College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
July 25, 2016 – No. 910
Top Stories
STORIES of Growing Leaders
The college’s role in growing leaders is featured in the most recent issue of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni magazine STORIES. With a focus on student leadership, this issue features several young leaders making a difference in the college and among their peers. It also includes a conversation on leadership with Dean Wendy Wintersteen. View STORIES online, access online extra content and download a PDF at the CALS website. To be added to the print mailing list or request additional copies e-mail stories@iastate.edu.
Teaching and Students
Dietetic Interns to Work Virtually to Improve Nutrition
A group of ISU dietetic interns will provide nutrition coaching and wellness information to low-income families as part of a national health initiative. Unlike programs in a more traditional setting, such as a school or hospital, interns will connect virtually with their clients using a smartphone app. More
Meat Science Graduate Student Wins Research Award
Kelsey Carlson, who graduated this spring with a master’s degree in meat science, received the Master of Science Division Research Award from the American Meat Science Association at the 2016 Reciprocal Meat Conference, June 17-22 in San Angelo, Texas. Her poster was on “Proteomic Features Associated with Tenderness of Aged Pork Loins.” More
Iowa Learning Farms Intern: Megan Koppenhafer
Megan Koppenhafer, a CALS senior in environmental science and community and regional planning, is a summer intern for Water Rocks! In a recent ILF blog posting, Megan introduces herself and shares the process of storyboarding and filming the music videos produced by Water Rocks! More
Meet the CALS George Washington Carver Summer Research High School 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 high school students, as well as the undergraduate interns, who are working side by side with faculty mentors in CALS on research projects. More
Dairy Science Student Dies in Traffic Accident
Thomas John “TJ” Houdek, senior in dairy science, died July 17 in a motorcycle accident in Floyd County. Houdek was president of Iowa State’s Ducks Unlimited Student Chapter and a member of the Iowa State Dairy Science Club. More
Extension and Outreach
C6 BioFarm App Updated
As the popular C6 BioFarm game suite enters its second year, improvements have made it more realistic and more valuable for its players. The interactive web application is aimed at students in grades 5-9. The game and its curriculum examine bioenergy from a carbon perspective, while exploring energy and environment through science, engineering, economic and agricultural practices. The content was developed by ISU undergraduates in CALS, the College of Engineering and the College of Business. More
Around the College
CALS Alum, Advisory Council Member Ted Crosbie Dies
CALS alum Ted Crosbie (’73 BS agricultural and life sciences education, ’76 MS and ’78 PhD plant breeding and cytogenetics) died July 23. He was 65. Crosbie was a retired Monsanto seed executive and Iowa’s chief technology officer. He had served on the CALS Advisory Council since 2004. More Crosbie presented the Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture at ISU in April 2015, speaking on “Applying an Iowa State Education to Life: A Tribute to My Teachers.” A video of his presentation is available online.
CALS Alum Thomas Sutherland Dies
CALS alum Thomas Sutherland ('56 MS animal science, ’58 PhD animal science) died July 22. He was 85. Sutherland was a professor of animal science for 26 years at Colorado State University before going on leave and serving as dean of agriculture and food science at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. Islamic militants captured Sutherland on June 8, 1985, and he was freed on Nov. 18, 1991. In 2002, Sutherland provided the lead gift that helped establish the Jay Lush Endowed Professorship in Animal Breeding in the animal science department. Lush was Sutherland’s major professor. More in the Coloradoan and The New York Times. Additional information on Sutherland is available on the animal science website.
Hort Farm Site of Iowa Public Radio Horticulture Show’s 30th Anniversary Celebration
The public is invited to celebrate three decades of the Iowa Public Radio Horticulture Day call-in show with a live show and family field day July 30 at the ISU Horticulture Research Station. Richard Jauron, ISU Extension horticulturist, and Donald Lewis, extension entomologist, and other members of the “Hort Gang” will join IPR host Charity Nebbe on a panel discussing lawn and gardening topics. Guests also will have the opportunity to take tours led by ISU faculty through the 230-acre farm and see research plots of fruit, vegetables and ornamentals. The event is from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and is free. More
Animal Scientists Receive Awards at ASAS Meeting
The American Society of Animal Science held its annual meeting in Salt Lake City, July 19-23. ASAS presented the following awards: Don Beerman, Fellow; Dan Loy, Animal Industry Service Award; and Dorian Garrick, Bouffault International Animal Agriculture Award. More
Change Agent: Helping Low-Income Iowans Start Businesses
Mark Edelman, economics, uses the principles of microfinance to help low-income Iowans start businesses. He teaches an economic development course, but spends most of his time involved in extension and research programs. Thirty-five years into a career as an economist at ISU, Edelman has devoted much of his work to helping others transform their ideas into successful income-generating ventures. More
Calendar
July 28: Retirement Reception for Loynachan
A retirement reception for Tom Loynachan, professor of agronomy and director of graduate education, will be held Thursday, July 28, 3 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Gallery Room (program at 3:15). Loynachan joined the ISU agronomy department in March 1978. More
Aug. 4: Home Demonstration Garden Field Day
A Home Demonstration Garden Field Day will be held at the Horticulture Research Station in Ames on Aug. 4 at 6:30 p.m. Each year ISU Research and Demonstration Farms plant seven demonstration gardens around the state to showcase home vegetable gardening. More A video has been released with additional information on horticulture field days. More
Funding Opportunities
ARPA-E Fellowship Applications Due Aug. 15
ARPA-E is looking for the next generation of scientific leaders to help solve the most pressing and exciting challenges in energy. ARPA-E Fellows assist the agency in identifying possible breakthrough energy technologies through technical and economic analyses. During their two-year tenure, fellows undergo a full-immersion experience in energy technology development, engaging with world-class researchers in academia and industry, entrepreneurs and government officials. More
NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Change Makers
The National Science Foundation has issued a Dear Colleague Letter inviting innovative research and development proposals for projects that advance STEM learning while exploring solutions to multidisciplinary or transdisciplinary global challenges. Projects can involve formal or informal settings for learners of all ages and prior educational experience, including learners traditionally under-represented in STEM. Mechanisms of support include Advancing Informal STEM Learning, Discovery Research PreK-12, and Improving Undergraduate STEM Education. The DCL is expected to be in effect through March 1, 2017. 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.
Sept. 14: V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation Environmental Projects. More
Sept. 22: USDA-NIFA Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program; $200,000. More
Sept. 24 (letter of intent): NIH Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental health Research (R35). More
Oct. 5: NIH Research to Advance Vaccine Safety (R01). More
Oct. 11: NSF Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research-Technology Translation; $800,000. More
Nov. 5: NIH Assay Development and Screening to Discover Therapeutic or Imaging Agents for Diseases of Interest to the NIDDK (R01). More
Nov. 16: BrightFocus Foundation - National Glaucoma Research Program. More
May 25, 2017: NIH Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (R25). More
Communications Kiosk
Make your Website Accessible to the Colorblind
Colors make websites vibrant and, sometimes, inaccessible. Those who are colorblind (about 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women) and those with low vision often cannot use certain websites due to their color schemes. Colorful websites that are accessible adhere to two key rules: provide ample contrast between the foreground and background, and don’t use color alone to convey information. More
Infograzing
National Geographic on Protecting the Food Supply
National Geographic published an article on July 20 about a new nonprofit, SoAR (the Supporters of Agricultural Research Foundation), who are jointly calling on Congress to increase the federal funds that go to food and agriculture research and change how they’re distributed. ISU is one of 13 prominent research institutions in the U.S. that joined the SoAR Foundation. Retaking the Field, a report released by the coalition, looks at the importance of agriculture and its related industries to the U.S. economy and includes information on ISU’s STRIPS project. More
Pollinator Habitat Management Field Day Scheduled for Aug. 2
A Pollinator Habitat Management Field Day is scheduled for Aug. 2, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Grainery in Cherokee. Topics include techniques for establishing and maintaining native prairies and plant identification. The event is organized by the Cherokee Soil and Water Conservation District with help from the Iowa DNR and Conservation Districts of Iowa. More
Marginalia
Tom Sutherland Talks of Peace and ISU Memories at 2002 ISU Commencement
Tom Sutherland, a CALS animal science alum, died on July 22 (see item in Around the College section above). As the ISU commencement speaker in December 2002, Sutherland addressed the graduates, telling about his experiences being captured by terrorists in Beirut in 1985. He told the audience that thoughts of Iowa State helped him get through his six-and-a-half years of captivity, along with fellow ISU alum Terry Anderson. “I lived and relived many of those memories from Iowa State. I cried when they started playing ‘The Bells of Iowa State’” on the radio, he said. He told the fall 2002 graduates to hold out hope for peace in the Middle East. “I hope our leaders do everything they can to avoid war and find peace,” he said.
ISU Finalist in YouTube Your Entomology Contest
An ISU entry is one of five finalists in the Entomological Society of America’s 2016 YouTube Your Entomology contest. Erin Hodgson, entomology, and Adam Sisson and Brandon Kleinke, plant pathology and microbiology, submitted “Black Cutworm Adult Trapping.” A winner and runner-up will be announced in September at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology in Orlando. 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.