College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Oct. 24, 2016 – No. 923
Top Stories
Video of Deal Lecture Available Online
Jim Collins, executive vice president of DuPont, presented the 2016 William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture “Growth Comes When You Least Expect It” on Oct. 5 at ISU. A video of Collins’ presentation is available online. More
Kling and Helmers Named to EPA Scientific Advisory Committee
Catherine Kling and Matthew Helmers have been appointed to serve on the Agricultural Science Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board. Kling is a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of economics, director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Helmers is a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and the Dean’s Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. More
Research
Mapping Genomes First Step in Understanding Biodiversity
Jonathan Wendel, distinguished professor and chair of the department of ecology, evolution and organismal biology, helped sequence the entire genome of diploid cotton in 2012. He recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to determine the sequence of 600 more cotton genomes. But sequencing the genes is just the beginning of the research, Wendel said. Understanding how all the genes work together gets very complex and isn’t well understood yet. More
Teaching and Students
Brenton Center Accepting Classroom Reservations
The Brenton Center is accepting classroom reservations for spring 2017. Classrooms 8 and 9 seat 35 each; classroom 13 seats 56. First preference will be given to CALS Online courses that require a live capture for online delivery to distance students or faculty recording their lectures using the new format for distance delivery. Contact Gaylan Scofield, ggs@iastate.edu, with questions or requests. More
Extension and Outreach
Lawrence on Extension’s Mentor Academy
John Lawrence, CALS associate dean and director for agriculture and natural resources extension and outreach, posted a blog entry on ISU Extension’s new Mentor Academy. “Effective coaching is our best chance for replicating great colleagues,” said Lawrence. “The academy will help participants become great mentors to carry our culture and skills into the next generation of our organization.” More
Around the College
Ackers Elected Senior Vice President of GCHERA
David Acker, CALS associate dean for academic and global programs, was elected senior vice president of the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences at its annual meeting in Cape Town, Oct. 17-18. GCHERA brings together its higher education associations in support of a mission to encourage mutual understanding and global cooperation among higher education associations and their constituent member universities; provide leadership in education, research, innovation and outreach in agricultural and life sciences; and be a catalyst for the sharing and adoption of best practices across its membership.
How ISU’s ABE Department Achieved its Number One National Ranking
Rankings by U.S. News & World Report magazine say ISU’s program in agriculture and biosystems engineering is the country’s number one program for undergraduates and the number two program for graduate students. The rankings highlight the interdisciplinary culture at Iowa State, new facilities on campus and the contributions of donors. More
Induction Ceremonies Held for Birt and Kling, Class of 2015 National Academy Members
On Oct. 15, Diane Birt, distinguished professor of food science and human nutrition, was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine as a member of the Class of 2015 national academy members. The ceremony was held at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. New members are inducted one year after their election is announced. Back on April 30, Cathy Kling, distinguished professor of economics, was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences as a member of the class of 2015. Alicia Carriquirry, distinguished professor of statistics, who was elected last week to the National Academy of Medicine, will be inducted a year from now.
Colletti and Bern on Panel for Best Practices Workshop on Honors and Awards, Oct. 26
The Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost is hosting a best practices workshop for increasing faculty recognition through honors and awards on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 3 to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. It will focus specifically on the critical role that departmental and college honors and awards committees play in the nomination process. Panel members include Joe Colletti, CALS senior associate dean, and Carl Bern, agricultural and biosystems engineering. Enroll in this course at Learn@ISU.
Youngs Participates in Kosovo Panel at University of Iowa
Curt Youngs, animal science, was one of six panelists to discuss “The Role of Iowa in Kosovo’s Path to Independence” at the University of Iowa Provosts’ Global Forum on Oct. 15 in Iowa City. Youngs has worked on bovine embryo transfer work to improve food security in Kosovo and has taught at the University of Prishtina International Summer University. More
ISU Online Master’s in Agricultural Education Program Ranked Seventh in Affordability
ISU’s online master’s in agricultural education program has been ranked seventh in a ranking of the most affordable online master’s in agriculture programs in the country by The Best Master’s Degree website. More
Calendar
Oct. 25: Staniforth Memorial Lecture
The 27th annual David W. Staniforth Memorial Lecture will be Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 4:10 p.m. in 118 Horticulture Hall. Marie Jasieniuk, professor and plant biologist in the department of plant sciences at the University of California-Davis, will present “Managing the Evolution of Weed Adaptations.” A reception will follow in the Agronomy Commons. More
Oct. 27: Feeding the World Seminar Series
This week’s Feeding the World seminar, “The Somalia Famine of 2011,” will be Thursday, Oct. 27, 3:40 to 5 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall, Ensminger Room. Daniel Maxwell, professor and acting director of the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, will be speaking about his new book co-authored with Nisar Majid, “Famine in Somalia: Competing Imperatives, Collective Failures, 2011-2012.”
Oct. 29: Chuckwagon Breakfast
The Department of Animal Science will host its annual Chuckwagon breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 to 10 a.m. in the Jeff and Deb Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center.
Funding Opportunities
CALS Travel Support for DARPA Insect Allies Proposers Day, Oct. 28
CALS will provide up to $600 each for up to three CALS faculty members to attend the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Insect Allies Proposers Day on Nov. 18 in Arlington, Va. 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 grant-related conference or workshop. Interested CALS faculty should contact Joe Colletti (colletti@iastate.edu) by Friday, Oct. 28, to request support. More
Seeking Reviewers: Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Oct. 29
The Department of State and IREX are seeking qualified experts to read and score applications for the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Ideal reviewers are academics and/or professionals with expertise in one of the program’s thematic areas: business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, public management, energy or those who have experience working in Africa. Reviewers are not eligible to receive an honorarium. Interested experts should complete the application form by October 29. More
Seed Grant Opportunity: Data Driven Discovery for Agricultural Innovation, Oct. 31
The ISU Data Driven Discovery for Agricultural Innovation Project is accepting applications for seed funding. The two funding priorities are efforts that coordinate existing D3AI research efforts with the Midwest Big Data Hub Digital Agriculture Spoke, and research to address efforts to address ethical, legal, societal, economic and environmental implications of data driven research in agriculture. Two to three awards of $10,000 to $25,000 are anticipated. Proposals are due Oct. 31. More
Proposals Sought on Antibiotic Use and Resistance, Nov. 15
The National Pork Board’s 2017 General Call includes a request for proposals that address antibiotic use and resistance. Topics that will be considered for funding include alternatives to antibiotics, environmental fate of antibiotics, antibiotic administration and mitigations. Preference will be given to projects that involve multidisciplinary approaches that may include academic and commercial collaborations, except where discovery is needed to establish principles necessary for additional research. The 2017 General Call is also seeking proposals in several other research categories. All proposals are due Nov. 15. More
ISU Workshops: Talking Science with the Federal Government, Proposal Development Best Practices, Nov. 30
The Office of the Vice President for Research will host representatives from Van Scoyoc Associates and The Implementation Group for two workshops on Nov. 30. “How to Talk Science with the Federal Government” will be held from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. “Proposal Development Best Practices” will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Both workshops will be held in the Memorial Union Gallery. Registration will open soon. 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.
Oct. 26 (internal expression of interest): Asian Cultural Council Organization Grants; regional exchange program, topics include conservation, limited submission, email fundingopps@iastate.edu to express interest. More
Nov. 2 (request for information): USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Activity. More
Nov. 14 (request for information): DOE EERE Supporting Clean Energy Startups: Industry and Investment Partnerships for Scaling Innovation. More
Nov. 15 (annually): NSF Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences: Investigator-initiated Research Projects. More
Nov. 16: The Roddenberry Prize; world-changing solutions, $400,000 Grand Prize and four $150,000 Innovation Awards. More
Dec. 12: DOE Biosystems Design to Enable Next-Generation Biofuels and Bioproducts; $1 million to $5 million per year for up to five years. More
Dec. 12: USDA NIFA Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive; universities eligible as partners. More
Jan. 18: NSF Training-Based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (CyberTraining); $500,000. More
Jan. 19: USDA NIFA 2017 Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative. More
Jan. 22 (letter of intent): NIH Powering Research through Innovative Methods for Mixtures in Epidemiology (R01); statistical, data science, quantitative approaches to studying health effects of complex chemical mixtures in environmental epidemiology. More
Feb. 5: NIH Addressing Health Disparities in NIDDK Diseases (R01). More
Infograzing
ISU ADVANCE Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
ISU ADVANCE will celebrate its 10 year anniversary on Nov. 10 with a workshop and a reception. The workshop, 10 to 11:30 a.m., will be led by Susan Carlson, vice provost for academic personnel and program at the University of California System. Carlson is former ISU associate provost for faculty and founding principal investigator of ISU ADVANCE. The reception will be held 3 to 5:30 p.m. in the Brunnier Museum. The event is open to the ISU community. RSVPs are accepted online.
Marginalia
Youngs Assists Embryo Transfer Project in Kosovo
Curtis Youngs, animal science, was part of a team of ISU researchers that made possible the first ever successful bovine embryo transfers in the Republic of Kosovo, paving the way toward improved dairy production and food security for the small nation in southeastern Europe. The first calf was born in Kosovo on July 6, 2015. http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2015/09/03/kosovo Balkan Insight ran a story on the project featuring Youngs and the American connection. (Despite the language used in the story aimed at a general readership, embryo transfer is a very safe technology that does not involve "hazmat suits" or connect to “aliens.”) 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.