................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... ALUMNI DAYS START WEDNESDAY About 350 alumni are expected back on campus for Alumni Days, set for May 16 to 19. The College will host alumni at get-togethers on Thursday and Friday. The reception Friday morning in the Kildee Hall atrium will include a reception for alumni with Eric Hoiberg, former associate dean, acting as master of ceremonies. Speakers include Dean Wendy Wintersteen; Maynard Hogberg, animal science chair; new agricultural education and studies graduate Melissa Nasers; Lois Wright Morton, sociology; and Stuart Birrell, agricultural and biosystems engineering. The youngest guests graduated 50 years ago (Class of 1957) and the oldest 75 years ago (Class of 1932). IOWA DNR DIRECTOR TO HOLD OPEN FORUM ON JUNE 1 College of Agriculture faculty and staff are invited to an open forum with Rich Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, on June 1. Leopold will speak on “Department of Natural Resources Issues.” The open forum will begin at 1 p.m. in the Center for Crops Utilization Research Theatre (Room 1951, Food Sciences Building). Earlier in the day, Leopold will meet with College of Agriculture department chairs. Governor Chet Culver named Leopold the director of the Iowa DNR last December. Leopold had been the executive director of the Iowa Environmental Council, a nonprofit coalition made up of 76 organizations working to improve Iowa's environment. From 1999 to 2002, Leopold served as the coordinator for IOWATER, Iowa's statewide volunteer water-quality monitoring program. He earned a master's degree in animal ecology from ISU's Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management and a bachelor's degree in biology from Minnesota State University. He is the past chairperson of the Iowa Conservation Education Council and is a past recipient of the Izaak Walton League of America's National Honor Roll Award. ROTHSCHILD TO PRESENT ENSMINGER CHAIR SYMPOSIUM Max Rothschild, C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture in animal science, is a candidate for the Ensminger International Chair in the Department of Animal Science after being invited to apply. He will be presenting his vision for the Ensminger Chair at a seminar at 11 a.m., Tuesday, May 15, in the Ensminger Room, Kildee Hall. All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend and provide feedback. There are no other candidates. The Ensminger Chair formerly was held by David Topel, emeritus professor in animal science. Income from the Ensminger Endowment is to be used to fund the Ensminger/Iowa State Ag-Tech International Stockman's Schools and develop materials to maintain publication of the Ensminger series of textbooks. TWO MINUTES WITH . . . ENTOMOLOGIST LYRIC BARTHOLOMAY Lyric Bartholomay, entomology, is the subject of a new feature on the Iowa State web site called “Two minutes with…” Bartholomay runs Iowa's statewide mosquito surveillance program. She is interviewed about her research and travels. “Two minutes with …” will feature noteworthy faculty, staff and students every two weeks. More: http://www.iastate.edu/news/2007/twomin/homepage.shtml ISU, IOWA FARMER TODAY TEAM UP FOR CROPWATCH BLOG Crop conditions in Iowa can change rapidly during the growing season. That's why Iowa State University and Iowa Farmer Today have teamed up to launch CropWatch Blog. The new website features 13 agronomy specialists from Iowa State and industry partners of ISU's Corn and Soybean Initiative. Learn more: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=326. CropWatch Blog can be found at http://www.iowafarmertoday.com/blog/. COURSE EXAMINES RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM ANIMAL AGRICULTURE As energy costs rise, agricultural producers are looking for ways to reduce costs and switch to renewable sources, such as energy generated from animal manure. Iowa State University is working to provide this information in a national short course on anaerobic treatment of agricultural wastes to be held May 21-22 in Des Moines. Details: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=325 IOWA AGRICULTURE CASH RENTAL RATES JUMP Cash rental rates for Iowa farmland have been pushed upward. Results from an Iowa State University Extension survey estimate that the average cash rent for corn and soybean land in the state for 2007 is $150 per acre, compared to $137 in the 2006 survey. Details: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2007/may/070801.htm SEE THE POWER OF RAIN The Iowa Learning Farm has the power to make it rain. Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a machine that simulates the impact of raindrops to various land surfaces when it rains. The machine is portable so it can travel to field days or events. Learn more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2007/may/140901.htm KOZIEL GRADUATE STUDENT WINS AWARD FOR THESIS Yin Cheung Miranda Lo, a former master's degree student of Jacek Koziel, agricultural and biosystems engineering, has won an award for her thesis, "Identification and prioritization of gases and odorants emitted from manure using SPME and multidimensional GC-MS-Olfactometry." The research was presented an honorable mention award in the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools Thesis Award Competition. She graduated with a master's degree in agricultural engineering in August 2006. ABE faculty Steve Hoff and Hongwei Xin also were members of her committee. DEADLINES & REMINDERS May 21-23: Spring Research Conference on Statistics in Industry and Technology, Scheman Building, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/src/home.html June 24-28: Ninth International Pollination Symposium, Scheman Building, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/plantbee/home.html ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... TIPS ON USING WHETHER Generally, use the word “whether” alone; don't tack on the words “or not.” For example: They didn't know whether to go. Adding “or not” is necessary only when you mean to convey the idea of "regardless of whether,” as in: We'll finish on time whether or not it rains. Whether is sometimes replaced by “if” in informal usage: We didn't know if we would finish. Whether is preferred in more formal usage. (Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003) ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... DEADLINE FRIDAY FOR ADVANCE PROGRAM WORKSHOP May 18 is the application deadline for the 2007 Faculty Horizons Program at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, set for July 12-14. The workshop, funded by the National Science Foundation's ADVANCE Program, is intended to provide post-doctoral research fellows and upper-level graduate students, particularly women, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with skills to become successful tenure-track faculty in the United States. More: http://www.umbc.edu/advance/registration07/ TREASURES FROM THE ARCHIVES DEBUTS AT LIBRARY Iowa State's Special Collections is featuring "Treasures from the Archives," a display of special documents and artifacts from Iowa State's history for its sesquicentennial celebration. Visit 403 Parks Library to see President Welch's 1872 handwritten address to Iowa State's first graduating class, Margaret Stanton's death mask and the original key to the Campanile. In addition, there are Christian Petersen's tools, a model airplane created by a member of the Curtiss-Wright Cadette Program and a signed basketball from the 2006-2007 Iowa State Women's Basketball Team. A highlight of the exhibit is the 1858 Act founding the State Agricultural College and Model Farm, which is on loan from the State Historical Society of Iowa. The exhibit will change to showcase other artifacts and documents from the collections in the University Archives. EMPLOYEE HEALTH FAIR SET FOR WEDNESDAY Iowa State is celebrating National Employee Health and Fitness Day Wednesday, May 16, with a health fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Carver Hall lobby. Blood pressure screenings, health information and healthy snacks will be available. Contact: Sally Barclay, Nutrition Clinic for Employee Wellness, 4-9625, or barclay@iastate.edu. More: http://www.nwrc.iastate.edu/nehfd07.html ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... BEWARE THE FIVE-SECOND RULE FOR DROPPED FOOD “A couple of weeks ago I saw a new scientific paper from Clemson University that struck me as both pioneering and hilarious. Accompanied by six graphs, two tables and equations whose terms include 'bologna' and 'carpet,' it's a thorough microbiological study of the five-second rule: the idea that if you pick up a dropped piece of food before you can count to five, it's O.K. to eat it. … Of course we can never know for sure how many harmful microbes there are on any surface. But we know enough now to formulate the five-second rule, version 2.0: If you drop a piece of food, pick it up quickly, take five seconds to recall that just a few bacteria can make you sick, then take a few more to think about where you dropped it and whether or not it's worth eating.” --Harold McGee, New York Times columnist, The Five-Second Rule Explored, or How Dirty Is That Bologna? (New York Times, May 9) ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... USDA STUDIES NEW USE FOR DISTILLERS DRIED GRAINS Distillers dried grains (DDGs) -- coproducts of converting corn into ethanol - could offer a new way to fight weeds and reduce herbicide use. Plant physiologist Steve Vaughn and colleagues with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Peoria have studied DDG use in laboratory, greenhouse and field studies over the past few years. Vaughn has shown that applying DDGs to soil as a surface mulch can not only suppress weeds, but also bolster the growth of tomatoes and some turfgrasses. In one study, for example, Roma tomatoes in DDG-treated plots yielded 226 pounds, versus 149 pounds from untreated control plots. Vaughn attributes some of the increase to nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients released by the DDG mulch as it decayed. More: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may07/weeds0507.htm (Agricultural Research magazine, May/June 2007) ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ EDITOR Ed Adcock, edadcock@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, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.