April 2011, Volume 2, Number 2

Sonny's Observations

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times!

In the “Tale of Two Cities”, Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”

Considering what’s been happening in the last several months, I think the above characterizes our College current situation.  (Read more...)

What are Statewide Public Services?

President Ray's testimony to the Ways and Means Education Subcommittee, March 29.

When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law in 1862, the federal government entered into a partnership with the citizens of the various states to establish a network of Land Grant Colleges and Universities. The Morrill Act created a dynamic engine for American economic growth that for the last 150 years has served to increase equality of opportunity. It was based on the premise that the public good emerging from public investments in affordable and accessible higher education, research and outreach would exceed the public cost to federal and state taxpayers. 

Indeed, America is a global economic leader having the highest percentage of citizens with experience in higher education due in part to the Land Grant mission. Yet, with an increase in the complexity and interconnection of our economic, social and environmental systems, and an increase in the disparity in the distribution of economic wealth, the need for Land Grant Universities has only grown.(Read more...)

Bridges to Prosperity

Research and Extension are key to fueling Oregon's economy. For example, did you know that agricultural research brought more than $55 million to Oregon in 2010, leveraging 2.0 outside dollars for every state dollar invested?  (Read more...)

Ray urges add-back for OSU Statewides

"If we can't get $12 million back in their budget, we are going to be cutting into muscle and bone," Ray said.  (Read more...)

Jay Noller wins NSF-AAAS Art-Science Award

The National Science Foundation and the journal Science published by AAAS recognized Jay Stratton Noller as finalist for his submission "Salmon-colored soil under coastal forest" in the 2010 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. 

There is art in soils, and Professor Jay Noller of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences has combined his two loves of soil science and art.

Two OSU faculty awarded title of “Distinguished Professor"

Two Oregon State University faculty members have been awarded the title of “distinguished professor” – the highest honor that OSU gives to its faculty – for their teaching and collaborative research in biomedical sciences and environmental health science. The honorees are Luiz E. Bermudez, a professor and interim associate dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Robyn L. Tanguay, a professor of molecular toxicology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. (Read more...)

Wolpert and Ciuffetti named APS Fellows

Tom Wolpert and Lynda Ciuffetti have both been named Fellows of the American Phytopathological Society, one of the highest awards bestowed by that Society.  This honor is the result of career long efforts studying mechanisms of host/pathogen interactions. (Read more...)

Rick Miller receives W. R. Chapline Research Award

Dr. Richard F. Miller was awarded the W. R. Chapline Research Award by the Society of Range Management during its annual meeting.  He is one of the most prominent authorities on juniper woodland and sagebrush ecology with an emphasis on fire.  He is well known for his expertise in juniper woodland ecology, sagebrush ecology, the historical role of fire, and the impacts of prescribed and wildland fires. (Read more...)

Ball named fellow of Western Society of Weed Science

Dr. Dan Ball, Professor of Weed Science at Oregon State University and located at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center near Pendleton, Oregon has been named a fellow of the Western Society of Weed Science.   He has been at the Center for more than 20 years, with research and Extension responsibilities for weed management in dryland crops, and more recently, with weed management in grass seed production in eastern Oregon and Washington. (Read more...)

Jae Park 2011 recipient of the Harold Macy Food Science and Technology Award

Dr. Jae Park, Professor of Food Science & Technology at the OSU Seafood Laboratory in Astoria, has been notified that he is the 2011 recipient of the Harold Macy Food Science & Technology Award, presented by the Minnesota Section of the Institute of Food Technologists.
 
Dr. Park will be honored at an awards ceremony at the March IFT meeting in Minneapolis-St. Paul following a lecture about his current research in surimi seafood.

Dolja receives Ruth Allen Award from American Phytopathological Society

Dr. Valerian Dolja will receive the 2011 Ruth Allen Award from the American Phytopathological Society. This Award honors those "who have made an outstanding, innovative research contribution that has changed, or has the potential to change, the direction of research in any field of plant pathology". (Read more...)

OSU in top rankings for research in environment/ecology

The new ranking is from ScienceWatch of Thomson Reuters, which looks at the number of papers published in academic journals over a five-year period. In the field of environment/ecology from 2005 to 2009, the top five universities are: (Read more...)

Anneke Tucker awarded First Place at Young Investigators Poster Session International Competition

CUAHSI HydroGeoPhysics Travel Grant Program supports OSU's "International Undergraduate Field Hydrology" Chilean adventure

The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science travel grant program supported OSU's international undergraduate field hydrology trip to Chillán,Chile from January 2nd - 15th, 2011. The course was led by Dr. John Selker, a professor of Biological and Ecological Engineering at Oregon State University. This course was funded by the National Science Foundation under the Hydrologic Sciences Program, specifically to advance both undergraduate education and the scientific mission of OSU's Chilean project. Travel funding was also provided to Dr. John Lane of the USGS which, according to Dr. Selker, "enabled us to add an unexpected dimension to the course, and afforded a unique opportunity for collaboration."

New Fields Blog

Keep up with Spring news and happenings for student clubs and activities in the College of Agricultural Sciences on New Fields.  Formerly an annual print publication, New Fields joined the blogosphere this academic year.  (Read more...)

Celebrating Student Excellence

The College will be hosting the Annual Celebrating Student Excellence event on May 19th.  This event is held to recognize and award outstanding students in the College for their achievements over the past year.  Invitations for the Celebrating Student Excellence will be hitting mailboxes soon.

New Zealand Study Abroad Program

Joslyn Krahel, Fisheries and Wildlife,  is at Lincoln University now for semester 1.  Three hours after she arrived, a major earthquake leveled nearby Christchurch!  Classes still started on schedule.  Six more students will attend semester 2, beginning in July.  More about The New Zealand Program...

Winter Term

With just over 1700 undergraduate and 240 graduate students, winter term clubs and organizations were in full swing, study groups spent hours in the library, research labs were busy, and grades were made.  Congratulations to the 232 students who made the Dean's List for Winter term.

New Ambassador team named

The Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry proudly announce the new 2011/12 Ambassadors for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources:

• Amanda Mendez
• Josie Miller
• Bruce Moffat
• Gagan Pahuja
• Nathan Parker
• Nicole Snyder
• Martine Torres
• Sarah Wright

• Stephanie Bledsoe
• David Del Moro
• Chad Gilbreath
• Jessica Henshaw
• Michelle Janik
• Kennith King
• Tasha Livingstone
• Skyler Mlasko
• Alejandra Marquez

State FFA Convention

Collegiate FFA was very busy over spring break where they participated in the State FFA Convention in Central Point, Oregon.  There they interacted with and supported 2000+ high school leaders in Career Development Events, workshops, and logistics of the convention.  Thank you CFFA for representing OSU so well!

The Oregon FFA also recognized some of the OSU community for their continued support at the Convention that was held March 18^th- 21^st.  The OSU Ag Program at Eastern Oregon University received the Oregon FFA Distinguished service award.   Tami Kerr the Executive Director of Oregon Ag In The Classroom received the Honorary State FFA Degree.

MANRRS - OSU is National Chapter of the Year

Congratulations to the Oregon State University MANRRS Chapter for winning their Region (VI) and receiving their sixth Outstanding Chapter title (2011, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005 and 2003).  Also, this year selected as one of the top 3 Chapters in the country.  They further competed and won the top Chapter of the Year Award  (COYA) from among 3 regional finalists.  OSU MANRRS previously won the prestigious COYA Award in 2009.  (Read more news from the conference...)

MANRRS holds 6th Annual Career Wardrobe Makeover

Taylor Bates only had a $20 bill in his pocket Thursday afternoon, but after a few moments leafing through the annual Career Wardrobe Makeover, he walked away from Oregon State University’s Memorial Union Ballroom with two suit jackets. As a music major, Bates, a freshman at OSU, has to have a special style. (Read more...)

OSU is 2011 IFTSA Western Regional College Bowl Champion

Congratulations to our 2011 Oregon State University IFTSA (Institute of Food Technologists Student Association) Western Regional College Bowl champions!   In the final round, Oregon State defeated University of California-Davis to win the U.S. Western Regional championship.   Food Science teams from Washington State Univ. / Univ. of Idaho and Fresno State University also participated in the competition which was hosted at Oregon State University.
 
Our Oregon State food science team will compete with winners from seven other U.S. regions in the National College Bowl competition at the June 2011 IFT Annual Meeting in New Orleans.  Team:  Jennifer Fideler (Team Captain), Alex Bowman, Tim Cohan, Erika Dahlgaard, Marlin Mueller III, Sue Queisser.

OSU develops new barley resistant to stripe rust fungus

(Western Farmer-Stockman) After a decade of research, Oregon State University announces development of the first winter hooded barley that produces high yields of forage, thrives in the Pacific Northwest, and resists a crop-damaging fungus known as stripe rust. (Read more...)

Potential to become invasive provokes need for sterile shrubs

Popular non-native bushes and plants that grow aggressively and are considered to be invasive could eventually be replaced with their sterile offspring, thanks to an Oregon State University breeding program.
Ryan Contreras and members of his lab at Oregon State University develop varieties of plants that have less potential to become invasive.  (Read more...)

Finding help in Tough Times

To respond to immediate concerns in Oregon, Extension and Experiment Station Communications has created an emergency information website to help people prepare for earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. (Read more...)

Emergency preparedness

OSU Extension in Gilliam County has an outstanding resource page for emergency preparedness.  You might want to bookmark this one! (Read more...)

Honey bees keep Oregon agriculture humming

Honey bees are crucial pollinators for many of Oregon's crops, including blueberries, pears, cherries, apples and vegetable seeds. So OSU researchers are making sure that these hardworking insects are healthy and thriving. That's important because a beekeeper with 1,000 hives can easily spend $3,000 a year on antibiotics. (Read more...)

College of Agricultural Sciences

Biological and Ecological Engineering

OSU Beavers

 OSU Extension

OSU Agricultural Executive Council

OSU Department of Horticulture

Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center

Are you Powered by Orange?

Tree Tour iPhone app

(Electronic Papyrus) The OSU Campus Tree Tour iPhone/iPad application is the first official iPhone application released by Oregon State University. The application uses photos, GPS, maps, and research-based tree information to learn about the different trees on and around campus while “on the go.” The iPhone application provides information about tree leaf type, tree bloom, whether a tree is native to Oregon, and a page number reference to the OSU Extension Trees to Know handbook.If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you can download it at iTunes.

Index of back issues

• January 2011
• September 2010
• July 2010
• May 2010
• March 2010
• January 2010
• November 2009

In new food culture, a young generation of farmers emerges

(New York Times) Garry Stephenson, coordinator of the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University, said he had not seen so much interest among young people in decades. "It’s kind of exciting," Mr. Stephenson said. "They’re young, they’re energetic and idealist, and they’re willing to make the sacrifices." (Read more...)

Food for Thought...

The Food for Thought Lecture Series has brought internationally recognized experts to OSU to speak about biotechnology and sustainable agriculture.  The 2010/2011 Season is over, however, you can still access archived presentations, study guides, and slides.

Environmental and biotechnological issues are often complex and difficult for people to come together around.  The Food for Thought Lecture Series is an outreach program that brings the public inside the scientific community to promote dialog and find common ground.

Making the Science Connection (video)

Attention Faculty and Staff: Does the thought of hosting an educational field trip of 60, 70 or more 2nd grade students at your facility sound demanding, stressful, too much to deal with or maybe even impossible? The Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Burns, Oregon has been hosting this type of educational field trip for several years and, while there is some stress involved, those who participate find it rewarding and almost always look forward to participating again the next year. This outstanding video offers a glimpse at what the EOARC does in an effort to show you it's not too much to deal with. (Watch video)

Oregon's Agricultural Progress Magazine

The latest issue of Oregon's Agricultural Progress Magazine takes on the many dimensions of fish.  Engaging stories and stunning photography point out how agricultural research is focused on solving problems and building economic opportunity -- on land and water. (Read more...)

How we taste -- and the truth about supertasters

Dr. Juyun Lim (Food Science and Technology) is doing research focused on understanding the complex interactions between taste and aroma perception.   In sensory science, the “hot” researchable questions are:  How do some people seem to be so much better at perceiving flavors and aromas than others?  Are there really people out there who can taste more than the rest of us?  What determines a “supertaster”? Learn more from this recent story in The Oregonian.
 

Two new potato varieties released

Two new potato varieties just released by Oregon State University are likely to catch the eye of Oregon's potato processing industry and the gourmet market.

A red fingerling called 'AmaRosa' is likely to be popular with the upscale potato specialty market, said Solomon Yilma of the OSU breeding program. A small fingerling potato with smooth, deep-red skin, AmaRosa has red flesh also and when sliced looks like pepperoni. The tasty tubers retain their color even as they are baked, fried or cooked in the microwave."

"AmaRosa tubers are also loaded with high level of antioxidants," Yilma said. (Read more...)

After the spill: tracking toxins in the Gulf of Mexico

Flex the Whale stories

These maps depict the movement of a satellite-monitored 13-year old male western gray whale, which was tagged on 4 October off Sakhalin Island, Russia, migrating from the Sea of Okhotsk. (Read more...)

OSU to study farming methods to curb, adapt to climate change

Oregon State University has been named a partner on a $20 million grant to ensure the long-term viability of cereal-based farming in the inland Pacific Northwest amid a changing climate. (Read more at First Science or Eureka Alerts)

The Spin on Research

Vice President for Research Rick Spinrad writes an engaging blog on research at Oregon State University.  Check out his description of being on a cruise with one of our masters of communication, Dr. Bruce Mate, the Director of the Marine Mammal Institute in the College of Agricultural Sciences.   (Read more...)

Ehrensing and Verhoeven - Memorial Garden Dedication

A garden is being established at Hyslop Farm in memory of Daryl Ehrensing and Mary Verhoeven, two of our colleagues who left us way too soon.  Both spent countless days at the farm over the past decades and the garden is simply a tangible tribute to the impact they both had on their friends and colleagues, the department of Crop and Soil Science, and on the world of agriculture.  (Read more...)

New faculty and staff resource

A web page has been developed for newly hired faculty and staff of the College of Agricultural Sciences, but long-time members of the CAS community will find it a useful stop for information about the college, OSU and Oregon. (Check it out...)

It's all a bit fuzzy

a blog by John McQueen, Faculty Research Assistant

We like to know about the people who make CAS hum.  John McQueen has many interests as you will see from his blog.  He's a husband and a dad, he knits and gardens, and in providing research support in Horticulture and Extension's Ask an Expert program, he has gained a quite a sophisticated knowledge of the web world. (Read more...)

Fred Ziari receives Weatherford Award for Innovation

Fred Ziari named to receive Weatherford Award for Innovation.  He is founder of ezWireless and IRZ Consulting, a leader in water and energy conservation technologies. He is chief executive of IRZ Consulting, ezWireless and Onsmart LLC. Ziari founded OnSmart Technologies in collaboration with Intel to provide the next generation of hardware and software platform that will allow homeowners to manage the energy use in their homes. (Read more...)

Oregon Stater Magazine

Oregon Stater Magazine is available on the web!  Check out the The Winter 2011 edition which features several stories about, or are of interest to, your College of Agricultural Sciences community.  (Read more...)

Alumni:  Please join or renew your membership in the Oregon State University Alumni Association.  There are many great benefits to being a member, including a subscription to the Oregon Stater.  Keep your connection as a Beaver alive! (Read more...)

This Amazing Place - The Campaign for OSU e-Newsletter

Through The Campaign for OSU, donors have provided more than $67.6 million to support OSU faculty and created 37 new endowed faculty positions. (Read more...)

Michael Bondi named interim head at NWREC

Mike Bondi was appointed Interim Director of the North Willamette Research and Extension Center on January 1, 2011. He provides overall leadership for the Center, its education and research programs, supervises faculty and staff, and is responsible for budget and funding development. Bondi’s Interim position is through June 30. (Read more...)

North Willamette Research and Extension Center

What does NWREC do?

Our mission is to conduct horticultural crops research and to extend new knowledge to the horticultural industries and communities, particularly in the Willamette Valley. The location, just 20 miles south of Portland, provides growers with convenient access to research findings and Extension Service educational programs. Research is aimed at producing better quality crops at lower costs, and with reduced environmental impact. Often the quality or form of a product must be changed to meet the demands of domestic or foreign customers. Growers must change varieties and learn to grow what the market demands. Agriculture is Oregon's leading industry.  (Read more...)

Red, Black & Blue Summer

by Judy Scott

(Oregon's Agricultural Progress) Under the warm touch of the summer sun, Oregon berries put their sugars into full production. At night the cool air allows relatively little respiration and few of the precious sugars are lost. Colors deepen. The berries ripen slowly and are picked only when absolutely ready. (Read more...)

Unmanned aircraft aims to simplify inventory for Oregon nurseries

"Many in agriculture feel the unmanned aircraft could play a critical role in the future to monitor crop health and estimate yield," said Jim Owen, an OSU researcher.

It fits in the back of a pickup and looks like a hobby helicopter, but the aerial remote sensing system under investigation in the Willamette Valley soars high above traditional inventory methods of nurseries and Christmas tree farms.

(Read more...)

College of Agricultural Sciences Calendar