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COLLEGE NEWS
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REGENTS APPROVES ANIMAL GENOMICS CENTER
A new Center for Integrated Animal Genomics will work to identify, map and understand the function and control of genes to improve both animal and human health. The proposal to create the center was approved last week by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Plans for the center include a competitive grants program; workshops; and a genomics scholar program to help faculty establish collaborations and research opportunities. The center also will help prepare students for the challenges and opportunities in emerging areas of animal agriculture. The center will be administered by the College of Agriculture with input from the colleges of veterinary medicine and liberal arts and sciences.
NEW GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIORENEWABLE RESOURCES
The Board of Regents, State of Iowa has approved the creation of a new interdisciplinary graduate program in biorenewable resources and technology. Students will get advanced training in plant science, production, processing and use of biobased products. Degrees offered will be master’s, doctorate or doctorate minor. Faculty in agricultural and biosystems engineering, food science and human nutrition, natural resource ecology and management, mechanical engineering, and chemical engineering are involved in developing the program.
AG COMM TO FEATURE EVALUATION PROCESS
Mary Huba, assistant vice provost, will describe the university’s plan for outcomes assessment on Tuesday at the Ag Comm Workshop, “Facilitation of the Evaluation Process.” There will be hands-on activities and sharing of examples of how the evaluation process can be applied in the College of Agriculture. Faculty, staff and graduate assistants are encouraged to attend. It is set for noon to 1:30 p.m., with a light lunch provided, in 8 Curtiss. RSVP to Cheryl Abrams, 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu.
AGRONOMISTS TO SHOW OFF ILLUSTRATOR PROGRAM
Brenton Center's professional development seminar on Sept. 30 will provide an introduction to Adobe Illustrator 10, a cross-platform drawing program. Using Illustrator instead of presentation or word-processing software to create diagrams will be covered, along with examples of the program’s practicality. The presenters will be Glenn Wiedenhoeft and Dan Dobill from agronomy. It will be held from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 8 Curtiss. Seating is limited. Call Neena Bentley, 4-1862, to reserve a spot.
SYMPOSIUM HONORS ‘IOWANS WHO FED THE WORLD’
Two ISU alumni are highlighted in a “Four Iowans Who Fed the World” symposium on Oct. 26 at the Herbert Hoover Library in West Branch. The event will be held in conjunction with the World Food Prize. George Washington Carver and Henry A. Wallace will be honored, along with Norman Borlaug and Herbert Hoover. Emeritus University Professor Sande McNabb will give the Carver presentation. Former Sen. John Culver will speak on Wallace’s contributions. ISU history professor R. Douglas Hurt will deliver the Borlaug talk, and independent scholar George Nash will honor Hoover. The event will begin at 1 p.m.
HANDS-ON AG VISITS OFFER INSIGHTS FOR STUDENTS
The Farm Operations Club took 19 members on an Iowa agriculture tour to eastern Iowa last week. The group visited Kent Feeds Inc., Grain Processing Corp. and a Monsanto facility. Mike Retallick, club advisor and ag education and studies academic advisor, said the trips help students strengthen their connections with production agriculture and learn more about various businesses and industries related to agriculture. This is the seventh year the club has toured ag businesses in Iowa.
DRAINAGE WELL RESEARCH COVERS MORE GROUND
A research project that began more than a decade ago continues to provide valuable data about the effects of agriculture on water quality. And ISU researchers say they're learning ways to minimize those effects. The project was originally developed to study agricultural drainage wells. James Baker, agricultural engineer, says the research applies to land without the wells, too. Details in "Agriculture in Action."
ISU CONDUCTING NATIONAL SURVEY OF SOYBEAN QUALITY
Of the nearly 3 billion bushels of soybeans produced in the United States each year, more than a third is exported. More than 70 percent of the buyers of exported soybeans request information on protein and oil content. That's why information on grain quality is crucial to the export of American soybeans. ISU is collecting and analyzing soybean samples from around the country for the 16th annual U.S. Soybean Quality Survey.
EXTENSION OFFERS FARM BILL ANALYZER, PUBLICATIONS
Starting Oct. 1, farmers and landowners can update their crop acres and yields at Farm Service Agency offices in their counties. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act offers several options. A new ISU Extension bulletin, "Commodity Programs for Crops," describes the three types of crop payments available under the new farm bill, and how acre and yield decisions will affect these payments. A worksheet for comparing options is included.
MERGING WEATHER DATA EARNS AWARD
The National Weather Association (NWA) will award the Larry R. Johnson Special Award to ISU’s Department of Agronomy, KCCI-TV and the Des Moines office of the National Weather Service. The award is presented each year to an individual or group that significantly contributed to operational meteorology. The three groups worked together to bring diverse weather data sets from many sources, including the Iowa Department of Transportation, to make them more accessible to forecasting officials. Work continues to archive the data and tailor it for different uses. Dennis Todey and Daryl Herzmann in the agronomy department have worked on the project. The award will be presented at the NWA annual meeting Oct. 23 in Fort Worth.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Sept. 24-26: Farm Progress Show, near Alleman, http://www.farmprogressshow.com
Sept. 26: Seventh Annual Forum on Agriculture in Urban Schools, Oak Room, Memorial Union, more information: Linda Drennan, 4-5904 or ldrennan@iastate.edu
Sept. 26: Student Organic Farm program and tour, 4 p.m., Room 244, Memorial Union, more information: Brian Keehner, 4-3858 or stufarm@iastate.edu
Sept. 26: Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Advanced Studies research and tech transfer orientation, 4 to 6 p.m., 302 Catt, with a reception at 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 1: Special Research Initiation Grants (SPRIGs) due in departmental offices (no gold sheet required)
Oct. 1: Deadline for the National Research Initiative program areas: Plant Responses to the Environment (22.1), Improving Human Nutrition for Optimal Health (31.0), Plant Genome (52.1), Plant Genetic Mechanisms (52.2)
Oct. 4: From Discovery to Corporate Structure seminar series on tech transfer, 4 p.m., 1414 MBB, more information: Lisa Lorenzen, 4-0926 or llorenze@iastate.edu
Oct. 7: Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Advanced Studies research and tech transfer orientation 5 to 7 p.m., Gallery, Memorial Union, with a reception at 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 15: Food Safety Consortium Symposium, 8 a.m. to noon, Kansas State University, http://www.uark.edu/depts/fsc/index.html
Oct. 15: First Norman Borlaug Lecture, "World Hunger," Borlaug was the winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Price, 8:00 p.m., free, Sun Room, Memorial Union, 59934
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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BROKEN LINKS, ERRORS DAMAGE CREDIBILITY
Web sites with spelling errors and broken links risk damaging their online credibility just as badly as if they faced financial or legal troubles. “Typographical errors and broken links hurt a site's credibility more than most people imagine,” says B.J. Fogg of Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab. The lab recently conducted a Web site credibility study of more than 1,600 Internet users. (Ragan Communications' PR Intelligence Report, Aug. 2002)
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INFOGRAZING
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WORLD FOOD DAY DOWNLINK OCT. 16: THE RURAL POOR
The 19th World Food Day satellite teleconference, "Hungry Farmers: A National Security Issue For All,” will be downlinked from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 16, 1155 Administrative Services Building. Register by contacting Joyce Greving, 4-3079 or jagrevin@iastate.edu. Michael Lipton, an international authority on the plight of the rural poor, is the featured speaker.
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL DAY ON OCT. 9
Representatives from more than 90 institutions are expected for the Graduate and Professional School Day from noon to 4 p.m., Oct. 9, in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. Literature will be available from many more schools. Agriculture-related disciplines that will be represented include agricultural sciences, biological sciences and social sciences/public policy. A list of institutions planning to attend is online.
NEW DISCUSSION GROUP TO DISCUSS PROTEOMICS
Understanding the current and future use of proteomics is the basis for a new discussion group at ISU. The organization will discuss new information in technologies; new software, instrumentation, procedures and bioinformatics; current scientific literature; and research results. The next meeting will be held from 11 a.m. to noon, Sept. 28, in the Alumni Room, College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information: http://www.biotech.iastate.edu/facilities/protein/
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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MINORITY STUDENT NUMBERS RISE SHARPLY ON CAMPUSES
The number of minority students attending American colleges and universities jumped 48 percent in the 1990s, with all minorities posting double-digit gains in college enrollment, according to a study by the American Council on Education. Despite the greater numbers of minority students in college, the study found blacks and Latinos lagged behind whites and Asian-Americans in graduating. Graduation rates were 38 percent for black and Native American college students, and 46 percent for Latinos. Among whites, 59 percent graduate within six years, while 66 percent of Asian-Americans do so. On campuses today, "there's a lot of effort to bring in a more diverse student body, which is admirable," said Joseph Viteritti, professor of education at New York University. "But if the kids don't have the skills to do well, they get discouraged and drop out." (New York Times, Sept. 23)
Next issue: Sept. 30 Deadline: Sept. 27
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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/
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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."
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