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VEISHEA CELEBRATES COLLEGE TUESDAY
Veishea's College of Agriculture Day will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A barbecue and Veishea variety games will be held in central campus. Many college departments and clubs are scheduling open houses this weekend. Ag Online will have a special edition Wednesday with a rundown of college organizations' plans for Veishea.
ABOUT 100 EXPECTED FOR SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE DAY
The College of Agriculture will host Science in Agriculture Day from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. The workshop aims to help Iowa high school students learn how science and agriculture are interrelated. Students can participate in nearly 25 different sessions with topics that include genetically modified foods, immunology, weather and insect diversity.
FACULTY RECEIVE HONORS AT SPRING CONVOCATION
Several College of Agriculture faculty and staff received honors at last week's ISU Spring Convocation and Awards Ceremony. Recipients included:
- Wallace Huffman, economics, named Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture
- Carl Bern, agricultural and biosystems engineering, and Frederick Lorenz, statistics/sociology, both named University Professors
- Neil Harl, economics, Presidential Service Award
- Steve Jungst, forestry, ISU Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching
- Ronald Simons, sociology, ISU Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research
- David Swenson, economics, ISU Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Extension or Professional Service
- Curtis Youngs, animal science, ISU Foundation Award for Excellence in Academic Advising
- Elwood Hart, entomology/forestry, Margaret Ellen White Graduate Faculty Award
Also, extension staff in agriculture who received honors included:
- John Creswell, crops field specialist, ISU Extension Distinguished Service Award
- David Stender, swine field specialist, ISU Extension R.K. Bliss Award
- Mary Holz-Clause, value-added agriculture, Professional and Scientific Excellence Award
MELVIN NAMED DIRECTOR OF ISWRRI
Stewart Melvin, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, has been named the director of the Iowa State Water Resources Research Institute (ISWRRI). Melvin has been a faculty member since 1971 and headed the agricultural and biosystems engineering department from 1994 to 2001. He conducts research on agricultural drainage wells and other water-quality areas related to crop and animal production systems. Melvin succeeds Ramesh Kanwar, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, who directed the institute for three years. Kanwar was appointed department head of agricultural and biosystems engineering in 2001. The institute conducts research, education and information programs on water-resources issues and problems facing Iowa.
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS CANDIDATES BEGIN VISITS
Dean Isaacson, head of the Department of Statistics and director of the Statistical Laboratory, will step down May 1. Four candidates for the position are visiting campus in April: Karen Kafadar, University of Colorado at Denver; Michael Lavine, Duke University; Sastry Pantula, North Carolina State University; and John Stufken, Iowa State University. Isaacson, who will continue to teach in the department, was acting head of statistics and the Statistical Laboratory for two years before being named to fill those positions in 1986. He has been a faculty member since 1968. A reception for Isaacson will be held May 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. A program begins at 3 p.m.
TWO STUDENTS ELECTED AT NATIONAL MANRRS MEETING
Two ISU students were elected as regional officers at the 17th annual MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences) Conference & Career Fair in Portland, Ore., April 3-7. Manila Lovanh, junior in animal ecology, was elected the Region V undergraduate vice president. Latrice Swain, graduate student in interdepartmental genetics, was elected Region V graduate vice president. Iowa State's group of 20 students and advisors were among the largest delegations attending the conference. The ISU chapter was a nominee for outstanding national chapter. Three ISU students participated in research presentation contests. Nina Grant, a MANRRS advisor and director of minority programs in the College of Agriculture, served as judge for the public-speaking contest and is the membership chair for the national society. The College of Agriculture and the ISU Tribal College Task Force were exhibitors at the career fair. MANRRS is a student and professional society that promotes and fosters involvement of minorities in agriculture and related fields. For more information: Nina Grant, 4-1701, or Mary de Baca, 4-8574.
MEAT ANIMAL EVALUATION TEAM SECOND IN NATIONAL CONTEST
The Iowa State Meat Animal Evaluation Team placed second at the United National Collegiate Meat Animal Evaluation Contest in St Joseph, Mo. Thirteen teams competed in the contest March 20-24, which the University of Illinois won. Iowa State's team won three of the six competitions and was second in the others. The team consists of: Josh Boeckmann of Wheatland, Andy Lown of Ringstead, Donald Guthridge of Moville, Sarah Vorthmann of Treyner, Matt Hosch of Cascade, Brendt Warrington of West Bend, Joe Hobbs of Dover, Minn., Valerie Weis of St. Ansgar, Jeff Mayes of Austin, Texas and Amber Wiebbecke of St. Ansgar. The team is coached by Terry Houser and Brad Skaar.
DVD TECHNOLOGY SUBJECT OF BROWN BAG
Creating DVD-video discs using DVD Studio Pro will be discussed at Thursday's Brenton Center Professional Development seminar. Apple Computer representatives will cover system requirements, costs, ease of learning and peripherals needed. It will begin at noon in Room 8 Curtiss Hall. Space is limited, call 4-1862 to register.
IMPACT OF IRRADIATION ON MEAT QUALITY STUDIED
Iowa State University researcher Dong Ahn, an associate professor of animal science, is exploring ways to make irradiated meats more acceptable to consumers. Ahn and his research team have evaluated irradiated turkey and pork products for color and odor. "We've developed a double-packaging strategy to tackle quality problems associated with irradiation in meat," Ahn says. Read more in this week's Ag in Action.
YEAR IN REVIEW AT PLANT DISEASE CLINIC
A new disease, daylily rust, was among the diagnoses made from samples submitted last year to ISU's Plant Disease clinic. In 2001, the clinic received 1,409 plant samples for diagnosis and 1,310 soil samples for soybean cyst nematode testing. Trees accounted for most of the plant samples received (52 percent), followed by field crops (17 percent).Plant samples came from 95 of Iowa's counties; 46 samples came from other states. Sixty-nine percent of the plant samples were submitted by the general public and commercial growers; the rest came from extension staff. The clinic fielded 1,029 phone inquiries and received many e-mails asking questions or submitting digital images of disease problems. By the end of 2001, all but five Iowa counties had known SCN infestations. Faculty and staff in seven college departments provide answers and recommendations for the clinic's clients. The clinic's website is: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/pidc.
FORTMANN TO SPEAK APRIL 23 IN SUSTAINABILITY SERIES
Louise Fortmann, the Rudy Grah Professor of Forestry and Sustainable Development and chair of the Division of Resource Institutions, Policy and Management at the University of California at Berkeley, will speak twice on campus April 23. At 4 p.m., April 23, Fortmann will speak in 302 Catt on "Women, Property Rights and the Environment," a Women in Development Seminar. At 8 p.m., April 23, she will speak on "Democratizing Science: New Alliances for Addressing Global Problems of Poverty and the Environment" in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Fortmann is participating in the Pathways to Sustainability Colloquium Series sponsored by the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, the Office of the Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and ISU's Council on International Programs. For more information: Paige Knutsen, 4-7175 or pgk@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
April 15: Leopold Center's Urban Conversation, 7-8:30 p.m., St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 7075 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines
April 16: VEISHEA College of Ag Day, BBQ and VEISHEA variety games, 11-2pm, central campus, 4-1026
April 17: Science in Agriculture Day
April 19: Deadline for Technology Advancement Committee proposals for computer-based instructional support.
April 19-21: VEISHEA, http://www.veishea.org/
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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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TRANSLATIONS WHILE YOU SURF
Altavista's Babel Fish web site can translate passages from a range of European or Asian languages into English or the other way around. It also translates web pages if you enter the address. Find it at Copy Editor, 2002.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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NUTRITION CONFERENCE TO LOOK AT FOOD SYSTEMS AND PUBLIC HEALTH
The 31st Annual Current Issues in Nutrition Videoconference April 25 will explore "The Food System as an Instrument of Public Health." It will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m from the origination site in 102 Scheman with downlink sites throughout Iowa. The conference will examine various issues relating to food systems and their interaction with agriculture. For registration information, contact Janet Gardner, jrgard@iastate.edu, 4-5366. For program content information, contact D. Lee Alekel, alekel@iastate.edu, 4-3552.
USDA SEEKS NOMINEES FOR VACANCIES ON NATIONAL AG BOARD
The USDA is soliciting nominations to fill 11 vacancies on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board. Organizations, associations, societies, councils, fedeations, groups and companies representing food and agricultural interests are asked to submit nominees. The deadline is June 3. For more information: Deborah Hanfman, (202) 720-3684.
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TAKE A BITE OUT OF YOUR TAX BURDEN
Decreasing your weight could reduce your taxes if you do so under a doctor's orders. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled earlier this month that the costs for participating in weight-loss programs, aside from special foods, may be tax deductible, the IRS said. The programs must be in response to a physician's diagnosis, not just to shape up or look better. The ruling is meant to recognize obesity's increasingly accepted status as a disease. (Reuters, April 3)