College News
Catlett Reveals "Dreamspace" at College Sesquicentennial Lecture
America has moved from a "production world to a consumer world," a land futurist and alumnus Lowell Catlett called "dreamspace" at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ISU Sesquicentennial Lecture on Feb. 21. He was glad to be back at Iowa State, which he said, "tolerated differences in people and set high standards." About 200 people attended the lecture, which was recorded. An announcement will be included in Agriculture and Life Sciences Online when it is available on the Web.
Dean Creates Scholarship for Entomology Students
A new endowed scholarship has been established for graduate students studying entomology at Iowa State. Wendy Wintersteen, dean of ISU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and her husband Robert Waggoner established the scholarship with a $30,000 commitment. The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded annually.
Hort Club Offers Tulips and Daffodils Wednesday
The Horticulture Club is selling tulips and daffodils Wednesday, Feb. 27, in the Horticulture building atrium. The hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $6 a pot.
Student Featured in Two Minutes
Elly Sukup, senior in public service and administration in agriculture, and the two summers she spent working in Uganda are the subject of the university Web site's Two Minutes feature.
Iowa State Researchers Help Assemble Corn Genome's First Draft
Iowa State researchers helped write the first draft of the corn genome sequence that will be announced Thursday, Feb. 28, at the 50th Annual Maize Genetics Conference in Washington, D.C.
Iowa State Researcher Seeks to Improve Efficiency of Ethanol Process
A research collaboration between Iowa State professor Jay-lin Jane and POET Energy is hoping to find starches to improve the efficiency of POET's patent-pending BPX™ process, which uses raw starch hydrolysis that converts starch to sugar and then ferments to ethanol without the use of heat.
Grant to Help Center Improve Nutrition in Africa
The Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods has been awarded a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to enhance nutritional value and marketability of common beans in Uganda and Rwanda.
Career Services Event March 3 Open to Students, Faculty, and Staff
Elanco Animal Health and the College Career Services office will sponsor an event for students, faculty and administration March 3. Tim Heiller of Elanco Animal Health will present, "Selecting the right internship and maximizing the outcome" Courtney Knupp of Elanco Animal Health will present, "Reflections - What I learned my first year out of college" and Bruce Rastetter, chief executive officer of Hawkeye Renewables, will present, "Projecting the Vision of the Ethanol Industry in the Year 2015." The session will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 275 Scheman Building. Refreshments will be served. RSVP by Friday, Feb. 29, to 4-4725 or mikegaul@iastate.edu.
Bogguss Benefit Concert Nets Funds for College Center
About 500 people attended the Suzy Bogguss concert to benefit the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation Feb. 16 at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center in Maquoketa. The center will be using the funds for its extension publication goals, to expand the information available on its website and to help with tax training and succession planning workshops for farm families. Concert sponsors included by Moyer and Bergman Law Firm, the Iowa Bankers Association, Ohnward Financial Advisor Services, and the Iowa Farm Business Association.
Alum to Deliver Veterinary Medicine Annual Lecture
Alumnus Daniel Thomson will be the speaker for the annual John Greve Lecture in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Thomson is a Jones Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology/Assistant Professor at Kansas State University. He earned a bachelor's degree in animal science from Iowa State in 1990 and a doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 2000. He is the son of the current dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. His talk is titled "People and cattle: Issues facing tomorrow's beef production in the United States," and will focus on how veterinarians and nutritionists will fill nontraditional roles in serving the beef industry. The event will begin at 7 p.m. March 6 in Room 2226 Veterinary Medicine.
Leopold Center Workshop for Farmers March 11
The latest research on financing and managing niche enterprises, local food distribution networks and other emerging business opportunities for farmers will be presented March 11 at a no-cost workshop hosted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2008/021908_workshop.htm
Aldo Leopold to be Honored at Event March 8
Aldo Leopold's words will be read out loud at an event March 8 in Ames. Dozens of Aldo Leopold celebrations that take place every year on the first weekend of March. Ames' event, "Ames Reads Leopold," is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. in the Farwell Brown Auditorium of the Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue in Ames. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2008/022508_reads.htm
New Urban Water Quality Program Headed by Alum
Two college alums are among five new Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship employees who will focus on conservation of soil and water in urban areas as part of an expanded program aimed at improving water quality. The new urban conservation effort complements the state's long-time conservation programs aimed at helping farmers and agricultural landowners protect soil and water resources. Heading up the program is alumnus Wayne Petersen, who recently retired after working many years for NRCS in Iowa. He earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy in 1981. Alumna Jennifer Welch is the new urban conservationist for central Iowa and is based in Polk County. She earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy and master's degree in water resources from Iowa State in 1992 and 1995.
Alumna Takes Job with Pork Producers Council
The National Pork Producers Council has named alumna Jennifer Greiner as its director of science and technology in its Washington, D.C. For two years, Dr. Greiner was a practicing veterinarian, working in a swine-exclusive practice. Most recently, she was corporate affairs associate with Elanco Animal Health, working in the areas of government relations and public affairs. She earned a bachelor's degree in animal science in 2003 and a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Iowa State.
Deadlines and Reminders
Feb. 25: Think Tank on Animal Agriculture, 6 p.m., Cardinal 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
YouTube for Documents Debuts
A new online service lets people upload and share their papers or entire books through a social-network interface has been compared to the popular video-sharing site YouTube. It's called iPaper, and uses a Flash-based document reader that can be embedded into a Web page. The company behind the technology, Scribd, also offers a library of iPaper documents and invites users to set up an account to post their own written works. Users can comment about each document, give it a rating and view related works. Of the more serious documents on the site includes a review of undergraduate education from an National Science Foundation advisory council and an Educause report about the future of technology at colleges. (Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 21)
Infograzing
Grants.gov Software Change Affects CSREES Plans
The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service plans to continue to use Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/) to post CSREES discretionary funding opportunities and, in some cases, other CSREES funding opportunities, and receive electronic applications. Grants.gov is transitioning to a different software, Adobe Reader version 8.1.1 from PureEdge Viewer. Grants.gov plans to cease making PureEdge available as of April 1 for posting application packages and to no longer accept electronic PureEdge applications as of June 30. CSREES is in the process of establishing its own transition plan from PureEdge to Adobe given Grants.gov's publicized dates. Once established, CSREES will announce its plan.
External Voices
Alumnus Graham Spanier on Movies
"I have no special training or expertise in film reviewing. I just like movies, and the two hours away from it all. University presidents on hundred-hour work weeks don't have much time to fool around. For me, it's racquetball, performing magic, playing percussion (a washboard with 24 instruments attached) in some bands, an occasional dinner out, and movies. It is escapism, to be sure. It is a connection with popular culture. It is the marvel of the big screen with surround sound. It is the racing heart that accompanies the action found in American Gangster, the twists and turns of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, the acting excellence in There Will Be Blood, the dramatic creativity of No Country for Old Men, the disturbing but heartwarming plot of The Kite Runner, and the romance and beauty of Atonement. I gave them all four stars, my highest rating." Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, member of Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities and Iowa State alumnus (B.S. in 1969, PRF. in 1970, M.S. in 1971 and PhD in 1973, all in sociology), who shares reviews by email (Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 29)
Marginalia
Contraceptives Tested to Reduce Predators
Researchers are testing oral contraceptives for use with wild or feral animals that have become nuisances. Baited food would deliver the contraceptives to the animals, according to scientists at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. The drug works by inhibiting the maturation of the egg, not the entire cycle. Tests recently started on domestic models for predators -- animals such as feral pigs and cougars -- but if successful, it could be used on a wide variety of animals, including dogs and cats. The team also has submitted grant applications for similar projects on coyotes and deer. (Science Daily, Feb. 25)
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