Hongwei Xin, agricultural and biosystems engineering, director of the Egg Industry Center and chair of the environmental scientific advisory committee for the United Egg Producers. "This is a story that needs to be told," said Xin, speaking to an egg industry meeting at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 31. ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... VIRGINIA TECH SCIENTIST: THE ART WITHIN THE SCIENCE "When I first look at these images, I think about all the data and information each one carries," said Justin Barone, an associate professor of biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech, in a slideshow he narrates on the art of science. "But then I think what my 6-year-old daughter would see. She would bring the child-like wonder and curiosity that is at the core of every researcher's journey of discovery. She wouldn't see strands of vascular tissue or curling nematodes. She would see dragons' backs and exploding fireworks. What she would see is the art within the science." ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... CALS STUDENT TO PARTICIPATE IN VAGINA MONOLOGUES, FEB 14-15 Haley Holbrook, sophomore in animal ecology, is participating in a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues on Thursday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 15, at 6 and 9 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The event is organized by ISU's Margaret Sloss Women's Center and the Society for the Advancement of Gender Equity. The production aims to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within the community. Proceeds will be donated to the Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support and the V-Day spotlight campaign. ........................................................ AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ........................................................ EDITOR Julie Stewart jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/ SUBSCRIBE Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to jstewart@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe." Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IowaStateU.AgLifeSciences Twitter: http://twitter.com/iastate_cals Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Interim Assistant Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.