College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
March 30, 2020
Top Stories
Burgett Receives Outstanding Young Teacher Award
Christen Burgett, animal science, received the Outstanding Young Teacher award from the American Society of Animal Science and the American Dairy Science Association at the 2020 Midwest Joint Meeting in Omaha. Along with teaching and advising, Burgett coordinates the animal science internship program, co-advises the 130-member Dairy Science Club and coaches the dairy judging team. More
Video: Burgett on Moving Classes Online
Christen Burgett, animal science, takes a moment to thank those who have helped make the transition to online classes a smooth and seamless process, including cross campus collaborations. She includes a home shot of lambs on the ground, a sure sign that spring is here. More
Research
Nanovaccine Institute Looks for New Ways to Protect Public Health
Researchers affiliated with the Nanovaccine Institute based at ISU, including Donald Sakaguchi, genetics, development and cell biology supported by the Agricultural Experiment Station, are studying nanovacines and nanotherapies for respiratory infections, neural disorders, tropical diseases, cancer and veterinary diseases. More
Singh Advances Machine Learning as Tool for Crop Breeding
Asheesh (Danny) Singh, agronomy and recipient of the 2020 Raymond and Mary Baker Agronomic Excellence Award, collaborates across disciplines with fellow innovators, combining artificial intelligence and genetics to speed selection of crop varieties finely tuned to the needs of farmers now and in the future. More
Archontoulis on Prescription-Based Forecasting
Sotirios Archontoulis, agronomy, spoke with Successful Farming on the value of data analytics to farmers. He said they are currently using data to generate predictions, and will work to improve those predictions to create optimal solutions or prescription-based forecasting. More
McDaniel on the Disproportionate Benefits of Prairie Strips
Marshall McDaniel, agronomy, and Iowa State’s STRIPS team, have found that prairie strips have disproportionate benefits when incorporated into fields. Small shifts in the proportion of land used for prairie strips can have large positive effects on environmental quality. More
Teaching and Students
Prevent “Zoombombing”
It has been reported that some Zoom users are experiencing "Zoombombing," where non-students join your Zoom session to disrupt a class or a meeting. These disruptions may involve sharing of racist, misogynistic or vulgar content. This also is possible for those using WebEx outside its Canvas Integration. ISU Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning has posted a workaround for both Zoom and WebEx to prevent this activity. More
Extension and Outreach
What’s in the CARES Act?
On March 27, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The CARES Act contains a number of relief provisions – including tax provisions – designed to sustain Americans during the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. The college’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation has written two posts reviewing the individual and business tax provisions within the law. More
Conservation Best Practices Manual Available for Free Download
The Conservation Learning Group, a think tank based at ISU Extension and Outreach, has published the Whole Farm Conservation Best Practices Manual to aid farmers in selecting conservation measures appropriate for their farms. The manual was developed in cooperation with the Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance and Practical Farmers of Iowa, and with the support and input from multiple local, state and federal organizations. More
Around the College
Woteki Co-authors Report Calling for Comprehensive Food Policy Reform
A new report was released March 24 in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health. The report presents an ambitious package of 60 policy recommendations to combat diet-related disease, reduce disparities and create a more sustainable food system, which it identifies as urgent. The report was authored by a 16-member report workgroup, including Cathie Woteki, food science and human nutrition and former CALS Dean. More
ISU Professors Participate in National Leadership Program
Ajay Nair, horticulture, Joshua Rosenbloom, economics, and Angela Shaw, food science and human nutrition, participated with 90 individuals nationwide to complete a LEAD21 leadership development program in Washington, D.C. in February. The purpose of LEAD21 is to develop leaders in land-grant institutions who can effectively lead in complex environments. More
Calendar
April 1: Iowa Learning Farms Webinar
Iowa Learning Farms weekly webinar will take place Wednesday, April 1, at 12 p.m. via Zoom. Hilary Pierce, ISU extension outreach specialist, will present “The Effect of Stream Channel Incision on Groundwater Depth in Riparian Corridors.” More
April 7: Improving Pig Survivability Webinar
The first webinar highlighting research from the Improving Pig Survivability project is scheduled for April 7 at 12 to 1 p.m. The webinar will focus on two projects - grow/finish mortality and wean-to-finish mortality. Registration is available online. More
Communications Kiosk
How to Create an APA Style Reference for a Canceled Conference Presentation
To help slow the spread of the coronavirus, officials have canceled many public events, including conferences and conventions. This has raised a question for researchers who were planning to present. How should the American Psychological Association Style reference for an accepted presentation appear on a CV when the conference has been canceled? More
Infograzing
Iowa Soybean Association Seeks Research Proposals
The Iowa Soybean Association has released its Request for Research Proposals for ISU for 2020-2021 funding for both ISA and the North Central Soybean Research Program. The ISA Board will fund research projects that address their goals to increase soybean farmer competitiveness, especially through increased productivity and profitability, while improving environmental stewardship. Proposals are due May 22.
Local Hospitals Ask for Blood Donations
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for blood donations at most hospitals, including Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames. LifeServe Blood Center, 819 Wheeler St. in the Northern Lights Center, is the donation center servicing MGMC. To donate, call 800-287-4903 or go online to make an appointment – so social distancing can be maintained (walk-ins are discouraged for this reason). You will be asked some screening questions about travel and health. More
Marginalia
Madagascar’s Mysterious, Murderous Cats Identified
A paper co-authored by Max Rothschild, animal science, on the genetic origins of Madagascar’s sub-species of invasive, carnivorous “forest cats” in the February 2020 issue of Conservation Genetics, was the subject of a follow-up feature on the “mysterious, murderous” felines in the March 13 issue of Science. The international research team discovered evidence that the cats originally came to the island as domestic cats on long-ago trading ships from the Arabian Sea region.
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.