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AG ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture Faculty/Staff Newsletter
Iowa State University
September 29, 2000 No. 155
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C O N T E N T S
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COLLEGE NEWS
- USDA contact for historically black schools to speak
- Howell named Plant Sciences Institute director
- Show your support for 4-H at Oct. 6 breakfast
- College to host parents and families on central campus
- Students making plans for ISU Ag Week Oct. 23-27
- Employers planning to attend Ag Career Day on Oct. 24
- Top national awards to forestry and AST students
- Reception for new sustainable ag grad program Oct. 11
- PowerPoint presentations the next AgComm topic Oct. 10
- Upcoming RFP deadlines for water, corn, animal waste
- Statistics planning 2001 conference to honor Fuller
- ISU listed as rural issues resource for TV stations
- College’s Carver exhibit included in Washington events
- College clipboards catch on in kids’ nutrition program
- Parlez vous?
- Nov. 15 deadline for international grad/postdoc funds
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Tips for taking and enhancing digital photos
INFOGRAZING
- NRC makes recommendations on USDA’S NRI
- ISU to downlink World Food Day teleconference Oct. 16
EXTERNAL VOICES
- A study in contrasts: Nature and human inventions
MARGINALIA
- Searching for Neil Harl: A how-to for the Web
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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USDA CONTACT FOR HISTORICALLY BLACK SCHOOLS TO SPEAK
McKinley Mayes, director of 1890 programs for USDA-CSREES, will speak on diversity issues at 3 p.m., Oct. 5, in the Ensminger Conference Room, 1204 Kildee. This is the first in a diversity lecture series organized by the College of Agriculture’s diversity committee. The college will present Mayes with a certificate of appreciation for his help in advancing collaborations between 1890 schools and ISU. Following the lecture, a reception will be held in the Kildee Hall atrium. For more information: Parag Chitnis, 4-1657 or chitnis@iastate.edu.
HOWELL NAMED PLANT SCIENCES INSTITUTE DIRECTOR
Stephen Howell has been named director of the Plant Sciences Institute, effective Jan. 1. Howell is vice president for research at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, a nonprofit corporation affiliated with Cornell University. He is an internationally known researcher in the genetics of plant pathology and physiology.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR 4-H AT OCT. 6 BREAKFAST
Faculty and staff are welcome to attend the annual 4-H breakfast on Oct. 6 in the Gold Room, Memorial Union, 7:30 to 9 a.m. A brief program at 7:50 a.m. will feature Collegiate 4-H Club president Brad Tabke, associate dean Eric Hoiberg and youth and 4-H director Joe Kurth. About 280 ISU students are former 4-Hers. For more information: Brenda Allen, 4-1567 or bsallen@iastate.edu.
COLLEGE TO HOST PARENTS AND FAMILIES ON CENTRAL CAMPUS
The college will host a coffee for parents and families of agriculture students from 9 to 10:30 a.m., Oct. 7, in a tent north of the campanile. Each department has designated at least one host to visit with guests during this Parents and Family Weekend event. Others are welcome to attend.
STUDENTS MAKING PLANS FOR ISU AG WEEK OCT. 23-27
Ag Week at ISU will be held Oct. 23-27. Ag Week student organizers are asking faculty advisors to encourage their clubs to organize events and activities during the week. The deadline for scheduling events is Oct. 11. For more information: Laurie Huineke, 292-5305 or lhuineke@iastate.edu, and Scott Grantz, 233-8975 or sgrantz@iastate.edu.
EMPLOYERS PLANNING TO ATTEND AG CAREER DAY ON OCT. 24
So far more than 110 employers have signed up for Ag Career Day on Oct. 24. The job fair will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union. The ISU chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources & Related Sciences (MANRRS) is sponsoring a breakfast for employers. A list of employers planning to attend is updated weekly on the Ag Career Day Web page: https://www.career.cals.iastate.edu/cals-career-day
TOP NATIONAL AWARDS TO FORESTRY AND AST STUDENTS
Top national honors recently went to student groups in forestry and agricultural and biosystems engineering. Forestry students who publish the Ames Forester received first place in the Society of American Foresters’ student publication contest. (For subscription information, call advisor Ann Hawkins, 4-1167.) For the second year in a row, the Agricultural Systems Technology Club received the Equipment Manufacturers Institute Trophy from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. The award recognizes a club for outstanding achievement. AST Club advisors are Charles Schwab and Thomas Brumm.
RECEPTION FOR NEW SUSTAINABLE AG GRAD PROGRAM OCT. 11
Faculty, staff and students are invited to a reception to mark the beginning of the new sustainable agriculture graduate program. It will be held Oct. 11 in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union, 3:30 to 5 p.m. A short program begins at 4:30 p.m. Refreshments will include Iowa-grown foods.
POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS THE NEXT AGCOMM TOPIC OCT. 10
The role of PowerPoint presentations will be the next AgComm workshop topic on Oct. 10, 11:50 a.m. to 1 p.m., Room 8, Brenton Center. A light lunch will be served. To attend, RSVP to Norma Hensley, 4-6614 or nhensley@iastate.edu.
UPCOMING RFP DEADLINES FOR WATER, CORN, ANIMAL WASTE
Deadlines are coming up for RFPs for the Iowa State Water Resources Research Institute (Oct. 17), the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (Nov. 3), and the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center (Nov. 3). For more information on the water RFP, check the Web at http://www.water.iastate.edu.
STATISTICS PLANNING 2001 CONFERENCE TO HONOR FULLER
The statistics department and Statistical Laboratory are planning a conference next year in honor of Wayne Fuller and his contributions to the statistical sciences. Fuller, a distinguished professor, has taught at ISU since 1959. The meeting will be held June 21-22, 2001. There will be invited presentations and poster sessions. For more information: Sandie Smith, 4-9773, or check online.
ISU LISTED AS RURAL ISSUES RESOURCE FOR TV STATIONS
Several ISU programs are featured in an Internet guide to help TV reporters cover rural issues. NewsLab is a nonprofit television "news laboratory" that serves as a resource to help local stations find better ways to tell important stories that are often difficult to convey on TV. The "Covering Rural Issues" section can be found by clicking "Links" on NewsLab’s home page, http://www.newslab.org. The section includes links to ISU’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development and the Rural Policy Research Institute. Recently WHO-TV in Des Moines has begun a series of rural stories with help from NewsLab and the USDA-CSREES.
COLLEGE’S CARVER EXHIBIT INCLUDED IN WASHINGTON EVENTS
On Thursday, a College of Agriculture exhibit on George Washington Carver was displayed at a ceremony in the USDA’s Whitten administration building in Washington, D.C. The event was the establishment of the USDA Hall of Heroes by USDA Secretary Dan Glickman. The hall acknowledges the contributions of agricultural pioneers. The charter honorees were Carver; Hugh Hammond Bennett, father of the Soil Conservation Service; Smokey Bear, symbol of fire prevention; and Robert Dole, former senator and leader in nutrition and farming programs. The college display also will be used at the USDA’s George Washington Carver Day celebration on Oct. 4.
COLLEGE CLIPBOARDS CATCH ON IN KIDS’ NUTRITION PROGRAM
College of Agriculture clipboards on food safety and George Washington Carver are now part of an ISU nutrition program in the Cedar Rapids area. Susan Uthoff, food and nutrition extension specialist, will use the clipboards in the Iowa Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, which helps youth and families with young children attain healthy eating and lifestyle practices. The clipboards are engraved with images and text that appear on paper when rubbed with pencils or crayons.
PARLEZ VOUS?
If you’re an agriculture faculty or staff member or graduate student who is fluent in French, let David Acker know. The college is developing several initiatives in France. Contact Acker, International Ag Programs, 4-8454 or dacker@iastate.edu.
NOV. 15 DEADLINE FOR INTERNATIONAL GRAD/POSTDOC FUNDS
The deadline is Nov. 15 for proposals for the International Funding for Graduate Students and Postdocs Program, which supports ag research and educational opportunities. For more information, check the website, or contact Elena Polouchkina, 4-8493 or elenap@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Oct. 6: 4-H Breakfast, Gold Room, Memorial Union, 7:30 a.m.
Oct. 6-8: ISU Family Weekend
Oct. 8-10: Biotechnology Education Symposium, Scheman Building, http://www.biotech.iastate.edu
Oct. 11: Sustainable agriculture graduate program reception, Campanile Room, Memorial Union, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 11: ISU Graduate and Professional School Day, Memorial Union
Oct. 16: Deadline, Dean of Agriculture’s International Research Grants Program, 4-8493
Oct. 16: World Food Day downlink, ASB, 4-3079.
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
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TIPS FOR TAKING AND ENHANCING DIGITAL PHOTOS
Kodak.com has tips for taking photos with the new generation of digital cameras. The guidelines go beyond taking photographs to include enhancing the images and getting them printed. The site also offers general photo composition tips for any kind of camera. For example, "the rule of thirds" is offered under the cropping lesson as a simple way to improve composition. Dividing a scene into thirds both vertically and horizontally creates dividing lines that intersect in four places, any of which provides a pleasing position for the picture's center of interest.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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NRC MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS ON USDA’S NRI
The Aug. 18 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted these conclusions from a National Research Council report on the USDA’s National Research Initiative: 1) Inadequate funding (total funding, average grant amount and duration, and indirect cost allowance) has reduced scientists’ interest in the program. 2) The program needs a full-time administrator and a better strategic plan. 3) The program should become a third main research division within the USDA (the other two are the ARS and the CSREES, which now manages the NRI). The Chronicle noted that the NRI has an impressive record of success despite its small ($119 million) budget.
ISU TO DOWNLINK WORLD FOOD DAY TELECONFERENCE OCT. 16
The annual World Food Day satellite teleconference, "Poverty and Hunger: The Tragic Link," can be viewed in the Administrative Services Building on Oct. 16, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen will speak. To register: Joyce Greving, 4-3079 or jagrevin@iastate.edu.
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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A STUDY IN CONTRASTS: NATURE AND HUMAN INVENTIONS
"Nature’s technology occurs on the surface of the same planet as that of human culture, so it endures the same physical and chemical limitations and must use the same materials. But nature copes and invents in a way fundamentally different from what we do . . . We build dry and stiff structures; nature mostly makes hers wet and flexible. We build of metals; nature never does. Our hinges mainly slide; hers mostly bend. We do wonders with wheels and rotary motion; nature makes fully competent boats, aircraft and terrestrial vehicles that lack them entirely. Our engines expand or spin; hers contract or slide. We fabricate large devices directly; nature's large things are cunning proliferations of tiny components." Duke University biologist Steven Vogel, from his 1998 book, "Cats’ Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People."
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M A R G I N A L I A
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SEARCHING FOR NEIL HARL: A HOW-TO FOR THE WEB
Rooster.com, an ag e-commerce Web site, recently ran an article on how to use Internet search engines that referred to a certain ISU agricultural economist. Here’s the excerpt: "One quick trick is to remember that putting words into quote marks tells the search engine to look for those specific words used in that exact way. This is good if you've got a technical question about something like ‘carbon sequestration’ or you're searching for works of a specific expert such as ‘Neil Harl’." (The article can be found online)
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AG ONLINE
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NEXT ISSUE: Oct. 13 DEADLINE: Oct. 11
EDITORS
Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu, and Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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