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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
June 24, 2013 No. 755
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COLLEGE NEWS
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WHAT DO YOU THINK? CALS WEB SITE FEATURES NEW LOOK, URL
Visitors to the CALS web site today should notice some changes. The home page’s URL has been updated to https://www.cals.iastate.edu, although the previous one (http://www.ag.iastate.edu) will still work. The home page has been updated to incorporate features similar to those used on the university’s site. The new look includes a banner taking up most of the home page to highlight students, faculty, staff and alumni. The daily entry on the CALS Facebook page is featured below the banner as are recent news items and timely issues and events. Menus accessible above the banner offer more links to more information for prospective and current students and those interested in research programs, extension and outreach, as well as general information. Let us know what you think. Send comments to Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu, 4-2314.
FSHN RESEARCHERS CHARTING BENEFITS OF SLOWLY DIGESTED STARCHES
Researchers are mapping the potentially far-reaching health benefits of starches that take extra time to digest. Jay-lin Jane, Matthew Rowling, Kevin Schalinske and Diane Birt, food science and human nutrition, are interested in starches that allow humans to continue drawing nutrients from food hours after it's eaten. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/06/20/resistantstarch
ANR WEBINAR: WATER QUALITY PERSPECTIVES
The ANR at Noon webinar series on “Communicating about Controversial Topics in Agriculture” will continue Friday, June 28. Jackie Comito, Iowa Learning Farms, will relate experiences of dealing with the differing perspectives and controversies in Iowa around water quality. More: Chris Mondak, cmondak@iastate.edu, 4-3197.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE ISU RESEARCH FARMS?
Here’s a recent update on activities near Ames and around the state on the ISU Research and Demonstration Farms:
• All corn and soybean research plots are planted in the Ames area. Planting of bulk crops (corn and soybeans) were finished last week at the Agricultural Engineering/Agronomy Farm. Hay harvest continued last week with drier conditions.
• Last of the corn at the Dairy Farm was planted last week using shorter season hybrids. Because of the late cool wet spring, silage harvest may be delayed.
• Vineyards and orchards at the Horticulture Station are in good condition. Plastic mulch has been put in place. All vegetable plots are planted. Turfgrass research is proceeding.
• At the outlying farms, corn and bean planting is complete at all locations, except for some double crop soybeans at McNay Memorial Farm near Chariton.
• Pastures are in excellent conditions and breeding is underway with the university beef cow herds.
• Field days began last week and continue this week at Kanawha, Nashua, Sutherland and Crawfordsville
LONERGAN ELECTED TO ASAS BOARD OF DIRETORS
Elisabeth Lonergan, animal science, has been elected to the American Society of Animal Science board of directors. Board members will be formally welcomed at the ASAS annual meeting July 8-12 in Indianapolis.
CALS COMMUNICATIONS STAFF RECEIVE NAADA AWARDS
The National Agricultural Alumni Development Association presented four awards to CALS communications staff at the NAADA annual meeting last week, June 16-19, in Alexandria, Va. The Butter Cy event for the 2012 Homecoming anniversary received first place in the events and programming category; the “It’s About Life!” video for the agriculture exhibit in the Iowa Hall of Pride received second place in the multimedia video category; STORIES magazine placed second in magazine print media; and Butter Cy t-shirt won second place in specialty item promotional materials.
CALS STUDENTS MAKE THE NEWS WITH INTERNSHIPS
Adam Fichter and Austin Fichter, both seniors in agricultural business, were recently featured on KMA Land radio for participating in internships with Monsanto Company. They both credit ISU and the opportunity to build their leadership skills as contributing to their selection as interns.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
June 26: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open
June 27: Iowa Swine Day, http://www.aep.iastate.edu/iowaswineday/
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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NSF ADVANCING DIGITIZATION OF BIODIVERSITY COLLECTIONS
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development is accepting expressions of interest for the NSF Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections program. This program seeks to enhance and expand the national resource of digital data documenting existing vouchered biological and paleontological collections and to advance scientific knowledge by improving access to digitized information residing in vouchered scientific collections. Submissions are limited to one per lead institution. Individuals interested in submitting an application are asked to contact Chitra Rajan (rajanc@iastate.edu) by July 3. More:
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503559&WT.mc_ev=click
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 27: DOI Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Rivers CESU; one award, $93,000.
July 12 (Request for Information): NASA and USAID SERVIR Mekong; climate change adaptation and management using geospatial support tools.
July 15 (Request for Information) DOE Waste Applications for Sustainable Technologies for Energy. More: http://goo.gl/RKafu
July 18 (concept paper): USAID Ethiopia Enhancing Resilience to Climate Change Impacts through Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction; $12 million.
July 19: USAID Democratic Rep. of Congo – Central Africa Forest Ecosystems Conservation; 25 percent cost share.
July 19: USAID Democratic Rep. of Congo – Strengthening Central Africa Environmental Management and Policy Support; $10 million over five years, 25 percent cost share.
July 21: USAID U.S.-Afghan University Partnership with Herat University, Department of Agriculture; one award, $500,000 to $750,000.
July 31: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Gates Vaccine Innovation Award; one award, $250,000.
July 31: USDA NIFA Integrated Forest Products Research Grants Program; four awards, $300,000 over three years.
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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MANAGING TECHNOLOGY IS A TEAM-LEVEL ISSUE
Plenty of workplace advice focuses on how we, as individuals, can manage our technology, but in many cases, this is a collective, team-level issue. In an article for the New York Times on June 15, Leslie Perlow, a Harvard Business School professor, said "Nobody can think anymore because they're constantly interrupted. Technology has enabled this expectation that we always be on." To lessen the disruptive nature of email and other messages, Perlow said teams need to discuss how to alter their work process to allow blocks of time where they can disconnect entirely. "I don't think you can do it without leadership support," she added. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/jobs/messages-galore-but-no-time-to-t…
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INFOGRAZING
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SEARCH BEGINS FOR PLANT SCIENCES INSTITUTE DIRECTOR
The VPRED Office has begun an internal search for a Plant Sciences Institute director. The position is currently held by Bill Beavis, agronomy, who has served as interim director since September 2009. The search committee, chaired by Associate Vice President Charlotte Bronson, is requesting applications by Aug. 11.
THREE BIOTECHNOLOGY SCIENTISTS AWARDED 2013 WORLD FOOD PRIZE
Three distinguished scientists were named winners of the 2013 World Food Prize during a ceremony at the U.S. State Department on June 19. Marc Van Montagu, founder and chairman of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology Outreach at Ghent University in Belgium; Mary-Dell Chilton, founder and distinguished fellow of Syngenta Biotechnology; and Robert Fraley, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Monsanto, will be awarded the World Food Prize at the 27th Annual Laureate Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol on Oct. 17. In announcing the names of the 2013 Laureates, Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, said the three scientists are being recognized for their independent, individual breakthrough achievements in founding, developing and applying modern agricultural biotechnology. More: http://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm/24667/24410/three_biotechnology…
THREE GLOBAL LEADERS TO SPEAK AT BORLAUG DIALOGUE
The World Food Prize will welcome three key global leaders during the 2013 Borlaug Dialogue, Oct. 16-18 in Des Moines. Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, current president of Iceland; and Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Holy See in the Vatican, will join more than 1,000 international scientists, public policy experts and business and government leaders from more than 65 countries.
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INTERNAL VOICES
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TAKLE: TIME FOR IOWA TO LEAD ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Eugene Takle, agronomy, and Gregory Carmichael, University of Iowa, wrote an opinion piece that ran in the June 21 issue of the Des Moines Register. They state that Iowa seems to have become a state of extremes, and that it’s time for Iowa to lead on climate change. “Unfortunately, climate science cannot tell us for sure what the next season or year will bring. It can, however, help us understand which way our future weather is trending. Using a mixture of modeling, historic records and field studies, climate scientists investigate how changes to atmospheric processes can affect long-term trends in our state.” Takle is director of the climate science program and a professor of atmospheric science and agricultural meteorology at ISU.
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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NOBEL LAUREATE: CRUSADER FOR BETTER SCIENCE TEACHING
Carl Wieman, winner of a Nobel Prize in Physics, has made a second career of studying and promoting newer, hands-on methods of teaching science—emphasizing discussions over lectures and practical applications rather than rubrics—to significantly improve student success. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses Wieman’s research in this area. “I got convinced that this wasn’t just a funny thing about people—it was consistent enough that there were some basic things about learning here,” he said. More: http://chronicle.com/article/Crusader-for-Better-Science/139849/?cid=at…
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MARGINALIA
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MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES HELP FARMERS MONITOR OPERATIONS
About six years ago, Joe Hossle, now 58, found himself thinking he probably could get through to retirement without diving into all the technology available to farmers today. An article in the June 18 issue of the Omaha World Herald states that he quickly decided that was a bad idea. Today he estimates that the automated devices that shut off the flow of seed from his planter at the ends of rows alone have reduced his seed bill by upward of 6 percent. And for the last two years, he’s been able to use mapping systems on his tractor to back up insurance claims for the loss of about 1,200 acres of corn downed by wind. He and his wife recently hosted a demonstration of remote monitoring and security technologies that help them keep an eye on buildings, control locks and monitor grain bin levels from a desktop computer – or a smartphone.
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Julie Stewart
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
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