Issue 4 - January 17, 2007 |
CFANS People in the News
 Cliff Lamb, professor in the Department of Animal Science, received the 2006 Service Award from the Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association. The group recognized his outstanding service to the industry and support of the state's cattle producers.
 Jill Hamilton-Reeves, a doctoral student in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, is one of five finalists in the American Society for Nutrition Clinical Young Investigator Award Competition. The winner will be announced at the nutrition society's awards ceremony on April 29.
 Dan Svedarsky, research biologist at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center in Crookston, was elected vice president of The Wildlife Society and will eventually become president. Svedarsky is the first Minnesota resident elected to this office.
 Regents professor Ed Schuh retired on Nov. 17, 2006. He came to the University as head of what was then the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. In 1986 he became Dean of the Humphrey Institute, a position he held for ten years while also holding appointments in applied economics and economics. In 1998 he was appointed a Regents Professor of the University.
Brent Hulke, a graduate student in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, received the National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders (NCCPB) Award at the American Seed Trade Association, Corn & Sorghum and Soybean Seed Research Conference. The award was established for outstanding graduate students in the field of basic, applied, or developmental research in genetics and plant breeding.
Adam Fischer is the new major gifts officer for CFANS. Adam has almost 10 years experience in fundraising, sales and marketing. Adam will work with alumni and friends to determine their philanthropic interests, and arrange appropriate gifts in support of collegiate and departmental fundraising priorities.
 Recent graduate Jessie Koehle won the “best student poster” competition sponsored by the Water Quality section of the American Fisheries Society. Her winning poster summarized her thesis work. Koehle is continuing work on the Topeka shiner with professor Ira Adelman in the fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology department.
 Arnold Flikke, professor emeritus in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, died Jan. 10. He was head of the department from 1973 to 1982 and a current scholarship bears his name.
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In This Issue
- Introducing "Speaking of Science "
- CFANS at the Capitol
- Founding Fellows named for Institute on the Environment
- "What's For Dinner" features author Michael Pollan
- Crops College a big success
- 'Great Conversations' resumes
- At the Bell: Project Art for Nature
- Summer camp signups start soon
- Events
Introducing "Speaking of Science"
 This month, we’re unveiling “Speaking of Science,” the first in a series of interviews between CFANS dean Allen Levine and key faculty and staff. The interviews are intended to showcase the variety and depth of the research and outreach work happening throughout the college. A new interview will be posted bi-weekly on the CFANS website. The first interviewee is Mike Sadowsky, Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate.
Read the Q and A with Mike Sadowsky
Listen to the full interview (MP3 download of raw audio)
Part 1: About Mike's research on E.coli
Part 2: About Mike's research on other bacteria
Part 3: About Mike's work on symbiotic relationships
Part 4: About Mike's work outside traditional academic divisions
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From Dean Allen Levine: CFANS at the Capitol
 The University is asking the state of Minnesota for $123 million more in funding for the 2008-2009 biennial budget. Greater investments in the University – and CFANS -- will help us maintain our educational and research standards and better position the U to contribute to Minnesota’s economy and quality of life. If legislators and the governor approve the funding request, the university will be able to move closer to its goal of becoming one of the top public research universities in the world.
For CFANS specifically, the request includes major investments in the environment, agricultural systems and renewable energy ($8.4 million). The money will be used to help create the new Institute on the Environment as well as for enhancing our leadership role in developing new forms of renewable energy and solving some of our most pressing human and animal health problems. In addition, the budget request includes new money to help attract and retain more of the world’s best researchers and educators.
As Minnesota’s only research university, we play an important role in the state’s future. Discoveries made in our college’s laboratories and classrooms have led to higher-yielding crops, new ideas for renewable energy and safer food storage, just to name a few examples. If you support this kind of solution-driven science and the breakthroughs it can bring, contact your legislators and urge them to support the budget request.
We are a large and diverse community with about 1,800 undergraduate students, 800 graduate students, nearly 270 faculty, and 800 staff members. We benefit from vital partnerships with the University’s strong academic health center, major institute of public affairs, superb law school, and top-tier business school, as well as government agencies, industry, and nonprofit organizations. This rich context allows our faculty to offer strong, cross-disciplinary studies that provide our students unique opportunities to interact with students, teachers, and community leaders across a wide spectrum of interests related to agriculture and natural resources.
As the College most closely connected with the University’s historical roots as a land grant institution, our programs revitalize the University’s core mission and support the University’s “top three” goal through multidisciplinary, aligned research efforts and a systems approach to complex problems.
During the next several months CFANS will engage in rigorous discussions about strategies to attain excellence in teaching, discovery, and outreach related to our land grant mission. We will review the key recommendations from the Academic/College Design Task Force and the 20 working groups, and from them create strategies that will carry us into the future. Our goal will be to encourage the freedom of thought that leads to distinction of ideas.
I am a lucky guy—we have a great group of faculty, students and staff that are clearly committed to making CFANS the best place for discovery, research and public engagement. I look forward to seeing you on my daily walks around campus and in a variety of other venues.
-- Al
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Institute on the Environment names founding fellows
Four CFANS faculty members are "Founding Fellows" of the University's new Institute on the Environment. The 15 Founding Fellows will lead the establishment of the institute. Their appointments last for up to two years. CFANS faculty in the group include Susan Galatowitsch, professor in the horticultural science department; Anne R. Kapuscinski, professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology; David Mulla, professor in the soils, water and climate department; and Stephen Polasky, professor in the Department of Applied Economics.
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'What's for Dinner?' features author Michael Pollan
 The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum presents What's for Dinner? The Ethics and Aesthetics of Eating, featuring Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Pollan will present the keynote address, followed by a panel discussion including Allen Levine, CFANS dean, as well as regional experts, growers and distributors. The event is presented by the arboretum’s Public Policy Program and sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Program on Agriculture, Food and Environmental Ethics and the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. For more information and to register, call the Arboretum’s Education Office at 952-443-1422 or go to http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/education/adult/publicpolicy.htm.
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Crops College a big success
Above: Crops College speakers Paul Aakre and Kim Odden work in the biodiesel lab.
Participants at the first “Crops College” in Crookston last month learned about everything from on-farm biodiesel production, varietal seed selection, fertilizer and pest management to crop economics and production. Crops College, which is sponsored in part by the Northwest Research and Outreach Center, is a way for participants to get both hands-on and lecture experiences, said Charla Hollingsworth, a professor of plant pathology and co-chair of the Crops College program. More than 20 topics were covered, with classes taught by industry professionals as well as academic experts. The producers and ag professionals who attended also heard from U.S. Rep Collin Peterson, the new chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, who said biodiesel is sure to be a part of the 2007 Farm Bill.
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'Great Conversations' series resumes
 Next month, the College of Continuing Education will launch a new season of Great Conversations. This year’s first guest host: Allen Levine, dean of CFANS. He’ll explore the complex causes of the obesity epidemic with David Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The event will be at 7:30 p.m. February 20 at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the West Bank of the University campus. The discussion is followed by a dessert reception with the speakers. Single tickets for the event are $28.50 or $23.50 for faculty, staff, students and alumni association members. Tickets for the whole Great Conversations series are $120 or $100. To order tickets: 612-624-2345.
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At the Bell: Project Art
Seventeen artists from Minnesota and Wisconsin take inspiration from the region’s increasingly splintered wild places in “Project Art for Nature: Presence, Essence, Absence,” opening February 10 at the Bell Museum of Natural History.
Through a wide variety of media, Project Art for Nature artists explore changes in the natural environment -- including habitat degradation and restoration -- caused by weather, climate and human activity. Working in teams of two and three, the artists focused on locations ranging from Wisconsin’s Kinnickinnic River and Crex Meadows Wildlife Area to the Mississippi River Gorge in Minneapolis and Mankato’s Kasota Prairie.
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It's never too soon to think about camp
Registration for summer camp at the Bell Museum of Natural History is quickly approaching. Summer camp options are at the museum's website.
Registration for members begins February 13; open registration begins February 20. For questions, call 612-624-9050 or send e-mail to registrations@bellmuseum.org.
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Events
Here are a few of the upcoming events of interest to the College of
Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences community. Visit www.cfans.umn.edu to
see more events.
Design workshop
Friday, January 19, 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 20, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Rapson Hall
Greenlight, the student-led sustainable design workgroup at the College of Design, takes on a project in Cold Spring, Minn., this year. The workgroup will offer design ideas for a former granite quarry. Attendance is free, but please RSVP to grnlight@umn.edu.
Legislative briefing
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 5:30 p.m.
McNamara Alumni Center
Get an insider’s preview and discussion of the University of Minnesota’s 2007 legislative requests. President Robert Bruininks, along with students, faculty and alumni will explain how the projects in this year’s request will benefit the University and the entire state. Learn the skills necessary to be an effective advocate for the University at the Capitol and in your community. RSVP online to attend by January 18 or call Mary Kay at 612-626-1417.
Fixing Global Warming: Risk and Response to Global Environmental Change, Lessons from Social Science Research
Friday, January 26, 8 a.m.
Hubert H. Humphrey Center
With the scientific data on global climate change so widely available, why do some governments take action while others deny that the problem even exists? This conference will bring together social scientists from around the world to investigate that question.
Presentations will focus on the responses of governments, businesses, NGOs, international institutions, and national and international policies to global warming. Participants and presenters will discuss case studies from around the world. The conference sponsors include the Institute for Global Studies, the university’s Climate Change Network, the Institute for Research on Energy and the Environment, and the Institute on the Environment.
Pathways Toward a Renewable Energy Future
Thursday, February 1, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Cargill Building for Microbial and Plant Genomics
This symposium sponsored by the Initiative on Renewable Energy and the Environment brings together experts to discuss how we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by producing sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and abundant biofuels. Six panelists from around the country will each give a short presentation, followed by a panel discussion. For details, contact Jason Hill at hill0408@umn.edu or (612) 624-7258.
The Ethics of Nutrigenomics
Wednesday, February 7, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
St. Paul Student Center
Nutrigenomics straddles a food-medicine distinction and is encumbered with many questions about the strength and uncertainties associated with the science. David Castle, a professor of philosophy at the University of Ottawa, will discuss how the public should respond to offers of direct-to-consumer nutrigenomic tests and how regulators can identify and mitigate risks arising from this new science. CFANS dean Allen Levine and Kristin Oehlke, coordinator of Minnesota's Chronic Disease Genomics Project, will offer commentary after Castle's talk.
UMAA 2007 Volunteer Leadership Summit
Saturday, February 10, 9 a.m.
All University of Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA) national, society and chapter volunteers are invited to participate in the 2007 Volunteer Leadership Summit. This event brings together the UMAA’s top volunteers to provide a forum for sharing ideas, learning from each other and celebrating your support for the University. The program will include presentations, interactive sessions, discussions and networking. See www.alumni.umn.edu/summit for details.
Ag Issues Roundtable
Thursday, Feb. 15, noon
Four Points Sheraton hotel, Minneapolis
Professor Kent Olson of the Department of Applied Economics will speak on “The New Farm Bill: Impacts on Minnesota Farms.” The event is the second in a series this academic year and will be at the Four Points Sheraton hotel. Cost is $30; pre-registration is necessary.
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