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Announcements for Friday, June 24, 2011

Announcements

  • Congratulations! - New baby girl for Ruiqing Miao

    Congratulations to Ruiqing Miao & Jian Rong on the birth of their daughter Yanhao Miao! Yanhao was born Monday, June 13th at 7:05 AM. She is 8 pounds and 20" long.

  • Associate Professor James Bushnell exits to University of California, Davis

    Associate Professor James Bushnell has resigned from the department as of June 30th. Since his arrival at ISU in 2009, Bushnell served as the Cargill Chair in Energy Economics and the director of the Bio-based Industry Center. He has accepted a position at the University of California, Davis.

  • New student employee Tan Nguyen joins Economics Support Group

    Tan Nguyen has joined the Economics Computer Support Group as a new student employee.  Tan was first hired as a student lab monitor in the March of 2011 before being promoted to general departmental IT work.

News

  • Latest edition of Stories features Kimle, Jolly, Underwood and Noe

    The subject of entrepreneurship is the focus of the latest edition of Stories magazine, produced by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Kevin Kimle, the Bruce Rastetter Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, is featured in the cover story. Additional stories feature Professor Robert Jolly, entrepreneurship initiative coordinator Stacey Noe, Department of Economics alumnus Roger Underwood, and several current Ag Business students.

    Click the Stories icon above to read the full edition.

  • Deiter and Ag Business students lend voice to Extension video on cooperatives

    ISU Extension recently released a video on cooperatives, featuring interviews with Professor Ron Deiter and several students in the Ag Business program. Deiter teaches a course on cooperatives, Econ 332, which the video draws from. Click on the following link to view the video: http://video.extension.iastate.edu/2011/06/10/cooperatives/

  • New department "tip sheet" from ISU News Service

    Mike Ferlazzo with ISU News Service has put together a Department of Economics "tip sheet" this week. This is a compilation of current research and work that has come out of the department - the tip sheet approach is designed to provide a brief description of work that's easy for media outside of the university to access. Click on the following link to view: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/jun/econtips


    Please take advantage of this enhanced opportunity for department exposure. Continue to send story ideas, current research, and related activities to ksenty@iastate.edu or ferlazzo@iastate.edu.

  • Weekly media connections for the Department of Economics

    Information courtesy of Jackie King, ISU News Service

    • Bruce Babcock spoke to David Nicklaus of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the Senate's vote to eliminate the ethanol subsidy. Babcock talked with a San Francisco Chronicle reporter about how much ethanol subsidies may have increased corn prices. And he spoke with AP reporter David Mercer about how the ethanol industry would fare without the ethanol subsidy.
    • Jill Burcum, editorial writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, spoke with Bruce Babcock for background on an editorial she is preparing on the VEETC—the ethanol blender's subsidy. Babcock also corresponded with David Rapp, editor-at-large with Bloomberg Government (a new DC-based subscription web service covering the business impact of government action), about summarizing Babcock's issue paper on “The Impact of US Biofuel Policies on Agricultural Price Levels and Volatility” for an op-ed.
    • Dave Swenson was interviewed by Donnelle Eller, a business reporter with The Des Moines Register, who had questions on the different paces of recovery among Iowa's metropolitan economies. He also spoke to Eller for a profile of Iowa manufacturing. Swenson also spoke with Rebecca Maxwell, WHO radio on Iowa manufacturing profiles.
    • Chad Hart spoke with Michael Crumb, an AP reporter, about commodity prices and their impact on food prices. He spoke with Sue Danielson of WHO radio about Missouri River flooding and also about shipping on the river. Hart spoke with Julie Holstein, a researcher with 60 Minutes, for background on farm subsidies.  He was interviewed by Angie Hunt, KCCI, about ethanol subsidies and the Senate's vote to remove them. He talked with Greg Forbes, a reporter for the Denison Bulletin & Review, about the factors shaping corn and soybean prices. Hart also scheduled interviews with Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today, about Missouri River flooding and crop prices, and with David Bennett of the Delta Farm Press about biofuels and policy.
    • Hart was also featured on several state and local broadcast news reports regarding the recent Senate vote to eliminate ethanol tax credits. Click on the following link to view these clips:  http://www.criticalmention.com/report/7809x221286.htm
    • Babcock also commented on the potential elimination of the ethanol industry subsidy, and was featured on several state and local boradcast news reports. Click on the following link to view these clips:http://www.criticalmention.com/report/7809x222061.htm#
    • Babcock was interviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the effect of the loss of ethanol subsidies on Minnesota ethanol plants. He spoke to Ellyn Ferguson of Congressional Quarterly about advanced biofuels

Conferences and Calls for Papers

  • Call for Papers: 48th Annual Meeting of the Missouri Valley Economic Association
  • REMINDER --- MEG Conference on October 6-7, 2011

    A reminder that the submission deadline for the Midwest Econometrics Group conference is July 31st.  Please visit the conference link at http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/midwest.econometrics/ to see updated hotel information.  Note that the conference is being held on Thursday and Friday this year (rather than Friday and Saturday).

Funding Opportunities

  • Leopold Center issues 2011 Request for Pre-proposals

    The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is looking for innovative ideas that will help fulfill its mission to identify and reduce negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of agricultural practices and contribute to the development of profitable farming systems that conserve natural resources.Specifics are outlined in the Leopold Center’s 2011 Request for Pre-proposals (RFP) that is part of its long-running competitive grants program. The deadline for submitting ideas, in the form of a 2-3 page concept paper, is August 15, 2011.

    The Leopold Center seeks these long-term outcomes of its programs regarding water and soil, people, energy and land management:
    1. Water and Soil: Water resources that increase in quality and quantity over time; improved soil health that ensures long-term productivity and crop yields.
    2. People: Agricultural systems that yield multiple benefits (for people, ecology and profit) and create more opportunities and vibrant communities on the land.
    3. Energy: On-farm energy conservation that is increased with use of low external input systems and innovative energy systems relying on fewer outside energy inputs.
    4. Land Management: Practices that enhance integrity and adaptability of biotic communities and encourage agricultural production systems that anticipate and adapt to greater weather variability.

    The Center will accept pre-proposals from investigators representing any Iowa nonprofit organization/agency and/or educational institution, including soil and water conservation districts, schools and colleges, and regional development groups. Farmers, landowners and farm-based businesses are encouraged to participate in the pre-proposal process.

    Each of the Center’s four initiatives – ecology, marketing and food systems, cross-cutting (water, energy, soil and alternative farming systems) and policy – are participating in the RFP.

    The RFP can be downloaded from the Center’s web site at www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/rfp/2011.html. Hard copies can be obtained from the Center office by calling (515) 294-3711 or emailing leocenter@iastate.edu. Inquiries should be directed to the appropriate initiative coordinator.

  • Internal Competition: NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

    This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students, enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of an associate; baccalaureate; or graduate-level degree in science and engineering disciplines. Grantee institutions are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, reporting demographic information about student scholars, and managing the S-STEM project at the institution. http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5257

    Letters of intent are due July 13, 2011 (optional but encouraged); Full proposals are due Aug. 11, 2011; Awards are normally not expected to exceed $600,000 in total. Annual budgets are limited to $225,000; An institution may submit one proposal from each constituent college. Individuals interested in submitting a proposal through CALS should submit a preproposal to Carla Persaud (cpersaud@iastate.edu) by Friday, July 1, at 5 PM.

    The preproposal should be no more than three pages and include:

    1) a short description of the project that includes all the key components as requested in the RFP.

    • Results from prior NSF support, with particular emphasis on any prior S-STEM of CSEMS awards made to the institution;
    • Statement of the project objectives and plans;
    • Discussion of the project's significance, including demographic information and rationale for the number of scholarships and the scholarship amount requested;
    • Discussion of activities on which the project builds (particularly connections to any existing S-STEM or CSEMS award at the institution);
    • Description of the management plan, including discussion of the role of faculty in the disciplines in the operation of the project;
    • Outline of the student selection process and criteria;
    • Description of the student support services and programs, and their impact on students;
    • Evidence of the quality of the institution's educational programs; and
    • Plans for project assessment and evaluation.
    • Plans for dissemination

    2) a discussion as to who will be involved and what their roles will be in the project.

  • USDA Higher Ed Multicultural Scholars Program

    http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/msp/msp_success.html; Due: Aug. 22, 2011

    The purpose of the Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program, as outlined in this RFA, is to provide scholarships to support recruiting, engaging, retaining, mentoring, and training committed, eligible multicultural scholars, resulting in either baccalaureate degrees within the food and agricultural sciences disciplines or the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree. The scholarships are intended to encourage outstanding students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented and underserved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) specifically for the USDA mission sciences, to pursue and complete baccalaureate degrees in food and agricultural sciences, or achieve a D.V.M. that would lead to a diverse and highly skilled work force.

    FY 2011 MSP Program Areas of Emphasis:

    Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degree in Veterinary Medicine i.e., D.V.M.) – specifically targeted is professional entry in food animal veterinary medicine;

    1. Agricultural Sciences and Engineering – specifically in agronomy, agricultural process engineering, agricultural biotechnology, animal science, crop sciences, and other STEM related sciences that address the workforce demands for expertise relevant to USDA mission areas;
    2. Natural Resource Sciences Training – particularly transdisciplinary training programs in sciences for global food security, food and agricultural sustainability to find solutions for real world issues relating to water, renewable energy, effects of climate change on environmental sustainability – including green jobs, and land use management relating to food, feed, and fiber;
    3. Human Sciences Training – specifically addressing the rural/urban interface as it pertains to food and agricultural sciences, including rural economic prosperity and family consumer sciences, specialty crops and markets and trade, agricultural communication, and the links to developing economic and social policy;
    4. Food Science and Human Nutrition Training – specifically focused on development of food and agricultural science expertise to address diet, nutrition for improved health – reducing childhood obesity, and improving food quality;
    5. Agrosecurity Science Training – specifically addressing food and agricultural science impacts on animal and crop health, including insect and pest management; and
    6. Agricultural Education – specifically addressing the incorporation of STEM disciplines with traditional agriculture education in formal (i.e. pre-K-12) and/or non-formal (e.g. extension) education preparation/training programs.
  • Funding opportunity - research in water sustainability & climate

    PURPOSE: to understand and predict the interactions between the water system and climate change, land use (including agriculture, managed forest and rangeland systems), the built environment, and ecosystem function and services through place-based research and integrative models.

    Studies of the water system using models and/or observations at specific sites singly or in combination that allow for spatial and temporal extrapolation to other regions, as well as integration across the different processes in that system are encouraged. The goal is to advance the development of theoretical frameworks and predictive understanding. See the guidelines for specific topics of interest.

    http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=100076; DEADLINE: October 19, 2011

  • NOAA Science Collaboration Program

    http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=CQn5TB7LX7SKKsJBbrkJrMmT66GtntzRJ0rT8bpCSGPhnpphCcSD!65426473?oppId=100473&mode=VIEW

    Program Priorities

    1. Identify, manage, and develop postdoctoral and visiting scientists with expertise across the full spectrum of NOAA-related sciences who will collaborate with NOAA professionals and other researchers either in NOAA facilities or in other research environments.
    2. Promote undergraduate and graduate exposure and participation in NOAA-related science through the development of innovative workshops and collaboration opportunities with professional researchers and scientists inside and outside of NOAA.
    3. Conduct research which improves the understanding and quantification of societal impact of NOAA-related science and operations and determines methods for better communication of scientific results and findings.
  • Critical Issues: Emerging and New Plant and Animal Pests and Diseases

    PURPOSE:  to provide one-time seed funding to help initiate work requiring immediate attention until other longer-term resources can be secured to address the issue. 

    For this particular solicitation, NIFA is requesting proposals that address specific aspects on:

    • The Bagrada bug, Bagrada hilaris, (also known as the painted bug or harlequin bug) on vegetable crops;
    • Rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonenis, and associated disease transmission to humans;
    • Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV) in tomato.

    A total of $305,000 is available to fund applications.  Projects may be for 2 years.  Guidelines are available at: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/criticalissuesfy20102011bagradahilarisratlungwormandgroundnutringspotvirus.cfm;

    DEADLINE:  August 1, 2011

Job Opportunities