CALS Online and Dean’s Message
July 28, 2025
Dean’s Message
Good Morning Colleagues – I hope you had a good weekend. Last week, we had a terrific visit from Yong-Sun Moon of Yeungnam University in South Korea, along with 16 students. She is the dean of their College of Life and Applied Sciences, with which we have a dual degree MOA, and a long history of reciprocal visits. If you know of an Iowa State student who might be interested in spending a semester at Yeungnam University (instruction in English), please let me know, as we'd like to ramp up a reciprocal semester exchange program, as well…
Top Stories
Iowa State Scientists Usher in Cyber-Agriculture Future
Cyber-agricultural systems draw from mathematics, engineering and computer science, building on cyber-physical systems that have revolutionized industries like manufacturing, aerospace engineering and transportation. “Iowa State has been at the forefront of creating a new discipline, cyber-agricultural systems, which brings together many areas of expertise to address big agricultural problems and create opportunities for smart, connected and response- agile farms,” said Asheesh “Danny” Singh (left), agronomy and CALS associate dean for research and discovery. Singh and Soumik Sarkar, mechanical engineering, recently reviewed the new field they helped launch for the journal, Trends in Plant Sciences. With co-authors from around campus and the country, they describe how CAS are complementary yet distinct from precision and smart ag.
Research
Summer Research Program Brings ISU Science to K-12 Classrooms
A summer training program at Iowa State embeds K-12 educators and education students in research projects, an intense immersion in innovative science designed to help teachers enhance STEM instruction in their own classrooms. The initiative is largely funded by individual federal research projects and grants from the federal Research Experience for Teachers and Research Experience for Undergraduates programs.
Department Hosts Conference on Predictive Inference in Sports
The Department of Statistics hosted the Conference on Predictive Inference in Sports on June 4-5 at the ISU Alumni Center. The two-day event featured 15 invited speakers representing a wide range of academic, professional and industry perspectives. Presenters showcased work on predictive inference, data science and sports analytics. Topics included Olympic medal projections, Bayesian models for athlete aging, and strategies for communicating statistical work to non-technical audiences.
Teaching and Students
Animal Science Students Excel at Reciprocal Meat Conference
At the Reciprocal Meat Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on June 22-25, master’s student Mackenzie Griffin was chosen to receive the inaugural Patrick Fleming Award for Pork Research. Also, eight students participated in two teams in the Intercollegiate Undergraduate Quiz Bowl competition. Rodrigo Tarte, animal science, is the faculty member in charge of the Quiz Bowl teams.
Extension and Outreach
Managing Weather-Related Problems in the Vegetable Garden
Not all problems in the vegetable garden are caused by insect pests or diseases. Hot temperatures and heavy or inconsistent rainfall can lead to deformed fruit and low yields. ISU Extension and Outreach horticulture specialists discuss common weather-related issues in the vegetable garden and offer tips for managing them.
Around the College
Wertz-Lutz Named Director of Iowa Beef Center
Aimee Wertz-Lutz has joined the college as director of the Iowa Beef Center and extension feedlot specialist, effective July 1. The beef industry has more information at its disposal than ever before, said Wertz-Lutz, and the greatest value the Iowa Beef Center can have is to translate this information into tools that can advance beef production and address the challenges faced by the industry.
Liu Named Director of Baker Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics
Peng Liu, statistics, has been named director of the Laurence H. Baker Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics. Housed within the Plant Sciences Institute, the Baker Center is a research, training and service hub that develops statistical tools to support biological research.
Rodriguez Named Reviewer of the Year by JAC
Lulu Rodriguez, global programs leader with the Seed Science Center, was named Reviewer of the Year by the Journal of Applied Communications, the scholarly publication of the Association for Communication Excellence. The award was presented during the ACE Annual Conference held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Keating Elected to SSR Board of Directors
Aileen Keating, animal science, has been elected vice president elect of the Society for the Study of Reproduction. Board members will begin their term on Aug. 1.
Lonergan, Wenger Begin AMSA Leadership Roles
At the Reciprocal Meat Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on June 22-25, Steven Lonergan began his term as president-elect of the American Meat Science Association. Matt Wenger started his second year of a three-year term on the AMSA Board of Directors.
Calendar
July 30: Iowa Learning Farms Conservation Webinar
Derek Franklin, postdoctoral research associate in sociology, will present “More Than a Practice: Sense of Place and Stewardship Among Prairie Strip Adopters” for the Iowa Learning Farms conservation webinar on Wednesday, July 30, at noon. As a social scientist, Franklin talks with farmers to better understand their real-world perspectives and incorporates what he learns into research and policy conversations, making sure proposed changes reflect the needs and realities of the people on the ground.
July 30: Strip-Till Field Day at the Southeast Farm
ISU Extension and Outreach is hosting a strip-till field day at the ISU Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm in Crawfordsville on Wednesday, July 30. The event will feature two identical field demonstrations in the morning and afternoon. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. During lunch, Levi Powell with the ISU Digital Ag Innovation Lab will share a presentation on “Being Successful with Strip-Till.”
Aug. 5: Fruit and Vegetable Field Day
The horticulture team with ISU Extension and Outreach will hold the 2025 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day on Aug. 5, from 2-5:30 p.m. at the Horticulture Research Station. The annual event will feature various research and demonstration projects on fruit and vegetable production for commercial growers, extension personnel, nonprofit organizations and Iowa Master Gardeners.
More Events Listed on CALS Website
Find more events on the CALS Events webpage. Submit events for inclusion on this list to madelyno@iastate.edu or jstewart@iastate.edu.
Marginalia
Keep Your Pets Cool During the Dog Days of Summer
The “dog days of summer” is a phrase used to describe the hot and humid days of summer. It can be traced back thousands of years to the days of the Roman Empire. It refers to the dates from July 3 through Aug. 11, which are 20 days prior and 20 days after the star Sirius rises and falls in conjunction with the sun. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star,” because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). The dangerous heat and humidity of these "dog days" can be harmful to not only humans, but humans’ best friend and other animals.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/cals-online
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.