Issue: 752

................................................... AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter Iowa State University June 3, 2013 No. 752 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... CALS RESEARCHERS TO SPEAK AT WORLD PORK EXPO, JUNE 5-7 The World Pork Expo will be held Wednesday through Friday, June 5-7, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. In addition to browsing the trade show exhibits, attendees can take part in seminars covering a wide range of pork industry topics. Speakers include Elwynn Taylor, agronomy, on weather outlook; Dermot Hayes, economics, on export issues and world markets; and Ken Stalder, animal science, on industry productivity analysis. More: https://www.worldpork.org/ DAIRY MONTH: DAIRY FARM CELEBRATES OPEN HOUSE, JUNE 7 The ISU Dairy Farm will host its fifth annual Dairy Month open house on Friday, June 7, 6 to 11 a.m. Tours begin at 6:30 a.m. and include stops at the milking parlor, milkhouse and a riding tour of the farm. Visitors can learn about the different commodities in the Ag Discovery Center while sampling free dairy products. IOWA STATE GRAD IS FEEL PROGRAM COORDINATOR Stuart McCulloh became the program coordinator at the Field Extension Education Laboratory on May 13. As FEEL program coordinator, he will work with extension faculty and researchers who have demonstration plots and conduct educational programs at the research facility. He will also coordinate educational opportunities for agribusiness clients. ACKER CO-PRESENTS SEMINAR FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs, co-presented a seminar this morning, June 3, for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, titled "Reducing Rural Poverty: The Role of Education for Rural People and Agricultural Education and Training." The seminar shared the experience of FAO research and policy work on Education for Rural People and agricultural education and training. ABE STUDENTS - MAKING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Learn more about the opportunities available in agricultural and biosystems engineering in a video put together by ABE students at ISU. More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7ywKHxpd6eM NORTH CAROLINA A&T RESEARCHER VISITS ISU, JUNE 12-14 Mulumebet (Millie) Worku, a professor at North Carolina A&T University, will visit the Department of Animal Science on June 12-14. She will present a seminar on gene expression studies in the neutrophil at 11 a.m. on June 13 in the Ensminger Room, 1204 Kildee Hall, followed by a reception in the Kildee atrium. Worku was named the NC A&T 2011 Outstanding Senior Researcher. Contact Sue Lamont (sjlamont@iastate.edu) if you would like to meet with Worku. USING MILLER AWARD TO BRING AG SAFETY TO THE CLASSROOM Gretchen Mosher, agricultural and biosystems engineering and recipient of the Miller Faculty Fellowship award, talks with CALS Communications Service intern Kelsey Lohff about using the fellowship funding to teach students about agricultural safety hazards. WEBSITE HIGHLIGHTS IOWA FARM TO SCHOOL EFFORTS A new website showcases stories from around the state of efforts to bring fresh, local food into Iowa schools. A FoodCorps Fellow housed at the National Center for Appropriate Technology received a special grant through the statewide Local Food and Farm Initiative to create the website. The initiative is coordinated by the Leopold Center and ISU Extension and Outreach. LEARNING COMMUNITY RAISES MONEY FOR MALNUTRITION IN UGANDA More than $1,800 was raised from a silent celebrity auction developed and organized by students in the Global Resource Systems Learning Community and its GLOBE 201 course. The money will go to the ISU student service learning program, Establish & Grow, which works to fight food insecurity and malnutrition in the Kamuli District in Uganda. The money will provide training and food for about six months at the Nutrition Education Center for 100 infants and pregnant mothers. NEW DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE EDUCATION IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES Michael Spurlock, food science and human nutrition and animal science, will serve as the director of graduate education for the interdepartmental graduate program in nutritional sciences starting June 3. Previously, Kevin Schalinske held the position for eight years. WHO ARE THE DOGES IN CALS? Directors of graduate education are graduate program coordinators of majors and interdepartmental programs. A few responsibilities of DOGEs include signature approval of important documents and overseeing the graduate major. DOGEs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are: * Agricultural Economics "“ John Schroeter * Agricultural Education "“ Greg Miller * Agricultural Engineering "“ Steven Freeman * Agricultural Meteorology "“ Tom Loynachan * Agronomy "“ Tom Loynachan * Animal Breeding and Genetics "“ Joe Sebranek * Animal Physiology "“ Joe Sebranek * Animal Science "“ Joe Sebranek * Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology "“ Reuben Peters * Crop Production and Physiology "“ Tom Loynachan * Diet and Exercise "“ Ruth Litchfield * Ecology & Evolutionary Biology "“ Kirk Moloney * Entomology "“ Joel Coats * Environmental Science "“ John Downing * Fisheries Biology "“ Janette Thompson * Food Science & Technology "“ Stephanie Jung * Forestry "“ Janette Thompson * Genetics "“ Chris Tuggle * Horticulture "“ Rajeev Arora * Industrial & Agricultural Technology "“ Steve Freeman * Meat Science "“ Joe Sebranek * Microbiology "“ Cathy Miller * Molecular, Cellular & Development Biology "“ Clark Coffman * Nutritional Sciences "“ Mike Spurlock * Plant Biology "“ Yanhai Yin * Plant Breeding "“ Tom Loynachan * Plant Pathology "“ Gary Munkvold * Professional Agriculture "“ Greg Miller * Rural Sociology "“ Stephen Sapp * Seed Technology and Business Management "“ Gary Munkvold * Soil Science "“ Tom Loynachan * Sustainable Agriculture "“ Mike Duffy * Toxicology "“ Richard Martin * Wildlife Ecology "“ Janette Thompson DEADLINES AND REMINDERS June 12: Registration deadline for Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open on June 26 June 27: Iowa Swine Day, Scheman Building ................................................... FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ................................................... GATES FOUNDATION PROGRAM FOR EMERGING AGRICULTURAL LEADERS The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks preproposals for agricultural research with the potential to increase the sustainable productivity of smallholder farmers in developing countries. The Foundation is accepting applications for projects led by African M.S. or Ph.D. scientists at national agricultural research institutions and universities in sub-Saharan Africa, working in collaboration with other researchers internationally. Budgets cannot exceed $500,000. Preproposals submitted by July 1 will be considered for early decision. All preproposals are due by Sept. 20. USAID REQUESTS EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR INNOVATION PROGRAM The USAID Partnering for Innovation program is looking for modern, off-the-shelf technologies that will increase the productivity and competitiveness of smallholder farmers, especially women. The program offers two kinds of financial awards: 1) pilot technology sub-awards, providing support for early, field-based proof of concepts that attract private-sector investment for initial commercial marketing or for establishing initial distribution; and 2) commercialization partnership sub-awards support developing a longer-term partnership to scale up technologies that proved effective in initial field-testing. The next round opens June 15, with Expressions of Interest due by July 31. More: http://www.partneringforinnovation.org/eoi/ USAID TO HOLD E-CONSULTATION ON IPM RESEARCH PRIORITIES JUNE 4-7 The U.S. Agency for International Development invites faculty, staff and students to participate in an e-consultation to examine integrated pest management research priorities. The e-consultation will be conducted asynchronously with facilitated discussion on June 4 and 5. Additional comments may be submitted on June 6 and 7. Topics include IPM research and programmatic focus, human and institutional capacity development for IPM research, comparative advantage of U.S. universities in conducting IPM research, and transfer of IPM technologies to the field. Registration is required. NSF TO PILOT TEST MODIFIED PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS The National Science Foundation will pilot test a modified review process for proposals submitted for the Sensors and Sensing Systems program's Oct. 1 deadline. The purpose of the test is to seek new approaches that can lower the cost of the review process, improve the quality of reviews, and reduce the workload on the reviewer community. Instead of assembling a review panel, NSF will ask each PI who submits a proposal to review and rank seven proposals submitted by other PIs. Diligent review will be incentivized by moving the reviewing PI's proposal up in the ranking. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13096/nsf13096.jsp?WT.mc_ev=click CAYUSE TRAINING WEBINARS IN JUNE Cayuse will host three 30-minute training webinars in June. Each webinar will be offered twice. Getting Started with Cayuse 424 will be held June 10 and June 17. Developing, Importing and Managing Subcontracts in Cayuse 424 will be held June 11 and June 18. Detailed Budgeting in Cayuse 424 will be held June 12 and June 19. 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/ June 28 (letter of intent): NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program; $11,500 each for four to 12 planning grants; $60,000 to $80,000 each for two to eight center awards. More: http://goo.gl/Y9Zln June 28: USDA Development of the National Urban and Community Forestry Ten Year Action Plan. July 5: NIH Research to Advance Vaccine Safety (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-12-037.html July 16: USDA NIFA Expert Integrated Pest Management Decision Support System. Aug. 1: Cottrell Scholar Awards; $75,000 for faculty in astronomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry or physics who started their first tenure-track position in 2010. Aug. 5: NIH Reissue PHS 2013-02 Omnibus Solicitation for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (Parent STTR [R41/R42]); research institutions may collaborate. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-235.html Aug. 21: EPA Science to Achieve Results Program - National Center for Innovation in Small Drinking Water Systems; one award, $4.1 million over three years. Sept. 12: NEH Enduring Questions. Nov. 8: NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences; 100 to 120 awards, $13,000 in direct costs for up to two years. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5234 Nov. 14: NSF National Robotics Initiative; 20 to 30 small awards, $100,000 to $250,000 per year up to five years. More:  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503641 ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... DOES SCIENCE NEED A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? As recently as the 1960s, about 40 percent of scientific research was still published in languages other than English, chiefly German, French and Russian. By 2000, English's share of the literature had risen to about 85 percent, and today, 90 percent. In "Does Science Need a Global Language?" just out from the University of Chicago Press, Scott Montgomery explains how the dominance of English extends beyond formal science publications to international organizations, corporate correspondence, job and fellowship postings, websites and much more. More: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Rise-of-English-Speaking/139511?cid=me… ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... AMERICAN OIL CHEMIST SOCIETY HOSTS WORKSHOP, JULY 16-17 The American Oil Chemist Society will host a technical services workshop on July 16-17 at the FFA Enrichment Center on the DMACC campus in Ankeny. The event will include educational sessions designed specifically for lab technicians. An analytical showcase will provide attendees the opportunity to discuss equipment needs and applications with leader manufacturers. Contact Tong Wang, food science and human nutrition, with questions (tongwang@iastate.edu, 4-5448). ................................................... INTERNAL VOICES ................................................... GREWELL: ULTRASOUND CAN ENHANCE BIOFUEL PRODUCTION Research by David Grewell, agricultural and biosystems engineering, has shown that pretreating a wide variety of feedstocks with ultrasound consistently enhances the chemical reactions necessary to convert the biomass into high-value fuels and chemicals. In the May 31 issue of "e! Science News," Grewell said, "Economic models have shown that once implemented, this technology could have a payback period of less than one year." More: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/05/31/ultrasound.making.waves.enh… LEANDRO: PLANT SDS-RESISTANT SOYBEAN VARIETIES In a news release from the Iowa Soybean Association on May 28, Leonor Leandro, plant pathology and microbiology, said the important thing for soybean growers to note is that while the weather each year cannot be predicted, measures can be taken to reduce the impact of Sudden Death Syndrome if it appears. The most important measure is to plant SDS-resistant soybean varieties. "There is no complete resistance to SDS, so any variety will develop some disease if it is in very favorable conditions, but they are going to suffer less yield loss than the more susceptible varieties," said Leandro. ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... LIBRARIAN: PUBLISHING IS NOT DEAD After a turbulent few years in the book business, there was a feeling of calm last week at BookExpo America, the publishing industry's annual trade convention in New York. "When you work in a library, you constantly hear that print is dying, and then you come here and feel so much energy. Publishing is not dead," said Barbara Moralis, a librarian at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa. More: http://nyti.ms/1aPHgpm ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... ABE PAST AND PRESENT SIGNS STRUCTURAL SUPPORT BEAM The construction crew working on the new agricultural and biosystems engineering complex left out one of the last structural support beams to be placed in the Sukup Hall building for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to sign. The ABE complex project is on track to be completed by June 2014. ........................................................ 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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