COLLEGE NEWS
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ATTEND COLLEGE CONVOCATION NEXT WEEK
Faculty and staff are invited to the College of Agriculture convocation that will begin at 3 p.m., Jan. 18, with reception and refreshments. A program will follow at 3:30 p.m. in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. College awards will be presented, new faculty members will be introduced and retirees recognized during the program.
ON-FARM RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS SOUGHT
Proposals for the 2006 ISU On-farm Research and Demonstration Grant Program are being sought. The program is a new 3-year collaborative program of the College of Agriculture and Practical Farmers of Iowa. The program has been developed to address opportunities and challenges facing agriculture in Iowa and to stimulate on-farm research. Annual one-time grants up to $5,000 will be awarded. To apply, submit a proposal by e-mail to Joe Colletti, Interim Senior Associate Dean, College of Agriculture, colletti@iastate.edu, no later than Feb. 10. Contact: Jerry DeWitt, Leopold Center, 4-3711 or jdewitt@iastate.edu.
PASSION FOR FOOD SECURITY TAKES AG STUDENT TO AFRICA
It was during her freshman year at Iowa State that Amber Herman realized what her passion is — food security, insuring people have access to healthy, quality food. Now this senior majoring in public service and administration in agriculture is preparing to spend almost four months in Uganda. Learn more: http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2006/jan/uganda.shtml
ABE STUDENT TO DELIVER KING CELEBRATION KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Cameron Creighton, senior in industrial technology in the Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, will deliver the keynote address at the second annual Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration sponsored by the Des Moines branch and youth council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Black Ministerial Alliance. An article in the Friday, Jan. 6, Des Moines Register said Creighton will be encouraging teens to study black history and sharing with the audience what he thinks King would say about the progress of blacks today. "First the Dream, Now Where Are We?" will begin at 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 13, at Corinthian Baptist Church, Des Moines. More: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060106/NEW...
NEW LEADERSHIP FOR THE HORTICULTURE STATION
Nick Howell will become the superintendent at the Horticulture Station, effective Jan. 23. Howell was previously program coordinator at Reiman Gardens. He earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Iowa State. Jim Kubik will assist Howell as operations manager. Kubik, who earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy at ISU, has been employed at the Rhodes Research Farm and the Northeast Research Farm. Will Emley, who served as Horticulture Station superintendent, will now be working at the Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Farms.
2015 VISION FOR IOWA AGRICULTURE AND RURAL IOWA RELEASED
An Iowa agricultural think tank has developed a new vision for agriculture and rural Iowa for 2015. The Iowa AgSTATE report includes vision statements and action recommendations in seven categories. Details: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news/2006releases/agstate.html
ISU EXTENSION 2005 ANNUAL REPORT IS ONLINE
Advancing Iowa’s economic vitality continues to be a focus for Iowa State University Extension. Examples of the many ways ISU Extension is helping spur Iowa’s economic development are highlighted in its 2005 annual report. Learn more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Connection/2005AR/2005AR.html
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Jan. 18: College of Agriculture Convocation, 3 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
Jan. 22: Lecture, Iowa Landscapes--Tillage, Threshing and Transition, From "Breaking the Prairie Sod" to the "Land of the Fragile Giants," 2 p.m., Brunnier Art Museum, free
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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HEALTHY AND HEALTHFUL: CHOOSE YOUR MEANING CORRECTLY
Healthy means "exhibiting health." Healthful means "giving health." So you can be healthy, but the diet that makes you that way is healthful. Correct usage: "A healthful diet will keep you healthy." (The Elephants of Style, Bill Walsh, 2004)
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INFOGRAZING
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CSREES VIDEO MAGAZINE FOCUSES ON NRI
The National Research Initiative is the subject of the latest Partners Video Magazine, produced by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). The online series highlights the programs and accomplishments of agricultural research, education and extension systems nationwide. More: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/partners/partners_14.html
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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BAIT TO LURE THE INNER SCIENTIST: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
"... Every year I see some fish swimming through my courses that I would dearly like to catch, students from underrepresented groups or students with great potential who don't seem to hunger for science. To reach the scientist within those students, I resort to my extra-super-duper bait: undergraduate research . . . But to work as superbait, undergraduate research has to be made attractive to teenagers who often have completely different social, cultural and scientific backgrounds from those of their 'nerdy' professors. In addition, many studies have shown that students from underrepresented groups and first-generation college students are reluctant to talk to their professors and do not feel entitled to their time . . . The first exposure to scientific research can be intimidating. I try to make the lab a friendly place, and I spend a lot of one-on-one time with my research students, not all of it in the lab." Marc Zimmer, a professor of chemistry at Connecticut College, writing in the Aug. 12, 2005, Chronicle of Higher Education.
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MARGINALIA
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SCIENCE TAKES ON THE ART OF WINEMAKING
A Carnegie Mellon University chemical engineering professor has teamed up with wine scientists in Chile to develop computer models that will more reliably identify the desirable traits in wine. Carnegie Mellon’s Larry Biegler is focusing his research on yeast, which consumes sugar and produces alcohol. "We would like to come up with a reasonably good model of how this yeast cell behaves -- then control this fermentation process so we can make better-quality wines." Biegler hopes his efforts will make winemaking more efficient, consistent and, ultimately, profitable. (AP/USA Today 30 Dec 2005) More: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-12-30-wine-science_x.htm?csp=15
Next issue: Jan. 17
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AG ONLINE
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EDITOR
Ed Adcock, edadcock@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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