College News
Dean Wintersteen's Remarks Friday Emphasize Philanthropy
At Friday's College convocation and medallion ceremony, Dean Wintersteen spoke about the increasing importance of philanthropy in meeting the mission of the College. The Dean shared that she and her husband Robert have established a scholarship for graduate students in entomology and have made an estate gift to further enhance the Endowed Deanship in Agriculture and Life Sciences. The Endowed Deanship, the first at ISU, was established last fall with a $3 million gift from an anonymous donor. Dean Wintersteen said she would direct resources from the Endowed Deanship to support entrepreneurship programs, faculty excellence and marketing and recruitment efforts to bring the best and brightest into the College.
College Presents Annual Awards at Convocation
The College presented its annual awards to faculty and staff at the spring semester convocation on Friday. A PDF with photos of the award winners that was shown during the convocation also is available online.
Medallion Ceremony: Nikolau Honored as Frances M. Craig Professor
At Friday's convocation, President Geoffroy and Dean Wintersteen presided over a medallion ceremony to honor two recently named endowed faculty positions. Basil Niklolau, professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology and in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, was presented with the Frances M. Craig Professorship. Nikolau's research has focused on biochemical and genetic regulation of plant metabolism, and plant metabolic engineering. His work explores the future of metabolic biology to improve oils, starches and proteins from crops for bioenergy, food and feed uses. He also leads advances in improving production of bio-based lubricants made from soybeans. He serves as the director of the Center for Metabolic Biology. The Frances M. Craig Professorship was established through the Craig Family Fund. The Craig Family Fund allows the president to place special emphasis on faculty support. It provides faculty with funds for research and honors outstanding individuals. The fund was established through a bequest from Frances M. Craig, combined with past gifts from other family members. Frances was a 1949 home economics graduate.
Medallion Ceremony: Thompson Honored as Pioneer Professor
The second faculty member honored at Friday's convocation was Michael Thompson, professor of agronomy, who was presented with the Pioneer Hi-Bred Agronomy Professorship, which supports outstanding faculty in the Department of Agronomy. The professorship is made possible by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., as a commitment to excellence in faculty scholarship in critical areas of importance to agronomy. Thompson studies the chemical and physical properties of soil and teaches courses in soil chemistry, clay mineralogy, soil genesis and classification and ethical decision-making in agronomic sciences. His research focuses on environmental applications of soil science, with emphasis on chemical processes and soil mineralogy. His work shines new light on identifying the conditions that favor movement and transformation of contaminants, organic matter and clay in soils. A news release on Thompson's honor was distributed last fall.
Attend the Collegiate FFA Breakfast Tuesday
The Collegiate FFA Club will serve breakfast for faculty and staff from 7 to 9 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19. Pancakes, sausage and eggs will be served in the Kildee Pavillion. The breakfast is free, but the club accepts donations to help fund future Collegiate FFA events.
Students Buying Chances to be Dean for a Day
Collegiate FFA members are selling raffle tickets for its Dean for the Day contest. The winner gets to spend a day with Associate Dean David Acker, which includes using Acker's parking spot, attending his meetings, having him accompany the winner to class and lunch. Tickets can be purchased from any Collegiate FFA member or by visiting 141 Curtiss or at the Feb. 19 Collegiate FFA breakfast (see item above). Tickets cost $1 each or $5 for seven tickets and will be sold until Friday, Feb. 22.
Wintersteen to Present at Think Tank on Animal Agriculture
The next Think Tank on Animal Agriculture Feb. 25 will hear from Dean Wendy Wintersteen on "Taking Odor Mitigation to the Next Level: A Priority for Iowa Agriculture." Wintersteen will discuss the proposal for a five-year, $22.8 million project of applied odor mitigation research on livestock operations statewide that was developed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa State. The program begins at 7 p.m. following social time at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Cardinal Room, Memorial Union. Register by contacting Julie Roberts, jrober@iastate.edu, on or before noon on Friday, Feb. 22. Cost of the buffet will be $18, which is payable at the door.
Points of Pride Covers Horticulture, Ag Journalism, Study Abroad
Horticulture, the College's study abroad program and agricultural journalism are featured in this week's Points of Pride on the College's sesquicentennial website. Charles Hall's work with watermelon and Nick Christians' corn gluten meal research are highlighted for horticulture. The origins of agricultural journalism at Iowa State are detailed along with notable alum Don Muhm, former Des Moines Register farm editor who died in September 2007. The study abroad program's growth to 23 countries on seven continents is included.
Robson Journal Paper Singled Out for Commentary
Richard Robson, animal science and biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, and Ning Sun, a graduate student in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, published a paper in Biochemical Journal last month that was highlighted by the journal's editors for a commentary devoted to one noteworthy paper an issue. The paper, "Human alpha-synemin interacts directly with vinculin and metavinculin," describes the discovery of how all of the contractile threads within a muscle fiber are linked to each other and the peripheral layer of cellular contractile threads to the muscle cell membrane.
Seminar to Present Information on Low Carbon Diet
On Wednesday, Feb. 20, Sonja Brodt, research associate with the Agriculture Sustainability Institute at University of California-Davis, will present "The Low Carbon Diet: Reducing Energy Intensity and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Food System Using a Life Cycle Assessment Approach." Her seminar and discussion will be from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m. in 2019 Morrill Hall as part of the weekly Sustainable Agriculture Colloquium. The Leopold Center is helping sponsor Brodt's visit.
Deadlines an Reminders
Feb. 21: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ISU Sesquicentennial Lecture, "Dreaming the Future: Trends and Technologies for the Next 150 Years," Lowell Catlett, 7 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
Feb. 24: Shivvers Memorial Lecture, "Family Farms in an Era of Global Uncertainty," John Ikerd, 7 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
April 4: Promotion and tenure workshop on the definition of scholarship, 3:10 to 5 p.m., CCUR auditorium, 1951 Food Sciences building
April 10: 44th Annual Paul L. Errington Memorial Lecture, 7:30 p.m., 1414 Molecular Biology
April 18: Promotion and tenure workshop on portfolio development, 3:10 to 5 p.m., CCUR auditorium, 1951 Food Sciences building
April 30: Promotion and tenure workshop for associate professors, 3:10 to 5 p.m., CCUR auditorium, 1951 Food Sciences building
Communications Kiosk
Concerning Capitalization of Titles and More
Capitalization sounds easy - essentially, everything should be lowercase except sentence beginnings and proper nouns - but within those guidelines is room for endless variation and confusion. Titles, for example, in most magazines and newspapers, are only capitalized when used before the name. For example, President Bush is the president. Another rule applies to the difference between a person's job title and general job description: Vice President Dick Cheney; janitor Gus Henkel. Other capitalization issues include the seasons. It's winter, spring, summer and fall, not Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. You also major in biology not Biology, but English and French would be capitalized. (The Elephants of Style, Bill Walsh, 2004)
Infograzing
Moschini the Contact for Energy-Agriculture Papers
NC-1034 Impact Analysis and Decision Strategies for Agricultural Research is calling for papers for its symposium on "Energy and Agriculture: Emerging Policy and R&D Issues," held in conjunction with its annual meeting March 7-8 in Washington, D.C. Submissions are encouraged that deal with: biofuels and new forms of public-private cooperation; R&D challenges for new biofuel technologies; intellectual property issues associated with new biofuel technology; impact of increased energy scarcity on agricultural research; or economics of biofuel support policies. Other topics furthering NC-1034 objectives are also welcome. To submit papers, e-mail an abstract of two pages or less to GianCarlo Moschini, economics, at 4-5761 as soon as possible.
Internal Voices
Pease Talks Migrating Birds in Northeast Iowa
Iowans must really love their birds -- they spend $45 million every year on bird food alone, according to Jim Pease, associate professor at Iowa State University and extension wildlife specialist. He spoke at the Hurstville Interpretive Center near Maquoketa recently on migrating birds and birding in Iowa to about 100 avid avian fans. Some migrating birds come from the north to winter locally. They consider Iowa as their "tropics," Pease said. Other species migrate from this area south, some flying thousands of miles in both directions. They all face the same dangers and challenges in their annual journeys. In Iowa, nearly all the glacial potholes, which covered the state in the early 1800s, have been drained, so migrating waterfowl have few natural resting sites. But Iowa has made progress since 1985, with 100,000 acres of woodland restored, a million acres of trees replanted and twice as much cropland converted to grassland, Pease said. "People look at woodlands and grasslands as biofuels now, and the potential consequences for birds is dire," he said. "We could lose another half a million acres this year again." Pease was on hand to help open a traveling exhibit, "A Salute to Songbirds," which will be at the center until April 7. In early September, it will move to the Osborne Conservation Nature Center near Elkader. The exhibit will tour sites in Iowa for four years, sponsored by a coalition of businesses and agencies. (Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, Feb. 17)
Marginalia
Egyptian Oasis Reveals Ancient Farming Village
Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known farming village in Egypt, a 7,000-year-old site whose residents grew wheat and barley and raised sheep, goats and pigs, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. Farming probably occurred much earlier in Egypt, experts agree, but those first settlements would most likely have been along the banks of the Nile River and would have been obliterated by the periodic flooding and course changes of the river. The site, in the Fayoum Oasis about 50 miles southwest of Cairo, was protected from such damage. Although the early results are not definitive, the findings so far suggest that this was an established year-round settlement. One key finding is the presence of pigs, which was not an animal associated with people who were more nomadic. (Los Angeles Times, Feb. 12, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-agriculture12feb1…)
Ag and Life Sciences Online
Editor
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Website: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
Subscribe
Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."