CALS Online and Dean’s Message
January 17, 2023
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS Colleagues – I hope you had a great, long weekend and paused for a moment to consider the remarkable legacy and meaning of Martin Luther King Jr. Here is a quote from his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech that is engraved on the MLK Memorial in Washington, D.C. It contains ideas and ideals that we still pursue, and I offer to our graduates in my remarks at CALS Convocation each year: "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education, and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits"… More
Top Stories
Award-Winning Researcher Perseveres through Funding Challenges
Joshua Selsby, animal science, studies the mechanisms of muscle disease and injury. One of his primary research interests is the progressive, fatal disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The most common muscular dystrophy in children, DMD mostly affects boys – about one out of every 5,000 boys is born with the disease. Thanks to support from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Selsby and collaborators have a new project to test hypotheses about the disease’s links to obesity. “I’m thrilled with the investment that MDA has made with us,” Selsby said. “But getting to this point has been a big challenge.” More
Research
Discovery of Metabolic Switch Could Lead to Targeting Treatment of Obesity, Cancer
Hua Bai, genetics, development and cell biology, and his research team have discovered how to modify the function of an enzyme crucial to fat production in fruit flies, which could lead to more effective treatments of cancer and childhood obesity in humans. More
Soybean Organizations Fund Iowa State Research
The North Central Soybean Research Program approved $4.59 million in funding for research in fiscal year 2023 to support 10 university-based projects. CALS researchers are involved in seven of those projects. More The United Soybean Board approved more than $950,000 in funding for fiscal year 2023 to support five projects led by Iowa State researchers and Iowa Soybean Research Center affiliates. More
Teaching and Students
Culinary Science Club to Host Cake Decorating Workshop
The Culinary Science Club is hosting a Cake Decorating Workshop on Feb. 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. in 2379 Food Sciences Building. Participants will learn decorating techniques and receive a cake and cupcakes to decorate and take home. Registration fee is $30 and seating is limited to 40. The workshop is open to faculty, staff, students and community members. More
Extension and Outreach
New Resources to Aid Spanish Speaking Farmers Across Iowa
In 2023, ISU Extension and Outreach staff will be delivering farm stress resource packets to Spanish speaking farmworkers across Iowa. “Iowa agriculture relies on skilled labor to provide care for animals and the land, which can be very labor-intensive jobs. Couple this with cultural and language barriers, and it can increase stress for farmworkers both on the farm and at home,” said Jennifer Bentley, extension dairy field specialist. More
CropsTV Returns for Season Three of On-demand Education
CropsTV, by ISU Extension and Outreach, returns for a third season in 2023. This educational program delivers crop production education at home, in the office or anywhere there is an internet connection. The Season Three program features 33 episodes covering a variety of crop management, pest management, nutrient management, and soil and water management topics. More
Specialty Crop Marketing Boot Camp Planned for February
The Farm, Food and Enterprise Development team with ISU Extension and Outreach will hold a virtual Specialty Crop Marketing Boot Camp on Feb. 6-7 and Feb. 13-14, from 11 a.m. to noon. Darcy Maulsby, Iowa author and experienced ag marketer known as “Iowa’s Storyteller,” is the featured speaker. More
Another Year of Education and Outreach at Iowa State’s Farms
More than 14,000 people, including school-age youth, visited Iowa State’s 15 research and demonstration farms in 2022. Nearly 70 field days were held across the state, with topics that pertained to corn rootworm, forage management, tar spot, nitrogen management, turfgrass management, specialty crops and livestock production. One highlight was the grand opening of the Research and Learning Center at the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm, near Crawfordsville. More
Around the College
Inaugural George Washington Carver Day of Recognition, Feb. 1
Last year, the Iowa Legislature unanimously voted to establish Feb. 1 as an annual Official Day of Recognition in honor of George Washington Carver. Iowa State is holding a program on Feb. 1 from 5-7 p.m. in person at the Memorial Union Great Hall, or online. Those planning to attend in person are asked to RSVP by Jan. 25. February 1 also is the beginning of Black History Month, adding significance to this first-ever event at Carver’s alma mater — where he was Iowa State’s first Black student and graduate, and first Black faculty member. More
Fill Out Conflict of Interest and Commitment Disclosure
Dean Robison sent an email on Jan. 10 about filing updated Conflict of Interest and Commitment materials. All faculty, P&S staff, contract staff, graduate assistants and postdoctoral scholars are required to disclose whether or not they believe they have a conflict. For those supervising other P&S or contract staff, or graduate students or post docs, please ensure this process is completed.
Calendar
Jan. 18: Iowa Learning Farms Conservation Webinar
Lee Burras, agronomy, will discuss how Iowa’s soil was created and how it should be maintained during an Iowa Learning Farms conservation webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at noon. More
Jan. 21: Artist Reception for Jack Trice Exhibition
University Museums commissioned artist and Iowa State alumnus King Au to create three works of art depicting campus sculptures honoring Jack Trice for the 100th Year Commemoration Celebration. The exhibition, “Through the Photographic Lens of King Au: Honoring Jack Trice,” opens today, Jan. 17. More A reception with the artist will be held Saturday, Jan. 21, from 2-4 p.m. in the Christian Petersen Art Museum. More
Jan. 24: Women Impacting ISU Calendar Reception
The 2023 Women Impacting ISU calendar will be unveiled during a reception recognizing the honorees on Jan. 24 from 3:30-5 p.m. (program at 4 p.m.) in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Stephanie Clark, food science and human nutrition and director of the ISU Creamery, Shannon Coleman, food science and human nutrition, and Arti Singh, agronomy, are three of the four faculty selected for this year’s calendar, which is published by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. More
Jan. 25: CALS Staff Ice Cream Social
The CALS Staff Council is hosting a welcome back ice cream social on Jan. 25 from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Iowa Farm Bureau Pavilion in Kildee Hall.
Infograzing
Carillon Concert to Honor Martin Luther King Jr.
An Iowa State campanile carillon concert in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. will be held Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 11:50 a.m. “Let Freedom Ring” will be performed by university carillonneur and Cownie Professor of Music Tin-Shi Tam.
Study Abroad Fair Set for Jan. 19
The spring Study Abroad Fair will be held Thursday, Jan. 19, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. All members of the campus community can also apply for a U.S. passport at the fair. More
Health and Wellness Symposium Scheduled for Feb. 3
Iowa State’s inaugural Health and Wellness Symposium is scheduled for Feb. 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union. The free symposium will highlight resources available to faculty, staff and students, initiatives and programs at the university, allow employees to take part in skill training, and share best practices. More
Marginalia
The Farmer Who Photographed a Snowflake
Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley was born in 1865 in Jericho, Vermont, where he lived and worked on his family farm. For more than 40 years, Bentley also photographed thousands of individual snowflakes and perfected the innovative photomicrographic techniques. His photographs and publications provide valuable scientific records of snow crystals and their many types. Five hundred of his snowflake photos now reside in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
http://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 Thursday.