................................................... AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter Iowa State University March 11, 2013 No. 740 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... RAO AND ANDREOTTI HONORED AS CARVER TRUST PROFESSORS Guru Rao and Amy Andreotti were honored March 6 as Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust Professors in Biochemistry, Biopysics and Molecular Biology. President Steven Leath, along with Dean Wendy Wintersteen and Dean Beate Schmittmann, presented each researcher a medallion signifying them as holders of the new professorships. GREECE, ECUADOR TWO OF SEVEN TRAVEL COURSES PLANNED FOR SPRING BREAK The CALS Study Abroad office has seven travel courses planned for spring break, March 16-23. Two programs are offered for the first time and will take place in Greece and Ecuador. Ten students will be working directly with Macedonian Thrace Brewery, located in Komotini, Greece, to develop a marketing plan for a new tea product called tuvunu. This tea product is scheduled to be expanded to the U.S. market in the summer of 2013. Students with an interest in natural resource conservation and management will participate in a service learning project in Ecuador. They will be helping local farmers of the village Jilimbi, Ecuador, to establish a tree nursery that will support the reforesting of nearby areas to meet fair trade certification for the other crops they produce. The remaining five programs will be highlighted next week in Ag and Life Sciences Online. EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR EGG INDUSTRY FORUM, MARCH 15 The fifth annual Egg Industry Issues Forum, organized by the Egg Industry Center, will be held April 16-17 in St. Louis. Early bird registration ends March 15. NAS MEMBER TO SPEAK AT CIAG SPRING SYMPOSIUM, MARCH 27 The Center for Integrated Animal Genomics Spring Symposium will be held March 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall (Ensminger Room). Trudy Mackay, North Carolina State University, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and keynote speaker for the symposium, will discuss "Charting the Genotype-Phenotype Map: Lessons from Drosophila." Registration, which is free, is required by the deadline of March 15. EEOB: CATALOGING CHANGING FACE OF LICHEN POPULATION Amy Podaril, a graduate assistant in ecology, evolution and organismal biology, has focused her studies on hunting and cataloging lichens in southeast Iowa. Since November, Podaril has discovered five species of lichen that have never been encountered before in Iowa. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/07/lichens NEW EMPHASIS ON INTERACTIVITY AT INSECT ZOO Ginny Morgal, program assistant in charge of the Insect Zoo, spends several days a week in classrooms across the state where she teaches students about bugs"”and the scientific process. Morgal said she's tried to bring a new level of interactivity to the Insect Zoo since she took over last May, encouraging students to take ownership of what they're learning. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/02/28/insectzoomorgal JACOBS FEATURED IN COOPERATIVES NEWSLETTER Keri Jacobs, economics, is featured in the Winter 2013 issue of Co-Op Views, published by the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives. Jacobs position includes the outreach of cooperative economics through extension, research and teaching. The article states that this three-way focus creates synergies that will greatly benefit cooperatives in Iowa. The Iowa Institute of Cooperatives has a fundraising goal of $1 million to support Jacobs' research and extension position. DEAN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP ENGAGES STUDENTS IN RESEARCH The CALS Dean's Leadership Scholarship engages students in research at ISU from day one"”with outcomes that last a lifetime. It provides students like Kristen Alverson, sophomore in animal ecology, opportunities for learning the rewards of research early in their college careers. More: http://www.foundation.iastate.edu/s/1463/index_2col.aspx?sid=1463&gid=1…  CIDER PRESS AND CORN SHELLER ON EXHIBIT IN CABINET OF CURIOSITIES CALS has loaned two items to the Cabinet of Curiosities exhibit, located at the Christian Petersen Art Museum in Morrill Hall. An antique cider press represents ISU's rich history related to apples, and a 100-year-old corn sheller symbolizes Iowa's most significant row crop. The collection runs through April 2. The cost is free, although a $3 donation is encouraged. CALS FACULTY AND STAFF TO BE RECOGNIZED BY 25 YEAR CLUB CALS faculty and staff who will be recognized at the 25 Year Club Banquet on Thursday, March 14, are: Kristine Bell, ABE; Lee Bendickson, BBMB; Todd Campbell, Philip Gassman and Debra Thornburg, CARD; Carol Cornelious and Grace Welke, agronomy; Brenda Downs, plant pathology and microbiology; Jeffery Erb, research farms; Cecilia Hadaway, Michael Holtzbauer, Diane Maxwell and Julie Roberts, animal science; David Hannapel and Gail Nonnecke, horticulture; Jay-Lin Jane-Topel, FSHN; Giancarlo Moschini, economics; and Maureen Stohlmeyer, CALS administration. The following individuals will be honored for 35 years at the university: Edward Braun, plant pathology and microbiology; Silvia Cianzio, agronomy; Ronald Deiter, economics; Thomas Glanville, ABE; William Larson and Jay Nissen; animal science; Donald Lewis, entomology; and David Rueber and Richard Vandepol, research farms. Donald Beitz, animal science, will be honored for 45 years with the university. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS April 4-5: Heat Stress Symposium April 24: Seed Science Center Symposium, Gateway Conference Center, http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/bigmap/home.html April 25: U.S.-China Trade Commission Hearing ................................................... FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ................................................... NCR-SARE REQUESTS APPLICATIONS FOR 2013 GRADUATE STUDENT GRANTS The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program is accepting proposals for the 2013 Graduate Student Grant program. Graduate students may submit proposals for up to $10,000 to fund sustainable agriculture projects that will be part of their educational programs. Students are encouraged to involve farmers and ranchers in their projects. NCR-SARE expects to fund approximately 15 projects. Proposals must be submitted by May 9. More: http://www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs/Graduate-Stud… USDA FAS INVITES PROPOSALS FOR AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS FACULTY EXCHANGE PROGRAM USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service is requesting expressions of interest and capability statements from land-grant universities to participate in a proposed Agricultural Economics Faculty Exchange Program. FAS anticipates using one or two universities for the 2013 program. The training will begin fall semester, with participants arriving in the U.S. in early to mid-August, and will end in mid-December. Proposals are due April 17. Individuals who are interested in this program should contact Denise Bjelland (bjelland@iastate.edu, 294-2883) or Eduarda Becerra (ebecerra@iastate.edu, 294-3972).  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/ April 3: IDALS State Soil Conservation Committee Research and Demonstration Grant Program; $75,000 over two years. More: http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/soilconservation.asp April 11: USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program Special Program Support Project Program; one award, $13,300,000 over five years. April 30 (letter of intent): NIH Collaborations for Macromolecular Interactions in Cells (R01); $250,000 direct costs per year for four years. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-14-004.html April 30 (letter of intent): NIH Research Networks for Macromolecular Interactions in Cells (U54); $500,000 direct costs per year for five years. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-14-005.html May 1: DOI Wildlife Without Borders "“ Amphibians in Decline. Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund. May 3: IDALS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program 2013; $24,000 over 30 months. More: http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/Horticulture_and_FarmersMarkets/specialt… June 11: NSF Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2014 (SBIR); university researchers may work as collaborators, 200 awards, $150,000 for six months. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504892 June 13: NSF Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2014 (STTR); university researchers may work as collaborators, 50 awards, $225,000 over 12 months. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504857 July 5: NIH Bioengineering Research Grants (R01); maximum award period five years. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-137.html July 6 (letter of intent): NIH High Throughput Screening to Discover Chemical Probes (X01); two-year projects. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-134.html July 6 (letter of intent): NIH High Throughput Screening to Discover Chemical Probes (R03); two-year projects, $50,000 direct costs per year. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-135.html ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... USING ACCESS AS A VERB The use of nouns as verbs has long been one of the most common ways that word-usage changes happen in English. Today, few people quibble with using contact, debut and host, for example, as verbs. "Access" can be safely used as a verb when referring to computing (access a computer, access the Internet, access a database). Outside the digital world, though, it is still best avoided. The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., 2010 ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... HISTORIAN TO SHARE VISUAL HISTORY OF ISU IN THE 1890S ISU alumnus Douglas Biggs will present "Iowa State College in the 1890s: A Visual History" tonight, March 11, at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Biggs is associate dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Kearney and an associate professor of history. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/05/lecturesbiggs NOBEL LAUREATE SHECHTMAN TO SPEAK ON TECHNOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP Dan Shechtman, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and an ISU distinguished professor of materials science and engineering, will share his vision of a better world through technological entrepreneurship during a campus lecture on Wednesday, March 13, at noon in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The event is free and open to the public. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/08/shechtmanlecture ................................................... INTERNAL VOICES ................................................... TAKLE: RESEARCHING THE EFFECT OF WIND TURBINES ON CROPS Over the past two years, Gene Takle, agronomy, and his team have been taking measurements around a wind farm in Iowa to find out how turbines change the micro-climate downwind. "There's not a lot of research anywhere on the effect of wind turbines on crops. It's a relatively new technology," said Takle. The work is supported by the National Science Foundation. STERLE: UNIVERSITIES SEE GROWTH IN ANIMAL SCIENCE ENROLLMENT The High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal ran an article in its Feb. 25 issue on the growing number of students at universities showing an interest in the agriculture industry even if they didn't grow up on a farm. An increase in enrollment in the animal science departments at major land-grant universities has been the trend for the past 10 years. "We can't just rely on the farm kids carrying us into the future," said Jodi Sterle, animal science, in the article. "We love our farm kids, but we have to be inclusive instead of exclusive when looking for ag and animal science students." ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY PUTTING A BRAND NAME ON MEAT Washington State University has been raising its own cattle for generations to train veterinarians and farmers. It is now putting a brand name on the meat; well-marbled, expensive cuts of Wagyu, a Japanese breed raised there since the 1990s. Officials have been promoting the product through campus dinners and say W.S.U. Premium Beef could also help recruitment at the animal sciences department, where student ranchers ride point in Wagyu husbandry from calving to packing. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/us/how-about-a-university-steak-with-… ........................................................ 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." 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