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| Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences VISION eXtra is e-mailed weekly to faculty and staff of Bumpers College and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture. This service is primarily for timely announcement of news and events for the AAES and Bumpers College. Submit items to hmedders@uark.edu. You may also wish to submit items to headline@uark.edu for posting on "UA Daily Headlines" for campus-wide distribution. |
Jan. 12, 2009 |
1. Division of Agriculture presents faculty, staff awards
2. Graduate student to march in Inaugural Parade representing Peace Corps
3. Meullenet is interim head of food science department
4. NWACA names Apple 'Man of the Year'
5. Min Zhang is visiting food scientist
7. GSD student poster, oral presentations competition set for Feb. 25
8. 2009 Food and Beverage Innovations Competition
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1. Division of Agriculture presents faculty, staff awards
(See award recipient photos at http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/vision/extra/awards.jan09.html)
The University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture recognized outstanding performance by faculty and staff members at an awards luncheon Friday at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.
Vice President for Agriculture Milo Shult said, "Our research and extension faculty and staff provide outstanding service to our stakeholders in agriculture, forestry, community development, environmental sustainability and family and youth development. These awards signify the excellence of our entire faculty and staff throughout Arkansas."
The Division of Agriculture includes the Cooperative Extension Service, which provides public education and service programs statewide, and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, which conducts research to assist producers and processors of food and fiber, other agribusinesses, families and communities.
Many Division of Agriculture research and extension faculty members are also instructors on University of Arkansas campuses in Fayetteville, Monticello, Pine Bluff and Little Rock and at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
The Robert G. F. and Hazel Taylor Spitze Land Grant University Faculty Award for Excellence was presented to Park Waldroup, University Professor of poultry science at UA Fayetteville. Waldroup is regarded in academia and industry as a leading national and international authority on poultry nutrition. He joined the Division of Agriculture faculty in 1966. The award carries a $3,000 stipend provided by the Spitzes, who graduated from the university in the 1940s and have had distinguished academic careers.
A. Hayden Brown, professor of animal science at UA Fayetteville, received the Jack G. Justus Award for Teaching Excellence. Brown teaches animal science courses relate to breeding and genetics, including a popular animal behavior course that he developed.
The Alumni Society Advising Award was presented to Michael R. Thompson, associate professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness at UA Fayetteville. Thomsen devotes considerable time, energy and enthusiasm to advising and mentoring students and provides leadership to help other faculty members develop their advising skills.
John W. White awards for outstanding teaching, research, extension service and teamwork are named for the U of A System's first vice president for agriculture when the Division of Agriculture was created in 1959.
The John W. White Outstanding Teaching award went to Mary Savin, associate professor of crop, soil and environmental sciences at UA Fayetteville. Savin helped structure the crop, soil and environmental sciences curriculum and teaches six courses including several related to environmental and ecosystem issues.
Navam Hettiarachchy, University Professor of food science, received the John W. White Outstanding Research award for her contributions to the rice and soy industries through research to develop value-added uses for rice and soy products. She has documented benefits of several plant extracts as antimicrobials and antioxidants.
The John W. White Outstanding Team award for 2008 recognizes the Arkansas Soybean Rust Working Group, which was established in 2004 and has helped farmers avoid overuse of fungicides by providing accurate information about the risk of rust infection each year.
Currently led by extension plant pathologist Scott Monfort, other team members are Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist; Cliff Coker, extension plant pathologist; John Rupe, professor of plant pathology; Sherrie Smith, state plant diagnostician; and program associates Amy Carroll, Amanda Greer and Michael Emerson.
The John W. White Outstanding Extension State Faculty award went to Gus M. Lorenz, professor and extension entomologist and associate department head for extension entomology. Lorenz develops and implements educational and applied research programs on insect pest management for cotton, soybeans and other crops.
Andy Vangilder, county agent and staff chair in Clay County, received the John W. White Outstanding County Extension Educator award. Vangilder leads a multi-faceted program in a large and diverse county that is split by Crowley's Ridge. He supervises a staff based in Piggott east of the ridge, where cotton and corn are primary crops, and a staff at Corning west of the ridge, where the main crops are rice, soybeans and corn.
The John W. White Non-Classified Support Personnel award was presented to farm manager Howard Lester of Farmington. At the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville, Lester is manager of the Poultry Feed Mill, joint supervisor of the Poultry Research Farm and assists with maintenance and operation of the J.K. Skeeles Poultry Health Laboratory
The John W. White Classified Support Personnel award, Cooperative Extension Service, went to Angela Stacy, an accountant for Cooperative Extension Service grants management and accounts receivable at the state headquarters in Little Rock.
The John W. White Classified Support Personnel award, Agricultural Experiment Station, went to Clayton Treat, farm foreman at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station at Marianna, which is a unit of the Northeast Research and Extension Center. Treat supervises a staff that manages field research operations on the 650-acre station.
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2. Graduate student to march in Inaugural Parade representing Peace Corps
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| ANT ENEMY - Jake Farnum, a graduate student of Kelly Loftin, standing, examines fire ant heads in an Entomology Farm lab at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville. The heads are decapitated by emerging larvae of the phorid fly, which deposits eggs in the body of red imported fire ants. Farnum is collecting data to determine why larvae do not emerge from some heads. |
Jake Farnum, 30, a graduate student of Kelly Loftin, extension entomologist and associate professor of entomology, will march in the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C. He is one of 200 marchers selected by the National Peace Corps Association and the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
Farnum served in Chulu village, Malawi, as a parks and wildlife volunteer from 2001 to 2004. He worked with his Malawian counterpart to help decrease villagers' dependence on resources from the national park. He also educated young people on sexual health issues.
“It was a life-changing experience,” Farnum says of his life in the village, which had no running water or electricity. Through his immersion in the culture, he says, he gained tremendous respect for the people.
“They live very close to death from many causes, and their focus is on relationships, trusting people and treating each other equally and fair,” Farnum says. “They are some of the happiest people I've met.”
Malawians are “very peaceful people,” Farnum says. The country, known as “the warm heart of Africa,” is landlocked in southeast Africa bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. It is densely populated and the economy depends heavily on agriculture with tea and tobacco as main crops.
Farnum became fluent in the Chichewa language, which is spoken in Malawi and eastern Zambia. After a chance meeting in Mullins Library with another student who speaks Chichewa, he joined the African Students Organization (http://comp.uark.edu/~african/about.htm), of which he is now vice president.
Farnum's master's thesis research is on the population dynamics of the phorid fly, which is being widely introduced as a natural enemy of red imported fire ants in Arkansas and other states. He is a native of Tyler, Texas, and has a B.S. degree in natural resource conservation from Texas Tech University.
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3. Meullenet is interim head of food science department
Food Science Professor Ron Buescher resumed his research and teaching programs in December after serving as head of the food science department since February 2001. Jean-Francois Meullenet is serving as interim head during the search process for a new department head.
Meullenet holds the Tyson Distinguished Professorship in Food Sensory Science. His research includes development of statistical tools for enhancing existing consumer research methods and development of consumer insight methodologies. Meullenet is the author of over 60 refereed publications and a book, "Multivariate and Probabilistic Analyses of Sensory Science Problems," published in 2007.
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4. NWACA names Apple 'Man of the Year'
Jason Apple, professor of animal science, was named Man of the Year by the Northwest Arkansas Cattlemen's Association in recognition of services he has provided to members of the association. Apple has given presentations on livestock management practices and worked with producers on projects such as the ultrasound carcass contest at the Benton County Fair.
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5. Min Zhang is visiting food scientist
Professor Min Zhang of the College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and technology, Tianjin, China, is spending a six month sabbatical leave in the department of food science with Professor Navam Hettiarachchy. Zhang and Hettiarachchy are researching exotic vegetable greens for various phytochemicals, including phenolics, lutein, beta carotene, flavanoids and various others that have health benefits.
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If you are looking for an opportunity to combine academics and service abroad this summer, check out what previous students had to say about their time in Belize:
"[It was a] life changing experience, to live and work with the community is amazing."
"I learned so many life lessons that could never be taught in a class."
"The interdisciplinary aspect is unique and it's a wonderful opportunity to meet new and different people."
"Meeting lots of new people…Working with diverse populations…Work hard, get blisters, and have fun doing it."
"Though you won't be able to change the world…you will learn a lot about how hard change is to accomplish and what you have to do when things go wrong, both valuable to know."
Read Bumpers College student "Letters from Belize" from 2008 online at http://www.uark.edu/depts/intagpro/studyabroad/belize08.html.
Faculty sponsors for the Bumpers College project, "The St. Matthews School Sustainable Farm Project," are Jennie Popp, AEAB, and Nilda Burgos, CSES.
To be a part of this summer's efforts, sign up for the spring pre-requisite course [HUMN 425V(H) or WCOB 210V or WCOB 410V(H)] now. For more information, e-mail lmoix@uark.edu or call 479-575-7582.
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7. GSD student poster, oral presentations competition set for Feb. 25
Gamma Sigma Delta will sponsor its 11th annual competition of students' posters and oral presentations on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009 at the Arkansas Union. Undergraduates, master's candidates and doctoral candidates will compete in their respective categories. Presentations should be based on students' own research. A student may submit both an oral and poster presentation (research must be separate for each presentation). Complete guidelines are online at http://gsd.uark.edu/awards.guidelines09.html.
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8. 2009 Food and Beverage Innovations Competition
Do you have an idea for a healthy snack or healthy appetizer, but you can't find it on the grocery store shelf? Now is your chance to showcase your originality, talent and skills. The Food and Beverage Innovations Competition is sponsored by the Department of Food Science and is open to all currently enrolled UA undergraduate and graduate students. You will develop an innovative food product formulation in one of two categories: healthy snacks or healthy appetizers.
Cash prizes totalling $3,000 will be awarded. Visit http://foodscience.uark.edu for competition rules and deadlines. The intent to enter form should be completed by January 26, 2009.
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/