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Identifying
Priorities
for Iowa's Future
November 2003
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Background on the Experiment Station
What is the Experiment Station?
The Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station is the title of the research program that has addressed immediate and long-term needs of Iowans for more than 115 years. Established at Iowa State in 1888, the Experiment Station fulfilled a Congressional charge for land-grant universities to develop organizations to advance science for the citizens of their states. The dean of the College of Agriculture serves as director of the Experiment Station.
Where is the Experiment Station?
Because of its name, the Experiment Station sometimes is mistakenly viewed as Iowa State's agricultural research farms and labs. Those are important places for its work, but as this review hopes to show, the Experiment Station is a vital research program involving hundreds of peoplefaculty and staff, hundreds of partners and connections to extension reaching Iowans in every county. The research is conducted on campus, on ISU's research farms and with cooperating producers, businesses and communities.
Why the Experiment Station?
The Experiment Station's advances in biological, physical and social sciences have contributed greatly to Iowa. Experiment Station research and ISU Extension not only help Iowa remain a world leader in food production, they address societal issues intimately linked to agriculture, including economic development, life-science frontiers, the environment, public policy, and families and communities. Innovation resulting from Experiment Station research is one reason why Iowa State University is among the nation's leading universities in transferring research and technology into commercial uses. In FY02, Experiment Station research made up half of ISU's patent disclosures and more than half of its active commercial agreements.
The Experiment Station and Extension are central to fulfilling Iowa State's land-grant mission of education, research and outreach.
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