Ag and Life Sciences Online
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Aug. 1, 2011 No. 662
College News
VanDerZanden Appointed Interim Director of CELT
Ann Marie VanDerZanden, horticulture, has been appointed interim director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, effective Aug. 1. VanDerZanden has served as associate director of CELT since 2009 and is currently president-elect of the Faculty Senate. She has received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Undergraduate Educator Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science in 2010, and the CALS Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Award in 2011. The previous director of CELT, Steve Mickelson, now is chair of the agricultural and biosystems engineering department.
Schnable Presents Congressional Lunch-N-Learn
Last week, Patrick Schnable, agronomy, addressed Congressional staffers, agency representatives and others interested in scientific research in a hearing room for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture. His seminar, "Mapping for the Future of our Food," focused on the importance of public sector funding of plant science research and development in boosting crop yields amid increasing demands for plant-based products including food, feed, fiber and fuel. Schnable is a member of the American Society of Plant Biologists public affairs committee, and the presentation was part of the National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research's Lunch-N-Learn seminar series.
CALS Student to Pan for Gold In Alaska
David Hagopian, a junior in environmental science, will spend August panning for gold in Alaska for a new National Geographic TV series, "Alaskan Gold Mining Challenge." He will live and work much like the Alaskan Sourdoughs did more than a hundred years ago. The environmental science major from Michigan applied for the program in June and was selected. He leaves Aug. 8 for Alaska. More
Summer Enrollment in Online Course Hits Record
The College's online learning program hit record enrollment numbers this summer, with registrations increasing by 35 percent to more than 600 total registrations. Online classes offer an alternative for students who return home, study abroad or participate in internships. Departments with the largest enrollment included food science and human nutrition, agronomy, community development and agricultural education and studies. Sixty-three percent of the online student registrations came from undergraduate students.
NSF Video: It Takes a Village of Genes to Grow a Leaf
Peng Liu, statistics, is a member of a research team from Yale, Cornell and Boyce Thompson Institute studying leaf development in rice, sorghum and maize. Their work on this NSF grant is highlighted on the Science, Engineering and Education Innovation website.
Economics Class Applies Experience to Current Debt Crisis
Dan Otto, economics, knows from experience that the economic obstacles in the nation's debt ceiling debate aren't as difficult as they may appear, since he had students tackle some of those same problems last spring for a class project. More
Corn Yields Promising With Perennial Cover Crops
Farmers can still see yields of more than 200 bushels per acre while using cover crops to protect the soil, improve water quality and capture carbon in the soil, according to new research by Ken Moore, agronomy. More
eCarly: Horticulture Student Share Summer Research
Students talk to Carly Martin, the summer intern in the CALS Communications Service, about their summer projects and research at the ISU Horticulture Research Station.
Armstrong Farm Field Day Aug. 9
Corn fungicides, corn nematodes and marestail weed management in soybeans will be featured at this year's Armstrong Farm Field Day on Aug. 9, 9:30 a.m. near Lewis. ISU and the Wallace Foundation host the field day. More: Bernie Havlovic, bhavlovi@iastate.edu, (712) 769-2402.
Paulsen, Retired Economics Professor, Dies at 82
Arnold "Arne" Paulsen, professor emeritus of economics, died July 27. He was 82. Paulsen attended Dana College in Blair, Neb., Luther College in Decorah and received his doctorate in agricultural economics from ISU in 1958. More
Deadlines and Reminders
Aug. 10: CELT/CALS -- A Quick Refresher to your Online Course for CALS Faculty, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 240 Bessey. Register through AccessPlus.
Aug. 25: Paul Farmer, U.N. Envoy to Haiti, 7 p.m., Stephens Auditorium
Sept. 15: Deadline for spring 2012 distance education course development awards
Sept. 21: CALS Fall Convocation, 4 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room.
External Funding
2011 Fall Grant Writing Workshop Series, Sept. 19-23
The VPR/ED's office has announced plans for a series of grant writing workshops to be led by Joe and Lynn Jelinski of Sunshine Consultants, International. A general session, "Fundamentals of Grant Writing Seminar: How to Write a Winning Grant Proposal," will be held Sept. 19 and is open to all. Workshops on preparing proposals for NSF (Sept. 20) and NIH (Sept. 21) and one-on-one sessions with the Jelinskis (Sept. 22-23) will also be offered, with limitations on the number of participants. Contact: Roxy Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu.
Correction: Responsible Conduct of Research - FAll 2011 Seminar for Postdocs
Professional Practices in Science and Engineering - Responsible Conduct of Research will be offered as a non-credit seminar for postdoctoral scientists during fall semester. This seminar, which is a non-credit offering (and thus no tuition charge is applied), is approved to meet NSF and NIH requirements for RCR training in any science or engineering discipline. Participants will receive a signed certificate of completion. Instructor: Judy Vance, jmvance@iastate.edu; Wednesdays, 4:10 to 5 p.m., 1322 Hoover Hall.
NSF Renews U.S.-Ireland Collaborative R&D Program
The National Science Foundation, Science Foundation Ireland, and Invest Northern Ireland/Dept. for Employment and Learning have renewed the memorandum of understanding to conduct joint funding of research and education, particularly in the areas of nonoscale science, sensors and sensor networks, telecommunications, and energy and sustainability. Each proposal must have at least one PI from each jurisdiction. More
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources
Aug. 5: Avian Health and Disease Surveillance and Monitoring Support; $1,000 to $100,000.
Aug. 19: National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, Special Project and Pilot Study Funds (mini-grants); $20,000 per award.
Sept. 2: Critical Agricultural Materials; two awards, $1 million total funding.
Sept. 9, Dec. 15: Innovation Corps Program (I-Corps); requires previous NSF award. More
Sept. 25: NIH Bridges to the Doctorate. More
Oct. 1 (preproposals): ConocoPhillips SPIRIT of Conservation Migratory Bird Program; $25,000 to $200,000.
Oct. 12: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Program.
Dec. 1: SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund; $5,000 to $25,000.
Communications Kiosk
eNewspapers Guide Provides Online Access to Newspapers
The ISU Library provides access to many local, national and international newspapers in print, microfilm and online, as well as databases of news articles. A special eNewspapers Guide has been created to provide online access to specific newspapers.
Infograzing
Panelists Wanted Aug. 3 for Consumer Evaluation of Deli Turkey
Ken Prusa and Chris Fedler in the food science and human nutrition department are recruiting panelists who are at least 18 years of age and consume deli turkey at least once per month to participate in a research study on the sensory characteristics of deli turkey. Participants will attend one test session that will take approximately 20 minutes, between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 3. More: Ken Prusa, 4-4323, kprusa@iastate.edu or Chris Fedler, 4-4321, cfedler@iastate.edu.
High Tunnel Construction Field Day Aug. 8-9
Current commercial fruit or vegetable growers, gardeners interested in expanding into commercial production and traditional farmers interested in diversifying can learn more about high tunnel construction and production at an Aug. 8-9 workshop in Packwood sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach.
External Voices
Reading as Intellectual Navigation
"Over the past 150 years, it has become increasingly difficult to extricate reading from academic expectations; but I believe that such extrication is necessary. Education is and should be primarily about intellectual navigation, about skimming well and reading carefully for information in order to upload content. Slow and patient reading, by contrast, properly belongs to our leisure hours." Alan Jacobs, a professor of English at Wheaton College. This article is excerpted from his book "The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction." More
Marginalia
Iowa State Fair Exhibit Features "Canstruction"
Thousands of canned food items will be used to create an exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 11-21, located in the south atrium of the Varied Industries Building, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The "Together We CAN!" exhibit, presented by the Iowa Food & Family Project, will include replicas of the butter cow, a milk carton, a market-size hog and a landscape of soybeans and corn fields -- all sculpted from thousands of cans of food. Following the fair, all food items used in the exhibit will be donated to the Iowa Food Bank Association.
Ag and Life Sciences Online
Editor
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
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