Issue: 741

................................................... AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter Iowa State University March 18, 2013 No. 741 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... CANADIAN SCIENTIST TO JOIN ISU AS MONSANTO CHAIR IN SOYBEAN BREEDING A Canadian agronomist will soon begin work as the new Monsanto Chair in Soybean Breeding at ISU. Asheesh "Danny" Singh, a research scientist and wheat breeder at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Center of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will join ISU's Department of Agronomy as an assistant professor April 1. CALS STUDENTS STUDY ABROAD DURING SPRING BREAK The CALS Study Abroad office has seven travel courses taking place during spring break this week. Students taking Agronomy/Economics 496 are in Spain gaining an enhanced understanding of production agriculture in world markets. Students taking Animal Science 496 are being hosted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation in South Korea and will see meat exports from port to plate, as well as study the Korean market. Students taking Agronomy/Environmental Science 496 are studying soils, crops and water in Costa Rica, while being hosted by an ISU alumnus. A second group of students are also in Costa Rica being introduced to a variety of tropical crops including coffee, pineapple, mango and sugar cane. This course has been offered every other year since 1999. On alternating years the University of Costa Rica sponsors a group of students to visit ISU. A group of faculty, extension staff and students are in China participating in the final phase of a study abroad program sponsored in part by a USDA Challenge grant. The group will visit Chinese food and agriculture entrepreneurs and faculty in collaboration with Zhejiang University. The final two courses, new programs in Greece and Ecuador, were featured in last week's newsletter. LAND DONATION HELPS FORESTRY STUDENTS PARTNER WITH ENGLISH MAJORS Kelsey Lohff, student intern in the CALS Communications Service, talks with forestry students who partnered with English majors last fall to remove invasive species from undeveloped land in Boone county. The property was donated to the English department and is to be used to aid in the development of ISU's Master of Fine Arts creative writing and environment program. The forestry club also held a teaching day for English 250 students about natural resources in Iowa. MARCH 20 WEBINAR TO FEATURE NITROGEN SENSING TECHNOLOGY The Iowa Learning Farms' monthly webinar will be Wednesday, March 20, at 11:30 a.m. Daniel Barker, agronomy, will discuss field trials and on-farm demonstrations using remote sensing technologies in order to vary application on in-season nitrogen fertilizer in corn. CALS UNDERGRADUATES TO SHOWCASE RESEARCH AT CAPITOL, MARCH 26 Twenty-five ISU undergraduates will present their research to legislators and others during the annual "Research in the Capitol," on Tuesday, March 26, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event highlights the importance of research to the undergraduate learning experience. Students with a CALS major who will present their work at the Capitol, and their research mentors, are: * Gail Barnum, food science, "Influence of Irradiation and Storage on Cheese Making during Mars Missions," Lester Wilson, food science and human nutrition. * Kai Hillman, microbiology and genetics, "Understanding the Basis of Antibiotic Tolerance in Bacteria by Use of a Nematode Model," Gregory Phillips, veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine. * Emma Petersen, biology, "Oriented Growth of Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells on Micropatterned Polymer Substrates for Nerve Regeneration Strategies," Donald Sakaguchi, genetics, development and cell biology. * Austin Putz, animal science, "RNA Preparation for RNA-seq to Compare Low and High RFI Pigs," Chris Tuggle, animal science. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/13/researchrotunda RENOWNED GENETICIST TO SPEAK AT CIAG SYMPOSIUM, MARCH 27 Trudy Mackay, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the William Neal Reynolds and Distinguished University Professor of Genetics and Entomology at North Carolina State University, will be the featured speaker March 27 at the spring symposium of the Center for Integrated Animal Genomics at ISU. Mackay is known internationally for her groundbreaking genetic research. Her presentation will begin at 1:10 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall. JIM TOBIN TO PRESENT HERTZ LECTURE, MARCH 28 Jim Tobin, vice president of industry affairs at Monsanto Company, will present the 2013 Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture on March 28 at 7 p.m. in 1148 Gerdin Business Building. Tobin, an ISU alum, will present "Agricultural Technology: Reflections on the Journey, Perspectives on the Future." WOMEN'S NETWORKING LUNCHEON TO BE HELD APRIL 1 The spring 2013 networking luncheon for women graduate students and postdocs in the college will be April 1, noon to 1 p.m. in 142 Curtiss Hall. The discussion topic will be "Stressed out?? Who, me?!" Sue Lamont, CALS Equity Advisor, will facilitate a discussion on common sources of stress and some strategies to reduce stress. The luncheon will also be a meet and greet to allow participants to become better acquainted with each other, their work and their career plans. To attend, RSVP to Carla Persaud (cpersaud@iastate.edu) by March 25. SHRINKING LABOR FORCE WILL LIMIT ECONOMIC GROWTH No combination of incentives will bolster job creation and economic development in Iowa if the state does not have the workforce to support new jobs. It is a reality that state leaders need to be aware of, said Dave Swenson, economics. Population projections by Swenson indicate that Iowa will see limited population growth through 2020 and actually lose workers in two important demographics. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/13/iowalaborforce LEARNING COMMUNITIES CONNECT STUDENTS AND ENCOURAGE SUCCESS Kelsey Lohff, student intern in the CALS Communications Service, talks about learning communities in the college. CALS has many options for students wanting to live in a residential learning community. Majors offering residential learning communities include natural resource ecology and management, food sciences and human nutrition and agricultural systems technology. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS April 4-5: Heat Stress Symposium April 16-17: Egg Industry Issues Forum, St. Louis 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 ................................................... NSF/GATES FOUNDATION BREAD IDEAS CHALLENGE SUBMISSIONS DUE APRIL 30 The Basic Research to Enable Agriculture (BREAD) Program, a partnership between the National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, invites the scientific community to identify those key constraints and research foci that, if addressed, could lead to significant benefit to smallholder agriculture in the developing world. BREAD is looking for creative, novel challenges that could be addressed by basic research in crop sciences, microbes and insects, livestock and animals, soil sciences, weather forecasting and technology development. Ideas must be presented in 100 words or fewer. Graduate students, postdoctoral associates and faculty are eligible to apply. Prizewinners will receive $10,000 to create new collaborations to start working on these challenges. BORLAUG LEAP PROGRAM ACCEPTING GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS The Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program is a fellowship program to enhance the quality of thesis research of graduate students from developing countries who show strong promise as leaders in the field of agriculture and related disciplines. The fellowship supports engaging a mentor at a U.S. university and at aÂ Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research system center to support and enhance the thesis research and mentoring experience. Applications are due June 14. NCR-SARE GRADUATE STUDENT GRANTS WEBINAR TO BE HELD MARCH 14 The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture and Education Program will hold a webinar about the 2013 Graduate Student Grant Program on March 14, 1 to 2 p.m. The program is accepting proposals from graduate students for up to $10,000 to fund sustainable agriculture projects. NCR-SARE expects to fund approximately 15 projects. Proposals are due May 9. More: http://www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs LIBRARY TO HOLD NONGOVERNMENT FUNDING WORKSHOP MARCH 28 Rebecca Jackson, ISU Library, and Donna Van Pelt, ISU Foundation, will hold a workshop about finding grants from foundations and other nonprofit organizations. The workshop will be held at the Parks Library on March 28, 3 to 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required. 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 20: DOI Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Rivers CESU; models to simulate residual submerged oil in a riverine system, one award, $130,000, possible additional funding. April 15: The RIDGE Center - Advancing Social Sciences-Based Research on Food Assistance and Nutrition Challenges in Rural America; $35,000. April 15 (concept papers): DOE Reducing Emissions Using Methanotrophic Organisms for Transportation Energy; eight to 12 awards, $250,000 to $10 million each, 5 percent to 20 percent cost share. More: https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/ April 15 (pre-application): DOE Atmospheric System Research Program; 25-35 awards, $300,000 each per year for three years. May 7: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations, Round 11; five topics including The "One Health" Concept:Â Bringing Together Human and Animal Health for New Solutions and Increasing Interoperability of Social Good Data. May 16 (preproposals): NCR-SARE Professional Development Program; $75,000 for three years. More: http://www.northcentralsare.org/Grants/Our-Grant-Programs Aug. 5: NIH Development of Highly Innovative Tools and Technology for Analysis of Single Cells (SBIR) (R43/R44); $150,000 for Phase I awards, two-thirds of research must be completed by small business. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-140.html ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES AVAILABLE FROM SDR Student Disability Resources is a unit in the Dean of Students Office responsible for coordinating reasonable accommodations for ISU students with documented disabilities. Instructor resources for faculty and staff are available on the SDR website ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... IOWA FARM FAMILY DISCUSSES FOOD, FARMING WITH DINERS Iowans can celebrate the culmination of National Ag Week at an event featuring an Iowa farm family at the Iowa Machine Shed Restaurant in Urbandale on March 23 at 5:30 p.m. Family farmers Chris and Nicole Domino of Storm Lake will answer questions about farming and Iowa's role in turkey production at "Talkin' Farming at the Shed," sponsored by the Iowa Food & Family Project and Iowa Turkey Federation. MARKET MAKER CONNECTS BUSINESSES WITH AG AND FOOD WORKERS Members of Iowa MarketMaker can use the new employment opportunities feature to post aÂ job opening and see it advertised nationally. ISU Extension and Outreach Value Added Agriculture Program, working with Iowa Workforce Development and the National Labor Exchange, has created an easy way to help businesses listed on Iowa MarketMaker to find employees. ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... PUBLIC CAN WATCH AS SCULPTOR FINISHES STATUE OF BORLAUG Benjamin Victor, a sculptor from South Dakota, will be at the State Historical Museum of Iowa for the next two weeks, finishing a statue of Norman Borlaug for the U.S. Capitol. It will be dedicated next year on March 25, the 100th anniversary of Borlaug's birth. "It's a little scary and humbling because of who he was," said Victor of the late Cresco native. "There's nothing wrong with putting other individuals on a pedestal "“ athletes, politicians "“ but he's on a whole "˜nother level. He saved over a billion lives. He changed history. He changed the world." The public can watch Victor finish the statue of Borlaug during select hours through March 28. ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... CALS STUDENT PART OF AWARD WINNING BATTALION The 140 cadets in the Cyclone Army ROTC Battalion have collected nearly every award and honor available"”from ranking the best in the Midwest (out of 40 battalions) to having the nation's highest average score on the Army physical fitness test to earning more national scholarships than any battalion (out of the 273) in the country. As a result, Cadet Command, Fort Knox, Ky., awarded Cyclone Battalion one of eight MacArthur Awards for the school year 2011-12. It's a top honor that places the battalion among the nation's elite. CALS student Adam Schilling, senior in industrial technology, is one of the national senior scholarship winners. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/03/11/rotc-awards ........................................................ 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.