CALS Online and Dean’s Message
February 13, 2023
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS – I’ll be in Arizona a majority of this week, meeting with alumni and donors of our college… There are a host of wonderful Cyclones that have moved to Arizona either full-time or spend our cold winter months there in the warmth… These visits with alumni and supporters, whether here in Iowa or further afield, are always helpful and insightful. These fine people share their ideas, ask excellent questions about our work, encourage us forward, support us with their time/treasure/talent, and act as ambassadors to move us forward and sustain and grow our social license… More
Top Stories
Sakaguchi Works with Students on “Depth of Knowledge”
Don Sakaguchi, Morrill Professor and director of Iowa State’s undergraduate biology and genetics programs, co-led a small group of Iowa State students who traveled over spring break last year to Roatán for Iowa State’s Biology 394 class, a Caribbean marine biology field course. This was Sakaguchi’s 11th time leading the unique, hands-on learning experience. In 1998, he was approached by Warren Dolphin, Iowa State emeritus professor of biology and former biology program director, about helping lead a new international marine biology field course. It proved to be a perfect fit. While Sakaguchi’s research is in neuroscience and stem cells, he has a personal passion for diving. As a former advanced open water scuba instructor, he experienced some of the best diving in the world, from the island nation of Palau in the Indo-Pacific region to the Great Barrier Reef along the coast of Australia. The spring semester course, which he co-led with Jeanne Serb, ecology, evolution and organismal biology, is featured in the fall 2022 issue of Link, the magazine for Iowa State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. More
Teaching and Students
Block and Bridle Club Helps Stock SHOP
The Block and Bridle Club is teaming with the nonprofit Cactus Cares to donate meat processed by the Iowa State Meats Laboratory to SHOP (Students Helping Our Peers), the campus food pantry that serves students living with food insecurity. The protein mostly is prepared by fellow students who work in the meats lab, from the time an animal arrives through packaging and selling. In addition to the upcoming donation to SHOP, Cactus Cares recently partnered with the Iowa Pork Producers Association to purchase $15,000 – about 4,500 pounds – of ground pork from the meats lab that went to the Iowa Food Bank Association, which also provides food to SHOP. More
CALS Student Selected for Iowa Pork Youth Leadership Team
The Iowa Pork Producers Association has announced this year’s Iowa Pork Youth Leadership Team, which includes Ali Wadle, a freshman in animal science. Throughout 2023, the IPPA Youth Leadership Team will assist with public activities promoting and educating about pork and pig production, from county activities around Iowa to the World Pork Expo and the Iowa State Fair. More
Wednesdays in Kildee: Hot Chocolate, Coffee and Donut Sale
Dairy Science Club members will sell hot chocolate ($2), coffee ($2) and donuts ($1) outside the Lush Auditorium north doors in Kildee Hall on Wednesdays (9 a.m.-1 p.m.). The sale will be held weekly until spring break. The club will resume its weekly ice cream sale after spring break. More
Extension and Outreach
Soil-Plant Synergy, Soil Health and Sustainability Topics of Webinar
The Iowa Learning Farms conservation webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 15, at noon. Marshall McDaniel, agronomy, will draw on research outcomes to highlight the complex interaction of stream morphological characteristics, history of nutrient inputs, and tile water quality to assess stream eutrophication (overabundance of nutrients.) More
ISU Extension and Outreach Wants to Hear from Iowans
ISU Extension and Outreach is conducting a statewide audience assessment. Through this survey, Iowans can indicate the technology they prefer to use, the topics they want to learn more about and the issues they think will be important to the people in their communities over the next two years. The survey is available online and will remain open through March 31. More
Scholarships Support Food Preservation Education
ISU Extension and Outreach delivers “Preserve the Taste of Summer,” a research-based, food preservation education program. In these hands-on workshops, Iowans learn how to safely preserve food to enjoy throughout the year. In summer 2022, ISU Extension and Outreach collaborated with Mrs. Wages, a Kent Precision Foods Group brand of home food preservation products, to provide food preservation education to Iowans for free or at a reduced cost. More
Around the College
Nominations for Gamma Sigma Delta due March 24
The Iowa chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture, is accepting nominations for membership and awards. Nomination forms for faculty, staff and alumni membership and awards are available online and are due Friday, March 24. More
Dentzman on the Census of Agriculture
On the Feb. 6 issue of NPR’s Marketplace, Katie Dentzman, sociology and criminal justice, takes part in a conversation about USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture. In addition to the usual questions about farmer demographics, how much farmland is in use and how much money farmers are making, there are new questions about precision agriculture, hemp production and internet access. Dentzman also adds that methodology changes in recent surveys show that there are more women and farmers of color. More
Naming Jack Trice Stadium Exhibit Opens on Friday
A Special Collections and University Archives exhibition will open to the public on Friday, Feb. 17, on the first floor of Parks Library. The exhibit, “Once, Twice, Trice: Students Tackle Naming Jack Trice Stadium,” will highlight the 24 years of student activism to honor Jack Trice and his ideals by naming the football stadium in his honor.
Calendar
Feb. 15: Conversations about Carbon
Alejandro Plastina, economics, will discuss carbon market updates at Conversations about Carbon, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, from noon to 12:50 p.m. The series is hosted by the ISU Bioeconomy Institute in association with CALS. More
Feb. 15: A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things
Raj Patel will present “A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things” on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. in 3560 Memorial Union. He is a research professor in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. Co-sponsors include the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, the CALS Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Department of Economics, the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Global Resource Systems program. More
Infograzing
Iowa State Safe Replaces ISU Guardian as Safety App
The campus community has more safety options available at its fingertips through the new Iowa State Safe app launched Jan. 19. It replaces ISU Guardian, retains many of Guardian's safety options, and features easily accessible information about numerous units across campus. Iowa State Safe is powered by the company contracted to provide the ISU Alert system. Users can download it for free through the Apple App or Google Play stores. More
Marginalia
Ames Lab to Sell Youth Science Kits
The Ames National Laboratory's United Way committee has created science kits as a spring fundraiser. Each kit includes all materials and explanations needed to perform five experiments and understand what is happening during them. All of the experiments tie in to work Ames Lab is performing. The kits, $30 each, are geared toward middle school students, but younger children could participate with adult supervision. The kits will be available starting March 8, just in time for spring break. To reserve kits, submit this form by Feb. 22. After that, any remaining kits will be available on a first come, first served basis. Questions can be sent to unitedway@ameslab.gov.
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.