College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
July 18, 2016 – No. 909
Top Stories
Meet the CALS George Washington Carver Summer Research Interns
This summer from June 4 to July 30, 24 undergraduate students and 10 high school students from 10 different states and Puerto Rico are interns in the George Washington Carver Summer Research Internship Program. Read brief profiles of the undergraduate students who are working side by side with faculty mentors in CALS on research projects. More
Research
Xin on Opportunities and Challenges of Cage-Free Egg Production
Hongwei Xin, agricultural and biosystems engineering and director of the Egg Industry Center, wrote on the opportunities and challenges of going cage-free in a recent edition of Poultry Times. Xin emphasized the importance of egg-buying companies making use of the available scientific data when making decisions. More
Research Supports Adding Monarch Habitat to Iowa’s Landscape
Research at ISU is intended to provide information to help producers make decisions about establishing monarch habitat and encourage them to join the effort to re-establish milkweed and forbs that support monarchs during migrations across the state. More
Teaching and Students
FSHN Graduate Student Receives Top Honors for Poster
Lei Fang, a graduate student in food science and human nutrition, received top honors at the National Corn Growers Association's Corn Utilization and Technology Conference poster contest for his work on increased oil recovery during ethanol fermentation and downstream processing. More
Extension and Outreach
ISU Teaching Farms Offer Pasture Walks near Ames
Pasture walks at the ISU beef teaching farm and sheep teaching farm offer an opportunity to learn about the farms' animals, facilities and research. The beef teaching farm event is Thursday, July 21, at 5:30 p.m. and includes a meal served by Story County Cattlemen's Association. The sheep teaching farm event is July 28 at 5:30 p.m. and includes snacks and soft drinks. There is no cost and no preregistration for either event. More
Around the College
Wang Named Fellow of American Oil Chemists Society
Tong Wang, food science and human nutrition, was named one of five 2016 Fellows with the American Oil Chemists' Society. Wang was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the field of basic research in lipid chemistry and its extraction and novel applications. More
Funding Opportunities
USAID Global Development Alliance Requests Concept Papers
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Global Development Alliance Annual Program Statement invites concept papers for public-private partnerships that achieve significant and sustainable development results and impact. Funding for alliances proposed under this APS would be requested from the specific USAID mission, bureau or independent office with which the prospective alliance partners seek to collaborate and to which the concept paper will be submitted. The APS closes on Nov. 1. More
2017 Vizzies Visualization Challenge
Cosponsored by the National Science Foundation and Popular Science, the Vizzies competition recognizes some of the most illustrative and impactful visualizations from the worlds of science and engineering. Entries are accepted in the categories of photography, video, illustration, posters and graphics, and interactive. Prizes range from $150 to $2,000 for each category. Entries are due by Sept. 15. 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 27 (letter of intent): NIH & USDA-NIFA - Dual Purpose with Dual Benefit: Research in Biomedicine and Agriculture Using Agriculturally Important Domestic Animal Species (R01). More
Aug. 10 (Stage 1 proposal): UK Darwin Initiative – Round 23; biodiversity in developing countries, no limit on eligibility but UK connection is preferred. More
Aug. 15: State Department - U.S.-Morocco Green Growth Climate Challenge; one award, $396,000. More
Aug. 15: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Program; contact ISU Foundation (cfr@foundation.iastate.edu) to express interest. More
Aug. 26: NASA ROSES 2016: Earth Science U.S. Participating Investigator. More
Sept. 8 (letter of intent): NSF Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research- Technology Translation. More
Sept. 12: State Department-U.S. Mission to India - Framing the Debate on Climate Change; one award, $70,000. More
Sept. 14: USDA/NIFA AFRI Agriculture and Natural Resources Science for Climate Variability and Change Challenge Area. More
Sept. 25: NIH Resource-Related Research Projects for Development of Animal Models and Related Materials (R24). More
Oct. 6: USDA Small Business Innovation Research Program - Phase I; primary employment of Project Director must be with small business concern. More
Oct. 12 - Nov. 16 (varies by project size): NSF Information and Intelligent Systems: Core Programs. More
Nov. 14: DHHS-HRSA - Rural Policy Analysis Program; rural health and human services, one award, $225,000. More
Infograzing
Practical Farmers of Iowa’s RAGBRAI Tent Invites Riders
Practical Farmers of Iowa will provide fresh, local food at a stop during day two of RAGBRAI. On July 25, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a tent will be set up on Mark Peterson’s farm between the Bethesda to Villisca leg. Enjoy beverages and healthy snacks, and discuss cover crops, water quality, farming, local food production and land stewardship in Iowa. More
RAGBRAI Riders Sow Milkweed to Help Monarch Butterflies
For the third year in a row, a group called Milkweed Matters is passing out seedballs of milkweed to RAGBRAI riders to help spread the plant that monarch butterflies need to survive during their annual migrations. Volunteers have made 50,000 seedballs at more than 30 events held throughout Iowa. More
Marginalia
Stewart on ISU's Leucistic Squirrel Population
Tim Stewart, natural resource ecology and management, told Inside Iowa State last week that it's fairly certain central campus is home to more than one white squirrel. The genetic mutation that causes leucism (loss of pigment in squirrels, birds and other animals) is in the campus squirrel population, Stewart surmises, and will continue to be expressed in white or light variations of the normally orange-brown squirrels of ISU. He said that white squirrels stand out in forests and are more likely to be picked off by predators. Campuses seem to provide a relatively safe haven for both white and brown squirrels, and a number of universities around the country report having white squirrel populations. More
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.