College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
March 4, 2019
Top Stories
Faculty Can Find Answers at Workday Forum
A forum designed specifically for faculty will provide a targeted look at how Workday and improved service delivery will impact their teaching, research and extension work. Four sessions of the same faculty forum are scheduled, beginning March 14. Workday, the software platform ISU will use to do business, goes live July 1, along with the ISD model that created teams of finance and human resources experts to support colleges, departments and units. More
Research
ISU Researchers Sequence Genome of Soybean Cyst Nematode
ISU researchers have sequenced the genome of the soybean cyst nematode, paving the way for better management practices to combat the number one pest that threatens Iowa soybeans. The research was published recently in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Genomics. Thomas Baum, plant pathology and microbiology, is senior author of the study. More
Carver Trust Commits $3.5 Million to Biomolecular Research at ISU
The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, Iowa, has committed more than $3.5 million to transform biomolecular research at ISU. The Carver Trust grant will help advance the second phase of the Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology’s Initiative in Biomolecular Structure and enable the purchase of a state-of-the-art cryo-transmission electron microscope equipped with a direct electron detector. More
Pioneering Retinal Scan Could Diagnose CWD On the Spot
Mark Rasmussen, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Jake Petrich, chemistry, have been working to develop a technique called fluorescent spectroscopy, which could be used on the retinas of animals with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy – neurogenerative disorders such as chronic wasting disease in deer. Their work was featured in the Feb. 25 issue of The New Food Economy. Julie Blanchong, natural resource ecology and management, also is looking at the future of chronic wasting disease in Iowa deer after the recent confirmation of a case in Dubuque County. More
Searching for Connection between Egg Consumption and Athletic Performance
Food science and human nutrition graduate student Hilary Green, under the direction of Ruth Litchfield, has completed a year-long pilot study to look at the effect of egg consumption on inflammatory markers among female gymnasts. A former gymnast herself, Green was interested to see if there was any connection between egg consumption and athletic performance to relieve the overuse and chronic inflammation of joints. Preliminary results suggest there may be a connection. Further research is needed with a larger and more diverse sample size. More
Teaching and Students
CALS Students Receive Barron All-University Senior Award
The ISU Alumni Association has named recipients of the 2019 Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award. Recipients include Brandon Hanson, senior in agricultural business, economics and international agriculture, and Joi Latson, a December 2018 graduate in global resource systems and winner of the CALS 2018 Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion Award. More
CALS Council Seeking Nominations for Senior Awards
The CALS Student Council is seeking nominations for spring 2019 senior awards. Every fall and spring semester, CALS Council recognizes graduating seniors through six different awards: outstanding senior, leadership excellence, academic achievement, distinguished service, outstanding ambassador of agriculture and life sciences, and commitment to diversity. Nominations are due March 31.
Extension and Outreach
INRS Annual Report Shows More Than $500 Million in Funding
The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy Annual Progress Report has been released by ISU, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The report provides progress updates on point source and nonpoint source efforts to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loads leaving the state, including $512 million in private and public sector funding for Nutrient Reduction Strategy efforts identified during the 2018 reporting period. More
Report Details Native Iowa Wine by the Numbers
The annual Iowa Native Wine Production and Sales Report for 2018 has been released by ISU Extension and Outreach Value Added Agriculture Program’s Business Development Team. The report, which is sponsored by the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute, provides a snapshot of the Iowa wine industry from the data collected annually by the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division. More
CIRAS and CCUR Host Tour of Fermentation and Bioprocessing Labs
The Center for Industrial Research and Service and the Center for Crops Utilization Research hosted a tour on how to use ISU experts and capabilities in fermentation and bioprocessing labs on Feb. 21. Participants toured CCUR's Fermentation Facility and the BioCentury Research Farm's Biochemical Processing Train. During the tour, Zhiyou Wen, CCUR interim director, gave an overview of CCUR and the fermentation resources available to companies including equipment, mixers, separators and dryers. He also discussed how companies can work with Iowa State to access those resources.
Around the College
Whitham Receives Rossmann Manatt Award
Steve Whitham, plant pathology and microbiology, is the 2019 recipient of the Rossmann Manatt Faculty Development Award. Whitham is co-leader in the development of the Enviratron system, which is a robotic facility being built at ISU for phenotyping plants. His research has advanced the knowledge of soybean defense genes, gene functions in plants, and plant responses to viral and fungal infection. More
CALS Faculty and Staff Honored by 25 Year Club
More than 30 faculty and staff in CALS departments, centers and units will be honored tonight, March 4, at the 84th annual ISU 25 Year Club Banquet. Those honored for 25 years of service are: Jay Harmon, Glen Rippke and Hongwei Xin, ABE; Raymond Arritt, Damian Franzenburg and Kenneth Moore, agronomy; James Dickson and Jackie Jens, animal science; Catherine Kling and Sergio Lence, economics; Ruth Litchfield, FSHN; Thomas Peterson, GDCB; Jeffery Iles and Lisa Orgler, horticulture; Xiao-Bing Yang, plant pathology and microbiology; Beth Doran, ANR Extension; and Karen Kovarik, CARD. The following will be honored for 35 years at the university: Robert Martin, agricultural education and studies; Susan Lamont, Ann Shuey and Jeffrey Thorson, animal science; Richard Honzatko, BBMB; Debra McKay, sociology; Denise Riker, statistics; Denise Schwab, ANR Extension; Sally Medford, research and demonstration farms; and Regina Hendrickson, Seed Science Center. Recognized for 45 years of service will be: Mary Lents, animal science; Arnold van der Valk, EEOB; Becky Johnson, economics; and Steven Goben, research and demonstration farms. Carl Bern, agricultural and biosystems engineering, will be recognized for 50 years of service. Jack Girton, GDCB, and Brian Meyer, CALS Communications Service, serve as past president and vice president respectively of the 25 Year Club. More
Schrader New Vineyard Technician for MGWII
James Schrader has joined the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute as an agricultural specialist. His research at the vineyard at the Horticulture Research Station will focus on sustainable production of horticulture fruit crops and the responses of those crops to environmental stresses that are unique to Iowa. Schrader has been a researcher in the horticulture department since 2002.
CALS Celebrates 100 Years of Meat Science
In the Feb. 24 issue of The Messenger, Joe Cordray, animal science and professor in charge of the university’s Meat Laboratory, talks about the history of the college’s meat science program and facts about the meat processing industry. ISU’s Department of Animal Science offered one of the country’s first land-grant meat science programs, beginning with construction of the meat laboratory in 1917. More
Communications Kiosk
Avoid Excessive Personalization of Inanimate Objects
There is no blanket rule against creating a possessive form for an inanimate object, particularly if the object is treated in a personified sense. In general, however, avoid excessive personalization of inanimate objects, and give preference to an “of” construction when it fits the makeup of the sentence. For example, mathematics’ rules would be better phrased the rules of mathematics. (Associated Press Stylebook, 2018 edition, pg. 321)
Infograzing
Iowa State Research Day Scheduled for March 28
The Office of the Vice President for Research is hosting its annual Iowa State Research Day on March 28, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union. The agenda includes lightning talks, a poster session, storytelling sessions and a resource fair. Margaret Hedstrom, University of Michigan School of Information, will present the keynote address on public access to data and other scholarly products and the connection to promoting rigor in scholarship. Registration is available online.
Board of Regents Asks State to Invest in Bioscience Sector
The Iowa Board of Regents has asked the State to consider an ongoing investment of $4 million per year to accelerate the commercialization of new scientific breakthroughs that could help grow and diversify Iowa’s economy. If funded, Iowa State would be able to leverage significant investments by federal government, industry and other sponsors by working with industry and investment partners to take promising early-state technologies to the next level. This effort was highlighted in the Feb. 28 issue of Alliance for Iowa State.
Marginalia
Dean Robison Meets with CALS Student Ambassadors
Endowed Dean Daniel Robison shared his journey to ISU with CALS Student Ambassadors on Feb. 26. “It’s the students and faculty who make this place exceptional,” said Robison. Student Ambassadors, who represent a variety of majors and hometowns, tell their Iowa State story to prospective students by organizing events, giving campus tours and visiting high schools on recruiting trips. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
http://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 Friday.