Issue: 672

................................................... AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter Iowa State University Oct. 10, 2011 No. 672 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... CALS WEEK EVENTS SCHEDULED OCT. 10-15 Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will celebrate CALS Week beginning Oct. 10. Iowa FFA will host an "American Meat" movie screening and panel at 5:30 p.m. in the Curtiss Auditorium. The Norman Borlaug Lecture will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. CALS SOPHOMORE RECEIVES WORLD FOOD PRIZE YOUTH AWARD Trisha Collins, a sophomore in animal science and a 2010 Borlaug-Ruan International Intern, will receive the Elaine Syzmoniak Award at the World Food Prize Laureate Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 13, for her research in crop breeding practices to improve the nutritional value of tropical grasses. Collins interned at the International Livestock Research Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More: http://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm?nodeID=25471&audienceID=1 NEW ON THE HOMEPAGE: WORLD FOOD PRIZE INTERN SHARES HER EXPERIENCES Callie Schultes, a junior in biology, was one of 16 high school students nationwide to be accepted for the World Food Prize Borlaug-Ruan International Internship in 2010. She spent the summer before coming to Iowa State at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Borlaug-Ruan Internship students can participate the summer after their junior or senior year in high school. Since it started in 1998, 45 of the 161 participating students have attended Iowa State. Go to http://www.ag.iastate.edu to view her and other student profiles. If you know of a faculty, student or staff member to highlight on the web page, contact Barb McBreen at barbmc@iastate.edu, 4-0707. SYNGENTA SPEAKER: BRINGING PLANT POTENTIAL TO LIFE SEMINAR, TODAY Rick DeRose, director for technology strategy and integration at Syngenta, will present a seminar at 2 p.m. today, Oct. 10, in 3140 Agronomy Hall. DeRose will speak on "Bringing Plant Potential to Life: Beyond One Gene, One Product, One Lab. WORLD FOOD PRIZE: NORMAN BORLAUG LECTURE TONIGHT Pedro Sanchez, director of tropical agriculture at Columbia University's Earth Institute and an international leader in the fight against hunger, will present the 2011 Norman Borlaug Lecture on Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Sanchez was awarded the World Food Prize in 2002 for his pioneering use of agroforestry to restore fertility to some of the world's poorest and most degraded soils. A student poster display will precede the lecture from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Oak Room. Posters will address world food issues and are submitted by undergraduate and graduate students. More: http://www.event.iastate.edu/event/24569 WORLD FOOD PRIZE: FOLLETT TO SPEAK AT ISU OCT. 11 Ron Follett, with USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Fort Collins, Colo., will speak about greenhouse gases and their relationship to crop and livestock production on Oct. 11 at 1:10 p.m. in 2020 Agronomy Hall. Follett is co-chair of a 22-member task force responsible for writing the latest task force report for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, titled "Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities." The report will be released at the World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines on Oct. 12. More: http://www.event.iastate.edu/event/25916/ USDA SECRETARY VILSACK TO SPEAK AT ISU, OCT. 11 Current Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will speak on worldwide food insecurity on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/oct/lecvilsack WORLD FOOD PRIZE: INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR SERIES, OCT. 11-12 Two seminars are scheduled for the "Feeding the World: Are We Making Progress?" international seminar series on the ISU campus. Margaret Catley-Carlson, chair of the World Economic Forum Global Advisory Council and United Nations Secretary General Board on Water will speak on "New World of Water" on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. in the Ensminger Room, 1204 Kildee Hall. Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 2001 World Food Prize Laureate and currently the H.E. Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy at Cornell University, will speak on "Urgent and Emerging Food Policy Challenges and Opportunities" on Oct. 12 at 10-11 a.m. in the Memorial Union Gallery Room. Sponsors include the M.E. Ensminger International Chair in Animal Agriculture, the Raymond and Mary Baker Chair in Global Agriculture and the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods. WORLD FOOD PRIZE: RELATIONSHIP OF U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS TO GLOBAL HUNGER, OCT. 13 Michael Hamm, the 2011-2012 Dean Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair, will lead an open forum discussion on the relationship of U.S. food systems to global hunger on Oct. 13, 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. Hamm is the C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University and head of the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. CALS UNITED WAY ONLINE AUCTION BEGINS TODAY, OCT. 10 The CALS United Way online auction began today, Oct. 10, at 8 a.m. Bids on more than 40 auction items will be accepted through Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. Contact Carla Persaud with questions (cpersaud@iastate.edu, 4-1823). OPEN FORUM TO REVIEW GOVERNANCE DOCUMENT, OCT. 11 An open forum to review the college governance document will be held Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Memorial Union Campanile Room. The document has been revised to reflect the name change from the College of Agriculture to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to reflect new policies adopted by the faculty senate in the last couple of years, and to clarify language to be consistent with university policy. iPAD SUBJECT OF LUNCH AND LEARN, OCT. 12 iPads will be the topic of the Brenton Center's Lunch and Learn Oct. 12, 12 p.m. in 8 Curtiss Hall. Cynthia Haynes, horticulture, will discuss her use of the iPad in the classroom. Michael Koenig, an agricultural education student, will demonstrate ScoutPro, a prize-winning iPad app his team developed for an agricultural entrepreneurship class. Pizza and refreshments will be provided. If you plan to attend, please email Amy Pilcher at apilcher@iastate.edu or 4-1862. AGRICULTURE CAREER FAIR, OCT. 18, EXPECTS 170 EMPLOYERS Mike Gaul, director of CALS career services, expects nearly 170 employers to be represented at this year's career fair to be held Oct. 18, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lied Recreation Center. The career fair continues to be the largest of its kind in the nation. Gaul talks about why it attracts so much interest, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/video/v/Fall_2011_Career_Day RAMAN AND XIN NAMED ASSOCIATE CHAIRS OF ABE Raj Raman and Hongwei Xin have been named associate chairs in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. Raman, whose focus is in biological and process engineering and technology, will serve as associate chair of teaching. Xin, whose focus is in animal production systems engineering, will serve as associate chair for research. Steve Mickelson was named chair of ABE on Aug. 1. MANURE MANAGEMENET DVD AVAILABLE FROM IOWA LEARNING FARMS A new how-to video from Iowa Learning Farms and the Iowa Manure Management Action Group offers suggestions, tips and reminders about manure application. "Manure Management and Conservation" shows how to collect manure samples for nutrient analysis from different types of manure handling systems, reviews a manure analysis lab report and provides the basics for determining application rates. CALS DEADLINE NOV. 15 FOR 2012 UNIVERSITY AWARDS The nomination process for 2012 university awards has begun. About 40 awards are available in faculty and staff categories. Nominations are due to CALS on Nov. 15. ISU/UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN UPDATE CALS sponsored book sale last week raised $743. Thanks to all who contributed and purchased books. As of Oct. 6, the college has raised $23,296, which is nearly 38 percent of our goal of $62,000. Go to http://www.uw.iastate.edu/ for details. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS Oct. 20: Jonathan Foley to present the Errington Memorial Lecture, 7 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall ................................................... FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ................................................... USDA-NIFA REQUESTS FY 2012 PROPOSALS FOR AFRI FOOD SECURITY CHALLENGE AREA? The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has released FY 2012 requests for applications for the food security challenge areas of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program. Proposals are being solicited in seven program areas. All proposals require a letter of intent and all projects must be multidisciplinary. PREPROPSALS DUE OCT. 24 FOR NSF MAJOR INSTRUMENTATION RESEARCH PROGRAM The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development is soliciting preproposals for the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program. The program assists in the acquisition or development of major research instrumentation that is, in general, too costly for support through other NSF programs. Preproposals must be submitted to the college of the lead principal investigator by close of business on Oct. 24. Centers that do not report to a college should submit preproposals to the VPR/ED's office by Oct. 24. Colleges may select no more than three preproposals to be forwarded to the VPR/ED. A review committee will choose the projects to be forwarded to NSF. Contact: Dorothy Pimlott, dpimlott@iastate.edu. PREPROPSALS DUE OCT. 24 FOR NSF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PATHWAYS PROGRAM Sustainable Energy Pathways is part of the NSF-wide initiative on Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability. The Sustainable Energy Pathways solicitation calls for innovative, interdisciplinary basic research in science, engineering and education by teams of researchers. Eligible institutions may submit no more than three proposals as the lead organization. Interested research groups should submit preproposals to Dorothy Pimlott (dpimlott@iastate.edu) in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development by close of business on Oct. 24. A review committee will choose the projects to be forwarded to NSF. IOWA WATER CENTER RELEASES 2012 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS The Iowa Water Center has released its 2012 Request for Proposals for water research. This year's focus will be on understanding and improving watershed management to improve surface and ground water quality. The deadline for proposal submission is close of business Dec. 5. Contact: James Newman, jknewman@iastate.edu. More: http://www.water.iastate.edu/ FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AT IOWA ENERGY CENTER The Iowa Energy Center has announced funding for projects in four areas. Research and Demonstration Grants will fund innovative research and demonstrations projects that address topics in several broad categories, including energy-focused educational research. Conferences and Events Grants will fund development of conferences, workshops and other events related to energy efficiency and renewable energy. Technology and Demonstration Grants will fund initiatives that will help multiple audiences in Iowa assess energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The K-12 Energy Education Assessment Project will fund high-quality proposals for K-12 energy science education assessment. L'OREAL USA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE 2012 PROGRAM The L'Oréal USA Fellowships for Women in Science program is a national awards program that annually recognizes five U.S.-based women researchers at the beginning of their scientific careers. Recipients receive up to $60,000 each that they must put towards their postdoctoral research. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 15. 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/ NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Introducing Science Across Virtual Institutes; $50,000 to $400,000 per year, up to five years. More: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/savi/index.jsp Nov. 2 (preproposal): RWJF Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Health and Health Care Challenge. Dec. 5: Governors' Institute for Community Design Grant. Dec. 31: USDA Solid Waste Management Grant Program; $3.4 million, 40 awards. ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... AVOID THE "FATAL FIVE" DURING PRESENTATIONS Andy Goodman, nonprofit communications expert and author of "Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes," has identified five fatal mistakes to avoid during presentations. This is based on hearing the pet peeves of thousands in the field while conducting research for a book on bad presentations. * Reading the slides "“ do not put the same information on slides as you do in the handouts. This draws attention further away from the speaker. * Too long, too much information "“ most presenters have the misconception that the more I tell you, the more you're going to learn. The opposite is actually closer to the truth. * Lack of interaction "“ presenters who don't stop for questions or to engage their audience have likely already lost the attention of attendees. * Lifeless presenters "“ those who seem to lack interest in their own material easily allow the minds of their attendees to wander. * Room/technical problems "“ those surveyed expressed their distress at issues presenters should be prepared for, such as a projector not working, the air conditioning being too loud or a microphone having a distracting hiss. This is excerpted from an article in the Oct. 10 issue of "Advancement Weekly," published by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... GRANTS AVAILABLE TO INTERNATIONALIZE THE FRESHMAN EXPERIENCE The ISU Study Abroad Center is seeking proposals from faculty and staff who teach courses popular with freshmen. Professional development grants of $1,000 will be awarded for successful proposals to internationalize course content, with grants of $1,500 to develop a study abroad component for existing courses. A number of colleges have committed to providing matching funds subject to a further review of proposals. More: Trevor Nelson, tnelson@iastate.edu, 4-6792 ................................................... INTERNAL VOICES ................................................... LAWRENCE ON THE PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH, PRESENT AND PAST "I had the honor of serving on the search committee for the new President of Iowa State University.  It was a great experience because of the opportunity to work with other people passionate about ISU and because there were a lot of really strong candidates. Dr. Leath is a plant pathologist by training as is his wife, Janet. In addition to being an experienced administrator and respected researcher, he has a great appreciation for agriculture and extension. The last ISU President that came up through agriculture was James H. Hilton, serving as Iowa State president from 1953 to 1965. Hilton was also from North Carolina where he was named head of animal husbandry in 1945 and later he was named dean of agriculture until coming to ISU. Hilton was a county agent for Greene County, Iowa, from 1923 to 1926. Craig Hertel and Michael Cooley, the standards are pretty high for extension directors from Greene County." John Lawrence, CALS associate dean for extension programs and outreach, and director of agriculture and natural resources extension, in his Oct. 2011 ANR newsletter. ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... 1943 OLEO/BUTTER CONTROVERSY DETAILED IN ECONOMICS DISPLAY "The 1943 Oleomargarine/Butter Controversy: A simple question of a better spread?" is the title of a new display located on the second floor of Heady Hall in the Department of Economics. The display details events that brought the issue of academic freedom into focus for the department, the university and agricultural interests in the state. The display houses artifacts, correspondence and photos, courtesy of University Archives. ........................................................ 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.