In This Issue
- From the dean: What the future may hold
- See CFANS at the Fair!
- Princess Kay is from CFANS again
- 'Speaking of Science' with Ulrike Tschirner
- Welcome Week introduces freshmen to campus
- MAST needs short-term homes for international students
- Bell Museum to show wildlife-stamp artistry
- Events
From Dean Allen Levine: The future of food
Editor’s note: Allen Levine was one of several experts interviewed by Mpls-St. Paul magazine for a recent story titled “Fast Forward 2058,” a look at what the Twin Cities might be like in 50 years. This is an edited version of his remarks.
Quick, flexible and nimble – yet sensible.
Those words describe how the food industry must respond to a rapidly changing market in the coming half-century. Biotechnology may forge a merger between food and medicine; food might become an important vehicle for delivering bioengineered treatments for diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
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Bioengineered food also may play a part in preventing specific illnesses. People will have genetic advisers who will provide profiles for the foods and treatments they need.
But tailored foods won’t come easily. Customized diets will be tremendously complex to assemble, because every action in the body has a reaction somewhere. Testing so many foods, in so many combinations, with so many preparations, under so many conditions, for so many different people… the variety is infinite.
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See CFANS on display at the Fair!
 CFANS will be well-represented at the Minnesota State Fair, which runs from Aug. 21 through Sept. 1. The college will have experts speaking nearly every day, on a range of topics from honeybees to renewable energy to food safety to identifying wildlife. Gopher Dairy Club students will again be running the Gopher Dairy Bar, and Sunday, Aug. 24 is Maroon and Gold Day, when the University of Minnesota takes the spotlight in contests and the daily parade. CFANS experts will be in the University of Minnesota building, on the University of Minnesota Stage, on the Christensen Farms Stage outside the FFA Leadership Center and Miracle of Birth Center, and on the Sustainability Stage in the Eco Experience.
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CFANS student crowned Princess Kay
 For the second year in a row, Princess Kay of the Milky Way is a CFANS student. Kristy Mussman, an applied economics major from Claremont, was crowned Aug. 20, just before the start of the State Fair. Princess Kay serves as a goodwill ambassador for the state's dairy farmers. Four of the 12 finalists for this year's crown are CFANS students, including Mussman, Megan Reeck of Paynesville, Brenda Reiter of Elgin and Laura Weisz of Hillman. One of Mussman's first duties as Princess Kay is to sit in a rotating cooler for nearly eight hours on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter. Last year's Princess Kay, Ann Miron of Hugo, also is a student at CFANS.
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A new 'Speaking of Science' interview
 The latest installment of "Speaking of Science" is now online. The newest interviewee is Ulrike Tschirner, an associate professor in the department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. This series of interviews between CFANS dean Allen Levine and key faculty and staff showcases the research and outreach work happening throughout the college.
Read the Q and A with Ulrike Tschirner
Listen to unedited audio from the interview
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
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Welcome Week brings freshmen to campus
This year the University of Minnesota is moving from a weekend program to a week-long series of seminars, get-togethers and orientation activities that are aimed at providing new students with the tools and information they'll need to navigate their way through the U. Welcome Week takes place from August 27-September 1, and is required of this year's incoming class of more than 5,000 students. CFANS students will have a special day -- Aug. 28 -- dedicated to learning about the college and the St. Paul campus.
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MAST needs hosts for international students
See the world without leaving home, by being a host for MAST International students during their orientation on the St. Paul campus. Participants are college-aged trainees who will be spending several months learning about U.S. agriculture. They have their first
introduction to American culture through their interaction with
Twin Cities host families. Students typically arrive for orientation on a Saturday and stay with their Twin Cities hosts through Tuesday evening. Hosts are asked to provide lodging, meals, and transportation to and from the St. Paul campus for two days of orientation. For details, see http://mast.cfans.umn.edu
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Wildlife stamp art to be displayed at the Bell
 The legacy of natural history art comes alive in Art of the Wild, an exhibit from the Bell Museum of Natural History ’s permanent art collection. The show features more than 100 original paintings, illustrations, watercolors, and photographs from regional and national artists. The exhibit also celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Federal Duck Stamp program with original paintings by Minnesota’s 15 duck stamp winning artists; Minnesota has produced more winning artists than any other state. The exhibit opens Oct. 7 and runs through Jan. 4, with an opening reception on Oct. 7.
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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.
Ferulate '08
International conference on hydroxcinnamates
and related plant phenolics
Monday, Aug. 25-Wednesday, Aug. 27
Continuing Education and Conference Center, St. Paul Campus
Ten years after the first Ferulate conference was held in the United Kingdom, scientists from academia and industry will meet on campus to share new information on hydroxycinnamates and related plant phenolic compounds. Deadline for abstracts is Aug. 1; last-minute posters are welcome. Registration is $295 or $120 for students.
Horticulture Day
Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2 to 6 p.m.
North Central Research and Outreach Center, Grand Rapids
Horticulture research will be on display at the North Central Research and Outreach Center's annual Horticulture Day, which includes wagon tours of flower gardens, walking tours of the fruit and vegetable research areas as well as consultations with master gardeners and plant-disease experts.
Alumni and Friends Day
Saturday, Sept. 6, 1 p.m.
Cloquet Forestry Center
The annual event for alumni and friends includes tours of forestry and wildlife research and a barbecue. Highlights this year include tours of grouse research and management as well as climate change research and the Fond du Lac Museum tour. Cost is $25 for adults and $12 for children; pre-registration is requested. The event is sponsored by the CFANS Alumni Society.
Ag for the 21st Century: Striking a Balance
Thursday, Sept. 11, 4 to 8 p.m.
Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca
The annual open house at the Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca includes exhibits and displays, trolley rides, samples of Minnesota food and wine, a corn maze and a free picnic dinner.
St. Paul Campus job and internship fair
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Continuing Education Conference Center, St. Paul campus
Students and alumni can connect with employers regarding jobs and internships in the fields of agriculture, animal science, banking/finance, bio-based products, food, human resources, retail, sales and marketing. For details, contact the St. Paul Campus Career Center.
Future Food Scarcity: Global Causes
and Local Consequences
Thursday, Oct. 23, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
McNamara Alumni Center, U of M East Bank
The fall symposium sponsored by The Food Industry Center will include a discussion on the causes and consequences of rising food prices and their impact on food supplies, food companies, health and public policy in the United States and around the globe. Speakers include CFANS faculty as well as industry leaders. Pre-registration is requested.
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Sally Noll, a professor in the 
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