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COLLEGE NEWS
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ABE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY
U.S. News and World Report ranked Iowa State's agricultural and biosystems engineering department third among undergraduate engineering programs in its listing for 2010. The program was tied with the program at Texas A&M University. Last year the Iowa State program ranked fourth. The University of Illinois was ranked first, followed by Purdue University. The department's graduate program was also ranked third in the nation in the magazine's 2010 rankings.
BORLAUG LEARNING CENTER DEDICATION SEPT. 2
An open house and dedication for the Borlaug Learning Center will be held Sept. 2 at the ISU Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua.
FACULTY ATTRACT $7.7 MILLION IN STIMULUS GRANTS
Iowa State researchers have so far won 19 grants worth a total of $7.7 million from federal agencies awarding money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Several have appointments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2009/aug/ARRAgrants
CALS FACULTY JOIN BIOTECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
Jack Dekkers, animal science, and Steve Whitham, plant pathology, joined the Biotechnology Council July 1, joining William Beavis, agronomy, as College representatives. James Reecy, animal science, serves as council chair as director of the Office of Biotechnology. The Council strengthens biotechnology research, teaching and outreach of the entire university through cooperation with all of the academic units of the university, cooperative extension and industry.
CROP SYSTEM FIELD DAY SET SEPT. 2 AT NEAL SMITH REFUGE
Research incorporating perennials into corn and soybean fields at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge will be highlighted at a field day on Sept. 2 hosted by the Iowa Learning Farm and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Field day activities will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a complimentary evening meal served at the Prairie Learning Center by the Jasper County Pork Producers. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. An RSVP is recommended by calling the Jasper County Natural Resources Conservation Service office, (641) 792-4116.
WEB RESOURCE AIMS TO IMPROVE ON-FARM RESEARCH FOR CROP MANAGEMENT DECISIONS
A new Internet resource developed through the Corn and Soyean Initiative is available to help extension specialists, crop advisors, agribusinesses and growers plan and execute scientifically-sound on-farm research.
SHORT COURSE ON PRODUCING ENERGY FROM DAIRY MANURE
The Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is coordinating a short course in conjunction with the World Dairy Expo in September on how to produce energy from dairy manure using anaerobic digestion.
FAQ ON FOOD REGULATIONS FOR SMALL MARKET FOOD PRODUCERS
With the help of food safety experts and Iowa food regulatory officials, the Leopold Center has compiled a summary of “Frequently Asked Questions on Food Regulations for Small Market Food Producers.” Copies of the report will be provided to regional ISU extension offices and Resource Conservation and Development offices throughout Iowa.
LOCAL FOOD RESOURCE DIRECTORY AVAILABLE
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, in cooperation with ISU Extension, has compiled a new directory that lists 64 organizations, programs, funders and consultants that offer various forms of assistance for Iowa producers, processors, food retailers and communities interested in local and regional food systems. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2009/081909_guide.html
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Sept. 2: Borlaug Learning Center dedication at the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua, 4:30 p.m., free meal will be served after 5 p.m. dedication ceremony
Sept. 16: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fall Convocation, 4:15 p.m., Curtiss Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Aug. 31: Recovery Act - Biological Control Agent Development Project; one award, one award, $300,000 for two-year project.
Sept. 10: NCRCRD Virtual Visiting Fellows Program; one award, $40,000.
Sept. 17: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Training Coordination Program; one award, $17 million for a three-year period.
Sept. 28 (letter of intent): NIGMS National Centers for Systems Biology (P50); two awards, $2 million (direct costs) per year for five-year period. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-09-258.html
Oct. 2: Pesticide Safety Program; one award, $400,000 first year, up to $3.7 million for five-year period.
Oct. 22: Fall 2009 EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study; 120 master's and doctoral fellowships, $37,000 per year, $4.5 million anticipated funding.
Dec. 15 (letter of intent): Dynamics of Host-Associated Microbial Communities (R01); six awards, $250,000 (direct costs) per year, four or five years, $2.5 million anticipated funding. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-11-001.html
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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COMMUNICATING WITH THE CLASS OF 2013
If the entering college class of 2013 had been more alert back in 1991 when most of them were born, they would now be experiencing a severe case of déjà vu. The headlines that year rallied about government interventions, bailouts, bad loans, unemployment and greater regulation of the finance industry. The Tonight Show changed hosts for the first time in decades, and the nation asked "Was Iraq worth a war?" Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. The creation of Beloit's Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Emeritus Public Affairs Director Ron Nief is used around the world as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this generation. It is widely reprinted and the Mindset List website receives more than 300,000 hits annually.
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INFOGRAZING
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CAST PAPER EXAMINES CLONED AND TRANSGENIC ANIMALS
“Animal Productivity and Genetic Diversity: Cloned and Transgenic Animals,” Issue Paper 43, is part of a nine-part series titled "Animal Agriculture's Future through Biotechnology." The full text of the paper is available free of charge on the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology website. More: http://www.cast-science.org/
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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COLLEGE GENDER GAP NEEDS ATTENTION
“Although women have a numerical advantage in college, both genders face challenges to their adjustment and development. Just as we need to be concerned about high stress and low self-esteem among women, we must be concerned about growing academic disengagement among men. And while we aim to encourage all students to become engaged and involved, we must be mindful that the dynamics of those experiences can be quite different for the two genders, especially when it comes to students' interactions with their professors. Thus, institutional efforts aimed at improving the college experience for both genders must consider the distinct needs of each.”
--Linda Sax, associate professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, part of an essay adapted from The Gender Gap in College: Maximizing the Developmental Potential of Women and Men, published by John Wiley & Sons. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
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MARGINALIA
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ARS SCIENTISTS IN AMES EXAMINE BACTERIAL COMMUNICATION
The complex cellular signaling and communication that takes place between bacteria and host is called "crosstalk." Agricultural Research Service microbiologists Brad Bearson, who works at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory, and Shawn Bearson, at the ARS National Animal Disease Center, are learning how to interpret the crosstalk between domestic swine and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), which can cause gastrointestinal illness in livestock and humans. The researchers studied how S. Typhimurium responds when it is exposed to norepinephrine, a hormonal neurotransmitter. In mammals, norepinephrine secretion increases when stress levels increase -- a situation swine commonly face during transport. The research revealed that S. Typhimurium is able to respond to norepinephrine by increasing bacterial movement (motility). The scientists also found that phentolamine, a compound already used medicinally in humans, eliminated the pathogen's norepinephrine-enhanced motility. (ARS News Service, Aug. 18, http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090818.htm)
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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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."
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