COLLEGE NEWS
- Ag faculty to meet on General Catalog changes
- Ag ambassador application deadline Oct. 25
- Ag invention royalties distributed for FY96
- Rice breeders receive World Food Prize
- ISU experts answer "Why Is It" questions
- Risk management topic for ISU Ag Week panel
- Nomination deadline nears for college, ISU awards
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Lose the jargon, Canadian scientists advised
INFOGRAZING
- Why apples turn brown and corn ears have even rows
- Farm Progress Show: By the numbers
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Science and politics: Beyond the committee rooms
- Science and politics: Avoid know-it-all-ism
MARGINALIA
- Turn off the heat in Minnesota tenure battle
AG FACULTY TO MEET ON GENERAL CATALOG CHANGES
College of Agriculture faculty will meet on Oct. 31 to discuss
and approve changes to the 1997-99 General Catalog. The meeting
will be held in 125 Kildee, beginning at 4:10 p.m. For more information,
contact Bonnie Glatz, chair, college curriculum committee, 4-3970
or bglatz@iastate.edu.
AG AMBASSADOR APPLICATION DEADLINE OCT. 25
Students can still submit applications to be agriculture ambassadors.
The ambassadors visit high schools to talk about the College of
Agriculture and ISU. Training will be held in early November.
Application blanks are available from Mark Hanna, 40468, or Ag
Information, 4-5616.
AG INVENTION ROYALTIES DISTRIBUTED FOR FY96
In fiscal year 1996, the ISU Research Foundation distributed $191,427
in invention royalties to the Experiment Station and College of
Agriculture departments and programs. About 39 percent of the
royalties came from ISU soybean varieties. Other royalties included
those from geraniums and roses, swine genetic markers, a soybean
database, a corn-gluten weed control product and a system to separate
bone chips from meat. ISURF distributed $33,592 directly to ISU
ag inventors, and $140,713 from licensing activities to inventors'
research programs. ISURF also provided $13,162 to help ag researchers
complete or strengthen their inventions, or help them prepare
test samples or prototypes for potential licensees.
RICE BREEDERS RECEIVE WORLD FOOD PRIZE
Two International Rice Research Institute rice breeders were awarded
the 1996 World Food Prize. Henry M. Beachell and Gurdev Singh
Khush developed new varieties that more than doubled the world's
rice production over the last three decades. On Thursday, the
two were interviewed in an Agronomy Hall greenhouse for the "Person
of the Week" segment that aired Friday on ABC World News
Tonight with Peter Jennings. A World Food Prize symposium on food
security was held on Saturday, Oct. 19, featuring the laureates
from this year and previous years, and other food and agricultural
experts.
ISU EXPERTS ANSWER "WHY IS IT" QUESTIONS
Why is it that bitten apples turn brown when exposed to air? Why
is it that corn always has an even number of rows of kernels?
Two agriculture faculty members recently answered these questions
for "Why Is It," a 90-second radio show produced by
the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The show
airs on 65 radio stations, and sometimes on the "America
in the Morning" news magazine. Questions are called in by
the public (1-800-WHY-ISIT) and AAAS finds experts to answer them.
The apple question, answered by Lester Wilson, food science and
human nutrition, will air Oct. 31. The corn question, answered
by Dale Farnham, agronomy, will air on Thanksgiving Day. A Web
site (http://www.scienceupdate.com) features RealAudio versions
of current and past shows. For Wilson and Farnham's answers, see
"Infograzing".
RISK MANAGEMENT TOPIC FOR ISU AG WEEK PANEL
A panel discussion on risk management for farmers will be held
on Oct. 30 during ISU's Ag Week. The meeting, sponsored by the
Collegiate Farm Bureau Club, will feature Neil Harl and Dermot
Hayes from ag economics and Craig Hill, a Milo farmer. It begins
at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. For more information:
Pauley Bradley, 292-3880 ext. 5307, or 4-0705.
NOMINATION DEADLINE NEARS FOR COLLEGE, ISU AWARDS
November 1 is the nomination deadline for several College of Agriculture
and university awards, including those for outstanding adviser,
teacher, scholarly achievement in teaching, and P&S and merit
awards. Nomination forms are available in departmental and area
extension offices, or for more information, call 4-6614.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Oct. 18: World Food Prize ceremony, Des Moines Civic Center, 4
p.m.
Oct. 18-Nov. 8: Flu shots for faculty and staff, 205 TASF, 9 a.m.-4
p.m.
Oct. 25: Deadline, Student Ag Ambassador applications; 4-5616.
Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Ag Week at ISU
Oct. 31 - Ag faculty meeting on General Catalog changes, 125 Kildee,
4:10 p.m.
Nov. 1: Nomination deadline for several college, ISU awards; 4-6614.
Nov. 12: Ag Career Day, Memorial Union
LOSE THE JARGON, CANADIAN SCIENTISTS ADVISED
A directive from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council, Canada's largest funding agency, tells scientists to
explain their projects in everyday language rather than technical
jargon. The directive responds to a member of Parliament's attacks
on "frivolous research," including the paternity of
squirrels, the energetics of hummingbirds, "information processing
among pigeons," and "cubitus interruptus locus in Drosophilia."
(Toronto Globe & Mail, Aug. 27)
WHY APPLES TURN BROWN AND CORN EARS HAVE EVEN ROWS
(See related item in "College News.") Lester Wilson,
food science and human nutrition, says cells are damaged when
an apple is bitten into, cut or bruised. These cells release enzymes
that interact with other compounds in the apple; oxidation and
polymerization take place; and a brown pigment results. Why ears
of corn always have an even number of kernel rows is basic biology,
says Dale Farnham, agronomy. Cell division always occurs in multiples
of two. So most ears of hybrid corn will have 16 to 20 rows of
kernels. If stress occurs early in development, there may be only
12.
FARM PROGRESS SHOW: BY THE NUMBERS
A few numbers from the Farm Progress Show, Sept. 27-29, in Amana:
Number of displays in ISU Extension tent: 21
Number of visitors to ISU tent: 85,000
Approximate number of media interviews before and during show:
80
Number of TV crews each from Brazil and Argentina: 1
Number of ISU employees who staffed displays: 300
Number of visitors who completed a survey by trying on sun-safe
hats: 2,800
Number of visitors screened for skin cancer: 700
Approximate number referred to their doctors for care: 70
Number for whom an immediate appointment at an Iowa City hospital
was made: 1
SCIENCE AND POLITICS: BEYOND THE COMMITTEE ROOMS
On Sept. 10, U.S. Representative Robert Walker, chair, House Committee
on Science, addressed a group interested in science and technology
policy. A few of his remarks: The House and Senate science-oriented
committees now receive all the attention they need from science
advocates -- where science advocacy is weak is outside the committee
rooms, on the floor of the House and Senate. Many Congressmen
who are not on those committees would love to have some of the
exposure to the science community that the key committee members
have. Because science is fun; learning about science is fun; and
being treated respectfully by scientists is fun. (From notes posted
on the Public Communication of Science and Technology listserv,
based at Cornell University.)
SCIENCE AND POLITICS: AVOID KNOW-IT-ALL-ISM
Rep. Walker (see item above) also remarked that the public is
overwhelmingly in favor of funding affordable science. Congress
as a whole continues to view it as an engine of continuing economic
growth. But he warned the science community to guard against assuming
that it knows all the answers and that the public at large is
stupid. Most scientists admit, and much of the public realizes,
that mainstream scientific knowledge is incomplete and partially
erroneous. Excess elitism and hubris does not advance the cause
of science politically, he said.
TURN OFF THE HEAT IN MINNESOTA TENURE BATTLE
From a Sept. 26 letter in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, written
by Lawrence Rudnick, professor of astronomy, University of Minnesota,
regarding the new tenure policy proposed by the Minnesota Board
of Regents: "Thinking creatively, perhaps turning off the
office heat is an even better alternative for the regents to achieve
their goals. It will certainly weed out faculty members with bad
attitudes, give incentives for faculty to spend more time with
their students in warm classrooms, provide the cool heads the
Star Tribune has called for and save money. It will avoid all
the hassles of faculty unionization, and, best of all, it's a
uniquely Minnesotan solution to whatever problem it is that we're
trying to solve."
Ag Online is a biweekly newsletter for ISU College of Agriculture
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Fax: 515-294-8662.
Next issue: Nov. 1. Deadline: Oct. 28.
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