................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... WORLD FOOD PRIZE LAUREATE TO SPEAK TUESDAY ON RESEARCH College of Agriculture faculty and staff are invited to a reception and seminar by Yuan Longping, the 2004 World Food Prize Laureate on Tuesday, Oct. 12. The 3:30 p.m. seminar, "Super Rice Research," will be held in 1414 Molecular Biology, with refreshments prior to the presentation at 3 p.m. in the Molecular Biology Atrium. Longping is the director-general of the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center in Changsha, Hunan. He will receive the 2004 World Food Prize in ceremonies in Des Moines on Thursday, Oct. 14. BORLAUG LECTURE FEATURES BERTINI AND POSTER CONTEST On Wednesday, Oct. 13, Catherine Bertini, the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate and United Nations under-secretary-general for management, will deliver the 2004 Borlaug Lecture, "How We Made a Difference with Food Aid," at 8 p.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. Prior to the lecture, 17 undergraduate and graduate students will compete in the third annual Norman Borlaug Lectureship Poster Competition. The posters will be available for viewing at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall. Prizes of $100, $75 and $50 will be awarded. Pat Murphy, food science and human nutrition, is coordinating the competition. USAID OFFICIAL TO SPEAK OCT. 13 ON AGRICULTURE STRATEGY Emmy Simmons, the U.S. Agency for International Development's assistant administrator for economic growth, agriculture and trade, will be on campus Wednesday, Oct. 13, to speak on USAID's agriculture strategy. The presentation will be held at 9 a.m. in the Ensminger Room, 1204 Kildee. Dean Woteki will join other USAID, university and state officials at the event. MISRA TO CHAIR PANEL AT USAID BOARD MEETING WEDNESDAY Manjit Misra, director of the Seed Science Center and the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products, will chair a panel discussion at the Oct. 13 meeting of USAID's Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, which will be held in Des Moines. The board advises USAID on agricultural development priorities and issues. Misra will lead a discussion on Midwest universities and student perspectives on international agriculture programs. ISU graduate student Mary Nyasimi and representatives from the University of Minnesota and the University of Nebraska also will participate. FORESTRY CELEBRATES 100 YEARS AT IOWA STATE OCT. 16 AND 17 One hundred years of forestry at Iowa State will be celebrated Oct. 16 and 17 on campus and at Reiman Gardens. It begins with breakfast from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in Science II followed by tours of Bear Creek Riparian Buffer System Research Site, Reactor Woods Natural Stand Management, Plantation Research Site. A banquet in the Great Hall, Memorial Union, at 7 p.m. will feature alumnus David Smith (BS ’60, MS ’68, PhD ’70). He is a second generation ISU forester whose professional career has spanned more than 33 years of experience in teaching and research. The weekend celebration ends with a breakfast hosted by Margo and Sande McNabb on Oct. 17 from 8 to 11 a.m. at Reiman Gardens. ATTEND OCT. 27 OPEN FORUM WITH PRESIDENT AND PROVOST College of Agriculture faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend an open forum with President Geoffroy and Provost Allen from 2:10 to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 27, in the CCUR Theatre, 1951 Food Sciences. This is part of the annual visit to the college by the President and Provost. REVIEW THE SECOND DRAFT OF ISU STRATEGIC PLAN The second draft of ISU's strategic plan has been posted for comment. Comments should be submitted by Oct. 29 to strategicplan@iastate.edu. College of Agriculture faculty and staff serving on the strategic plan committee are: Dean Woteki; Charlotte Bronson, plant pathology; Jack Girton, biochemistry, biophysics & molecular biology; Brian Meyer, agriculture communications; Deland Myers, food science and human nutrition; and Greg Tylka, plant pathology. COLLEGE ALUM NAMED CHANCELLOR AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE On Oct. 8, College of Agriculture alumnus James Oblinger was named chancellor of North Carolina State University, effective Jan. 1. Oblinger has a master's degree ('70) and Ph.D. ('72) in food technology from ISU. Oblinger is NCSU's 13th chancellor, and has served in several positions at NCSU for nearly 20 years, most recently as provost and executive vice chancellor. Before being named provost, Oblinger was dean of NCSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. NCSU is North Carolina's largest university, with about 30,000 students. Oblinger's wife, Diana, also is an alum with three ISU degrees: a bachelor's in botany ('74) and a master's ('76) and Ph.D. ('80) in agronomy. SUSTAINABLE RURAL LIVELIHOODS SUBJECT OF OCT. 13 SEMINAR A Department of Sociology and African Studies Committee Seminar “The Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Program: Implications for Social Scientists” will be held Oct. 13 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 9 Curtiss Hall. Robert Mazur, director of the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Program, and Lorna Michael Butler, Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair in Sustainable Agriculture, will talk about the origins, status and future of the program. For more information, contact Mazur, rmazur@iastate.edu. STORY IDEAS FOR PORK MONTH IN OCTOBER Pig genomics, manure composting, swine welfare, pork operations budgeting, a new emissions lab and livestock judging teams were among the story ideas for Pork Month in October suggested by ISU's Iowa Pork Industry Center. The center recently sent a list of Pork Month ideas to news reporters. To see the PDF, check out the link under "In the News" on the center's website: http://www.ipic.iastate.edu/. DEVELOPMENT OF CORN TO BE TRACED OCT. 21 "The Journey of Corn” will be presented on Oct. 21 by Lois Girton, outreach coordinator for ISU’s Center for Plant Genomics. The presentation will cover the development of modern corn from its Mexican ancestors, the teosintes. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. at Reiman Gardens. APPLE SALE OCT. 22, 23 AND 24 AT REIMAN GARDENS The Horticulture Club will hold it’s annual apple sale at Reiman Gardens Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Oct. 24 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Watch for more details in Ag Online next week or contact Liz Meyers at lizmeyers@iastate.edu. HUFFMAN TO SPEAK ON BIOTECHNOLOGY AT NEXT THINK TANK Wallace Huffman, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture in economics, will speak on “Consumer Acceptance of Genetically Modified Foods and Agricultural Biotechnology: Effects of Labels and Diverse Information” at the next Think Tank on Animal Agriculture on Oct. 25. Register by noon Oct. 22 by calling 4-2353. Cost of the buffer dinner is $15 payable at the door. Social time begins at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and presentation at 7 p.m. in the Cardinal Room, Memorial Union. SNOW BLOWER TUNE UP OCT. 30 The Ag Systems Technology Club and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers Student Club will have their annual Snow Blower Service Day on Oct. 30. Snow blowers may be dropped off at Davidson Hall (south of the Molecular Biology Building) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Service includes oil change, air filter, check spark plug, lubricate moving parts and check safety equipment. The cost is $30. Pickup and delivery is available for $15. Call 4-0462 by Oct. 27 to arrange pick-up or for questions. FALL IS SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE TESTING TIME Fall is a perfect time to collect soil samples for testing for soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), according to Iowa State nematologist Greg Tylka. “Detecting SCN in fields this fall will allow growers to develop management plans to combat the nematode before next season begins,” Tylka said. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS Oct. 12: Seminar, Yuan Longping, World Food Prize co-winner, 3:30 p.m., 1414 Molecular Biology Building, refreshments at 3 p.m. Oct. 13: 2004 Borlaug Lecture, Catherine Bertini, 2003 World Food Prize Laureate, “How We Made a Difference with Food Aid,” 8 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union Oct. 14-15: 2004 World Food Prize International Symposium, Des Moines Marriott Hotel Oct. 15: World Food Day teleconference, "Politics of Hunger: What's at Stake," 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Room 1141, Extension and 4-H Youth Building, register: Joyce Greving at 4-3079 or jagrevin@iastate.edu Oct. 15: Deadline, Faculty Research Exchange applications for fall semester, more: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/diversity/facvisits.html, contact: Mary M. de Baca at 4-8574 or mmdb@iastate.edu Oct. 15: Deadline, Dean of Agriculture's Global Research Grants Program and 2004-05 International Funding for Graduate Students and Postdocs. Contact Shelley Taylor, 4-5393 or sztaylor@iastate.edu Oct. 18: “Can We Teach Entrepreneurship? A Discussion Across Disciplines,” 3:30 to 5 p.m., Campanile Room, Memorial Union, registration deadline is Oct. 14, contact Marlys Carlson at 4-5357 or celt@iastate.edu Nov. 1: Iowa Organic Conference, Scheman Building, more: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/organicag/ ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... LESS CONFUSION BETWEEN LESS AND FEWER Use “less” for mass nouns or amounts (less salt, less dirt, less water). Use fewer for countable things (fewer people, fewer calories, fewer grocery items, fewer suggestions). One guideline is to use “less” with singular nouns and “fewer” with plural nouns. (Chicago Manual of Style, 2003, 15th edition) ........................................................ INFOGRAZING ........................................................ CAMPUS CLIMATE SURVEY OPEN FORUM OCT. 14 FROM 3-5 P.M. Results from a survey gauging the campus climate for inclusiveness of diverse groups will be presented by Susan Rankin on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 3 to 5 p.m. in 2050 Agronomy. Rankin, a consultant with Rankin & Associates, will present the initial results of a survey conducted in January. The survey was sent to 8,300 ISU employees; 1,900 completed the 64-question survey. Rankin's final report is expected to include recommendations for strategies to enhance Iowa State's campus climate. AMES LAB SEEKS COLLABORATIVE PROPOSALS Ames Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy and Iowa State University research facility, is seeking new interdisciplinary collaborative research proposals with academic departments at Iowa State. Projects in biology, agriculture, physical science and engineering are eligible for funding. Special consideration will be given to projects connecting the physical sciences or engineering with biology. For a listing of topics, go to http://www.ameslab.gov. For more information, contact Alan Goldman or George Kraus at newinit@ameslab.gov. Proposals are due Nov. 16. ISU WORKSHOP EXPLORES TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP “Can We Teach Entrepreneurship? A Discussion Across Disciplines” will be held Oct. 18, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Register for the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching workshop by Thursday, Oct. 14, by contacting Marlys Carlson, 4-5357 or celt@iastate.edu. LEARN HOW TO START A LEARNING COMMUNITY OCT. 19 “Starting a New Learning Community for 2005-06” is the focus of an information session on Oct. 19. Corly Brooke and Doug Gruenewald, co-directors of ISU Learning Communities, will discuss how to start a new learning community and the funding application process. It will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. in 2510 Beardshear. COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS A series of bibliographies made available on the Web (http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/ceap/ceapbibs.html) by the USDA provides a comprehensive review of the current literature covering conservation programs, including the research needed to improve practices. The bibliographies offer more than 2,700 citations, with abstracts where available, and with URLs when the documents are freely available online. They were prepared in support of the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project by the Water Quality Information Center of USDA's National Agricultural Library. ........................................................ EXTERNAL VOICES ........................................................ TUCHMAN ON BOOKS AS CARRIERS OF CIVILIZATION "Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill." -Barbara Tuchman, American historian and author ........................................................ MARGINALIA ........................................................ NEW PORTRAIT JOINS DEPARTMENT LEADER COLLECTION IN KILDEE Check out the new portrait of Susan Lamont that was hung in a ceremony in the Kildee Hall Atrium last week, in honor of her service as department chair from 2001 to 2003. The painting of Lamont joins a collection of portraits of past department chairs. Next issue: Oct. 18 ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ EDITORS Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu, and Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-5616