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| Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Weekly Vision 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. |
| Oct. 12, 2009 |
1. NASA plant scientist to present seminar - Monday
2. Plant Pathology centennial seminar series continues - Friday
3. College hosts scholarship donors and recipients at annual luncheon
4. CSES hosts Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Day
5. Academic Enhancement workshops scheduled
6. Undergraduate research grants available to students
7. AEAB honey and pecan sale underway
8. University of Arkansas to host 2009 World Food Day - Friday
9. Water Resources Center invites papers for annual research conference
10. Student-Employer Networking Event - Oct. 26
11. Bioproduction, bioenergy and biomaterials study opportunities in Europe
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1. NASA plant scientist to present seminar - Monday
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| NASA plant physiologist Ray Wheeler checks onions being grown using hydroponic techniques. The other plants are Bibb lettuce (left) and radishes (right). Credit: NASA/KSC |
Raymond Wheeler, senior plant scientist with NASA, will give a presentation on "Agriculture for Life Support Systems in Space: Past, Present and Future Research," Monday, Oct. 12, at 3:30 p.m. in the Larry Coombes Auditorium, Plant Sciences 009, as part of the crop, soil, and environmental sciences department's fall seminar series.
As a post-doctoral associate at the University of Wisconsin, Wheeler's research focused on controlled environment production studies and physiological responses of potato, one of the candidate crops for NASA's bioregenerative life support program. In 1988 he joined Bionetics Corporation at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where he led the plant research group studying crops for life support on future space missions. Many of these studies were carried out in NASA's Biomass Production Chamber. He joined NASA in 1990.
His research at NASA has focused on plant gas exchange (photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration), plant responses to elevated carbon dioxide and hypobaric pressures, plant growth and development under different lighting systems (spectral quality studies), and the use of hydroponic approaches for growing crops in closed systems.
Wheeler currently serves as leader of the Advanced Life Support research group at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and is the vice chair of the Life Sciences Commission for the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).
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2. Plant Pathology centennial seminar series continues - Friday
The Plant Pathology Centennial Seminar Series will continue on Friday, Oct. 16, with a presentation by William E. Dolezal on "Building the Foundation for a Career as a Plant Pathologist in Industry." Dolezal, an alumnus of the department, is a research fellow in plant pathology with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA.
Two final seminar speakers will be Paula Argudelo, assistant professor at Clemson University, on Nov. 6 and and Steven Slack, associate vice president for agriculture and director of the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center, on Nov. 20.
The department was established in 1909 and is one of the oldest standing departments of plant pathology in a university in the United States.
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3. College hosts scholarship donors and recipients at annual luncheon
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Ginger Graham and Amanda Simpson spoke on behalf of donors and recipients, respectively, at the Bumper College Scholarship Luncheon Friday. |
Bumpers College scholarship donors and recipients got acquainted with each other during the annual Scholarship Luncheon Friday, Oct. 9, in the Alltel Ballroom in the Arkansas Union.
Ginger L. Graham, of Boulder, Colo., president and CEO of Two Trees Consulting, spoke on behalf of scholarship donors. She and her husband sponsor the Ginger and Jack Graham Endowed Scholarship. She is a 1979 graduate with a B.S. degree in agricultural economics. She also has an M.B.A. degree from Harvard University.
Amanda N. Simpson, a senior from Cave Springs majoring in agricultural business, spoke on behalf of scholarship recipients.
Interim Dean Lalit Verma said 396 students have received 592 scholarships through Bumpers College and the academic departments, so far this year, for a total of about $682,000.
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4. CSES hosts Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Day
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| Professor Kris Brye shows high school students how to examine soil profiles during a field day at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center Oct. 7 | Professor Pengyin Chen and research associate Tina Hart speak with high school students about research and industrial and food uses for soybeans during a field day at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center Oct. 7. |
Crop, soil and environmental sciences faculty members and students conducted an Environmental & Agricultural Sustainability Field Day Oct. 7 for area high school students. Students from Fayetteville and Bentonville high school toured research projects at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center from 9 a.m. to noon. The tour included research that relates to crop production, soil and water conservation and sustainability, bio-energy crops, greenhouse gasses and carbon sequestration.
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5. Academic Enhancement workshops scheduled
Bumpers College Academic Enhancement workshops began in September and will continue through October and November. The following workshops are scheduled.All workshops will meet in the Rosen Alternative Pest Control Center ROSE 201 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.
October 13 - Early Progress Grades... Now What?
October 22 - Test Taking 101
November 10 - Dealing with Stress
November 19 - End of Semester Wrap-Up... How am I Doing?
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6. Undergraduate research grants available to students - Apply by Oct. 14
Details on three opportunities for undergraduate research funding have been provided by Associate Dean Donna Graham. Complete details and an application form are available on the Bumpers College Web site at: http://arkansasagnews.uark.edu/397.htm.
The deadline to apply for all three grant programs is October 14.
AFLS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FUNDING
This letter is a call for proposals for undergraduate research projects and creative endeavors. Twenty (20) projects ranging from $500 to $1,000 will be selected this year. The student does not have to be in the honors program to apply for these funds but must have at least a 3.00 GPA. To be considered for an undergraduate research project, you must submit a brief proposal of no more than 5 double spaced pages describing the proposed research.
STUDENT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS (SURF)
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) sponsors SURF funding for Arkansas students to encourage in-depth research projects in the student's specific field of study. Students do not have to be members of the Honors College to compete for SURF grants http://www.arkansashighered.com/SURF/SURF.htm. A letter of financial support from the dean's office (AFLS E108) must be submitted along with the SURF proposal. All students who wish to submit this grant must come by the Dean's office for a signature and the letter. It is best for students to not wait until the last minute for the signatures.
HONORS COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS
All students who are in the Honors College may also submit a proposal for Undergraduate Research Grants. International honors students are eligible for the Honors College Undergraduate Research Grant. Website for information: Undergraduate Research Application (Online Form).
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7. AEAB honey and pecan sale underway
"The Agribusiness Club's annual Honey & Pecan sale is going on through November 6. Honey, pecan, and House of Webster's products will be sold. Please pick up order forms in AGRI 217 or contact Melinda Dunlap at mdunlap@uark.edu or 575-2256."
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8. University of Arkansas to host 2009 World Food Day - Friday
The Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas will host a 2009 World Food Day teleconference and faculty presentation from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. The event, which is open to the public, will be held in the First Security Auditorium at Willard J. Walker Hall in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.
In addition, in honor of World Food Day, the University of Arkansas is sponsoring its second annual canned food drive to which the public is encouraged to donate. The results of this effort, which began Sept. 19, will be announced at the beginning of the teleconference.
The theme of the teleconference is "Global Food Crisis: Opportunities, Responsibilities, and Solutions." During the live teleconference, a panel of experts will discuss the burden of the economic downturn on the world's poor and what can be done about it. Panelists include Max Finberg, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships; U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, co-chair of the National Hunger Caucus; and Joy Phumaphi, World Bank vice president and head of the bank's Human Development Network. The panel discussion will take place from 11 a.m. to noon.
At noon, Steve Boss, associate professor in environmental dynamics in the department of geology in the J. Williams Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss "A World Caloric Intake." A Langar lunch will be provided. Langar, which literally means "free kitchen," is a Sikh tradition for feeding the hungry. Every Sikh temple throughout the world has a Langar, but the Sikh soup kitchen differs from a traditional American soup kitchen.
Michele Halsell, director of the Applied Sustainability Center, said, "The Langar is open to everyone. Volunteering in the cooking, serving and cleaning process is considered a form of active spiritual practice for devotees, but the service provided by the temple requires no religious obligations from its recipients. The spirit of inclusion and equality is reinforced by the kitchen's adherence to vegetarianism, not because Sikhs are vegetarian, but because others who visit may be, and by serving no meat, they exclude nobody."
In addition to participating in the teleconference, the public is encouraged to support the University of Arkansas canned-food drive. Drop-off locations include all Fayetteville fire stations; chambers of commerce in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, and Rogers; the University of Arkansas Bookstore; and Marvin's IGA. Collected food items will be donated to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, formerly Ozark Food Bank, for distribution to hungry families in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties. A complete list of drop-off locations may be found here: http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/15705.htm/.
Additionally a room at the Global Campus locations in both Fayetteville and Rogers will be open to the public for viewing the teleconference from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Oct. 16.
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9. Water Resources Center invites papers for annual research conference
The Arkansas Water Resources Center invites researchers to submit proposals for papers to be presented at the annual research conference April 13-14, 2010, at the School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach in Fayetteville. Potential session topics include Stakeholder Education and Watershed Planning, Water Quality Targets, and Stream Bank Erosion and Restoration Projects.
Contact AWRC Director Brian Haggard at haggard@uark.edu if you are interested in presenting a paper or organizing a session. Check the AWRC Web site at www.uark.edu/depts/awrc for updates on the preliminary conference program, poster session and student poster competition, conference registration, and hotel information.
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10. Student-Employer Networking Event - Oct. 26
A panel of leaders from some of the premier companies in Northwest Arkansas will give their advice and tips for any job or internship seeker at a student-employer networking event for all students, Monday, Oct. 26, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House (Corner of Maple St. & Razorback Rd.) Panelists will be representing several local companies including: Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, JB Hunt, and Cameron Smith & Associates. This event is free._Food will be served. Bring extra copies of your resume. Business casual attire is suggested. Earn PDI elective credit by attending this event. Register at http://career.uark.edu/Students/Events/PathwayToPossibilities.aspx
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11. Bioproduction, bioenergy and biomaterials study opportunities in Europe
Graduate students and seniors in agriculture disciplines, engineering and physical sciences with an interest in bioproduction, bioenergy biomaterials for food and non-food use can apply for semester and two week study opportunities in Europe and the United States. Students can apply for summer, fall and spring programs with partial expenses paid.
The program, available for seniors and graduate students, provides opportunities to study at one of the EU partner institutions for one semester by completing course work and/or research. http://www.uark.edu/ua/biorenew/valorization_prog.htm.
Applications from seniors and graduate students who are U.S. citizens will be considered for a semester study in Europe at either the University of Gent, Belgium; Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria and Toulouse Polytechnic University, Toulouse, France. Students enroll at the University of Arkansas and have their tuition waived at the EU institution. A grant of $5,000 is provided for student living expenses. See the Web site at http://www.uark.edu/ua/biorenew/ for details.
"We have one opportunity for next spring," said Food Science Professor Andy Proctor, who coordinates this EU-US exchange program for UA students. "These are great opportunities for students in agriculture and other majors with an interest in bio-production, bioenergy, biomaterials and related areas," Proctor said.
UA student Mustafa Ozkan was at the University of Gent last spring with the semester study program studying agricultural economics. At that time U of A hosted three University of Gent students: Pepijin Wyfffels, who is researched starch modification with Ya-Jane Wang; Linda Raport and Natasha Janssens researched algae biomass production with Tom Costello; Valeri Natanelov studied rice production economic with Eric Wailes. These students also took classes in related disciplines. Food science department student Will Gilbert is in Gent this fall doing nutritional research.
The University of Arkansas is the U.S. lead institution of an EU-US Consortium, with partners at Iowa State University and Kansas State University. The European partners are Ghent University, Belgium; Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria; and National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the European Union.
Students interested in these study programs should contact Professor Andy Proctor (aproctor@uark.edu); phone 575-2980.
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/