...................................................
AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
...................................................
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Sept. 6, 2011 No. 667
...................................................
COLLEGE NEWS
...................................................
BLODGETT NAMED DEPARTMENT CHAIR OF ENTOMOLOGY, NREM
Sue Blodgett has been named chair for the Department of Entomology and the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management. She comes from South Dakota State University where she served as head and professor in the plant science department. Her appointment is effective Sept. 19. The chair position for the two departments was developed in response to budget pressures.
IOWA PORK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS TWO FACILITY PROJECTS
The Iowa Pork Producers Association has committed $200,000 to phase two of the Biorenewables Complex and $200,000 to the Agriculture Pavilion project. Leon Sheets, president of IPPA, says both projects are important to all of Iowa's pork producers.
HORTICULTURE GREENHOUSES DEDICATED SEPT. 3
New state-of-the-art horticulture greenhouses were dedicated Sept. 3. The $4 million teaching and research facility replaces 98-year-old greenhouses that were demolished in 2010.
600 STUDENTS IN 60 SECONDS
The CALS Student Council served more than 600 students in the Kildee Hall Pavillion on Aug. 30 during the new student barbecue. CALS has close to 40 student clubs and this gives them a chance to share information about their activities and recruit interested students.
ROTHSCHILD RECEIVES TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AWARD
Max Rothschild, animal science, is part of an international team of scientists that received the Excellence in Technology Transfer Award from the mid-continent region of the Federal Laboratory Consortium. The Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium developed a chip that allows researchers to genotype each animal for more than 60,000 genetic differences.
ECONOMICS GRADUATE RECEIVES OUTSTANDING DISSERTATION AWARD
Luisa Menapace, who received her doctorate in economics in spring 2010, has received the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. She is currently working in a postdoctoral position at the University of Trento, Italy. More: http://www.econ.iastate.edu/about-department/announce/news/35-2011-mena…
TASTE OF SOUTHERN IOWA: A LOCAL FOODS BANQUET
Taste of Southern Iowa will host a local foods banquet in Chariton on Sept. 13, 5 to 8 p.m. Participants will see displays and visit with local vendors from dairies, apiaries, brew pubs, wineries and orchards, as well as beef, pork and bison producers. The event received a competitive grant from the Leopold Center. More: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2011/090611_banquet.ht…
CONSERVATION FIELD DAY SEPT. 14
Iowa Learning Farms is partnering with Pekin Community Schools and the Competine Creek Watershed Improvement Group for a day of conservation activities on Sept. 14. The field day will focus on strategies to reduce nitrate losses from row crop acres, including use of the fall cornstalk nitrate test and cover crop management.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Sept. 15: Deadline for spring 2012 distance education course development awards
Sept. 21: CALS Fall Convocation, 4 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room.
Sept. 23: BioCentury Research Farm open house, 1 to 4 p.m.
...................................................
EXTERNAL FUNDING
...................................................
AUDIO FILES ON-LINE FOR CALS WORKSHOP ON MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL PROPOSALS TO USDA
Audio files of the May 2011 workshop about preparing large transdisciplinary, multi-institutional proposals for USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative challenge areas are available on-line. Four ISU researchers discuss their experiences in preparing or participating in these proposals, followed by Q&A. Copies of the workshop handouts are also available on the site.
FINAL DETAILS SET FOR FALL 2011 GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS SEPT. 19-23
Space is still available for faculty, staff and post-doctoral fellows to attend the Fall Grant Writing Workshop Series being hosted by Lynn and Joe Jelinski.
FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu
Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/research/fundingResources/
Sept. 16: Native Seed Network; one award, $20,000 to $995,000.
Sept. 22 (Step 1 proposals): Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions.
Sept. 30: EPA Gulf of Mexico Regional Partnerships.
Oct. 1: NanoManufacturing. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13347&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39…
Oct. 5: Behavioral and Social Genomics of Aging: Opportunities in the Health and Retirement Study (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-318.html
Oct. 5: Single Cell Studies in Aging Research (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-320.html
Oct. 7: EPA Project Management and Technical Assistance for Environmental Programs in Morocco; one award, $400,000.
Oct. 17: Feasibility Study for EBC Biodigesters Project in Egypt; one award, $283,000, PI must be a U.S. firm, subcontracts allowable.
Oct. 26: American Health Assistance Foundation Glaucoma Research Program; $100,000 over two years.
Nov. 14-18: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11582/nsf11582.pdf
...................................................
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
...................................................
SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WRITERS
There is no such thing as a writer who has not faced his or her job with a mixture of fear and loathing. As the great sportswriter Red Smith put it, "Writing is easy. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." To get to the place where writing is the vehicle that liberates your thoughts, clarifies your voice and helps you tell your story, Landon Jones, former editor of People and Money magazines, proposes seven habits of highly effective writers.
...................................................
INFOGRAZING
...................................................
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE FROM DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
The following funding opportunities are available from the Division of Student Affairs. An information session for applicants will be held Sept. 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Gold Room. Guidelines and applications are available online.
* Johnny and Terry Pickett Student Enrichment Fund
* Kappa Alpha Theta High Flyer Award
* Sesquicentennial "Learning to Live a Life" Leadership Award
* President's Leadership Initiative Awards
* Minority Student Scholarships
FORD DIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Applications are being accepted for the 2012 Ford Diversity Fellowships Program for Achieving Excellence in College and University Teaching. Full eligibility information and online applications are available at http://nationalacademies.org/ford
...................................................
INTERNAL VOICES
...................................................
TAKLE ON THE VULNERABILITY OF AGRICULTURE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
"It's not the long-term climate trends. It's the variability. It's the extreme events that have brought the vulnerability of agriculture to climate into the forefront." Gene Takle, agronomy, on how climate change is affecting growing conditions in the Midwest. More: http://www.eco-business.com/news/in-the-worlds-breadbasket-climate-chan…
...................................................
MARGINALIA
...................................................
GIFT OF GAB ALIVE AND WELL IN KENTUCKY
For 50 years, William Lynwood Montell, a professor emeritus in folklore studies at Western Kentucky University, has recorded stories in the Bluegrass State from varied professions"”doctors, lawyers, funeral-parlor operators, one-room school teachers. Each collection has become a "Tales From" title in a long-running collection of books from the University Press of Kentucky. Montell's latest, "Tales From Kentucky Sheriffs," is just out this month. More: http://chronicle.com/blogs/pageview/helping-kentucky-tell-its-tales/293…
........................................................
AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
........................................................
EDITOR
Julie Stewart, jstewart@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 jstewart@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IowaStateU.AgLifeSciences
Twitter: http://twitter.com/iastate_cals
Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.