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COLLEGE NEWS
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SPONSORED FUNDING AWARDS MORE THAN $2.5 MILLION IN JULY
College sponsored funding awards in July totaled more than $2,571,942. Twelve of the 51 awards last month came from federal sources and amounted to $1.2 million. Funds from commodity groups amounted to $611,515, the largest other source. State funds contributed $215,880 and other colleges and universities accounted for $289,334. The entire list of sponsored funding awards is online.
BIOECONOMY FEATURED IN SEPT. 4 SYMPOSIUM
Friday is the deadline for registering for the Biobased Products and Bioenergy Symposium set for Sept. 4 at the Iowa State Center. The symposium will focus on a future BioEconomy, an economy where the basic building blocks for producing industrial and consumer goods, chemicals, fuels and bioenergy come from crops and plants. Speakers from the Department of Energy, ISU Extension and industries who have broken ground on bio-based products will be presenting. Participants will be able to join three action teams: science and technology; capitalization and market development; and policy and education. Learn more: http://www.ciras.iastate.edu/IOF/agriculture.html
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS SET FOR WEDNESDAY
Iowa State will host the August "Business After Hours" sponsored by the Ames Chamber of Commerce. This social event is an opportunity to become acquainted with business and industry leaders in the Ames community. It is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. at Reiman Gardens. There will be food and beverages and a short program at 5:45 p.m. A number of university units will have displays and drawings for prizes.
OPEN FORUM ON PROPOSED SAFETY REVIEWS FOR GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS
The Office of Biotechnology and the Department of Agronomy's Global Agricultural Science and Policy Initiative are sponsoring an open forum Aug. 29 to discuss new rules for federal review of genetically engineered crops. The rules were proposed by the Bush administration and are available for public comment. The forum begins at 4:10 p.m. in 2050 Agronomy. Participants are asked to bring a copy of the proposed rules, which are available at: http://www.ostp.gov/html/redregbio.html.
NEW IOWA STATE INITIATIVES RECEIVE START-UP FUNDS
Five significant academic initiatives at Iowa State University will receive start-up funds this fiscal year and salary funding for seven new faculty positions next year. The interdisciplinary initiatives are intended to respond to critical needs in Iowa and the country, and enhance Iowa State's status among peer land-grant schools. The five were selected by a faculty committee and approved by President Gregory Geoffroy in a competitive process that drew 31 pre-proposals. A sixth initiative has the backing of the colleges of agriculture and veterinary medicine and is on a fast track to get underway early this fall.
ORGANIC TRAINING SESSION PRECEDES IOWA STATE FIELD DAY AUG. 20
An Iowa State University Extension training session tomorrow (Aug. 20) will feature organic crop production and marketing information. The daylong session is called Toolbox Training for Organic and Reduced-input Farming. It will be held at the Adair County Extension Office in Greenfield and the Neely-Kinyon Research and Demonstration Farm near Greenfield. A field day at the farm, following the training, also will include organic topics.
SKUNK RIVER NAVY PUTS ISU FRESHMEN TO WORK
One way Iowa State University helps incoming freshmen ease the transition from high school to university life is with learning communities. One of the earliest ISU learning communities is Biological Education Success Teams (BEST). It was started in 1995 for students majoring in biology, botany, biochemistry, biophysics, biological premedical illustration, genetics or zoology. Jim Colbert, associate botany professor, has been a BEST faculty mentor from the beginning. He and others formed the Skunk River Navy to give BEST members their very own service project. Learn more in "Agriculture in Action."
MORE PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR SOY PROTEIN RESEARCH STUDY
Thirty postmenopausal women are needed for a six-week, health and nutrition research study using soy protein. Researchers at the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition are looking for women who are healthy with a body mass index between 20 and 32, are not taking hormones or medications and are able to participate for six weeks. Dietary intake analysis, antioxidant status, iron status and blood lipids will be assessed. Participants will receive $125. Call the Human Metabolic Unit at 4-8673.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Aug. 21: CANCELLED Home Demonstration Garden field day, Rhodes Research and Demonstration Farm
Aug. 26: Registration deadline, 12th Annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Conference Sept. 19-22, Scheman Building
Aug. 28: Block & Bridle Club freshman/transfer student barbecue, 6:30 p.m., Farm Bureau Livestock Pavilion
Aug. 29: Ag Council freshman/transfer student barbecue, 5-7 p.m., Agronomy Courtyard or, if raining, Farm Bureau Livestock Pavilion
Aug. 30: Deadline for notifying vice provost for research of NSF nanoscale proposals, letters of interest must be hand-delivered to 2610 Beardshear Hall or faxed to 294-6100
Aug. 30: Proposal deadline, USDA Small Business Innovation Research program
Sept. 2: Preproposal deadline, North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant program, http://www.sare.org/ncrsare/cfp.htm
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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SHORT CUTS TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKMARKS
A quick way to get to a frequently visited Web page is to rename it in your list of Favorites or Bookmarks. Go to the site, and set a bookmark or favorite. Then use the browser's feature that lets you rename the bookmark, changing it to something short and easy to key in. The next time you want to visit the site, simply enter the new name into the location field and press the enter or return key.
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INFOGRAZING
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HELP AVAILABLE FOR NSF GRANT APPLICATIONS
Nov. 1 is the deadline for preliminary proposals for the National Science Foundation’s Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research program. The goal of this program is to support integrative research that addresses major questions in the biological sciences. Guidelines are at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf02154. College faculty member Parag Chitnis, and an NSF program director who was on the team that developed this grant program, is willing to advise researchers interested in applying for grants. He can be reached at: 78443 or pchitnis@nsf.gov
NSF ADDS REQUIREMENTS TO PROJECT PROPOSALS
As of Oct. 1 the National Science Foundation will return without review proposals that don’t address the intellectual merit and broader impacts of research and education activities within the project’s summary. The NSF’s Grant Proposal Guide also specifies that broader impacts resulting from the proposed project must be addressed in the project description and described as an integral part of the narrative. Examples illustrating activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf
NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR NEW ARS TASK FORCE
The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is looking for nominees for its newly created Research, Education, and Economics Task Force. Nominations to fill the eight membership positions are due Aug. 30.
COMMENTS SOUGHT FOR NATIONAL AG LIBRARY
The USDA seeks public comment on recommendations for the future management of the National Agricultural Library. At issue is a task force "Report on the National Agricultural Library 2001," which is available online. The task force studied the mission, management, programs and operation of the library in pursuit of its legislated mandate to serve as the chief agricultural information resource of the United States. Comments concerning the task force report may be sent by mail, fax or e-mail. Submit comments by Sept. 16 to Susan McCarthy, technical information specialist, USDA, ARS, National Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Avenue, Room 203, Beltsville, MD 20705-2351 or by FAX: 36951. Submit electronic comments to comments@nal.usda.gov.
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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ALUM SEES OPPORTUNITIES IN AG
"I'm certainly atypical in my chosen career. But there are huge opportunities in all kinds of areas of agriculture for women. … There are so many opportunities for women at any level, and not just in production agriculture, but in grain merchandising, in governmental positions, as a meat inspector or a chemical rep. Women can do anything in this field. There are just an incredible array of positions out there, and I don't think everyone truly realizes that." Iowa State alumnae Sheila Dotts Hebenstreit of Jefferson, quoted in a special section on women in agriculture in the June 28 issue of “Farm News.” Hebenstreit (B.S., horticulture, '80) runs a crop consulting business. She won the 2001 Excellence in Crop Advising Award from the American Farm Bureau and American Society of Agronomy.
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MARGINALIA
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YUM, PERIWINKLE
Soon, parents might not have to keep their children from eating crayons. Edible crayons is one of the ideas proposed to “eat” up a bigger proportion of soybean production and boost prices, Reuters reports. "There is huge soy production and the result is driving the market down," USDA researcher John Cherry told an edible oils conference in Istanbul. "There is quite an effort in the U.S. to push soybeans into the nonfood market." The conference also heard from an Iowa State group that developed soy protein-based adhesives, one of which was recently granted a U.S. patent. Soybean use outside of the traditional foods market has grown in recent years to nearly 4 percent of the total U.S. crop, up from between 2 to 3 percent, but industry groups aim to push that up to 15 percent to 20 percent by 2020, Cherry said. (Reuters, Aug. 13)
Next issue: Aug. 26 Deadline: Aug. 23
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AG ONLINE
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EDITORS
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu, and Brian Meyer, bmeyer@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 University's College of Agriculture, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to edadcock@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.