Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Veishea open houses today and Saturday



- Veishea: Frozen yogurt in LeBaron



- High school students learn about ag science at ISU



- Openings remain for Brenton Center seminar April 23



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- College home page exceeds 100,000 hits in March



- Web hits more than doubled since last fall



- You can check activity for your Web site



- Debate over number of Internet users worldwide



INFOGRAZING



- Iowa students near top in repaying loans



- Explosion in GPS industry predicted



- Wiring Russian universities to the Internet



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Keeping an eye on the old bull



MARGINALIA



- Getting creamed for a good cause



- April's green traffic light







C O L L E G E N E W S







VEISHEA OPEN HOUSES TODAY AND SATURDAY



Among the Veishea displays and open houses today (Friday) and

Saturday are these: Ag Systems Technology, south of Davidson;

Ag Business, central campus; Alpha Zeta, ground floor Curtiss;

Biology/Zoology/Genetics, 156 Bessey; Block and Bridle, Livestock

Judging Pavilion; Botany, 112 Bessey; Collegiate 4-H, ground floor

Curtiss; Dairy Science, west of Kildee; Entomology, Science II

commons; Farm Bureau, central campus; Farm Operations, ground

floor Curtiss; Fisheries and Wildlife Biology, 132 Science II;

Food Science & Human Nutrition, LeBaron lounge (Room 1009);

Forestry, northwest of Curtiss; Horticulture, Horticulture Hall;

MANRS, central campus; Vet Med, Laboratorium Anatomy.



VEISHEA: FROZEN YOGURT IN LEBARON



The Food Science & Human Nutrition Club will be selling frozen

yogurt in the lobby outside the LeBaron Hall lounge (Room 1009),

starting at noon today (Friday) and all day Saturday.



HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT AG SCIENCE AT ISU



Eighty-six Iowa high school students got hands-on experience with

agricultural science Thursday at the college's annual Science

in Agriculture Day. The day lets students explore scientific topics

in agriculture while getting a feel for life at ISU. Sixteen college

faculty and staff gave presentations throughout the day on soil

erosion, water quality, electron microscopy, DNA analysis, food

science and other topics. Richard Carlson, agronomy, organized

the day's activities.



OPENINGS REMAIN FOR BRENTON CENTER SEMINAR APRIL 23



There are a few openings left for the Teaching with Technology

Seminar presented by Brenton Center faculty and staff, 1-3 p.m.,

Tuesday, April 23 in Room 9, Curtiss Hall. To register, contact

Jeanette Drewry, 4-1862 or drewry@iastate.edu. The seminar will

explain available educational technology, how to use it and how

to reserve teaching space in the center.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



April 23: Teaching With Technology seminar, Brenton Center, 1-3

p.m.



April 27: Ethics and Animals in Agriculture, ISU Bioethics Symposium,

Molecular Biology Bldg.







C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K









COLLEGE HOME PAGE EXCEEDS 100,000 HITS IN MARCH



The College of Agriculture's World Wide Web server exceeded 100,000

"hits" last month. By clicking on an estimated 3,000

links in the server, virtual visitors in March called up 105,463

pages of information on college, department, center or other ag

programs. During the first quarter of the year, hits totaled 284,719.

In March, 32 percent of the visitors were from within ISU. Another

14 percent were from other U.S. educational institutions. About

13 percent visited from commercial sites on the Web, 8 percent

had network addresses and 20 percent were "unresolved addresses."

Those visiting from Canada were the most from international locations

-- 2.5 percent -- followed by Australia, the United Kingdom and

Japan. The college's home page can be found at http://www.ag.iastate.edu/.





WEB HITS MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE LAST FALL



How have hits (also known as "requests for information")

to the College of Agriculture Web server increased in the last

six months? A few statistics:



October - 43,722



November - 45,044



December - 54,652



January - 82,845



February - 96,401



March - 105,463



YOU CAN CHECK ACTIVITY FOR YOUR WEB SITE



If your department, center or program has a link on the College

of Agriculture's Web server, you can find out details about activity

at your Web site by pointing your Web browser to: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/stats/





DEBATE OVER NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS WORLDWIDE



Estimates of the number of Internet users worldwide go up and

down as arguments rage over statistical methods. Nielsen Media

Research, based on an August 1995 survey, says 19.4 million people

have accessed the Internet "in the last three months."

Vanderbilt University professors say the correct number is closer

to 16.4 million. Mark Resch of Xerox shrugs off the controversy:

"Yeah, we're in a hurricane, and they're arguing about whether

wind is blowing 150 miles an hour or 120 miles an hour. The argument

is intellectually interesting, and it totally misses the point.

Activity on our Web site is up 10 percent a month, steadily."

(New York Times, April 17)







I N F O G R A Z I N G







IOWA STUDENTS NEAR TOP IN REPAYING LOANS



Iowa students rank third nationally in paying back educational

loans. The state's default rate for federally backed student loans

in 1993 was 6.3 percent. At ISU the default rate was 2.5 percent.

At both UI and UNI: 2.9 percent. Highest default rate in Iowa:

28.6 percent at Iowa School of Beauty. Four schools with no defaults:

Allen College of Nursing, Covenant School of Radiologic Technology,

St. Luke's School of Radiologic Technology, Wartburg Theological

Seminary. (Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 23)



EXPLOSION IN GPS INDUSTRY PREDICTED



By pledging that the Pentagon's Global Positioning System (GPS)

will continue to be publicly available at no cost for years to

come, the White House has given a booster shot to the rapidly

growing $1.25 billion industry for GPS navigational equipment.

GPS is used by everyone from farmers and surveyors to car drivers

and hikers. In light of the government's commitment, industry

analysts predicted sales of GPS-related equipment would increase

seven-fold to $8.5 billion in the next four years. This promises

new products for consumers, jobs for high-tech workers and opportunities

for investors. (From the April 2 Money Daily, an on-line newsletter

published by Money magazine.)



WIRING RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES TO THE INTERNET



Philanthropist/financier George Soros has pledged $100 million

over five years to link regional universities in Russia to the

Internet. The program will establish "Internet centers"

at each of the universities, and will provide equipment, software

and training. The Russian government will fund the satellite or

fiber optic hookups. Soros notes that scholars in the provinces

are eager to participate in information exchanges with their colleagues

throughout Russia and the world. (Chronicle of Higher Education,

March 29)







E X T E R N A L V O I C E S







KEEPING AN EYE ON THE OLD BULL



Matt Heitz of Farley, Iowa, was a runner-up in Farm Journal's

Farm Spokespersons of the Year, which salutes those doing an outstanding

job of telling nonfarmers about agriculture. As a member of Iowa

Farm Bureau's Speaker Corps, Heitz does public speaking, writes

newspaper columns and answers reporters' questions about farming.

"Most reporters don't know much more about farming than any

other nonfarming citizen," he says. "You have to spend

time with them and build up some trust." Until you reach

that point, he adds, "it's a little like having the old bull

around. You need to keep a watchful eye on them." (Farm Journal,

April)







M A R G I N A L I A







GETTING CREAMED FOR A GOOD CAUSE



A few hours of whipped-cream facials for selected faculty, staff

and administrators earned Alpha Zeta, the honorary for College

of Agriculture students, more than $100 at its Veishea pie-throwing

booth Tuesday. The proceeds will benefit the Just for Kids Program,

a farm safety program for children.



APRIL'S GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT



April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go.

-- Chistopher Morley