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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Feb. 6, 2012 No. 686
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COLLEGE NEWS
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SPRING AG CAREER DAY ATTRACTS MORE THAN 100 COMPANIES
The spring Ag Career Day attracted 107 companies to the ISU Memorial Union on Feb. 1. Mike Gaul, director of CALS career services, reports there were 530 student and alumni visitors representing 59 majors and eight other schools. Thursday's interview activity consisted of 83 individual interviews, with several returning to campus this week. This is the fifth year a spring event has been added to the annual fall Ag Career Day.
HORTICULTURE STUDENT DIES JAN. 27
Kathrine Leona-Jo Kofoot of Algona, a junior in horticulture, died Jan. 27 from injuries sustained in a car accident near Algona. She was a 2009 graduate of Algona High School and a 2011 graduate of North Iowa Area Community College.
ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAM TURNS STUDENTS INTO BUSINESSMEN
Sometimes a dorm room can double as a corporate boardroom if you have people with ideas and perhaps just a bit of support. That is the case for the partners in ScoutPro, a new company that was born in a classroom at ISU and helped by a new agricultural entrepreneurship initiative on campus.
BLOCK AND BRIDLE CLUB RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARDS
The ISU Block and Bridle Club received several awards at the National Block and Bridle Convention in Tennessee, Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. The club took first place in chapter yearbook, first place in chapter activities, and second place in chapter webpage. Adair Boysen, a senior in animal science, received third place in the Outstanding Junior Scholarship Award.
SPRING CONVOCATION SET FOR FEB. 16
The CALS Spring Convocation will be held Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. The program includes brief comments from Dean Wintersteen and college award presentations. Refreshments will follow the ceremony.
2012 ANIMAL INDUSTRY REPORTS AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Department of Animal Science's 2012 Animal Industry Report is available online. The report includes research results relating to beef, dairy, equine, poultry, sheep, swine and companion animal industries in the state of Iowa.
FEB. 15 WEBINAR FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY
The Iowa Learning Farms' next webinar, to be held Feb. 15 at 11:30 a.m., will feature Chad Hart, economics. Hart's "Sustainable Production and Distribution of Bioenergy for the Central USA" presentation will review the multistate CenUSA Bioenergy project that is investigating a regional system for producing fuels.
RESEARCH FARM SUPERINTENDENT, ORGANIC FARMER SHARE SPENCER AWARD
Bernie Havlovic, superintendent of the ISU Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm, and Michael Natvig, owner of a 420-acre organic farm in Howard County, are dual winners of the 2011 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Feb. 7: Brenton Center Lunch and Learn on WordPress, noon in 8 Curtiss Hall. Amy Pilcher, apilcher@iastate.edu, 4-1862
Feb. 17: Deadline for Computation Advisory Committee call for proposals, http://www.cio.iastate.edu/committees/cac/proposals/2012-2013/cac_cfp_2…
March 5: Gamma Sigma Delta award nominations due
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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CALS SUPPORT TO ATTEND NSF GRANTS CONFERENCE MARCH 19-20
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will provide up to $750 in travel support per person for up to four CALS faculty members to attend the NSF Regional Grants Conference on March 19-20 in Evanston, Ill. Travel support will be provided on a first-come first-served basis, with preference given to individuals who have not recently received CALS travel assistance for a grantsmanship workshop. Recipients should plan to prepare a short report on tips/best practices learned from the conference, to be posted on the CALS Funding Resources website. Interested CALS faculty should contact Joe Colletti (colletti@iastate.edu) by Feb. 13.
IDALS TO FUND SPECIALTY CROP PROJECTS
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will fund projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in Iowa. Grant funds will be used for projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and that benefit the specialty crop industry as a whole. Eligible crops are fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. Maximum awards will be $24,000 per project. Applications are due May 4. More: http://goo.gl/14PhJ
APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR BAILEY AWARD
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development has announced the annual competition for the Bailey Research Career Development Award. The program provides funding to full-time tenured associate professors and professors to foster research that is innovative, increases knowledge and has practical applications. Applications are due at the colleges by March 1. Submissions to CALS should be submitted to Joe Colletti, colletti@iastate.edu.
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/
Preproposals accepted all year: Dairy Research Institute Nutrition Research Supplemental Support.
Feb. 21 (preproposal): Dairy Research Institute Nutrition Research.
Feb. 21: UK Food Standards Agency, Public Views on GM Labeling.
Feb. 29: USAID Agricultural Commercialization & Innovation Activity Grant; one award, $60 to $74 million over five years.
March 1: Ethics Education in Science and Engineering. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13338&WT.mc_ev=click
March 5 (concept paper): Accelerating the Deployment of Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy Technologies in Indonesia. More: https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/
March 5: NSF Plant Genome Research Program; 10 to 15 awards, $15 million total FY 2012 funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5338&WT.mc_ev=click
March 5: NSF Math and Science Partnership. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5756&WT.mc_ev=click
March 20: USAID Agro-Inputs Project in Bangladesh; one award, $15 million.
May 4: USDA/IDALS Specialty Crop Block Grant to Enhance the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops Grown in Iowa; $24,000 per award. More: http://goo.gl/14PhJ
May 26 (letter of intent): NIH Partnerships for Development of Vaccine Technologies (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-12-014.html
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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GUIDELINES ON CAPTIONS FOR ILLUSTRATIONS
A caption "“ the explanatory material that appears outside (usually below) an illustration "“ is distinct from a key and from a label, which appear within an illustration. A caption may consist of a word or two, an incomplete or a complete sentence, several sentences, or a combination. No punctuation is needed after a caption consisting solely of an incomplete sentence. If one or more full sentences follow it, each has closing punctuation. In a work in which most captions consist of full sentences, incomplete ones may be followed by a period for consistency. Captions should be capitalized in sentence style, but formal titles of works included in captions should be capitalized in headline style.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., 2010
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INFOGRAZING
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STUDYING FOOD SYSTEM APPROACHES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES, FEB. 8
A webinar to discuss a current research project that examines the impact of local food systems on rural development in the Midwest will be held Wednesday, Feb. 8, at noon. The webinar is hosted by the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development using Connect Pro. More: http://ncrcrd.msu.edu/ncrcrd/webinars
WHO OWNS LIFE? SYMPOSIUM, FEB. 16
The protection of intellectual property through patents is one of the most important mechanisms for encouraging innovation. But with new scientific advances, especially in biotechnology, what is reasonable, useful and ethical to patent? This symposium will present issues of intellectual property protection specific to the plant and life sciences.
SUSTAINAPALOOZA CELEBRATION FEB. 28
"Sustainapalooza: Celebrating our Cardinal, Gold and Green," a shorter version of the ISU sustainability symposiums held the previous three years, will be held Feb. 28, 4 to 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the event.
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INTERNAL VOICES
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NOE ON GETTING STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
"One of our goals is to expose students to entrepreneurs. We want them to get outside the classroom. One thing we've learned over the years is that we've always done a great job of providing technical training. Graduates have the science and technical knowledge. Now, we're trying to build on that with a business background." Stacy Noe, program coordinator for the CALS Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, on turning students into businessmen. More: http://www.iowafarmertoday.com/news/regional/entrepreneur-program-turns…
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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COOKING AS A METAPHOR FOR TEACHING PREP
"Professional cooks rely upon a set-up process called mise en place to make things go smoothly in the kitchen. For the mise en place, ingredients are washed, chopped, measured and sometimes soaked or pre-cooked, depending on the dish. All the necessary tools and equipment are gathered and made ready for the chef. I've begun to think about how the mise en place serves me as a useful metaphor for my teaching preparation. There are always ideas, resources, images and materials to gather. Thinking creatively about the different stages of teaching preparation through the metaphor of the mise en place has helped me to make good use of small amounts of time and has re-energized my approach to sometimes routine tasks." Natalie Houston is an associate professor of English at the University of Houston. More: http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/streamlining-teaching-prep/38237?…
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MARGINALIA
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FLORA, NOW IN ENGLISH
The requirement to use Latin to describe and publish a new plant species has been in practice since the 18th century. With as many as one-third of plant species at risk of extinction in the next 50 years, we don't have time for traditions like these, says James Miller, dean and vice president for science at the New York Botanical Garden. That's why, as of Jan. 1, the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature no longer compels botanists to provide a Latin description of a new species; it can be done in English. "Plants are a vital source of materials and medicine; they are the basis of the food chain; they produce the oxygen we breathe. If a species becomes extinct before it is found "“ a phenomenon known as anonymous extinction "“ there is no way to explore its potential," says Miller. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/opinion/plants-in-plain-english.html?…
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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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