CALS Online and Dean’s Message
October 3, 2022
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS – What a beautiful weekend. I hope you got out to enjoy it… This week is the ISU Foundation Governors Week, when many of the donors that support every aspect of Iowa State come to campus… Next week will kick off the World Food Prize events and the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue activities. Free registration is being offered for students to attend the events virtually. Please encourage your students to take advantage of this opportunity… More
Top Stories
Grant Supports Agricultural Genome to Phenome Collaboration led by Iowa State
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced it will award $1.8 million to support the Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative led by Iowa State scientists Patrick Schnable, director of the Plant Sciences Institute, and animal science faculty Christopher Tuggle and Jack Dekkers, working with collaborators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Idaho. The primary focus of the new grant will be to provide competitive funding for projects that will implement a vision for research the AG2PI has been developing with community input over the past two years. More
Research
Sakaguchi Lab Aims to Repair Severed Nerves, Foster Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate students at Iowa State are part of Donald Sakaguchi’s research team testing different structures that could be used to help patients recover from traumatic nerve injuries. Sakaguchi, genetics, development and cell biology, is director of biology and genetics undergraduate programs and a member of Iowa State’s Nanovaccine Institute. More
Teaching and Students
Borlaug-Ruan Interns: Experience Strengthens Research Skills
Idania Carrillo-Martin, freshman in global resource systems, is one of three CALS students who served as a 2022 Borlaug-Ruan International Intern this summer. The World Food Prize Foundation program places students in organizations around the world to work with eminent researchers and policymakers to analyze agricultural, nutritional, health, economic and environmental problems from a global perspective. Carrillo was placed with the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization’s main objective is to reduce global food insecurity by improving livestock production in low income countries. More
Borlaug-Ruan Interns: Potato Research Redefines Career Goals
Rachel Currant, junior in genetics, is one of three CALS students who served as a 2022 Borlaug-Ruan International Intern this summer. The World Food Prize Foundation program places students in organizations around the world to work with eminent researchers and policymakers to analyze agricultural, nutritional, health, economic and environmental problems from a global perspective. Currant interned with the International Potato Center based in Lima, Peru, and worked for the organization’s branch in Nairobi, Kenya, where she explored the science of plant breeding. More
Borlaug-Ruan Interns: Looking for Solutions to Global Food Insecurity
Molly Simmons, junior in environmental science and global resource systems, is one of three CALS students who served as a 2022 Borlaug-Ruan International Intern this summer. The World Food Prize Foundation program places students in organizations around the world to work with eminent researchers and policymakers to analyze agricultural, nutritional, health, economic and environmental problems from a global perspective. Simmons interned with the International Fund for Agricultural Development of the United Nations in Washington, D.C., where she spoke to congress people about IFAD’s Crisis Response Initiative and lobbied for the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act. More
CALS Students Attend Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
Four CALS students recently attended the Agriculture Future of America Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. Elizabeth Wilhelm, agricultural education and studies, Megan Decker, agricultural and rural policy studies, Molly Simmons, environmental science, and Nathan Behrends, agricultural studies, learned about legislation, trade and policy-related career opportunities through association, agency, federal and industry visits and panels. More
Extension and Outreach
North Central Integrated Pest Management Center Moves to Iowa State
The North Central Integrated Pest Management Center is relocating from Michigan State University to Iowa State University with renewed funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Iowa State's Laura Iles, director and extension plant pathologist with the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic, and Daren Mueller, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology and extension plant pathologist, will serve as co-directors of the center. More
Registration Open for Iowa Organic Conference
Registration is open for the 22nd annual Iowa Organic Conference, scheduled for Nov. 21 at the University of Iowa. The theme is “Building Resiliency through Biodiversity and Conservation in Organic Farming,” with keynote speaker Rattan Lal, 2020 World Food Prize Laureate and professor of soil science at The Ohio State University. More
Around the College
Monarch Conservation Effort Report Highlights Iowans’ Hard Work
The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium has released its Monarch Conservation Effort Report, which offers a snapshot of monarch habitat established through 2020 in all 99 counties. More
CALS Hosts U.S. Farm Report’s College Roadshow
The U.S. Farm Report’s College Roadshow stopped at Curtiss Hall last week to interview Lee Schulz, livestock economist, and Chad Hart, grain markets specialist, for its Sept. 24 broadcast (10:10, 24:55). Tyne Morgan, host, also featured Danny Singh’s research on joining forces with students to create innovative in-field research chambers to breed heat tolerant varieties of soybeans (21:00); Arti Singh’s program on developing a pest control app (30:00); and Brian Steward’s work with the Off-Highway Vehicle Chassis Dynamometer Lab, scheduled to open in November (37:15). The full report is available online.
Pease Recognized for Decades of Environmental Service
Jim Pease, associate professor emeritus of natural resource ecology and management, received the 2022 Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. The award recognizes Iowans who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to improving the quality of Iowa's natural environment and encouraging others to do the same. Pease taught wildlife interpretation courses and served as statewide extension wildlife specialist for 24 years, retiring in 2008. He continues to work with numerous private and government conservation units to develop programming and resources for the public. More
College Names Stutsman Emerging Iowa Leader
Katie Stutsman, regional account manager for Corteva Agriscience and a member of the Iowa CARET delegation, received the Emerging Iowa Leader Award from CALS at its annual barbecue on Sept. 3. The award is for college alumni who have made significant impacts as leaders early on in their careers. More
CALS Welcomed More Than 350 at College Barbecue
The college welcomed more than 350 alumni, friends, faculty and staff to the annual CALS barbecue, Sept. 3, at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. Endowed Dean’s Chair Dan Robison welcomed guests and recognized CALS alum Katie Stutsman with the Emerging Leader Award. Carmen Bain, associate dean of academic innovation, introduced the newly created Innovation and Leadership Academy. McKenna Maus, senior in animal science, received a scholarship created by donors Roger and Ruth Grundmeier for the Innovation and Leadership Academy. Photos of the event are available on the college’s Facebook page.
Calendar
Oct. 3: George Fuller Memorial Lecture
The George Fuller Memorial Lecture will take place today, Oct. 3, from 3:40-5 p.m. in 368A Heady Hall. Oleg Itskhoki, Venu and Ana Kotamraju Endowed Chair in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, will present “Optimal Exchange Rate Policy.” More
Oct. 5: Iowa Learning Farms Webinar
Two soil health experts from Ohio will discuss a study they are conducting on the interrelationships between agricultural soil, water and the practices being used to address nutrient losses and water quality at the Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at noon. More
Oct. 6: Feeding the World Seminar Series
The Feeding the World seminar series continues Thursday, Oct. 6, from 3:40-4:55 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall, Ensminger Room. Interns and service learners from the summer 2022 ISU-Uganda program will present. More
Oct. 10: CALS Town Hall
Dean Robison has scheduled a Town Hall meeting for Oct. 10 at 2:15 p.m. in 2050 Agronomy Hall.
Oct. 11: Fall Career Day
The Agriculture and Life Sciences Career Day is scheduled as an in-person event on Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center. So far, 262 organizations are signed up and it is on track to be one of the college’s largest fairs ever. Career Day is the official kick-off to the recruitment season and many companies will remain on campus for interviews Oct. 12 and Oct. 13. More
Infograzing
NIAMRRE’s Fall Symposium to Showcase Capstone Projects
The National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education Fall Symposium, scheduled for Oct. 19 from 1-4 p.m., will showcase the 2022 One Health Interprofessional Education Cohort’s Capstone projects. In addition, Katie Kuehl, Peter Rabinowitz and Vickie Ramirez from the University of Washington will share how they use IPE in the One Health Clinic. More
Marginalia
Iowa State Biographical Dictionary Updated and Online
The history of Iowa State University spans more than 160 years and includes the lives of thousands of individuals. The Iowa State University Biographical Dictionary project, which began in 2014, provides an online reference of nearly 500 contributors to the growth of Iowa State, from its inception in 1858 through the early years of the 21st century. Each entry includes name, date, quick facts, education, career and contribution to Iowa State. A brief listing of primary and secondary sources accompanies each essay. Photographs of selected individuals and their contribution are included when available. The dictionary is published by University Museums. 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 Thursday.