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College News
CELEBRATING WATER QUALITY COLLABORATION
 Iowa leaders celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy on May 29. Hongwei Xin, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences assistant dean for research and interim director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, offered remarks to Iowa political, agricultural and community leaders at the event at the BioCentury Research Farm. Since the strategy was finalized, there has been significant work by farmers, landowners, communities, businesses, stakeholders and CALS researchers to improve water quality in Iowa. More
EUREKA! ISU 83 IN THE WORLD FOR PATENTS
Iowa State University ranks No. 83 in the world in the number of patents granted in the United States last year, according to a list recently released by the National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association. “Iowa State has a long history of successful technology transfer, from enabling data to be transmitted by fax machines, to technologies that contribute to feeding the world daily,” said Lisa Lorenzen (’89 genetics, ’94 PhD genetics), executive director of the ISU Research Foundation and director of the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer. More
REVEALING TRENDS IN IOWA FARMLAND OWNERSHIP
A study released today by Iowa State’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) shows more Iowa farmland is owned free of debt (82 percent as compared to 78 percent in 2012), 60 percent of farmland is owned by people 65 years of age or older and 47 percent of farmland is owned by women. A summary on the five major trends of ownership, tenancy and transfer of farmland in Iowa, as well as characteristics of landowners can be found on the CARD website. The data provides a critical update to the Iowa Farmland Ownership and Tenure survey series and a 35-year perspective. The survey is mandated by the state of Iowa, and has been conducted every five or 10 years since the 1940s. More
IOWA STATE TEAM WINS WORLDWIDE FOOD SOLUTIONS CHALLENGE
For three Iowa State graduate students, winning the worldwide 2018 Food Solutions Challenge was more than an honor – it meant they could help reduce food waste in their homeland. The team received $5,000 in May for its proposal to improve the shelf life of cassava, which is a staple food in Africa and can rot within three days after harvest. Team members include Samuel Kiprotich, food science and human nutrition; Mike Sserunjogi, agricultural and biosystems engineering; and Emmanuel Nsamba, genetics. More
CALS STUDENTS SWEEP NACTA JUDGING CONTESTS
For the fourth year in a row, CALS student judging teams won the overall sweepstakes award among four-year institutions at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference held in April. Iowa State teams entered several agricultural categories and were judged as both a group and individually. The Iowa State Ag Knowledge Bowl team won first place for the eighth year in a row. The crops team won first for the fifth time in the last six years. Iowa State teams also ranked first in ag mechanics and computer applications. More
ISU TO HOST NATIONAL SWINE GENOMICS CENTER
A new federally funded center of excellence led by Iowa State scientists is devoted to understanding the genomic, or molecular, mechanisms that govern important genetic traits in swine such as growth and disease resistance. The center will include personnel at Iowa State, Michigan State, the University of California at Davis and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. More
MEET THE GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER INTERNS
The 2018 crew of George Washington Carver Summer Research Interns has arrived on campus. The 17 multicultural scholars from around the country are busy conducting research with CALS faculty supervisors. Their projects include Monarch conservation, food safety, poultry resiliency, soybean germination and more. More
IT’S FIELD DAY SEASON
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has a full slate of educational workshops, conferences, field days and trainings scheduled throughout the summer. Experts will be offering research-based information on cover crops, nitrogen management, monarchs, marketing, food safety, livestock production and more. See below calendars for event details:
BIG DATA HELPS MAP CORN’S RESPONSE TO STRESS
Plant scientists at Iowa State have completed a new study that describes the genetic pathways at work when corn plants respond to stress brought on by heat, a step that could lead to crops better capable of withstanding stress. More
GENOMES LEAD TO JURASIC INSIGHTS AND BEYOND
Comparing how the chromosomes of modern-day birds and turtles are structured can help scientists figure out how dinosaur genomes might have looked. An Iowa State scientist contributed to an international research team that recently published its findings reaching back through 260 million years of genomics. More
PLANT PATTERNS PREDICT PERFORMANCE
New research led by Jianming Yu, agronomy, identifies clear patterns in how plants react to different environments that could lead to new ways of predicting crop performance. The study, published recently in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” focuses on phenotypic plasticity, or the way plant traits respond to environmental factors. More
CY SCREAMS FOR ICE CREAM
A micro-creamery in the Center for Crops Utilization Research pilot plant in the Food Sciences Building is set to open this fall. This is the first phase of professor Stephanie Clark’s plan to open a creamery at Iowa State. The milk needed to produce the ice cream, and later, cheese, will come from the Iowa State Dairy Farm. More
STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS INVESTIGATE BIOTECH
Students in the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative investigated a gene-editing technique as part of a class project this spring. Their efforts took them to California where they created a video to document their learning process. Check out their video to learn more about their experience and the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology. More
MORE COLLEGE NEWS
- New Research Funded by Egg Industry Center Brings Award Total to Over $1 Million
- Reports Update Research Results at Iowa State University Research Farms
- Staff Changes at Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms
Social Media Spotlights
CYCLONE POWER PULLERS APPLAUDED FOR SPORTSMANSHIP
A tweet went out May 31 applauding the sportsmanship of Iowa State’s Cyclone Power Pullers at the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Competition. A competing team was having problems with their hydraulics and, according to the competitor, may have needed to drop out of the competition. The Cyclone Power Pullers helped with a box of spare hydraulic parts. More
FIND INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT ON YOUTUBE
The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program launched a YouTube channel promoting means-tested crop and pest management solutions. Viewers will find content detailing the efforts of the IPM program, best practices and information, as well as demonstrations on how to identify and evaluate insects and diseases and their impact on field crops. More
Alumni News
ALUMNI HONORED FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni were among those honored by the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) organization during its annual conference in Ames, June 12-15. Several alumni gathered to enjoy a CALS alumni reception during the conference (pictured). NACTA awardees include:
- Mark Anderson (’11 PhD meat science, food science and technology), assistant professor of animal science, Sam Houston State University – NACTA Educator Award
- Nicholas Basta (’84 MS agronomy, ’89 PhD), professor of soil environmental chemistry, The Ohio State University – NACTA Educator Award
- Erik Christian (’04 agronomy, ’07 MS crop production and physiology, ’12 PhD), agronomist, Land O’Lakes, Inc. – NACTA Judging and Student Service Award
- Elizabeth Karcher (’07 PhD immunobiology, nutritional sciences), assistant professor of animal science, Purdue University – NACTA Teaching Scholar Award
- OP McCubbins (’16 PhD ag and life sciences education), assistant professor of agricultural education, Tennessee Tech University – Jack Everly Journal Award
- Kelsey Sands (’16 animal science), graduate student in the ISU Department of Agricultural Education and Studies, third place – NACTA Graduate Student Poster Session
JACOBSEN SAFETY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
 The American Society of Safety Professionals and Holmes Murphy have recognized Josh Jacobsen (’05 industrial technology), senior loss control consultant for Holmes Murphy, as the Region V 2017 Safety Professional of the Year. Jacobsen was among eight recipients recognized at the society’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5. More
PLAGGE REGIONAL FARM MOM OF THE YEAR
 Valerie Plagge (’06 ag and life sciences education) has been named a regional winner of the America’s Farmers Mom of the Year Award. Plagge, a farmer near Latimer, operates hog finishing barns and farms corn and soybeans with her husband, Ian (’07 ag business). She participates in the Common Ground online community with her blog, Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids. Plagge is among ten national finalists honored for contributions to family, farm, community and the agriculture industry. More
RILEY, SUKUP HONORED FOR INNOVATION
Robert (Bob) G. Riley Jr. (CALS advisory council member) has received the 2018 Cultivation Corridor Iowa Biotech Leadership Award and the Iowa State University Ivy College of Business innovationENTREPRENEUR Award. Riley has worked for more than 40 years in the fats and oil processing industry including Corn Oil One, a startup company within the Riley Resource Group. Also honored at the 2018 innovationIowa awards, was Sheffield-based Sukup Manufacturing. Sukup was the recipient of the Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont innovationLEADER award. The three-generation family business began with Eugene Sukup (’11 honorary, ’15 PhD) in 1962 and continues under leadership including Charles Sukup (’76 ag engineering, ’82 MS) and Steven Sukup (’79 engineering). More
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE CONNECTIONS
 Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives recently featured College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Connections at Iowa State University project. “There is a rich, but largely unknown history of African Americans who used their Iowa State education to create successful and impactful careers at historically black colleges and universities,” wrote Shaina Destine, residency librarian. Profiles are included for the following CALS alumni: Rufus Atwood (’23 agricultural education), pictured, Walker Davis (’33 MS economics and sociology), Willa Ewing (’26 botany, ’35 MS horticulture), Cecile Hoover Edwards (’50 PhD food and nutrition), John Lockett (’23 agronomy, ’28 MS), Jesse Mark (’35 PhD botany), Benjamin Perry Jr. (’42 MS agricultural economics) and Marion Richards Myles (’45 PhD botany). More
ALUMNI SUPPORT LEADS TO STORYBOOK EVENT, INTERNSHIP AT STARS OVER SUNRISE ACRES
Iowa State alumni made their way across the meadow in a horse-drawn carriage as hosts Patricia Tice ('75 child devel MS '83 ed), left, and Lynn Henderson ('74 ag journalism), right, prepared to greet them. The Iowa State Alumni Association event, Stars Over Sunrise Acres in Adel on May 31, was just one of many university and college events agricultural communications student Madelyn Main (center) will assist with as part of her alumni relations internship in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her internship is supported by CALS alumni to provide hands-on learning experiences for ag communications students. See photos from the ISU Alumni Association event. More
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