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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Jan. 10, 2010 No. 633
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COLLEGE NEWS
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EEOB RESEARCH IN `SCIENCE': FRESHWATER METHANE AND GREENHOUSE GASES
John Downing, ecology, evolution and organismal biology, is part of an international team of scientists that has released data indicating that greenhouse gas uptake by continents is less than previously thought because of methane emissions from freshwater areas. The study, published in "Science," indicates that methane gas release from freshwater areas changes the net absorption of greenhouse gases by natural continental environments, such as forests, by at last 25 percent.
REPORT: CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTING HOW IOWANS LIVE AND WORK
A report authored by Gene Takle, agronomy, and other researchers at Iowa's three public universities says climate change is already affecting the way Iowans live and work. Legislation approved in April 2009 asked university researchers to study the effects of climate change on Iowa and report back to the governor and the Legislature. The report makes seven policy recommendations that begin to protect the state's economy, environment and residents from changes in climate. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/jan/climatechangereport
IMPROVE STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT THIS SEMESTER
Creating recordings of your classroom lectures for students to review is a proven way to improve student academic achievement. The Brenton Center is again making Camtasia Relay available free of charge to all CALS faculty for lecture recording. Camtasia Relay can be installed on any PC/Mac desktop/laptop. All lectures are maintained and archived on the Brenton Center's secure servers. Wireless microphones are available to borrow for the semester. Contact: Todd Vens, trvens@iastate.edu.
EEOB SEMINAR ON MICROBES, CARBON AND CLIMATE, JAN 13
Teri Balser, University of Wisconsin at Madison, will speak at the ecology, evolution and organismal biology seminar this Thursday, Jan. 13, 3:30 to 5 p.m. in 255 Bessey Hall. Balser will speak on "Microbes, carbon and climate: a story about changing paradigms and a changing planet." Balser was named the 2010 U.S. Outstanding Professor of the Year.
FACULTY MENTORS NEEDED BY JAN. 14 FOR CARVER INTERNS
Faculty members interested in serving as mentors for the George Washington Carver Internship Program the summer of 2011, are asked to contact Aurelio Curbelo, acurbelo@iastate.edu, and fill out a form by Jan. 14. Mentors propose a research project that is put on the internship application website and from which applicants select their top three projects.
HAYES TO SPEAK AT ANIMAL SCIENCE SEMINAR, JAN. 14
Dermot Hayes, economics, will speak at an animal science seminar this Friday, Jan. 14, at 3:10 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall, Ensminger Room. Hayes will present "Global Influences on American Livestock and Poultry Production."
IOWA LEARNING FARMS WEBINAR SERIES BEGINS JAN. 19
Iowa Learning Farms is hosting a series of webinars on the third Wednesday of each month, to be held over the noon hour through Adobe Connect. Jacqueline Comito, ILF program manager and anthropologist, will speak on "The Culture of Conservation" at the first webinar on Jan. 19.
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE HEIFER AND BULL SALE, JAN. 29
The annual ISU Tradition of Excellence Heifer and Bull Sale will be held Jan. 29 in the Farm Bureau Pavilion with viewing beginning at 9 a.m. This is a student run event stemming from a seedstock merchandising course conducted by Marshall Ruble and Brad Skaar, animal science.
FARM PARTNERS SOUGHT FOR ISU ON-FARM RESEARCH
Proposals are due Feb. 23 for the ISU On-Farm Research and Demonstration Grant Program. This programs pairs farmers with ISU researchers to work on topics related to conservation and sustainability. The program is a partnership of CALS, the Leopold Center and Practical Farmers of Iowa. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2011/010711_onfarmgran…
BIOFUELS PUBLICATION GIVES IOWA STATE RESEARCH HONOR
Biofuels Digest named ISU its pick as Institutional Research Facility of the Year. The publication cited the BioCentury Research Farm for its integrated research approach. More: https://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2010/12/29/solazyme-amyris-neste-oil-ceres-and-bunge-among-winners-of-biofuels-digest-awards/
AG BUSINESS STUDENT SELECTED TO ATTEND AG DAY CELEBRATION IN D.C.
Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, a senior in agricultural business and a student member of the National Agri-Marketing Association, has been selected by the Agri-Business Educational Foundation to share the message of agriculture and its importance during Ag Day Celebration 2011 in Washington, D.C. on March 15. Burns-Thompson is one of five students selected for this new opportunity through ABEF.
ANNUAL INTERDEPARTMENTAL GENETICS NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE ONLINE
The annual Interdepartmental Genetics Newsletter is available online. Interdepartmental Genetics is the administrative program that oversees all graduate genetics degrees at ISU. The program has 84 faculty in 13 departments. Financial support is provided in part by CALS.
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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NIH POSTS EXAMPLES OF OUTSTANDING R01 APPLICATIONS
Four exceptional R01 applications have been posted by the National Institutes of Health. The applications were selected as sound examples of the new shorter format using a 12-page Research Strategy, and the Abstracts and Research Plans are annotated to highlight their excellent grantsmanship attributes.
INTERNAL CALL FOR NSF CI-TEAM PROPOSAL ABSTRACTS
The Office of the VPR/ED is accepting proposal abstracts for the NSF CI-TEAM (Cyberinfrastructure Training, Education, Advancement and Mentoring) program. The program supports projects that integrate science and engineering research and education activities, from local activities to global-scale efforts to promote, leverage and utilize cyberinfrastructure systems, tools and services. The CI-TEAM solicitation seeks three types of project proposals: demonstration, implementation and diffusion. All projects must include collaborations among multiple disciplines and involve partnerships among diverse organizations. ISU may submit two CI-TEAM proposals as the lead organization. Interested PIs should submit a brief abstract and list of participants to Dorothy Pimlott, dpimlott@iastate.edu, by Jan. 20. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12782&org=NSF&sel_org=N…
INTERNAL CALL FOR NSF EESE PROPOSAL ABSTRACTS
The Office of the VPR/ED is accepting proposal abstracts for the NSF Ethics Education in Science and Engineering program. This program funds research and educational projects to improve ethics education in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports, including those within interdisciplinary, inter-institutional and international contexts. Proposals must focus on improving ethics education for graduate students or on developing summer post-baccalaureate ethics education activities or other activities that transition students from undergraduate to graduate education. The PI team should be truly multi-disciplinary. ISU may submit one proposal as the lead organization. Interested PIs should submit a brief abstract and the names of participants to Dorothy Pimlott, dpimlott@iastate.edu, by Jan. 20. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13338&org=NSF&sel_org=N…
NIFA RELEASES RFA FOR FY2011 AFRI FOUNDATIONAL PROGRAM
USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has released the first FY2011 RFA for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The newly released RFA is for the AFRI Foundational Program. Projects funded through this program address the six AFRI priority areas to continue building a foundation of knowledge in fundamental and applied food and agricultural sciences critical for solving current and future societal challenges. In FY 2011, approximately $262 million is available to support the AFRI program. Approximately $78 million will be used to support the Foundational Program. During the next several months, NIFA will release six more RFAs through the AFRI program. More: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/afri.
FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Feb. 3 (letter of intent): NHLBI Investigator-Initiated Resource-Related Research Projects (R24) Grant. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-11-090.html
Feb. 4: Mary Kay Foundation Cancer Research Grant Program; 10 to 15 grants, $100,000 each.
Feb. 7: Science of Learning Centers. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5567&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39&…
Feb. 15: Outreach and Technical Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Competitive Grant.
Feb. 15 (letter of intent): Genomic Resource Grants for Community Resource Projects (U41). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-11-095.html
Feb. 17: Federal State Marketing Improvement Program; 20 to 25 projects, $25,000 to $135,000, up to two years, matching funds required. More:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=Templ…
Feb. 17: EPA Integrated Assessment of Transportation-Related Policies On Greenhouse Gases, Land Use Change and Other Economy-Wide Impacts; one award over five years.
Feb. 18: NIAID Science Education Awards (R25); $175,000 annually, up to five years. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-11-086.html
Feb. 18: NASA 2011 Summer of Innovation Project; 10 awards, $750,000 each.
March 1: 2011 Woody Biomass Utilization Grant; 15 awards, $250,000 each, $3.7 million total anticipated funding.
March 4: FY 2011 Iowa Component Conservation Innovation Grants; $75,000 per award, 50% matching funds, $300,000 available. More: http://www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/CIG.html
April 28: EPA Early Career Projects: Dynamic Air Quality Management.
Sept. 30: Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program; applications accepted on rolling basis.
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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2010 LIST OF BANISHED WORDS
The 2010 List of Banished Words published annually by Lake Superior State University consists of 15 words and phrases, including shovel-ready, tweet, app, teachable moment, toxic assets and chillaxin'. Former LSSU Public Relations Director Bill Rabe and friends created "word banishment" in 1975 at a New Year's Eve party and released the first list on New Year's Day. Since then, LSSU has received tens of thousands of nominations for the list.
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INFOGRAZING
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NOMINATIONS DUE FOR IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AWARDS
The Iowa Academy of Science is accepting nominations of Iowa scientists and science educators for its Distinguished Science Awards and Fellow status. Nominations for Distinguished Science Awards are due Feb. 4 and do not require membership in the academy. Nominations for Fellow status are due Jan. 14 and are a distinctive honor for academy members. More: http://www.iacad.org/recognize.html and http://www.iacad.org/download/fellow_brochure.pdf
CELT SPRING 2011 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE RELEASED
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching has released its spring 2011 programming schedule. The sessions show how different technologies can be used to enhance the teaching and learning experience for both students and faculty.
CARILLON CONCERT HONORS MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., JAN. 12
A carillon concert in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. will be held Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 11:50 p.m., with carilloneur Tin-Shi Tam.
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INTERNAL VOICES
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DOWNING ON ACCOUNTING FOR FRESHWATER IN CARBON BUDGET
"Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide in the global change scenario. The bottom line is that we have uncovered an important accounting error in the global carbon budget. Acre for acre, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams are many times more active in carbon processing than seas or land surfaces, so they need to be included in global carbon budgets." John Downing, ecology, evolution and organismal biology, is part of an international team of scientists that released data indicating that greenhouse gas uptake by continents is less than previously thought because of methane emissions from freshwater areas.
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MARGINALIA
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BE OUR GUEST "“ SHOWCASING IOWA FARMS
The Iowa Soybean Association, with support from Iowa's other farm commodity organizations, launched the "Be Our Guest, Be A Farmer" contest last week, designed to showcase farm life in Iowa. The winner will receive an all-expense-paid visit for four to Iowa in August. Guests will experience a diversity of Iowa farm life, from feeding cattle and driving a tractor, to home-cooked meals prepared by a farm family. Guests will also visit the 2011 Iowa State Fair. Entries have already been received from across the country, ranging from Maine to Arizona. Entries must be received by April 29.
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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