College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
June 13, 2016 – No. 904
Top Stories
Secretary Vilsack and Cuban Delegation Visit Seed Science Center
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and a nine-member Cuban delegation, including Cuban Minister of Agriculture Gustavo Rodriguez Rollero, visited the Seed Science Center on June 3. Manjit Misra, director of the center, welcomed the delegation. Secretary Vilsack commented on the importance of ISU’s land-grant mission given the challenges that are faced globally in food security. “I want to welcome you to one of the truly great land-grant universities,” said Vilsack. “The land-grant system was started by President Abraham Lincoln in the midst of our own civil war. He understood then, as we understand today, that knowledge is key. And it is important that we transfer that knowledge.” Following the tour of the Seed Science Center labs, the delegation was joined by a number of key Iowa agricultural stakeholders in a roundtable session. The group discussed opportunities for collaborations including agricultural trade with Cuba.
Teaching and Students
CALS Student Promotes Beekeeping and Honey
Kim Kester has been busy promoting beekeeping and honey since being named the 2016 American Honey Queen. The graduate student in agricultural education has been traveling the country talking to groups about the importance of honeybees and pollination, visiting events and demonstrating honey recipes on local television programs. More
Extension and Outreach
Janke Joins NREM as Extension Wildlife Specialist
Adam Janke has joined ISU as an assistant professor in the natural resources ecology and management department and an extension wildlife specialist. His research and extension programs will seek to help Iowa landowners conserve wildlife on working lands, with a specific eye on managing habitat for game birds like quail, pheasants and ducks. More
Agriculture and Natural Resources Focus of Latest Alliance Message
When Iowa’s agricultural producers and businesses have questions about their operations, they find answers from 41 field specialists across the state and 85 faculty and staff in CALS and the College of Veterinary Medicine who provide expertise in agricultural engineering, agronomy, beef, dairy, farm management, horticulture and swine. Find out more about ISU Extension and Outreach Agriculture and Natural Resources is the June 8 issue of Alliance for Iowa State.
Around the College
Hogberg Selected for Prestigious Livestock Industry Honor
Maynard Hogberg, emeritus professor and former chair of the animal science department, will be presented the 2016 Saddle and Sirloin Club Portrait Award at a ceremony in Louisville, Ky., in November. The Saddle and Sirloin Club Portrait Collection is a 113-year-old tradition honoring leaders who have demonstrated lifetime achievements and provided outstanding service to animal agriculture. More
Order Produce Online from Horticulture Station Website
Faculty, staff and students can order fruits and vegetables grown at the Horticulture Station and the Student Organic Farm through an online produce-ordering website. Pick-up is every Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Harl Commons entrance of Curtiss Hall, on the east side of the building. Produce will also be available for purchase without pre-ordering. More
Iowa Agricultural Mechanics Event Held at Ag 450 Farm
The Department of Agricultural Education and Studies hosted the Iowa Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event on June 9 at the Ag 450 farm. More than 100 high school students participated in the event, which consisted of five skill activities and five problem solving activities.
Take a Video Tour of the Dairy Farm Open House
To celebrate dairy month, the ISU Dairy Farm held its annual open house on June 10. More than 1,300 people attended the open house, taking motorized tours of the farm and visiting the milking parlor and milk house. A video featuring the open house is available online.
Calendar
2016 Research Farms Field Days
Field Days begin this month at ISU’s research and demonstration farms throughout the state. Field days give farmers and the public a chance to see research projects in progress and talk with the researchers involved in the experiments. They also provide the opportunity to view the latest in modern agriculture. Dates, locations and topics of summer field days are available online.
Funding Opportunities
Limited Submission: Searle Family and Kinship Foundation
The Office of the VPR is accepting pre-proposals for the Searle Scholars Program. The program supports the independent research of outstanding early-career scientists who have recently been appointed as assistant professors on a tenure-track appointment. Grants are $300,000 for a three-year term. Applicants must be pursuing independent research careers in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology and related areas in chemistry, medicine and the biological sciences. Applicants should have been appointed to their first tenure-track position on or after July 1, 2015. Applications are limited to one per institution. Pre-proposals are due June 28. Contact Sue Shipitalo (sueship@iastate.edu)
Limited Submission: NASA Space Technology Research Institutes
The NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate plans to fund Space Technology Research Institutes to support university-led, multidisciplinary basic research and technology development within particular areas of strong interest to NASA and the wider aerospace community. An STRI is intended to investigate cutting-edge advances in technology with the potential for revolutionary impact on future aerospace capabilities. Submissions per institution are limited to one per topic. Topics include in situ food production and in situ microbial media production. Contact Sue Shipitalo (sueship@iastate.edu) to express interest.
DOE EERE Request for Information: Revolutionary Biomass Supply Systems
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy seeks feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies and other stakeholders on issues related to mobilizing biomass resources to support a “billion-ton bioeconomy.” Responses are due by June 30. More
Workshop: Standards for Microbiome Measurements
A workshop for Standards for Microbiome Measurements will be held to seek input on defining reference materials, reference data and reference methods for human microbiome community measurements. This workshop is sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Human Microbiome Project. While the scope of this workshop will be applicable for anyone involved in microbiome-based research and development, the workshop will emphasize microbiome measurements for human clinical diagnostics, microbiome therapeutics, and the regulatory needs associated with microbiome therapeutics and diagnostics. The workshop will be held Aug. 9-10 in Gaithersburg, Md.
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu. Additional information is posted at CALS Pre-Award Resources.
July 16 (deadline extended): Pilot and Feasibility Studies Evaluating the Role of RNA Modifications (the 'epitranscriptome') in Cancer Biology (R21). More
Aug. 1: BLM- CO Southwest District Human Impact Monitoring Research. More
Aug. 5 (pre-proposals): NSF – NASA Origin of Life Ideas Lab Activity. More
Aug. 8: BLM Utah Reptile and Amphibian Inventory and Monitoring. More
Aug. 8: BLM OR-WA, Prairie Plant Conservation, Restoration and Outreach Projects, $5,000 to $20,000. More
Sept. 8 (letter of intent): Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research- Technology Translation. More
Jan. 23, 2017 (pre-proposal): Long Term Research in Environmental Biology. More
Communications Kiosk
Sidestepping the Semicolon
In a blog for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Allan Metcalf, a professor of English at MacMurray College, explains “…that with a semicolon, you can limit the preceding sentence or clause and keep connection with it too; you can go on and on; you never have to stop; of course, you can if you’re tired; you may have good reasons for stopping; then again, it’s tempting to go on and on; there’s no limit to the length of a single sentence or the number of semicolons it contains; however, it really isn’t necessary.” Metcalf suggests performing a semicolonectomy, replacing every semicolon with a period. There are good uses for semicolons, but you can do perfectly well without them. More
Infograzing
Jefferson Science Fellowship Competition Will Open in August
The Jefferson Science Fellowship is open to tenured, or similarly ranked, faculty from U.S. institutions of higher learning who are U.S. citizens. Fellows spend one year on assignment at the U.S. Department of State or USAID as science advisers on foreign policy/international development issues. Following the fellowship year, Fellows return to their academic careers but remain available to the U.S. government as experienced consultants for short-term projects. The application period opens in early August and closes at the end of October. Recent ISU Fellows are Max Rothschild, animal science (2011), James Alleman (2014), and David Jiles (2016). More
ISU Ethics Hotline Available
The ISU Compliance and Ethics Hotline allows anyone to anonymously report concerns regarding compliance with laws, regulations and policies at ISU. Concerns may be submitted online or by leaving a voice message at (515) 294-7119. Get more information on the hotline website.
Garden Produce Collection Begins June 20
Plant a Row for the Hungry is collecting locally grown fruits and vegetables for Ames-area food programs, including ACCESS, Bethesda Community Food Pantry, MICA Food Pantry, Salvation Army food pantry and Food at First. Gardeners may take their produce donations to the maintenance shed at Reiman Gardens on Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Volunteers will accept produce June 20 through Oct. 17, except July 4 and Sept. 7. Plant a Row for the Hungry is an international effort that helps gardeners make a difference in their communities by sharing excess produce with those in need.
Marginalia
Dairy Month: Students at the ISU Dairy Farm
More than 850 students took classes at the ISU Dairy Farm last semester. Subjects ranged from an introduction to working with animals to lactation science and dairy systems management. The Dairy Farm employs an average of 40 to 50 students each semester. Some were raised on dairy farms while others are new to dairy operations.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Friday.