Issue: 187

187 ................................................... AG ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture Faculty/Staff Newsletter Iowa State University January 22, 2002 No. 187 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... DEWITT TAKES USDA INTERIM POST Jerry DeWitt has been named Interim National Program Leader, Sustainable Agriculture, for CSREES-USDA in Washington, D.C. His new duties began Jan. 7 and will end Aug. 31. DeWitt is working half time for CSREES-USDA and will continue his responsibilities in ISUs entomology department and extension. The national SARE program, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, provides sustainable agriculture resources for research and extension activities nationwide through four regional centers. DeWitt will oversee the program, the four centers, and their investments and interactions with land grants, nonprofit organizations, federal and state partners, and farmers and ranchers. DICKSON CHAIRS NAS STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE Jim Dickson has been named chair of the meat and poultry sub-committee of the Committee to Review the Use of Scientific Criteria and Performance Standards for Safe Foods by the National Academy of Science. Dickson, chair of the Department of Microbiology, said two sub-committees plan to study problems encountered during the 1998 implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HAACP) in the meat and poultry, fish and seafood, produce and dairy industries. The committees will conduct a 14-month study to evaluate the scientific basis for existing USDA or FDA microbiological performance standards and recommend improvements. CARVER TO RECEIVE IOWA AWARD The Iowa Award, the states highest citizen recognition, will be presented in honor of alumnus George Washington Carver at a campus ceremony Feb. 13. The Iowa Award was created in 1951 to honor an Iowa citizen who has had a nationwide impact. It will be presented to Ronke Lattemore Tapp, a student of Carvers who received Carvers honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Iowa State in 1994. The award ceremony begins at 11 a.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. A one-act play about Carvers life will be performed in the afternoon, along with a discussion of the meaning of Carvers life and work beginning at 3:20 p.m., both in the Sun Room. TRADE THE THEME FOR 2002 AG FORUM The March 1 session sponsored by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development will explore international trade agreements and their impact on farm programs. The Agricultural Forum 2002 focuses on U.S. farm policy in the context of commitments to limit trade-distorting policies for the betterment of each World Trade Organization member nation. Program information is available by calling 56257. INAUGURAL CONFERENCE PRECEDES AG FORUM The Global Agricultural Science and Policy Institute will be hosting its inaugural conference, Growing Ambitions: Prospects for Global Grain and Meat Demand on Feb. 28. The conference, at the Scheman Building, will gather experts from around the world to examine the foreseeable supply and demand balance for grain and meat products. On hand will be science and policy experts, representatives from food industry, and hunger relief organizations. MINORITY INTERNSHIP DEADLINE EXTENDED Feb. 15 is the new deadline for submitting applications to the College of Agriculture Summer Minority Internship 2002. The program runs from June 9 to Aug. 3 for high school and undergraduate interns. Faculty willing to serve as mentors are asked to contact Nina Grant at 23 Curtiss ornina1@iastate.edu. More information about the internship is available online. COMPUTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE SEEKS PROPOSALS Proposals for information technology-based instructional support for students are due by March 1. Proposals may originate from students, faculty or staff and must be connected to an administrative unit of the university. Proposals will be reviewed and ranked within the college and should be submitted to Dean Hoiberg's office. The Computation Advisory Committee (CAC) call for proposals is online. NRCS POSTER FEATURES BUFFER STRIP PROJECT The Bear Creek buffer strip is the subject of a poster created by the National Resources Conservation Service in Des Moines. "Lessons Learned from Bear Creek" is the title of the poster that highlights benefits discovered at the riparian buffer established in 1990 by scientists in the college and the Leopold Center's Agroecology Issues Team. Copies of the poster are available by contacting Tom Isenhart in forestry at 4-8056 or isenhart@iastate.edu. COLLEGE SPRING-SEMESTER CONVOCATION ON FEB. 7 The College of Agricultures spring-semester convocation will be held Feb. 7 in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. College awards will be presented and faculty and staff will be recognized for other awards received during the past year. Retirees also will be recognized. The event begins with a 3:30 p.m. social time, with the program beginning at 4 p.m. AG AMBASSADOR LEADERS ATTEND NATIONAL CONFERENCE College students Mike Taylor and Holly Kasperbauer last week attended a national conference for ag ambassador-type programs at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Calif. They are co-chairs of the colleges ag ambassador group that enlists current college students to help recruit students from high schools in Iowa and surrounding states. ISU SPECIALISTS PRESENT AT PORK CONGRESS Twenty Iowa State University swine specialists will present a variety of seminars at the 2002 Iowa Pork Congress, Jan. 23-24, in Des Moines. Seminar topics include on-farm phytase research, disease trends and surveillance at the ISU diagnostic lab, economic effects of an antibiotic ban and instrumental methods of air quality assessment. Presenters are from ISU Extension and Iowa State colleges of agriculture, engineering and veterinary medicine. GEOFFROY VISITS ARIZONA ALUMNI President Geoffroy began hosting alumni receptions in the Phoenix area and Tucson last Sunday. Alumni were invited to a reception at the Wyndham Buttes Resort in Tempe Jan. 20 and the Arizona Inn in Tucson Wednesday. A brief program including a university update is scheduled.  PLANT SCIENCE INSTITUTE FORESIGHT RECOGNIZED Animal science professors David Topel and Colin Scanes were honored this month by the Iowa Corn Growers Associations (ICGA) for their contributions to Iowas corn industry as leaders in the creation of Iowa States Plant Science Institute. "These individuals were the first at ISU to recognize the importance of a Plant Science Institute," said Dave Boettger, ICGA president.  "In 1997 Dr. Scanes and Dr. Topel began to formulate their vision for a world class center that focused on the improvement of plants." At that time Topel served as dean of the College of Agriculture and Scanes was executive associate dean. JAPANESE SUSTAINABLE FARMER TO VISIT CAMPUS Takao Furuno, Japanese farmer who developed the Aigamo method of raising ducks and rice and author of "The Power of Duck" will talk about his work Feb. 5. Discuss how the principles of Furuno's integrated rice and duck farming could be applied in other production systems and environments at a session set for 2 to 3:30 p.m. in 3140 Agronomy. At 4 p.m. Feb. 5 in 2050 Agronomy he will present the seminar titled "One Bird Ten Thousand Treasures: Integrated Rice and Duck Farming in Sustainable Japanese Agriculture" with a reception following in Agronomy Commons. Both events are sponsored by the Leopold Center. STORAGE AVAILABLE FOR UNIVERSITY USE Research and Demonstration Farms is offering storage space to college researchers in a building it constructed on South Dakota Avenue at the Bennett Farm. There are nine bays available for rent ranging in size from 5 by 10 feet to 20 by 30 feet. The space is for university use. Contact Kent Berns, 4-6103 orkrberns@iastate.edu, if interested in renting space. DEADLINE JAN. 31 FOR FACULTY RESEARCH EXCHANGE GRANTS College of Agriculture faculty should apply by Jan. 31 for the Experiment Stations Faculty Research Exchange Visit grants. The grants aim to strengthen linkages with historically black land-grant colleges (1890 institutions) and Tuskegee University; tribal colleges (1994 institutions); and Hispanic-serving institutions. Up to $1,000 per grant is available to travel or to host faculty members to work on collaborative projects. For more information: Mary de Baca, 4-8574 or mmdb@iastate.edu. GRANT WRITERS WORKSHOP DEADLINE FEB. 1 The deadline for submitting nominations and applications for the Research Grant Writers' Workshop has been extended to Feb. 1. For more information or questions, contact Elena Polouchkina at 4-8493, elenap@iastate.edu WATER QUALITY CONFERENCE SET FOR MARCH The annual Agriculture and the Environment conference will take place March 4-6 in Scheman Center. The conference web site has registration and poster information online EPA AND NSF SEEK ENVIRONMENTAL PROPOSALS The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation are jointly soliciting grant applications that focus on the Decision-Making and Valuation for Environmental Policy research. The application proposal due date is May 15. DEADLINES & REMINDERS Jan. 23: Seminar, Mark Paster of the Department of Energy, on the departments work in biobased products and bioenergy, Room 305 Spedding Hall, 1:10 p.m. Jan. 28: "Agroterrorism," Think Tank on Animal Agriculture with Norman Cheville, dean of veterinary medicine, RSVP by Jan. 25 to Don Beitz, 4-5626 or dcbeitz@iastate.edu Jan. 31: Deadline, Experiment Station Faculty Research Exchange Visit grants Feb. 7: College of Agriculture spring-semester convocation, Sun Room, Memorial Union, 3:30 p.m. Feb. 28: World Food Prize nomination deadline,http://www.worldfoodprize.org/ ....................................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ....................................................................... WATCHING WORDS WORTHWHILE Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at The Poynter Institute, offers some language tips he's borrowed from reporters, editors, authors and teachers: 1. Observe word territory. Do not repeat a key word within a given space, unless you intend a specific effect. 2. Play with words, even in serious stories. 3. Dig for the concrete and specific. Details help readers see the story. 4. When tempted by cliches, seek original images. Make word lists, free-associate. 5. Prefer the simple over the technical: shorter words and paragraphs at the points of greatest complexity. 6. Strive for the mythic, symbolic and poetic. Recognize that common themes of writing (homecoming, conquering,loss and restoration) have deep roots in the culture of storytellling. For the complete list, go to: http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/2385/writing_tools.html. ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... CULTIVATING CREATIVITY Creativity isn't about wild talent as much as it's a numbers game, says Stanford professor Robert Sutton. To find a few ideas that work, you need to try a lot that don't. Sutton also says it isn't so much about original creation as it is about using old ideas in new ways, places and combinations. Switch off your autopilot and look at every challenge, project and task with fresh eyes. More information: Fast Company magazine website. ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... "Tolerance and diversity clearly matter to high-tech concentration and growth. Having large representations of gays or bohemians or immigrants in a population does not, of course, directly cause a technology industry to spring up. Instead, people in technology businesses appear to be drawn to places characterized by inclusiveness, open-mindedness, and cultural creativity ... ." Richard Florida, co-director of the Software Industry Center at Carnegie Mellon University; and Gary Gates, a research associate at the Urban Institute, in a study that found that a city's diversity is key to its success in attracting talented people. ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... ODD HOBBY CHANGED FOREVER The Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings dramatically changed the world of aviation. It also changed the lives of "plane spotters" who are devoted to jotting down aircraft registration numbers, individual numbers printed on their tails. Plane spotters watch for jetliners they havent seen before and enter the numbers in notebooks. But tighter airport security has made it more difficult for plane spotters to enjoy their hobby. The Renaissance Hotel next to Londons Heathrow Airport offers a "Plane Spotter Break" weekend special which guarantees an unobstructed runway view. The sales pitch: "The only thing we overlook is the airport."(Wall Street Journal, Jan. 7, 2002) ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ EDITORS Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu, and Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/ SUBSCRIBE Ag Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State Universitys College of Agriculture, is e-mailed every other Friday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag Online unsubscribe." Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 1031 Wallace Road Office Building, Room 101, (515) 294-7612.