Ag and Life Sciences Online
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
June 18, 2012 No. 705
College News
Kosovo President Visits Iowa State
Atifete Jahjaga, president of the Republic of Kosovo, stopped by campus and the university's Horticulture Research Station on June 13. The visit was part of a military exchange program between the Iowa National Guard and the Kosovo Security Force. The guard is working to expand the program beyond the military by fostering Iowa-Kosovo relationships in such areas as education, agriculture and business. More
Researchers Explore Cause of Honeybee Disappearance
ISU is taking a team approach in studying what is behind the disappearance of honeybees known as "Colony Collapse Disorder." Amy Toth, ecology, evolution and organismal biology, was awarded an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant by USDA to explore the importance of nutritional stress and viruses on honeybee health. She is working with Allen Miller and Jimena Carillo-Tripp, plant pathology and microbiology, and Bryony Bonning, entomology.
Li, Bhattacharyya and Birrel Receive Patents
Shan Li and Madan Bhattacharyya, agronomy, were issued a patent on May 8 for "Compositions and Methods for Enhancing Disease Resistance in Plants." Stuart Birrell, agricultural and biosystems engineering, and former graduate students Benjamin Schlesser and Mark Dilts, were issued a patent on May 15 for "Combination Residue Spreader and Collector for Single Pass Harvesting Systems."
Licht to Serve as Director of Alumni Relations
Melea Reicks Licht, editor of STORIES the College's alumni magazine, has accepted a new position with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as director of Alumni Relations. In this position she will coordinate alumni relations efforts and continue to serve as editor of STORIES magazine and STORIES Online, the College's monthly alumni e-newsletter. Licht is an alumna of the College who received her bachelor's degree in public service and administration in agriculture in 2000 and her master's degree in agricultural education and studies in 2005. She joined the College communications office in 2007.
Iowa Learing Farms Video Wins Awards
The Iowa Learning Farms film "Out to the Lakes" received awards of achievement in the documentary and educational production categories and an award of excellence in music from the Iowa Motion Picture Association. The film encourages viewers to think about water quality and their personal relationship with their local lake or water body.
ABE Club Recognized for Outstanding Service
Governor Terry Branstad honored ISU's American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers student chapter in June, presenting the organization with the Annual Governor's Volunteer Award. ASABE is comprised of more than 90 members, most majoring in agricultural engineering, biosystems engineering and agricultural systems technology. More
Research Farm Celebrates 25th Anniversary June 21
The ISU Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville will be celebrating its 25th anniversary beginning at noon on June 21 with free lunch and a program. Dean Wendy Wintersteen, Associate Dean John Lawrence and Cathann Kress, vice president for Extension and Outreach, will present remarks. The Southeast Iowa Agricultural Research Association established the farm in 1987 with the purchase of a 198-acre tract of land.
Iowa Swine Day Set for June 28
The Iowa Swine Day program at ISU, a daylong educational opportunity designed specifically for pork producers, is set for June 28 on the ISU campus, and features practical information on a variety of topics that can be applied on the farm.
Fruit and Vegetable Field Day July 23
A field day highlighting ISU fruit and vegetable research will be held July 23, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the ISU Horticulture Research Station near Gilbert. The field day will be of interest to commercial producers, small-scale growers, master gardeners and home gardeners. The Department of Horticulture and the Leopold Center will partner with the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association to sponsor the event.
Deadlines and Reminders
June 26: Doug Kenealy retirement reception, 2 to 4 p.m., Kildee Hall Atrium (program at 2:30 p.m.) July 10: Deadline to register for the 2012 Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open
Funding Opportunities
NSF Proposal Review Data for FY 2011
A recent report from the National Science Foundation indicates that the agency received 51,562 proposals during FY 2011, a decrease of about 7 percent from the number received in FY 2010. NSF made 11,192 awards in FY 2011, resulting in a 22 percent funding rate. The average award was $159,000, a 5 percent decline from the FY 2010 level. NSF also reports exceeding its goal of informing at least 70 percent of principal investigators of funding decisions within six months of receipt of their proposals. More
New Solutions to Create Integrative Data Management Infrastructure
The National Science Foundation will host a series of webinars followed by a charrette meeting to facilitate the early stages of novel approaches to creating integrative data management infrastructures across science and engineering disciplines that will advance U.S. research and innovation. NSF expects that actionable ideas emerging from the charrette will help define future developments of this system in FY 2013 and beyond. This dialog offers an opportunity for the research community to interact with the leadership of the NSF units involved. More
Cayuse 424 Training Webinars
Three free Cayuse 424 training webinars will be held in June. Topics of the webinars are Getting Started with Cayuse 424; Detailed Budgeting in Cayuse 424; and Developing, Importing, Exporting and Managing Subcontracts in Cayuse 424.
New Timeline for NCR-SARE Graduate Student Grant Program
The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program will implement a later timeline for its Graduate Student Grant Program for the 2013 grant cycle. Under the new timeline, the call for proposals will be released in March 2013 and proposals will be due in late May.
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
July 12 (comment period for presolicitation notice): USAID Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development; $300,000 to $1 million.
July 14 (letter of intent): NIH Pre-application for the NIH-Industry Pilot Program: Discovering New Therapeutic Uses for Existing Molecules (X02); $20 million in FY2013 to fund six to eight awards. More
July 15: USFWS Landscape Conservation Cooperatives; $25,000 to $250,000, 10 awards.
July 16 (concept paper): DOE Innovative Pilot and Demonstration Scale Production of Advanced Biofuels.
July 25 (preapplication): DOD FY12 Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Investigator-Initiated Research Award.
Aug. 15: USDA Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants.
Sept. 10: NSF Advances in Biological Informatics; 30 awards.
Sept. 17: NSF Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences. More
Oct. 30: NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate. More
Communications Kiosk
For the Love of Writing
It's summer and that means it is time when most faculty members are writing a bit more. As someone who writes consistently throughout the year, Marybeth Gasman, a professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, is often asked what's her secret. She shares the following in her Chronicle of Higher Education blog post.
- Read constantly. I find that all sources of reading inform one another.
- Dedicate large blocks of time to writing and don't give up this time for other things unless it is an emergency.
- Hold yourself accountable and get others to hold you accountable as well.
- Take breaks when your writing starts to get weak.
- Juggle multiple projects so you don't get bored. I like to move from deeper books and journal-length article writing to lighter essays and blog posts.
- Write about topics that inspire you and about which you are deeply passionate.
- Write almost every day.
Infograzing
Food Preservation Course Approved for Continuing Education
"Preserve the Taste of Summer," a research-based program from ISU Extension and Outreach, has been approved for up to 20 continuing education units from the Commission of Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Internal Voices
Baumel on Railroads and Their Role in Iowa's Economy
"The farmers get better service, cheaper rates and everything has worked out quite well for them and the railroads... The railroad industry today is in better shape, more profitable and serves Iowa better than ever before." Phillip Baumel, professor emeritus of economics.
External Voices
U.S. Should Strengthen Efforts of Maintain Research Universities
American research universities are essential for U.S. prosperity and security, but the institutions are in danger of serious decline unless the federal government, states and industry take action to ensure adequate, stable funding in the next decade, says a new report by the National Research Council. "The talent, innovative ideas and new technologies produced by U.S. research universities have led to some of our finest national achievements, from the modern agricultural revolution to the accessibility of the World Wide Web. Especially in these tough economic times, the nation cannot afford to defer investment in our best asset for building prosperity and success in the future." Charles Holliday Jr., chair of the committee that wrote the report and chairman of the board of Bank of America. More
Marginalia
Bacon Craze Hits Burger King's Sundae
A recent article in U.S. News & World Report chronicles the rise of bacon as one of the most versatile meats, showing up on cupcakes, garnishing margaritas, and most recently, infusing a sundae at Burger King. "It's meat candy, it's a passion out there. It's one of the most popular cuts of pork and we see entire days devoted to bacon and all the things you can do with it." Pamela Johnson, director of consumer communications for the National Pork Board.
Ag and Life Sciences Online
Editor
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Website
Subscribe
Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to jstewart@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."