Issue: 799

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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
May 19, 2014  No. 799

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COLLEGE NEWS
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GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER SYMPOSIUM VIDEOS ONLINE
CALS hosted a symposium to honor the life and legacy of George Washington Carver on April 23. The symposium focused on developing and nurturing future George Washington Carver students through an integrated vision of recruiting and retaining diverse students in the agricultural sciences. A video highlighting several CALS students following in Carver’s footsteps is available online, along with speaker videos from the symposium.

RESEARCHERS RETURN TO COMMUNITIES TO ASSESS QUALITY OF LIFE
ISU researchers have tracked changes in quality of life and social capital in 99 Iowa towns since 1994. This month, Terry Besser, sociology, will lead a third, two-year study to determine if the changes have continued. Previous research has shown an association between high social capital and community economic prosperity, the availability of recreational and cultural amenities, and high quality public services. More: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2014/05/14/ruralcommunities

RETIREMENT RECEPTION TO HONOR MIKE DUFFY, MAY 21
A retirement reception honoring Mike Duffy, emeritus professor of economics, will be held on Wednesday, May 21, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the first floor lobby of the Scheman Building. A short program will begin at 4 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the reception. The event is co-hosted with CALS and the Iowa chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

CALS ALUMS SHARE MEMORIES AT RECEPTION
Last Friday, CALS hosted an ISU Alumni Days reception in Harl Commons for members of the Class of 1964 and earlier years. Following the reception, a program was held in the Dolezal Auditorium, with college updates and an opportunity for alums to share some of their favorite memories. A couple examples of the memories included:

  • College roommates James Rintoul ('64 ag business) and Edwin Bartine ('64 ag business) met on the first day of classes in 1960 and became best friends for the next 50 years. Bartine said Iowa State was the best experience of his life and that he was one of the first classes to go abroad on an agriculture travel course.
  • Fred Gordon (’41, dairy industry) was a member of the Cyclone men’s basketball team that won the Big 6 Conference title in 1941. He’s proud that title banner still hangs in Hilton Coliseum.
  • Helen Maddock ('49, animal science) recalled what it was like to be the only woman in her program in 1949. One day her professor told her not to come to class the next day because they would be castrating pigs, an activity he believed wasn’t suitable for a woman. She was proud that today women dominate the undergraduate classes in the Department of Animal Science.
  • Don Budlong (’49, animal science), recalled that one year the agriculture students smuggled chickens into the Memorial Union and released them during the engineering students’ ball.

 

GRADUATING CALS AMBASSADORS RECOGNIZED BY CABINET
Graduating seniors of the CALS Ambassadors were recognized May 9 at the college cabinet meeting. They were:

  • Jake Armstrong, agronomy – campus visits committee
  • Kyle Behrens, agricultural business – vice chair and junior visit day committee
  • Ryan Bergman, agricultural systems technology – high school visits committee
  • Carley Christiansen, agricultural studies and public service and administration in agriculture – transfer committee
  • Gabbi Frerichs, environmental science and forestry – junior visit day committee
  • Nolan Hageman, agronomy – high school visits committee
  • Carl Hanson, agricultural studies – chair, vice chair, high school visits committee
  • Susan Herr, biology – youth organizations committee
  • Jake Kent, agricultural systems technology and industrial technology – training and social committee
  • Brad Kruse, agricultural systems technology – training and social committee
  • Lisa Nelson, agricultural business – youth organizations committee
  • Brent Sexton, animal science/pre-vet – training and social committee
  • Lacy Stevenson, agricultural communications – training and social committee

CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS TOPIC OF MAY WEBINAR
This month’s Iowa Learning Farms webinar will be Wednesday, May 21, at 11:30 a.m. Christopher Anderson, assistant director of the Climate Science Program at ISU will discuss the increasing Iowa rainfall amounts and implications this has on the agricultural industry.

EGG INDUSTRY CENTER LOOKING TO FUND RESEARCH
The Egg Industry Center is seeking pre-proposals for egg industry-oriented research to fund through its grant award program. Researchers can find submission information online. The deadline for pre-proposals is June 16. More: https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/releases/egg-industry-center-looking-…

NEW RESEARCH RESULTS FROM LEOPOLD CENTER
Summaries of six recently-completed competitive grant projects are now available from the Leopold Center. These projects showcase work on prairie conservation strips, school and community gardens, organic practices that improved soil quality in spite of adverse weather, and collaboration with Iowa farmers.

USING ART TO LEARN ABOUT LIVESTOCK
Jodi Sterle, animal science, uses art to show the heritage of livestock and the contribution livestock has had on civilization in her “Art and Heritage of Livestock” class. Students also get to play the role of an artist by creating a project that portrays livestock.

UNITED WAY FOOD DRIVE CONTINUES THROUGH MAY 21 
The sixth annual United Way LIVE UNITED Food Drive continues. Non-perishable items will be collected through May 21. Collection boxes can be found at the Harl Commons (near the elevator) and ground floor Rotunda in Curtiss Hall, 260 Heady Hall, 2312 Food Sciences Building, 251 and 351 Bessey Hall, 220 MacKay Hall, 1210 Molecular Biology Building, and 2200 Gerdin Building. More: Carla Persaud, cpersaud@iastate.edu, 4-1823. 

AGRONOMY STAFF MEMBER DIES
David Sundberg, agronomy research associate, died May 4. He was 56. After high school, Sundberg enrolled at ISU as a student in agronomy. After getting his master’s degree, he was employed in the ISU agronomy department as a research associate for 32 years. More: http://grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com/obituary/124666/David-Sundber…

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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LIMITED SUBMISSION: NEW FIPSE FUNDING SOLICITATION
The Department of Education’s FIPSE program has released a new First in the World funding solicitation. The FITW program will provide grants to institutions of higher education to spur the development of innovations that improve educational outcomes and make college more affordable for students and families, and to develop an evidence base of effective practices. Submissions are limited to one per institution. The Offices of the Provost and Student Affairs will lead this effort. Individuals with innovative ideas, approaches and strategies, and an interest in joining the team to respond to this opportunity, are asked to contact David Holger (holger@iastate.edu). More: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fitw/index.html

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/

June 17: USDA Rural Business Opportunity Grants; $100,000.

June 19: USAID Support to Ethnic Tibetans in China; sustainable livelihoods, environmental conservation and cultural preservation, two or more awards, $25 million total funding. More: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=255188

June 20: USDA 2014 Farmers Market Promotion Program Grants; $100,000. More: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FMPP

June 27: (letter of intent) NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program; cost sharing required. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5501  

June 30:  USDA Risk Management Education Partnerships Program; $700,000 More:  http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/agreements/

July 3:  ERASynBio 2nd Joint Call for Transnational Research Projects – Building Synthetic Biology Capacity through Innovative Transnational Projects.  More:  https://www.erasynbio.eu/

July 16: NSF Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13690

August 11:  NSF Collections in Support of Biological Research; $500,000 over three years, limit of three requests per organization. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503651

October 25 (letter of intent). NIH Nutrition Obesity Research Centers; one submission per institution. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-14-002.html 

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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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TIPS FOR TV INTERVIEWS
Jeff Burnside, reporter for NBC Miami, offers the following tips for TV interviews:

  • Even though there’s a camera staring at you, be yourself—although it helps to kick up the energy and volume a little because it is naturally diminished on-air.
  • Use short sentences with conclusive, definitive endings. Leave a pause between ideas so we can edit cleanly.
  • Frame your answers with part of my question. Don’t just say yes or no.
  • When I interview you, look at me. Not the camera. Think of it as having a conversation with me.
  • Don’t be afraid to tell me how you feel about something, or why you care.
  • Interviews are helpful for facts. But, more than likely, I already got them from you. So the on-camera interview is vital for your observations, thoughts, opinion and emotions: your sound bite. 
  • If you don’t like how you answered, just say so and ask to answer it again. Or, you can ruin the take by waving your hand in front of your face and saying, “I flubbed it, let’s do that again.”

(Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter, 2010, pg. 150)

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INFOGRAZING
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BRANSTAD TO AWARD AMBASSADOR QUINN THE IOWA AWARD
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will present Ambassador Kenneth Quinn the Iowa Award on May 30 at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines. The Iowa Award represents the state’s highest citizen award. Quinn is president of The World Food Prize.

SUMMER SYMPOSIUM ON SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, JUNE 5-7
The fourth ISU Summer Symposium on Science Communication will be held June 5-7 in Ames. The focus will be normative aspects of science communication—the interactions among scientists, professional communicators and the public. Due to generous internal support, reduced fees are offered to ISU faculty, staff and students. Registration deadline is May 28.

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INTERNAL VOICES
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STUDENT: CONSIDERABLE OPPORTUNITIES IN RESEARCH FOR STUDENTS
Dan Andersen, agricultural and biosystems engineering, has involved students in a research project focusing on the causes of manure pit foaming. Mark Van Weelden, a civil engineering graduate student working on the project, said everyone should do some type of research at some point in their career. “You will learn something new, and you will learn how to think differently,” Van Weelden said. “Iowa State is a great university because it has a considerable amount of opportunities in research for students.”

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MARGINALIA
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“BIRD’S EYE VIEW” FROM CURTISS HALL
There was a visitor on the top of Curtiss Hall last Friday who wanted a “bird’s eye view” of the sunshine on central campus. Communications specialist Barb McBreen captured a photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=790168547690578&set=a.166351250…;

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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Julie Stewart
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline

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