College News
Ag Career Day to Conclude Ag Week Oct. 21
Ag Career Day, scheduled for Oct. 21, is already full with 160 companies signed up to participate. It will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union. The annual job fair will fall on the last day of Ag Week, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 15. Tents along the walkways on the north side of union are planned to accommodate requests from more companies and could bring the total to 166. The event is the "unofficial" kick-off for the fall recruitment season. Nearly 50 interview schedules are set for the following day.
Growing Marketplace Seeks Iowa State Ag Business Majors
Almost all of Iowa State's agricultural business graduates land jobs right out of school. Mike Gaul, director of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Career Services, says one of the best indicators ag business students are in demand is that starting salaries are up.
Documentary on Uganda to Debut Oct. 1
Faculty and staff are invited to the premiere of a documentary Oct. 1 about Iowa State's Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods activities in Uganda in association with Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns (VEDCO) and Makerere University. The event will begin at 5 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall Auditorium. A reception following the filming at about 6:15 p.m. will honor the filmmakers, Ned and Mary Cordery. RSVP by Wednesday, Sept. 24, to Beth Weiser at 4-9332 or weiser@iastate.edu.
European Space Agency Tabs Hornbuckle for Satellite Project
When he's not teaching in the classroom, or grading his students' work, you may find Brian Hornbuckle, agronomy, checking the results of the European Space Agency. Hornbuckle is featured in Iowa State's "Two Minutes" online feature.
NSF Funds $2.1 Million Soybean Disease Project at ISU
Identifying genes essential for the soybean plant's defense against three major diseases will be the aim of a new $2.1 million research project led by Iowa State. Steve Whitham, plant pathology, leads the four-year project that earned a National Science Foundation grant.
Xin Named Director of Egg Industry Center
Hongwei Xin, agricultural and biosystems engineering, has been named director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State. The Iowa Egg Council earlier this year made a $2 million gift commitment to establish the center.
New Process Improves Appearance, Odor of Irradiated Beef
Dong Ahn, animal science, has found adding certain natural products to beef before irradiating it allows the meat to maintain a healthy, red appearance and inhibits odors that can result from the process.
Cargill Endows Faculty Chair to Accelerate Biorenewables
Cargill has pledged $1.5 million to establish the Cargill Endowed Chair in Energy Economics. The endowment will help Iowa State recruit a nationally recognized energy economist to accelerate work in biorenewables. More
Field ay to Cover Sugar Beets for Ethanol Production
Sugar beets as a bioenergy feedstock will be the topic of a special field day Sept. 25 at the Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm. The program will include a review of the 2008 sugar beet-growing experience at Iowa State's Southeast and Muscatine Island research farms.
Allee Farm Opens Corn Maze to Public
The Allee Research and Demonstration Farm is opening a corn maze Sept. 28, Oct. 5 and 12 from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is a nonperishable food item that will be donated to the local food pantry. The maze is located 1 mile south of Newell at 2010 640th St. Maze.
Bull-Riding Calf-Roping on Tap for Cyclone Stampede Rodeo
Iowa State students will host college rodeo teams from 13 schools for the 46th annual Cyclone Stampede Rodeo, Oct. 2 and 3 in Ames. Performances will be at 7 p.m. both nights at the Iowa State Rodeo Arena, two and one half miles south of the campus on State Avenue.
Pioneer Latin Network Presents Scholarships to Students
Two College students were presented awards last weekend by the Pioneer Latin Network at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. Luis Alvarez, a horticulture senior, received a $1,000 scholarship, and Moisés González, a graduate student in plant breeding, received a $2,000 scholarship. The company annually awards scholarships to students of Latin heritage in Iowa who demonstrate interest, aptitude, energy, attitude and social involvement in their communities. The presentations were made at the Latino Heritage Festival Sept. 20 in Des Moines.
College Junior Named Outstanding Intern
Helena Chemical Co. named agricultural business junior Nick Beedle as its 2008 Outstanding Intern. Beedle worked as a summer sales intern for the past two years in Adair and Guthrie Center. He was selected from a group of 20 interns for his successful internship.
Pioneer, Synfenta Team with ALA to Offer Seminars
The Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) has launched the 2008 ALA Spotlight Series with Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and Syngenta Seeds Inc. to offer a scientific learning experience at Iowa State and Michigan State University. The Iowa State session will be from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Nov. 12, in the South Ballroom, Memorial Union, and will include the presentations: "Taking Research and Development to the Next Level by Combining Traditional Engineering with Molecular Biology" and "Technology - Key to a Successful Plant Breeding Pipeline."
Deadlines and Reminders
Oct. 13: 2008 Norman Borlaug Lecture, Sir Gordon Conway, The Global Agricultural Crisis of the 21st Century, 8 p.m., Great Hall, Memorial Union
Communications Kiosk
Krug's Third Law of Web Usability
Get rid of half the words on each web page, then get rid of half of what's left, writes Steve Krug, author of "Don't Make Me Think." Krug cites E.B. White's 17th rule from "The Elements of Style." "Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts." (Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug, Second edition, 2006)
Infograzing
Faculty and Staff to Get Special Treatment at Blood Drive
Faculty and staff will receive VIP treatment at the university's fall blood drive, by being able to move to the front of the line when they come to donate. The blood drive will take place Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union.
Entrepreneurial Business Strategies Conference Oct. 9 on Campus
The 21st Century Entrepreneurial Business Strategies Conference will be Oct. 9 at the Scheman Building. The conference will focus on innovative opportunities in technology, financial resources, human and capital resources and energy demands for the future. Featured speakers will discuss the challenges and resources needed to create, sustain and grow specific entrepreneurial business models. More
CAST Releases Special Publication on Alfalfa Gene Flow
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology has released a special publication titled "Gene Flow in Alfalfa: Biology, Mitigation and Potential Impact on Production." The full text of Special Publication No. 28 is available in hardcopy and electronically. More
Nominations Sought for Harvey Prize
Nominations are due Nov. 1 for the Harvey Prize, which will be presented to two researchers next year in the field of science and technology. The prize is intended to recognize recent breakthroughs in science and technology and is sponsored by the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
External Voices
Colleges Work on Providing Local Foods
"We can meet peoples' dietary needs without providing a smorgasbord, which becomes a tradeoff of lower-quality foods for a higher diversity of foods." --Philip Ackerman-Leist, associate professor of environmental studies who directs the local food project at Green Mountain College in Vermont, which seeks to increase purchases of local food, boost production on the college's farm and educate students about food issues. (Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 26, Colleges Chew on Local-Food Phenomenon)
Marginalia
USDA-ARS Seeks Public Help in Finding Rare Ladybugs
USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists and cooperators are seeking the public's help in surveying for once-common ladybug species that are now hard to find. Researchers with ARS, Cornell University and South Dakota State University want people to photograph every ladybug possible, and to send the photos to Cornell so researchers can inventory the insects. In particular, the scientists are looking for rare species, such as the nine-spotted, two-spotted and transverse lady beetles that were common 20 years ago, but have become harder to find in the past few decades. There are more than 400 ladybug species native to North America, but some have become extremely rare, displaced perhaps by development, pesticides, non-native species and other factors. Those wishing to participate can visit http://www.lostladybug.org for tips on finding and photographing ladybugs and submitting photos. (ARS News Service, Sept. 18)
Ag and Life Sciences Online
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