Issue: 321

................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... AG CAREER DAY ATTRACTS NEW ORGANIZATIONS Iowa States agricultural career fair, the largest in the nation, has attracted the most employers since the hiring downturn that began after 9/11. Ag Career Day will be held Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the Memorial Union from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ATTEND OPEN FORUM WITH PRESIDENT AND PROVOST WEDNESDAY 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. MEAT SCIENCE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES DISCUSSED TONIGHT Students with a career interest in meat science are invited to attend Meat Your Future at 6 p.m. today, Oct. 25, in the Farm Bureau Livestock Pavilion, Kildee Hall. Representatives of companies in the meat industry will discuss career opportunities. A meal will be served. Contact: Heath McPherson, shm@iastate.edu. Business casual attire is recommended. SECOND FACULTY FORUM ON COLLEGE CURRICULUM TUESDAY College of Agriculture faculty are invited to participate in the second of a series of faculty forums on curriculum. It is set for 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, in 142 Curtiss. Associate deans Eric Hoiberg and David Acker will lead a discussion to gather input on improving educational offerings for students in agriculture. The third and final faculty forum is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to noon, Nov. 1, in 142 Curtiss. COLLOQUIUM WEDNESDAY ON UGANDA PROGRAM The Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture Colloquium on Wednesday, Oct. 27, will cover Multidisciplinary Approaches to Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Program and Research Issues in Uganda. It is set for 3 to 4:30 p.m. in 302 Catt Hall. Participating will be Dorothy Masinde, program coordinator, Iowa States Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program; Mateete Bekunda, dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; and Kizito Musoke, executive director, Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns, Kampala, Uganda. They will discuss the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program partners and activities in Uganda; multidisciplinary approaches to understanding sustainability in rural Uganda; and areas for collaborative research between ISU and Makerere University faculty and graduate students. NEW LOCATION FOR CHARLEVOIX LAMB SEMINAR The Charlevoix Lamb seminar scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 28, has been moved to a new location. It will begin at 3:30 p.m. in 2050 Agronomy. Charlevoix agrotourism coordinator Mario Duchesne and local development counselor Nancy Chabot from Quebec will present, "Surviving Globalization by Producing Differently: Charlevoix's Lamb Label." The seminar is sponsored by the Leopold Center and the Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and Information Center. CIAG GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE NOV. 15 The Center for Integrated Animal Genomics (CIAG) has two new research grant opportunities with application deadlines of Nov. 15. The Research Infrastructure Program and the Research Support Program will continue CIAG's efforts to encourage collaboration among faculty and to enhance research competitiveness in integrated animal genomics. The programs will provide funding for infrastructure and research personnel. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESENTS AWARDS TO COLLEGE ALUMNI College alumni were recognized by the Alumni Association as part of its annual awards ceremony Oct. 8.Former dean of extension Marvin Anderson was presented the Alumni Merit Award. The Ames resident earned all his degrees in the College (BS agronomy 39, MS soil management 49 and Ph.D. agricultural economics and soil management 55). Anderson served as dean of extension from 1966 to 1974. David McDonald (BS animal science 87) was among alums presented the Outstanding Young Alumnus award. He serves as senior executive vice president of OSI Industries. PLANT PATHOLOGIST PART OF AWARD-WINNING VIDEO Thomas Baum, plant pathology, helped create an award-winning video on sugar beet nematodes. "The Beet Cyst Nematode Heterodera schachtii" was awarded the top prize by the 21th International Film Festival AGROFILM. The video is part of an American Phytopathological Society DVD on the diseases and pests of sugar beets. Baum was involved in writing the script and ensuring the content was comprehensive and scientifically accurate. The film festival was organized by the Ministry of Land Management of the Slovak Republic and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. BURRAS RECEIVES PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL PROFESSORSHIP Lee Burras, agronomy associate professor, has been awarded the Pioneer Agronomy Professorship. Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. established the endowed professorship in 1997. VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURE TOUR AIMED AT BEGINNING FARMERS Adding value to farm commodities, raising specialty crops or livestock or using new marketing avenues can help young farmers develop stable, profitable businesses. To illustrate examples to new farmers, ISU Extension Value-added Agriculture Program is hosting a tour of central Iowa farms. Learn more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/2004/oct04/oct0420.html STUDENT CLUB OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE FARM EQUIPMENT The Agriculture Systems Technology Club will host a ride-and-drive field day on Nov. 12 for farmers and others interested in trying out the latest tractors, tillage equipment and auto-steering equipment from major farm machinery manufacturers. Hands-on demonstrations will be offered from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. A program starts at 11 a.m. with lunch served from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. The field day will be on the Bill Couser farm located four miles north of Nevada on County Road S14 and one-half mile west on County Road E29. COLLEGE FACULTY RECEIVE BIOTECH STARTUP FUNDS ISUs Office of Biotechnology has awarded faculty startup packages for newly hired scientists to establish research programs. Among the 11 awards, totaling $1.1 million, five were awarded to faculty in the College of Agriculture. They are: Thomas Bobik; biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology; Byron Brehm-Stecher, food science and human nutrition; Clark Coffman, genetics, development and cell biology; and Matthew Ellinwood and Diane Moody, both animal science. More: http://www.biotech.iastate.edu/publications/news_releases/Oct_25_2004.h… HENDRICH SELECTED FOR FELLOWSHIP Suzanne Hendrich, food science and human nutrition, has been named the Lura M. Lovell Faculty Fellow. With the fellowship, Hendrich will develop an outreach program for the Center for Research on Dietary Botanical Supplements that involves a continuing education program for health professionals. EXTENSION TEAM AWARDS INCLUDE COLLEGE FACULTY AND STAFF Several College faculty and staff members were presented awards as part of the ISU Extensions awards ceremony at its annual conference Sept. 27. Campus faculty and staff receiving awards included: Jay Harmon, agricultural and biosystems engineering, Achievement by an Educational Team for being part of the Managing your Unseen Employees program; Mike Duffy and William Edwards, economics, Achievement by an Educational Team, for being part of the Agricultural Management E-School; and John Mabry and Sherry Hoyer, Iowa Pork Industry Center, and Maynard Hogberg, Doug Kenealy, Dennis Marple, Daryl Strohbehn, Leo Timms, Ken Stalder, Dong Ahn, Barb Magnuson and Julie Roberts, animal science, Achievement by an Organizational Team, for the Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 2004. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS Oct. 25: Think Tank on Animal Agriculture, 6 p.m., register by noon Oct. 22 at 4-2353, Cardinal Room, Memorial Union Oct. 26: Ag Career Day, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Memorial Union Oct. 27: Open Forum with President and Provost, 2:10 to 3 p.m., CCUR Theatre, 1951 Food Sciences Oct. 28: Seminar, "Surviving Globalization by Producing Differently: Charlevoix's Lamb Label, 3:30 p.m., 2020 Agronomy Oct. 30: Snow Blower Service Day, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Davidson Hall (south of the Molecular Biology Building), contact: 4-0462 Nov. 1: Iowa Organic Conference, Scheman Building, more: http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/organicag/ Nov. 1: Deadline to order holiday hams for Thanksgiving Nov. 30: Deadline to order holiday hams for Christmas ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... KEEPING CARAT, KARAT AND CARET STRAIGHT Carat measures the weight of a gemstone; karat measures the purity of gold. To remember the difference, think of 24K. Caret is a mark on a manuscript indicating where text is to be inserted. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 2003, 15th edition) ........................................................ INFOGRAZING ........................................................ PRESIDENT'S FORUM ON DIVERSITY NOV. 2 Students, faculty and staff are invited to the President's Forum on Diversity, focusing on Iowa States Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. The agenda will include remarks from President Geoffroy, a panel of LGBT campus members and small-group discussions. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. until noon in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. The program begins at noon in the Sun Room. Faculty and staff should register through AccessPlus. Students can register by contacting the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, 4-4420. USDA APPOINTS AGRICULTURAL AIR QUALITY TASK FORCE MEMBERS The USDA has renewed its Agricultural Air Quality Task Force and selected members for the 2004-2006 term. The task force charter is renewed every two years to address agricultural air quality issues. The task force advises the Secretary of Agriculture on strengthening and coordinating USDA air quality research efforts and identifying cost-effective ways in which the agriculture industry can improve air quality. ........................................................ EXTERNAL VOICES ........................................................ CHURCHILL ON TRIPPING OVER THE TRUTH Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill (1874-1965) ........................................................ MARGINALIA ........................................................ NEW THEORY COLORS AUTUMNAL DEBATE As trees turn gold and crimson, scientists are debating exactly what those autumn colors are for. They do agree on one thing: the colors are for something. That represents a major shift in thinking. For decades, textbooks claimed that autumn colors were just a byproduct of dying leaves. Evolutionary biologists and plant physiologists offer two different explanations for why natural selection has made autumn colors so widespread. One explanation: bright autumn leaves warn insects to leave them alone. The other: fall colors serve as a sunscreen for leaves that can no longer capture all the sunlight striking them, which can damage tissue. "People sometimes say that science makes the world less interesting and awesome by just explaining things away. But with autumn leaves, the more you know about them, the more amazed you are," said David Wilkinson, evolutionary ecologist at Liverpool John Moores University, England. (New York Times, Oct. 19) Next issue: Nov. 1 ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ 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 Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3680 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.