...................................................
COLLEGE NEWS
...................................................
MANY FEATURES ON NEW DISTANCE EDUCATION WEB SITE
A new web site has been developed for the College's distance education program. It allows faculty to see the innovative ways instructors are using new educational technology with their students; the many ways to contact support staff, including live chat with the Help Desk; and access materials through the Instructor Resources area, including "Best Practices in Online Teaching" and a "Getting Started Checklist." The web site provides students with upcoming online courses and existing distance education programs; information for contacting support staff, including live chat, a "Useful Forms" page; and searchable FAQs. They also can read testimonials of other distance learners who have taken courses.
COMPOST FACILITY IN THE NEWS
Iowa State's compost facility got the attention of the College Planning and Management's web magazine. Its cover story includes information on the facility that is coordinated by CALS Research and Demonstration Farms. The facility is located next to the Dairy Farm and can handle more than 10,000 tons of organic wastes annually from various campus sources.
EGGLESTON TO BE COLLEGE MARSHALL AT COMMENCEMENT
Emily Eggleston, who is graduating magna cum laude with majors in agronomy and environmental studies, will be the College's student marshal at commencement Saturday, Aug. 8. She will be escorted by her advisor, Lee Burras, agronomy. Eggleston has been involved in international study and development programs. During her time at Iowa State she has traveled to Italy, Uganda, Guatemala, Ireland and Spain. Last summer she completed a service-learning program in Uganda and this summer she was part of the first ISU student group to do a project with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. The commencement ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Hilton Coliseum.
AGRONOMY STUDENT ELECTED PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Emma Flemmig, senior in agronomy, has been elected world president of the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences at the organization's world congress in Mexico. Iowa State will host the group's national summit from Oct. 10 to 14. More: http://www.iaasworld.org/
ANIMAL SCIENCE FACULTY, ALUM HONORED BY DAIRY SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
Animal science faculty and an alumnus were honored at the American Dairy Science Association annual meeting in July. Lance Baumgard, associate professor, was awarded the Foundation Scholar Award and Marcus Kehrli, USDA collaborator, was named a fellow. Alumnus Rex Powell, who earned a doctorate in animal science in 1972, was presented the International Award. Don Beitz, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences, completed his term as association president.
MUSCATINE FARM ESTABLISHES MELON CLUB TO TASTE PRODUCE
The Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm has created a Melon Club for people to sample the farm's produce. Club membership is open from July 27 to Aug. 21, subject to availability. Muskmelons, honeydew melons and seedless watermelons are available to members in the farm's shop area at a club price. A $5 membership fee is due at the first purchase.
FIELD DAY AUG. 27 AT AG ENGINEERING AND AGRONOMY RESEARCH FARM
The latest on soybean aphid research will be among the topics covered at a field day Aug. 27 at the Iowa State Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Research and Demonstration Farm west of Ames.
PRESERVING PRODUCE THEME OF HOME GARDEN DEMONSTRATION FIELD DAYS
Preserving the bounty of home gardens is a theme of the Home Garden Demonstration Field Days the next couple weeks at several Iowa State Research and Demonstration Farms.
...................................................
EXTERNAL FUNDING
...................................................
FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Aug. 24 (Letter of Intent): FY 2009 NASA K-12 Cooperative Agreements Notice (improve STEM in secondary education, universities must partner with a lead organization); eight to 12 two-year awards from $750,000 to $1.5 million each; $13 million available. More: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/viewrepositorydocument/cmdocumentid=...
Sept. 3: Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions; up to eight awards, $350,000 per year for three years. More: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/viewrepositorydocument/cmdocumentid=...
Sept. 15: Fiscal Year 2010 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP), acquisition of research equipment; $50,000 to $1,000,000, $40 million available.
Oct. 13: CreativeIT. 15 to 20 awards, $7 million available. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09572/nsf09572.htm?govDel=USNSF_25
Oct. 22: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Sites and Supplements; 1,800 to 1,850 new awards, $67.7 million available. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09598/nsf09598.htm
Nov. 12: Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE); 30 to 50 awards, $250,000 for Pathways and Knowledge Diffusion projects, $1.5 million for Empirical Research projects, $2.5 million for Large Empirical Research projects, $27 million available. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09601/nsf09601.htm?gov
Nov. 20: Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DDIG); 120 awards, up to $15,000, $1.6 million available.
...................................................
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
...................................................
DON'T CONFUSE THE PAST WITH WHAT HAS PASSED
The word “past” locates something in time, and sometimes in space. It can be used as an adjective, noun or adverb. Adjective: "The days for mourning are now past." Noun: "In the past, standards were higher." Adverb: "The ball sped past the goalkeeper." “Passed” is the past participle of the verb "to pass." It can be an intransitive verb (one which doesn't require an object) or a transitive verb (one which requires both a subject and one or more objects). "To pass" means "To proceed, move forward, depart; to cause to do." This can refer to movement forwards in time, in space, or in life (such as "to pass an examination"). (DailyWritingTips, July 23, http://www.dailywritingtips.com/passed-vs-past/)
...................................................
INFOGRAZING
...................................................
IOWA LEARNING FARM TO HOST FIELD DAY WEDNESDAY
The Iowa Learning Farm will host a field day at Rick Juchems' farm near Plainfield on Wednesday, Aug. 5, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The field day will focus on improving water and soil quality using conservation farming practices for optimum results.
...................................................
EXTERNAL VOICES
...................................................
BORLAUG ON INVESTING IN AG PRODUCTION
“Consider that current agricultural productivity took 10,000 years to attain the production of roughly six billion gross tons of food per year. Today, nearly seven billion people consume that stockpile almost in its entirety every year. Factor in growing prosperity and nearly 3 billion new mouths to feed by 2050, and you quickly see how the crudest calculations suggest that within the next four decades the world's farmers will have to double production. … At this time of critical need, the epicenter of our collective work should focus on driving continued investments from both the public and private sectors in efficient agriculture production technologies. … The civilation that our children, grandchildren and future generatons come to know will not evolve without accelerating the pace of investment and innovation in agriculture production.”
- Norman Borlaug, winner of 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, writing in the July 31 Wall Street Journal
JOYCE ON DISCOVERY
“A man's errors are his portals of discovery.”
--James Joyce, 1882-1941, Irish novelist
...................................................
MARGINALIA
...................................................
ISU PLANT NEMATOLOGY STUDENTS PROVIDE WIKIPEDIA ENTRIES
As reported in last week's Ag and Life Sciences Online, Felicitas Avendano's plant nematology students this summer created or updated Wikipedia entries a plant-parasitic nematode of their choice. The former post-doctoral research associate in plant pathology, who returned to Iowa State to teach the graduate course, asked her students to develop scientifically accurate entries. Here are links to the entries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguina_tritici
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursaphelenchus_xylophilus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursaphelenchus_cocophilus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotylenchulus_reniformis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meloidogyne_mayaguensis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemicriconemoides_mangiferae
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radopholus_similis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globodera_tabacum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphelenchoides_besseyi
........................................................
AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
........................................................
EDITOR
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: 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."
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.