CALS Online and Dean’s Message
December 18, 2023
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS Colleagues – This past Friday and Saturday, we conducted the CALS Convocation and the graduate student and undergraduate student commencements. These are terrific, happy events, and for our students - the people who make this a university - the happiest day of their time with us and the start of their next professional chapter. Thanks to all of you who make this enterprise we call Iowa State CALS possible, and enable us to launch these students as the next generation of great thinkers and doers and optimists. Wishing you all, and your families and friends, a most merry and happy season and all good things for 2024!…
Top Stories
First Cohort Completes CALS Staff Champion Program
The CALS Staff Champion program launched in July, taking a cohort of 12 CALS staff through a professional development program that focused on the college’s operations. The cohort attended sessions about professional development skills, entrepreneurial and strategic thinking, campus facility tours, the land-grant mission of CALS, and goal setting and prioritization. CALS Staff Champions will continue to provide their support and input to the college through their engagement with peers and college administration. The cohort successfully completed the program on Dec. 8 and received certificates from Dean Robison. Members of the 2023 cohort are listed below. Nominations for the 2024 cohort will be taken next spring.
- Amanda Chung, global resource systems
- Ben Drescher, animal science
- Camille Schroeder, agricultural and biosystems engineering
- Dariana Glasco-Boyd, student services
- Deanna Powell, food science and human nutrition
- Lauren Pierce, animal science
- Mary Sue Mayes, animal science
- Matthew Schnabel, research farms
- Mike Moore, agricultural and biosystems engineering
- Sandi Schroeder, natural resource ecology and management
- Tom Maier, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology
- Zoe Kiefer, animal science
Research
Researchers Discover Bacteria Can Prepare for Coming Stress
Iowa State researchers led by Gwyn Beattie, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, discovered that several types of bacteria that grow on plants and in soil can use light to anticipate an imminent, potentially deadly loss of water from their environment. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate a level of sophistication not usually attributed to bacteria.
Schnable Working on Third Crop for Iowa
Drier years may be on the horizon for agriculture. In the latest edition of the video series highlighting faculty innovators, President Wendy Wintersteen visits with Patrick Schnable, agronomy, in a field of proso millet, an extremely water-efficient crop that may fare well in the drier years ahead.
Teaching and Students
CALS Convocation Photo Album Available Online
Congratulations to the fall 2023 CALS graduating students. An online photo album is available from CALS Convocation, held Dec. 15.
Extension and Outreach
Iowa State Survey Finds Farmland Values Up Again
The 2023 Iowa State Land Value Survey shows the average value of an acre of farmland increased 3.7%, or $424, to $11,835 per acre. The nominal value of an acre of farmland is again higher this year than at any point since Iowa State University began surveying values in 1941. Rabail Chandio, economics, announced the results at a news conference on Dec. 12.
Janke Offers Fall and Winter Habitat To-Do List
The frozen ground of late fall and early winter make ideal conditions for landowners, land managers and home gardeners to make their pieces of Iowa more hospitable to the wild things that share the land. Adam Janke, natural resource ecology and management and extension wildlife specialist, offers a fall and winter habitat to-do list.
Master Gardener Home Gardening Series Begins Jan. 9
The ISU Extension and Outreach Master Gardener program will again host the Home Gardening Webinar Series, beginning in January and ending in March. Sessions will take place every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., ending March 12. Designed for anyone who is interested in gardening or horticulture, the sessions are free and open to the public.
Proposals Due Dec. 22 for 2024 Farm Progress Show Exhibits
Potential content ideas are being sought for the Iowa State exhibit space at the 2024 Farm Progress Show. Together, CALS, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension and the Department of Agronomy would like to showcase innovative technologies and demonstrate the latest research to show attendees. To submit a proposal for consideration, fill out the online form by Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. Co-leaders Jay Harmon, CALS associate dean for extension and outreach programs and director of ANR Extension, and Kendall Lamkey, CALS associate dean for facilities and operations, will review all submissions and make final content area decisions in January.
Around the College
Nair Named Next Chair of Horticulture Department
Ajay Nair will become the next chair of the Department of Horticulture effective July 1, 2024. He will continue the impactful work of Jeff Iles, who has served in the role since 2001. As a primarily extension-based faculty member, Nair has interacted with growers and community members across the state, leading on-farm demonstrations at grower plots, field experiments at Iowa State facilities and organizing various workshops and outreach events. He also serves as principal investigator of the Sustainable Vegetable Production lab, which aims to enhance crop production, soil health and cropping system profitability for vegetable production in Iowa. Nair’s latest project involves leading an agrivoltaics study, looking at how well fruit and vegetable crops grow under solar panels.
Benning and Grant Receive Milleman Family Mentorship Award
The CALS Student Council presented the Milleman Family Mentorship Award to Lois Benning, CALS Career Services, and Marta Grant, CALS Study Abroad, for their work in advising students in the college. The award is sponsored by Jane and Leo Milleman from Ames.
Dean’s Offices Closed During Winter Break
Curtiss Hall and the Dean’s offices and suite will be closed during winter break (Dec. 23 to Jan. 1), but the phone (515-294-3830) will be answered in the dean’s office if something is needed.
CALS Online: Next Issue Jan. 8
CALS Online will not be published for the next two weeks. It will resume Monday, Jan. 8. Happy holidays.
Calendar
Dec. 20: Mike Stahr Retirement Reception
Mike Stahr, manager of the Seed Laboratory at Iowa State’s Seed Science Center, is retiring at the end of December after a career of almost 45 years. A retirement reception is Wednesday, Dec. 20, from 2-4 p.m. at the Seed Science Center.
Dec. 31: Antonio Mallarino Retirement
Antonio Mallarino, professor in agronomy, is retiring on Dec. 31 after a career of more than 30 years at Iowa State. His work has focused on soil fertility and nutrient and soil management for efficient crop production and environmental stewardship. There is no public event.
Jan. 4: Mike Holtzbauer Retirement Reception
Mike Holtzbauer, manager of the Meat Lab, is retiring on Jan. 4, 2024, after 38 years of service to Iowa State. A retirement reception is Jan. 4, from 9-10 a.m. in 133 Meat Lab.
Communications Kiosk
Change Your Voicemail and Email Messages for Winter Break
If your department is closing over winter break, discuss how to handle incoming phone calls. Change your personal voicemail and email messages as well. Consider stating the dates you will be absent and if you will be checking your messages. Also, consider posting holiday hours on your department’s website. An out-of-office energy checklist is available in Inside Iowa State.
Infograzing
Brown Elected to National Academy of Inventors
Robert Brown, an Iowa State engineer who has 26 U.S. patents, has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Many of Brown’s inventions involve the thermochemical conversion of biomass such as corn stalks or wood chips into a liquid bio-oil for energy and a biochar for fertilizer. Brown is co-director of Iowa State’s Bioeconomy Institute.
Trilogy Explores Environmental Factors Impacting the Great Plains
Julie Courtwright, history, centers her research on the exploration of the environmental history of the Great Plains. She is in the process of researching and authoring a trilogy. Her first book, “Prairie Fire: A Great Plains History,” was published in 2011. She is currently working on her second title – “Windswept” – and she plans to follow that with a third book focused on water’s impact on the Great Plains.
Volunteers Needed for SHOP during Winter Break
The SHOP student food pantry invites university employees to volunteer during winter break to help keep the pantry open for students. Volunteers may sign-up for shifts online.
Marginalia
Five Things You May Not Know about the North Pole
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers a few fun, scientific facts about the North Pole.
- Polar-orbiting satellites observe different parts of the Arctic 14 times per day.
- There’s no land at the North Pole.
- Knowing the wind speed over the North Pole is important for weather forecasts.
- From early October to early March, the North Pole experiences total darkness.
- There’s a difference between the North Pole and the Geomagnetic North Pole.
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 Thursday.