College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
June 6, 2016 – No. 903
Top Stories
Entomologists Increase Mosquito Surveillance
The impending mosquito season has already begun for medical entomologists at ISU, who will continue longstanding efforts to monitor West Nile Virus and expand surveillance of mosquito species with the potential to carry Zika virus. Ryan Smith, entomology, leads the surveillance efforts. More
Research
Nair Discusses Crimping Cover Crops
Ajay Nair, horticulture, was interviewed by WHO TV about cereal rye as a cover crop for fruit and vegetable growers. Cereal rye is seeded in the fall, goes dormant in winter, then comes back in the spring. To allow for spring planting, Nair is studying roller crimping the cereal rye. More
CAMTech Accepting Proposals for Research Projects
The Center for Arthropod Management Technologies, led by Bryony Bonning, entomology, is accepting proposals for research projects to begin Jan. 1, 2017. Proposals should be for pre-competitive research related to arthropod or nematode management. Application deadline is June 20. More
Teaching and Students
Student-Run Organic Farm Thrives at ISU
Students working for the two-acre Student Organic Farm at ISU spoke with Iowa Public Radio on May 31. Heidi Engelhardt, culinary science major, said, “I knew farming was a big thing, but I didn’t know how passionate I (would) become for physical work.” So passionate, Engelhardt is not the outreach coordinator for the farm. More
Extension and Outreach
Ramirez Joins Animal Science as Extension Dairy Specialist
Hugo Ramirez has joined ISU Extension and Outreach Agriculture and Natural Resources as a dairy specialist and an assistant professor of animal science. Ramirez will work in the areas of herd management, forage quality and preservation and nutrient utilization. More
Around the College
CALS Faculty to Speak at World Pork Expo, June 8-10
The World Pork Expo will be held June 8-10 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. On the agenda from CALS are Jason Ross, animal science, speaking on seasonal infertility in swine, and Dermot Hayes, economics, speaking on U.S. exports and international trade. More
Animal Science Professor Represents ISU at National Agriculture Conference
Curt Youngs, animal science, represented ISU at the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service Borlaug Fellowship Program Mentors’ workshop, held June 2-3 in Spokane, Wash. ISU was one of three universities that helped launch the USDA FAS Borlaug Fellowship Program, founded in 2004 in honor of Nobel Prize recipient and Iowa native Norman Borlaug. The purpose of the Borlaug Fellowship Program is to bring to the U.S. for advanced training young scientists, researchers or policymakers from developing countries who possess great potential to transform agriculture in their home countries. Since 2007, Youngs has mentored four Borlaug Fellows (from Peru, Kosovo, Ethiopia and Algeria). He was invited to share best practices as a mentor for Borlaug Fellows with USDA FAS personnel and 25 other mentors from across the U.S.
Calendar
June 10: ISU Dairy Farm Open House
The ISU Dairy Farm will celebrate dairy month with its eighth annual open house on June 10, 6 to 11 a.m. at the ISU Dairy Farm, located south of Ames. The event is open to the public. More
June 30: Iowa Swine Day
Iowa Swine Day, an industry-focused event, will be held June 30, 9 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. in the Scheman Building. Early registration deadline is June 17. More
Funding Opportunities
Internal Competition: USDA NIFA Partnership Awards
The NIFA Partnership Awards are presented annually to recognize exemplary work from a team or individual who made outstanding contributions in support of the NIFA mission to provide an outcome that positively impacts agriculture, the environment, communities or people. All awardees will be recognized at the annual NIFA Day of Appreciation in October in Washington, D.C. Internal nominations are due June 6. Contact Sue Shipitalo (sueship@iastate.edu) for nomination guidelines.
USDA-NIFA-ARS: Needs and Challenges for Animal Production
The USDA Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture are soliciting stakeholder input on how federal investments can best address current needs and challenges facing animal production. The input provided will help form the framework for developing the next ARS National Program Action Plan and defining priorities for NIFA’s animal production research, education and extension. Express interest in providing feedback by June 10. More
Webinars: Institute of Education Sciences Funding Opportunities
The Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences has scheduled a series of webinars for individuals interested in FY 2017 funding opportunities. The free webinars will cover a variety of topics, including teachers and instructional personnel, basic overview of research grants, researcher-practitioner partnerships in education, funding opportunities for minority serving institutions, the IES application process, research networks focused on critical problems of policy and practice, and grant writing, among others. Upcoming webinars are scheduled from June 8 to July 14. More
Webinar: NIH 101 Overview of Grants Process, June 14
The National Institute of Aging will host an NIH 101 webinar explaining the National Institutes of Health grants process to interested researchers. Chyren Hunter, deputy director of NIA's Division of Extramural Activities and NIA training officer, will explain each step of the application and review process. The one-hour webinar will be held June 14 at 11 a.m. More
Webinar: EPA 2016-2017 Small Business Innovation Research Solicitation, June 14
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2016-2017 Small Business Innovation Research program solicitation is anticipated to open in June. The EPA will hold a webinar on June 14 from 1 to 2 p.m. to discuss solicitation topics and how to apply for an SBIR Phase I contract. EPA SBIR program experts will answer questions following the presentation. A copy of the webinar presentation and Q&A will be posted https://www.epa.gov/sbir for those who cannot attend the webinar. More
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu. Additional information is posted at CALS Pre-Award Resources.
July 1: DOT FY 2016 Community Safety Grant; training for transport of hazardous materials. More
July 8 (letter of intent): NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program. More
July 15: EPA Technical Assistance and Support for Improved Protection of Drinking Water Sources; $900,000, one award. More
July 18: Department of State Results-Focused Monitoring and Evaluation of U.S. Trade-Related Environmental Cooperation. More
July 22: USDA-NSF Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology Pilot Program. More
Aug. 12: NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13). More
Sept. 2 (letter of intent): NSF Next Generation Networks for Neuroscience (NeuroNex). More
Sept. 5: NIH Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (Parent STTR [R41/R42]). More
Oct. 1 (letter of intent): Whitehall Foundation Research Grants, Grants-in-Aid. More
June 22, 2017: DOD DARPA Broad Agency Announcement - Defense Sciences Office. More
Infograzing
Strengthening Students’ Oral Communication Skills
Regardless of their chosen professions, there are certain skills every student needs to be a successful employee, and those include communication skills – specifically, oral and interpersonal communication. This is according to a new ISU study published in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, co-authored by Tina Coffelt, English. To better prepare students, ISU has shifted to a multimodal teaching approach blending all forms of communication into one course. “Previously, students would take an English class to write, a speech class for public speaking or an interpersonal class and that’s all you focus on,” Coffelt said. “As we develop curricular assignments and focus on teaching, we need to recognize that teaching a separate class for each mode does not help students synthesize how different modes of communication weave together.” More
Marginalia
Cyclone Marching Band Represents U.S. in D-Day Commemoration
The ISU Cyclone Marching Band left Ames on June 2 to accept an invitation by the U.S. government to perform in parades and festivals honoring the 72nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II. Boarding two jets to Normandy, France, were 168 marching band members, 40 parents and alumni, 14 sousaphones, 14 percussion instruments and dozens of other brass and woodwind instruments. They are uploading photos and videos to YouTube and Facebook to document their trip and performances.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Friday.