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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
September 30, 2013 No. 769
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COLLEGE NEWS
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OCT. 1 DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS ON GUIDELINES FOR WORK IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
CALS has extended the deadline for comments on a draft set of guidelines for the work of faculty, staff and students in agricultural development activities in developing countries. The new deadline for submitting comments is Oct. 1. All comments should be emailed to cals@iastate.edu.
ISU UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN UPDATE AND CALS DRAWING
The end of the third week of the ISU United Way Campaign shows progress. The college has raised $33,026, which is 53 percent of our goal of $62,500. Overall, ISU pledges and gifts total $152,442, which is 46 percent of ISU’s goal. CALS faculty, staff and students who contribute to United Way by today, Sept. 30, can participate in a drawing for a TV, Okoboji Grill gift card and Reiman Garden passes. Send an email to Carla Persaud at cpersaud@iastate.edu with subject line “I contributed to United Way.” The email message should state name and campus address only; gift amount is not to be disclosed. Winners will be notified on Oct. 2.
CALS UNITED WAY BOOK SALE, OCT. 2-3
Two book sales will take place Oct. 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Harl Commons of Curtiss Hall and Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the atrium of the Molecular Biology building. All proceeds go to the 2013 ISU United Way Campaign. Donated items will be accepted up to the day of each sale. Contact Carla Persaud at cpersaud@iastate.edu or 4-1823 with questions.
FEEDING THE WORLD SEMINAR SERIES CONTINUES OCT. 3
The fall 2013 seminar series, “Feeding the World: Are We Making Progress,” continues Oct. 3 at 3:40 p.m. in the Ensminger Room, 1204 Kildee Hall. Joe Swedburg, vice president of legislative affairs for Hormel Foods Corporation in Austin, Minn., will present “Innovation in Childhood Food Security.” The annual seminar series is sponsored by the M.E. Ensminger International Chair in Animal Agriculture and the Raymond and Mary Baker Chair in Global Agriculture.
ISU EXPERTS AVAILABLE TO COMMENT ON 2013 HARVEST
As farmers across the Midwest solidify their plans for the 2013 harvest, agriculture experts at ISU are watching closely to determine how this year’s harvest will impact producers, consumers and the economy. Available to comment on the harvest are:
• Roger Elmore, relmore@iastate.edu, (515) 294-6655. Elmore is a professor of agronomy and an ISU Extension and Outreach corn specialist whose research interests concentrate on management information for corn growers.
• Chad Hart, chart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-9911. Hart is an associate professor of economics and an ISU Extension and Outreach grain markets specialist whose research focuses on market outlook and agricultural policy.
• Elwynn Taylor, setaylor@iastate.edu, (515) 294-7839. Taylor is a professor of agronomy who studies the impact of climate on crops.
• Michael Duffy, mduffy@iastate.edu, (515) 294-6160. Duffy is a professor of economics who tracks the value of farmland and the cost of agricultural production. He also studies sustainable agriculture and conservation practices.
• Mark Licht, lichtma@iastate.edu, (515) 382-6551. Licht is a field agronomist for ISU Extension and Outreach whose areas of expertise include crop production, soil quality and conservation practices.
More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2013/09/25/2013harvest
WHITHAM APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF PLANT SCIENCES INSTITUTE CENTER
Steve Whitham, plant pathology and microbiology, has been appointed director of the Plant Sciences Institute Center for Plant Responses to Environmental Stresses. The CPRES is dedicated to fundamental research on how plants detect and respond to biotic and abiotic stresses in their environment.
FINE DINING CLASS PRESENTS “AT HOME IN PARIS”
The HRI 487 Fine Dining class is presenting At Home in Paris, a gourmet journey through French cuisine, on Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Joan Bice Underwood Tearoom. The menu consists of prosciutto and chive quiche, frisee salad with Champagne vinaigrette, French onion soup with homemade croutons, beef bourguignon with creamy mashed potatoes, and a chocolate dacquoise with vanilla bean crème brulee and fresh berries. The five-course experience created by food science and human nutrition students Krissy Forsythe, Emilee Smith and Lisa Schmidt and their hospitality teammate Katie Fuller, is available for $30. Reservations can be made with Katie Fuller at kjfuller@iastate.edu.
DONATE ITEMS FOR CALS UNITED WAY ONLINE AUCTION
CALS is collecting items through Oct. 9 for the fourth annual United Way online auction. Contact Carla Persaud at cpersaud@iastate.edu or 4-1823 with a description of your items. The college-sponsored auction will run Oct. 10-16, with proceeds going to the ISU United Way Campaign.
HOWARD HILL TO PRESENT DEAL LECTURE AT ISU, OCT. 9
Howard Hill, president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council and strategic council to Iowa Select Farms, will present the 2013 William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Hill will present “Entrepreneurs and Leadership in the Swine Industry." The event is free and open to the public. More: https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/releases/howard-hill-present-deal-lec…
CALS CO-SPONSOR OF NORMAN BORLAUG LECTURE, OCT. 14
CALS is a co-sponsor of the annual Norman Borlaug Lecture to be held Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Marc Van Montagu, Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert Fraley, joint recipients of the 2013 World Food Prize for their research and achievements in agricultural biotechnology, will present “Scientific Discovery and the Fight to End Global Hunger.” A reception and student poster display will precede the lecture at 7 p.m. in the South Ballroom.
FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK
USDA will hold its 2014 Agricultural Outlook Forum on Feb. 20-21 in Arlington, Va. Funding is available for 20 undergraduate and 10 graduate students from across the U.S. to participate in the forum through the Student Diversity Program. Interested ISU students are required to submit an essay by Oct. 31 to David Acker (dacker@iastate.edu). For undergraduate students a one-page essay is required titled, “Agriculture as a Career.” For graduate students a two-page essay is required titled, “The Greatest Challenge Facing Agriculture Over the Next Five Years.” A committee at the college level will conduct a pre-selection process and then forward two undergraduate and two graduate student finalists’ essays for consideration at the national level. Final selections will be made by Lisa Purnell, USDA/1890 Program Liaison, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Harry Baumes, director, USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses; and Brenda Chapin, information officer with USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist.
AG-CITING EVENT HELD AT ALLEE RESEARCH FARM
The 14th annual Ag-Citing event was held Sept. 24-25 at the ISU Allee Research and Demonstration Farm in Newell. There were 322 Buena Vista County fourth graders from all six schools in the county. There was positive feedback from the teachers, chaperones and students. Ag-Citing is sponsored by ISU Extension, ISU Allee Research and Demonstration Farm, Iowa Corn Growers and Buena Vista County Farm Bureau. The event is designed to inform young people about Iowa agriculture and is integrated into the school curricula each fall. Topics included: bees and pollination, groovy grains (uses of various food grains), wind energy, GPS applications in agriculture, livestock, soil runoff and water quality, corn and soybean production and uses, insects and the corn maze.
SOIL JUDGING TEAM PLACES THIRD AT REGIONAL COMPETITION
The ISU Soil Judging Team placed third at the Region 5 Soil Judging Contest, held Sept. 20 at Missouri State University. Team members included: Eric Adam, senior in agricultural studies; Andrea Brown, junior in agronomy; Ben Butcher, senior in agronomy; Abel Castor, senior in agronomy; Brett Cranston, senior in agricultural and life sciences education; Tom Lawler, senior in agronomy; Shannon Mitchell, senior in agronomy; Tim Riessen, freshman in agronomy; Derek Rothe; sophomore in agronomy; and Sam Stecker, senior in agricultural systems technology. The team was coached by Lee Burras, Heidi Dittmer and Catherine DeLong, agronomy.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Oct. 15: Proposals due for CALS Online Course, Certificate and Program Initiative
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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UPDATE: NIFA RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH TRAINING
The ISU Office of Responsible Research has clarified that the USDA NIFA requirement for Responsible Conduct of Research training applies to awards subject to the February 2013 and subsequent terms and conditions, but not to those projects in progress prior to February 2013. However, if additional NIFA funding is sought for an ongoing project, the new training requirements may apply. It will be important to check the award terms and conditions. RCR training is required for program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and any staff participating in the research project, whether or not they are paid from grant funds. More: http://goo.gl/MwQmsS
WORKSHOP: EXPLORING DATA-RICH ENVIRONMENTS
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will host Exploring Data-Rich Environments, a workshop to examine new avenues for data-driven research and cross-disciplinary research opportunities. The workshop will be held Oct. 11, 1 to 8 p.m., in the Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center. There is no fee to attend; however, registration is required for some parts of the program and for the dinner. To register, contact Kristin Doerder (kjandrsn@iastate.edu) by Oct. 4 at noon.
BROADER IMPACTS TEXT ANALYSIS WORKSHOP
ISU linguistics researcher Elena Cotos has used computational linguistics techniques to analyze the quality of the writing and integration of broader impacts plans within 105 funded and unfunded NSF proposals. Cotos will share her findings and tips for writing effective broader impacts statements on Nov. 14, 12 to 2 p.m., in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. Cotos’ research is a collaborative effort with SP@ISU. More: https://apps-spisu.sws.iastate.edu/events/view/id/56
OCTOBER TRAINING WEBINARS FOR CAYUSE 424
Evisions Product Support will offer three Cayuse 424 training webinars in October. Getting Started with Cayuse 424 will be held Oct. 18 and 22; Budgeting FAQs in Cayuse 424 will be held Oct. 9 and 23; and Subcontracts in Cayuse 424 will be held Oct. 10 and 24.
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/
Oct. 15, March 15: ALS Therapy Alliance; $100,000 to $1 million. More: http://alstherapyalliance.org/index.php/research/grant-submission-proce…
Oct. 18: DOI Lower Colorado Region Bat Foraging Distance Survey; $600,000. More: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=243453
Oct. 18: DOI Lower Colorado Region Lowand Leopard Frog and Colorado River Toad Monitoring, Habitat Use and Ecology Study; $600,000. More: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=243454
Oct. 18: DOI Lower Colorado Region Elf Owl Home Range and Habitat Study; $675,000. More: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=243455
Oct. 25 (letter of intent): NSF Research on Education and Learning. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13667&WT.mc_ev=click
Nov. 11 (initial proposals): EPA Gulf of Mexico Regional Partnerships 2013. More: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=243773
Nov. 25: IREX Individual Advanced Research Opportunities Program; policy.
Dec. 23: NSF-USDA Decadal and Regional Climate Prediction using Earth System Models. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13607/nsf13607.htm
Jan 23: Organotypic Culture Models for Predictive Toxicology Center; three awards, $6 million per award.
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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THINGS TO AVOID DURING A PRESENTATION
A speaker can lose an audience in the first minute of a presentation by saying something inappropriate. Boris Veldhuijzen, founder of a media company, recently shared with “The Next Web” several phrases leaders should avoid saying during presentations.
• Can you hear me? Yes, you can. This is how a lot of people start their talk. It isn’t your responsibility to check the audio. Assume it all works until the opposite has been proven, then stay calm and wait for a fix.
• I can’t see you because the lights are too bright. Yes, when you are on stage the lights are bright and hot and it will be difficult to see the audience. But the audience doesn’t have to know about all that.
• Shut off your phones/laptops/tablets. Once upon a time, you could ask an audience to shut off devices. That was a long time ago.
• I’ll get to that later. If you happen to stumble upon an audience that is eager to learn and interact, you should always grab that chance and enjoy it. If someone has a question that you will address in a later slide, just skip to it right away.
This is excerpted from an article in the Sept. 23, 2013, issue of Advancement Weekly, published by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
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INFOGRAZING
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PRINT “LAPSE IN FUNDING” SHUTDOWN PLANS BEFORE MIDNIGHT
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted information on its shutdown plans in the event of a lapse in government funding (http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&content…). The website contains links to download PDFs containing the shutdown plans for each agency as well as general employee information regarding furloughs during a shutdown. However, in the event of a shutdown, plans call for USDA websites to be shut down. This means the information linked from the “Lapse in Funding Plans” web page may no longer be available. Anyone needing to know an agency’s plans may wish to download or print the agency’s PDF before midnight tonight (Sept. 30, 2013).
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INTERNAL VOICES
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WINTERSTEEN: INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT INCREASES
International student enrollment continues to increase at ISU. Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, spoke with Radio Iowa on Sept. 23. “Over the last five years the number of international students studying at Iowa State University has increased 56 percent…Those scholars, they’re engaged in the classroom, they’re engaged in research, they’re engaged in leaning about the United States, so it is an environment that allowed our students to be successful as they graduate and go out into the world.” According to Wintersteen, 98 percent of the international students who earn a masters or doctorate at ISU stay in the U.S. after graduation.
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MARGINALIA
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ABE HOSTS BARBECUE FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
The Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering hosted a barbecue on Friday, Sept. 27, for the construction workers laboring to complete their new buildings, which will be part of the Biorenewables Complex. The department provided the food while the ISU student chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers provided the cooks and preparation. The new buildings are set to be completed by the start of the 2014 fall semester.
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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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