Robert Hoffmann

Bob started his position as Web Coordinator for Washington State University’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences and Extension in 2001. In 2012, he transferred into a position as public relations/communications coordinator, and now as then, thrives at the intersection of communication and technology. In addition to writing newsletter articles and press releases, he maintains the CAHNRS/Extension photo archive and creates online training using Adobe Presenter. Before coming to WSU, Bob worked as a marketing communications coordinator for a hi-tech company in Cleveland, as a translator in Berlin, and as an editorial analyst at a producer of marketing and industry databases. He has a Master’s Degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. He is often attending to family matters and volunteering for nonprofits in the off-hours.

Recent articles by Robert Hoffmann

CAHNRS News – March 22, 2013

Posted March 22, 2013

New CAHNRS Paid Internship Program—Deadline Extended!

Twenty students have the opportunity for a paid, faculty-mentored internship in the summer or fall of 2013. Available locations include the Pullman, Vancouver and Tri-Cities campuses, WSU’s Research and Extension Centers, and County Extension Offices. The college will provide $2,500 per intern to each faculty mentor in partial support of these internship experiences. The deadline to submit the online application has been extended to March 25. For additional details, please see http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/experiential/internship-information/.

Nominate a CAHNRS Senior Who Exemplifies Excellence

The Big Ten Seniors award program recognizes WSU seniors who best represent an aspect of the college experience in areas of academics, athletics, campus involvement, community service, and visual/performing arts. Please nominate a senior who is outstanding in one or more of these areas. For details, see alumni.wsu.edu/bigten. Nominations must be received by Friday, April 12.

Newly Promoted and/or Tenured Faculty

Congratulations to our newly tenured and/or promoted CAHNRS and WSU Extension faculty! Catherine Black, Apparel, Merchandising, Design, and Textiles, Professor; Bhaskar Bondada, Horticulture, Associate Professor; Lindsey Du Toit, Plant Pathology, WSU Mount Vernon NWREC, Professor, Scientist, and Extension Specialist E-4; Katherine Evens, Horticulture, WSU Wenatchee TFREC, Associate Professor and Associate Scientist; Manuel Garcia-Perez, Biological Systems Engineering, Associate Professor and Associate Scientist; Laura Hill, Human Development, Professor and Extension Specialist E-4; Bidisha Mandal, School of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist E-3; Todd Murray, WSU Extension, Skamania County, Extension County Director E-3; Holly Neibergs, Animal Sciences, Associate Professor and Associate Scientist; Jeb Owen, Entomology, Associate Professor and Associate Scientist; Shyam Sablani, Biological Systems Engineering, Associate Professor and Associate Scientist; Mark Swanson, School of the Environment, Associate Professor and Associate Scientist; Jia Yan, School of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor; Kevin Zobrist, WSU Extension, Snohomish County, Extension Regional Specialist E-3.

Retirement Reception for Professor Jack Rogers

The Washington State University Department of Plant Pathology is hosting a retirement reception for Dr. Jack Rogers on April 7, 2-4 p.m., at the Paradise Creek Brewery. Friends and family are invited to come wish Dr. Rogers well. Dr. Rogers retired in January after 50 years on the WSU faculty. The Brewery is located at 245 SE Paradise St. in downtown Pullman. Rogers has been honored by promotion to Regents Professor and was recognized with the Eminent Faculty award, the highest honor a faculty member can receive at WSU.

Required Lab Self-Inspections

Lab self-inspections are required each year. This year the CAHNRS Safety Committee is requesting that all labs send in their completed reports to sbrooks@wsu.edu by May 1, 2013. The committee is particularly interested in the self-inspection worksheet under the heading of corrective action. A comparison of the reports will reveal any common problems. This will allow better or more specific training and promotion of safer lab practices. You can obtain the Safety Inspection Checklist at http://bit.ly/TrUDcX.

Events

Campbell Professorship Celebration

The Gaylon S. Campbell Distinguished Professorship in Environmental Biophysics has been created to honor the 27-year career of Professor Campbell as a faculty member at Washington State University. This professorship builds upon Dr. Campbell’s legacy of research and teaching to develop and refine models of water, gas, and energy fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, with a focus on agriculture and other managed ecosystems. Come to the celebration Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m. at Decagon Devices, Inc., 2365 NE Hopkins Court in Pullman.

Robert E. Allan Symposium

Speakers include Dr. Randall Wisser, Assistant Professor of Plant Genetics at the University of Delaware, Between meat grinding and sculpting: what are we learning about quantitative disease resistance in maize? and Dr. Sarah Hake, Adjunct Professor at Berkeley Center Director: USDA Plant Gene Expression Center, Regulation of plant architecture in maize—master regulators and background modifiers. Monday, March 25, 1:15 – 4:00 p.m. in the CUB Room 210, to be followed by poster session and potluck at the Ensminger Pavilion beginning 4:30 p.m. See Allan Symposium flyer.

“Explore Exporting” Seminar

This seminar, sponsored by the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association, offers Washington food and agriculture businesses information and resources from industry experts on how exporting can help their companies grow. March 28, 2013, 8:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Seattle, Washington. See details at http://bit.ly/Z2feSX.

Showcase 2013

Washington State University’s “World Class. Face to Face.” SHOWCASE events will take place on March 28-29. The Provost has approved the use of three hours of work time for all university employees to attend the Academic Showcase and/or the Distinguished Faculty Address. He is doing so to encourage faculty, staff and students in your area to schedule their attendance with their supervisor so it does not disrupt university operations and so everyone may take advantage of the opportunity to view firsthand the body of work that will be displayed at the poster session and/or to attend the Distinguished Faculty Address. See more about Showcase, including the complete schedule, at http://bit.ly/wsushowcase.

Science in Your Glass

What role does science play in the quality of wine? Thomas Henick-Kling, director of the Washington State University viticulture and enology program, explores this and other questions in “Science in Your Glass,” a WSU Innovators luncheon, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. See details at http://bit.ly/scienceinyourglass.

Chocolate Decadence

The Pullman Chamber of Commerce in partnership with WSU AMDT invites you to experience Chocolate Decadence. Sample free chocolates and shop locally while checking out visual displays created by WSU students. Participating businesses: The Bookie, Design Effects, Lily Bee’s Consignment Shop, GLASSPhemy, Flirt, Ric-O-Shay, Neill’s Flowers and Gifts, Sam Dial Jewelers, Crimson and Gray, At Home Designs: Framing it up, Atom Heart Music, Prune Orchard, B&L Bicycle Shop, Daily Grind/Licks, Wild Ivy, R-top Theatre, 2^nd Chance Thrift, Barnacle Bills, Pets R People 2, and Dissemore’s. Thursday, April 11, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Virginia Lee Fundraiser

Third Annual Dr. Virginia Lee “Change the World” Fellowship Fundraiser Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, Thursday April 18, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Merry Cellars Winery. Pre-sale tickets $25 for students and $35 for the general public. You must be 21 to attend. See details at http://bit.ly/virginia-lee.

Seminars

Bandar Alfaifi, Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. candidate, Computer-simulation analyses to improve radio frequency (RF) heating uniformity in dried fruits for insect control, and Pierre Wensel, Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. candidate, Bio-prospecting Extremophilic Microalgae for Biodiesel, Friday, March 22, 2013 at 4 p.m. in FSHN T-101.

Sudeep Bag, Ph.D. exit seminar, Biological, epidemiological and molecular insights into thrips – Iris yellow spot virus pest complex, Monday, March 25, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343, WECN Dial-up #5777077. See Announcement.

The Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles is hosting Debra Laney, Finish Developer of the Global Technical Team as the second speaker in a Cotton Across the Supply Chain seminar series. Ms. Laney will be discussing the Levi Strauss & Co. Water-Less Denim Program that they use to provide sustainable products to their consumers. Thursday, March 26, from 12:10-1:15 p.m. in Kruegel Hall Room 53.

Shantel Martinez, Crop Science M.S. student, Joint Crop & Molecular Plant Sciences Seminar, Evaluating Seed Dormancy, Hormone Response, and Pre-Harvest Sprouting Resistance of an ABA Hypersensitive Mutant Zak ERA8, Wednesday, March 27, 12:10 p.m. in Webster Physical Sciences Room 17.

Sushan Ru, Horitculture Ph.D. student, Thursday, March 28, 2:50 – 3:40 p.m., Pullman Murrow 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Ziru “Steven” Liu, Soil Science Ph.D. student, Colloid and Colloid-Facilitated Radionuclide Transport at the US DOE Hanford Site, Monday, April 1, 1:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 204. Arrangements have been made to broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, and Wenatchee stations.

Dr. Roger Innes, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Biology, Indiana University, Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Pathogen Recognition in Plants, Monday, April 1, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343, WECN Dial-up #5777077. See Announcement.

Jennifer Trapp, Crop Science Ph.D. student, Breeding for Drought Resistance in Common Bean, Monday, April 1, 2:10 p.m., Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Samantha Downey, Crop Science M.S. student, A Silent Approach to Rust Resistance-Using Agrobacterium Transformation to Develop Stable Rust Resistant Wheat, Monday, April 1, 3:10-4:00 p.m., Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Jeremy Cowan, Ph.D. student, Evaluating Biodegradable Plastic Mulches for Specialty Crop Production: A Multi-faceted Approach, Thursday, April 4, 2:50 – 3:40 p.m., Pullman Murrow 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Kudos

Dr. Lindsey du Toit of WSU Mount Vernon NWREC received the Syngenta Award from the American Phytopathological Society. This award is given by Syngenta Crop Protection to an APS member for an outstanding recent contribution to teaching, research, or extension in plant pathology.

Dr. Tim Miller of WSU Mount Vernon NWREC received the Presidential Award of Merit from the Western Society of Weed Science for his demonstrated and continued distinguished service to the society.

Amy Salamone, Ph.D. student with Dr. Debbie Inglis, has been selected to receive the prestigious Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship from the ARCS-Seattle Chapter (http://www.seattlearcsfoundation.org/).

Recent News Releases

Warm winter sets stage for growing season
Workshop meets growing interest in ciders, tree fruit
Learn to teach environmental education at March 30 workshop
Licensee Sought to Commercialize New Apple Variety from WSU

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The March 13 edition of On Solid Ground discusses how struvite, a fertilizer from animal manure, can mitigate water pollution problems while providing a renewable source of phosphorus. Also: collaborative management of thrips-caused crop losses, improving dairy cattle fertility, and the search for a licensee to commercialize a new WSU apple.
See more at http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2013/03/13/wsus-on-solid-ground-struvite-cattle-fertility-new-apple-march-13-2013/.

Forest health workshops in Vancouver, Everett address insect damage

Posted March 22, 2013

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington has declared a forest health hazard warning in portions of Okanogan, Ferry, Klickitat and Yakima counties because of two tree-damaging insects. Owners of small forest acreage will learn about the western spruce budworm and pine bark beetle at workshops sponsored by Washington State University Extension and the state Department of Natural Resources. Read more »

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Learn to teach environmental education at March 30 workshop

Posted March 13, 2013

EVERETT, Wash. – Washington State University Extension will offer Project Learning Tree Training for teachers and informal educators 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the Snohomish County Extension office, 600 128th St. SE, Everett. Read more »

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CAHNRS News – March 7, 2013

Posted March 8, 2013

Announcing Dr. James Moyer, Director of the ARC and Associate Dean for Research

I am pleased to announce that Dr. James Moyer has accepted our offer to become the new Director of the Agricultural Research Center and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Jim’s tentative starting date is May 1, 2013. Jim brings over 30 years of professional experience as a plant science researcher to the position, and has served as department head of one of the largest plant pathology programs in the U.S. for over a decade. I am particularly impressed with his administrative acumen and the respect he has earned across multiple disciplines and among the faculty and administration at North Carolina State University. As a result, I believe he will quickly climb the steep learning curve associated with this position and become an advocate for all CAHNRS programs, faculty, and staff. Jim was very well received during his interview and had strong support from the search committee, the CAHNRS Administrative team, the faculty and staff participating in the interview, and our agricultural stakeholders.

I want to thank the outstanding work of the search committee: Scot Hulbert (chair), Tom Spencer, Lindsey duToit, John Stark, Alan Love, John Browse, Mike Miller, and Andy Jensen.

A special thanks goes out to Mike Kahn and Ralph Cavalieri for their tremendous work in keeping the ARC running during this challenging time of transition.

Regards,
Daniel J. Bernardo
Vice President for Agriculture and Extension
Dean, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

New CAHNRS Paid Internship Program

Twenty students have the opportunity for a paid, faculty-mentored internship in the summer or fall of 2013. Available locations include the Pullman, Vancouver and Tri-Cities campuses, WSU’s Research and Extension Centers, and County Extension Offices. The college will provide $2,500 per intern to each faculty mentor in partial support of these internship experiences. The deadline to submit the online application is March 20. For additional details, please see http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/experiential/internship-information/.

Please Provide Input Regarding Performance: Bernardo

Please complete a survey regarding the performance of Dan Bernardo, Vice President for Agriculture and Extension and Dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences by visiting https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K93JCMR. Use the following password to access the survey: arw697. The Provost’s Office has developed this Web-based system to provide constructive feedback to administrators.

Please access this Website and complete the short survey by midnight on March 15, 2013. The survey responses will be anonymous, but the results will be shared with Dr. Bernardo. Thank you for your participation in this important activity.

Ag Science Education Is Hot

The nationwide trend of rising enrollment in agricultural studies has been in the news lately, so we decided to run the numbers for CAHNRS. From 2010 to 2012, our enrollment has been ramping up, with the overall average undergraduate enrollment in our agricultural sciences programs up 65% in the past 3 years. The number of undergraduate animal science students rose 23%, and agricultural and food systems enrollment increased 45%. The numbers look even better with integrated plant sciences (up 89%) and food science (104%).

Graduate studies also benefited from an increasing interest in the agricultural sciences, with plant pathology enrollment up 5.8%, crop and soil sciences up 14.9%, horticulture up 15.6%, and animal sciences up a whopping 64.7%.

As Dean Bernardo pointed out, the fact that CAHNRS has been able to capitalize on this nationwide trend speaks well to the quality of our faculty and our science-based education programs.

Pullman’s spring commencement is right around the corner!

It’s time to secure your faculty regalia for the May commencement ceremonies. The last day to obtain school-specific faculty regalia through the Bookie will be Friday, March 22. The deadline to rent basic black regalia is April 26. All regalia orders can be placed through the Bookie by completing the online order form: http://bit.ly/XYUfzc. Regalia will be in the store and ready for pick-up beginning Tuesday, April 30, 2013.

The online faculty reservation is also open: https://www.ronet.wsu.edu/Main/Apps/Cmc_Request.ASP. The last day to register will be Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

Events

“Explore Exporting” Seminar

Science in Your Glass

“Vine to Wine” Workshop

WSU, in collaboration with wine industry professionals, is offering a two-day intensive “Vine to Wine” workshop, April 20-21 in Prosser. For more information and to register, please visit http://bit.ly/Vhq6MT.

National Urban Extension Conference

Extension professionals who work in urban/suburban communities are the target audience for this conference. Also welcome are extension partners from collaborating agencies and organizations, extension volunteers, local advisory board members, and others with an interest in urban extension programs. May 6-9, 2013 in Overland Park, Kansas. See details at http://bit.ly/XYui2t.

Save the Date: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals

Navigating Difference: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals, presented by WSU Extension on May 14-16, 2013, Federal Way, Wash. TheNavigating Difference training is one of four Essential Skills Trainings based on the core competencies for WSU Extension Professionals and is recommended for all Extension personnel. For details, see http://bit.ly/Tsj8qE.

The Art of Queen Bee Rearing Workshop

WSU Pullman, June 12 & 13, 2013 and WSU Mt Vernon Ag Station, July 19, 2013. Details at http://entomology.wsu.edu/apis/.

Seminars

Dr. Mike Lilga, Ph.D., from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Bioproduct development from lignocellulosic biomass, Friday, March 8, 2013 at 4 p.m. in FSHN T101. See Details.

Emily Bruner, Soil Science Ph.D. student, Process-Based Landscape Classification for Site-Specific Nitrogen Management, Monday, March 18, 1:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee stations.

Claudia Osorio, Crop Science Ph.D. student, Genetically Engineered Prolyl Endopeptidase from Flavobacterium as a Natural Dietary Therapy for Celiac Patients, Monday, March 18, 2:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Kebede Muleta, Crop Science Ph.D. student, Enhancing Durable Disease Resistance in Crops: Exploring the Prospect of Non-host Resistance, Monday, March 18, 3:10-4:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Dr. David McK. Bird, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University: The plant-nematode interface: Genetical genomics of Medicago and Meloidogyne, Monday, March 18, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN Dial-up #:5777077. See Announcement »

Sudeep Bag, Ph.D. student – Biological, Epidemiological and Molecular Insights into Thrips-Iris Yellow Spot Virus Pest Complex, Thursday, March 21, 2:50 – 3:40 p.m., Murrow Hall 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Grapevine Red Blotch Disease: An Emerging Issue, featuring Marc Fuchs (Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe Biology, Cornell University), Rhonda Smith (UCCE Farm Advisor, Sonoma County), and Deborah Golino (UC Davis Foundation Plant Services), March 27, 2013 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Webinar can be viewed at the Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center with WSU Grape Virologist Naidu Rayapati on hand to answer questions. The Webinar can also be viewed locally, with preregistration. See http://bit.ly/13I1D91 for details.

Kudos

Drew Lyon, Endowed Chair in Small Grains Extension and Research, Weed Science, has been elected president of the Western Society of Weed Science, effective March 14.

Michael Lege, a Ph.D. student in Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, advised by Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, was awarded a Borlaug Fellowship. He will spend 12 months in Uganda studying distribution channels of bean seeds and agricultural information.

“A University Steak to Go With That Sweatshirt?” The New York Times asked this question in the headline of a story featuring WSU premium beef sales in its Saturday, March 2 edition. The Times interviewed Tom Cummings, who oversees WSU cattle operations, and Margaret E. Benson, the chair of the Animal Sciences department. Read the article at http://nyti.ms/VLBhzo.

An article co-authored by Dora Rollins (technical editor for Marketing, News, and Educational Communications) has been singled out by Journal of Extension editor Laura Hoelscher for special recognition. Hoelscher said that the article, ”The PNW Model: Lessons from Extension’s Most Successful Regional Publishing Program,” http://bit.ly/JOEPNW, illustrates how the PNW Extension publishing program serves as a model for doing extension right. Rich Koenig, WSU Extension Associate Dean and Director, said “Extension is about using partnerships to implement change, and the PNW regional Extension publishing program is an example of how we can use this model through all levels of Extension to work efficiently and effectively.” PNW Extension publications are produced cooperatively by Washington State University, Oregon State University, and the University of Idaho based on content that is relevant to all three states. Since 1949, the PNW program has published more than 630 titles, preventing duplication of effort, broadening the availability of faculty specialists, and substantially reducing costs for the participating states.

The following WSU Posters earned 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place at the Washington Association for Wine Grape Growers (WAWGG) Annual meeting in Kennewick, WA this year:

Student Posters:
1st: Sudarsana Poojari, Olufemi Alabi, Naidu Rayapati, “A New Virus Disease Threatening Washington Vineyards.”
2nd: Federico Casassa, Richard Larsen, Christopher Beaver, Maria Mireless, Markus Keller, William Riley, Russell Smithyman, and James Harbertson, “Interactive Effect of Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) and Skin Contact Time in Cabernet Sauvignon Wines: Characterization of Proanthocyanidin Distribution and Sensory Properties.”

Professional Posters:
1st (tied): Markus Keller, Guilio Carmassi, C Lee, Bhaskar Bondada, “Linking Grapevine Bleeding, Budbreak, Shoot Growth and Fruit Set: Causes and Consequences for Vineyard Management.”
1st (tied): John Ferguson, Lynn Mills, Sean Hill, Michelle Moyer, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Markus Keller, “WSU Decision Support Tools for Grape Cold Damage Management”
2nd: Gary Grove, Michelle Moyer, Michael Schwager, “Effect of Bloom-centered Quinoxyfen Applications on Powdery Mildew Severity on ‘White Riesling’ Berries.”
3rd: James Harbertson, Federico Casassa, Christopher Beaver, Maria Mireless, Richard Larsen, H. Hopfer, H. Haymann. “The Effect of Fruit Maturity, Ethanol Concentration and Maceration Length in Washington State Merlot Wines over Two Seasons: Extraction of Phenolics, Color Components and Sensory Implications.”

Recent News Releases

Workshop helps secure the future of farms, forests
‘We Trust in God, but Sell for Cash’: Successful Turn-of-the-Century Dressmaker, Businesswoman Subject of WSU Exhibit
Managing thrips-caused crop losses, educating future scientists
Science of wine is topic of WSU Innovator lecture April 4 in Seattle
WSU, Multiform Harvest team-up to create sustainable fertilizers
So close, yet so far: Stagnant weather leaves January mostly cold, gray
In retrospect: Washington’s 2012 weather warmer than 2011
A Twist on Victor/Victoria: WSU Student’s Unisex Style Collection Offers Unique Approach to Sustainability

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The February 21 edition of Green Times tells how the WSU Master Gardener program helps financially and physically challenged individuals grow their own vegetables. Green Times also explores how farming may aid in carbon sequestration, and how natural soil antibiotics offer a potential alternative to farm chemicals. Get the full story at http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2013/02/21/green-times-sequestering-carbon-microbes-veg-gardens-diet-feb-21-2013/.

The February 28 edition of Voice of the Vine shows how members of the WSU Viticulture and Enology Club get real-world experience by making wine with generously donated fruit and supplies. VoV also reviewed graduate student Allison Baker’s research into how ethanol and tannins affect flavor, finish, and each other. Read all about it at http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2013/02/28/wsus-voice-of-the-vine-students-winemakers-red-finish-feb-28-2013/.

The February 27 edition of On Solid Ground discusses how natural soil antibiotics offer a potential alternative to farm chemicals, and how adding legume flour to wheat bread could expand markets. See details at http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2013/02/27/antibacterial-microbes-legume-flour/.

Workshop helps secure the future of farms, forests

Posted March 6, 2013

MONROE, Wash. – Who cares for a family farm or forest land when the legal owner dies? Will it be a family legacy or family squabble? Will it be kept intact and protected or divided and sold? Succession planning is the critical step of ensuring the long-term future of rural properties. A two-part succession planning workshop will be 5-9 p.m. Thursdays, March 21 and 28, at the Qualco Energy Center, 18117 203rd St. SE, Monroe. Read more »

Filed under Release, tagged Family and Small Acreage Forestry, family forest owners workshop, Forestry

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CAHNRS News – February 22, 2013

Posted February 22, 2013

The Alexander A. Smick Scholarship in Rural Community Service and Development

The purpose of the scholarship provided by the Alexander A. and Agnes “Odegaard” Smick Endowment Scholarship is to promote student engagement with an applied course of study in the field of rural community service and development. This scholarship competition, which will award two or more scholarships of up to $1,500 each, is open to all WSU undergraduate and graduate students who have a demonstrated interest in development issues facing rural citizens. Application deadline: March 15, 2013. Find details and the application at http://bit.ly/wsusmick.

Required Lab Self-Inspections

ReConnect Online Subscriptions

You’ve probably seen the print edition of ReConnect, the new CAHNRS alumni magazine that was mailed in January. ReConnect focuses on the greatest assets of CAHNRS: its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We will be launching an online edition in March with some new stories and class notes. Don’t miss it: subscribe today at http://cahnrsalumni.wsu.edu/reconnect/.

Photo ID

Who is Andrea Stones and what is she drafting? Where was this photo taken? And who is the other woman in this photo? Did Andrea attend Boise State University or did another person slap the Bronco Athletic Association sticker on the drafting table?

WSU CAHNRS is seeking your help in cataloging its photo archive. We are scanning hundreds of old slides, negatives, and prints to put online. And we need your help to identify these images by telling us, as best you can,

the contents,
the date, and
the identity of the photographer.

To help us identify the contents of this and many more images, see http://bit.ly/wsuphotoid. More photos have been added recently, so please have another look at the full collection of historical images!

Reinterpreting Reality Art Exhibit

Unisex Lifestyle Fashion as an Approach to Sustainability is a video presentation of an apparel collection designed by Master’s candidate Chiayun Corrine Tsai. The collection is part of the 9^th Annual Reinterpreting Reality Art Exhibit in the CUB Gallery, Pullman campus. This exhibit highlights women artists and Women’s History Month. Opening reception at the CUB Gallery, February 26, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m. The Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles welcomes your participation in the reception or viewing of the exhibit during the month of March.

Events

Spanish Strengthening Families Program Facilitator Training

Registration is open for Facilitator Training for the Spanish version of Extension’s Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14, Fortaleciendo Familias. The training will take place in Bellingham Feb. 27-March 1. The registration form, information about the program and videos of parent graduates talking about their experiences are available at http://bit.ly/WQW5lE. Anyone with interest is welcome.

Save the date: Third Annual Dr. Virginia Lee “Change the World” Fellowship Fundraiser, Thursday April 18, 2013, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Merry Cellars Winery in Pullman. See details at http://bit.ly/virginia-lee.

Seminars

John Nilson, Edward Meyer Distinguished Professor and Director of the School of Molecular Biosciences, WSU, Publication Ethics, Friday, February 22, 2013 at 4 p.m. in FSHN T-101.

Adams Peterson, Crop Science M.S. student, Salinity Tolerance of Quinoa: Investigation of a High-value Halophytic Crop for Temperate North America, Monday, February 25, 3:10-4:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Dr. Jacqueline Fletcher, Regents Professor and Sarkeys Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Enhancing response capabilities for agricultural biosecurity: The emerging discipline of plant pathogen forensics, Monday, February 25, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN Dial-up #577707. See Announcement »

Josephine Mgbechi-Ezeri, Horticulture M.S. student, Thursday, February 28, 2:50 p.m., Murrow 55, with videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, and Wenatchee.

Margaret McCoy, Soil Science M.S. Candidate, Differences in how Late Season Soil Versus Foliar Nitrogen Fertilizer Supplements Affect Vitis vinifera Riesling Berry YAN and Canopy Growth, Monday, March 4, 1:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 204 and broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee.

Ying Zhai, Plant Pathology Ph.D. student: Functional analysis of gene-silencing suppressors from plant viruses: two geminiviruses as examples (See Announcement) and Amy Salamone, Plant Pathology Ph.D. student, Novel means of dispersal by pathogenic Fusarium species via waterways, wind and rain (See Announcement), Monday, March 4, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN Dial-up #577707.

Recent News Releases

WSU Master Gardeners Help Financially, Physically Challenged Residents Grow Their Own Vegetables
Potato Sprout Inhibitor Discovered at WSU Now Approved for Commercial Use
Like mother, like child: new research on parents, preschoolers, obesity

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The February 17 edition of Green Times discusses a grant supporting sustainable, urban ag education in Puget Sound, WSU’s major and online certificate programs in organic ag, the importance of soil conservation, and the 2013 WSU Snohomish County Extension Growing Groceries Volunteer Mentor Training. The edition also profiles Haley Paul, who says that her organic ag internship helped prepare her for her Honors College thesis and her professional career. Read this edition at http://bit.ly/W87PoQ.

The February 13 edition of On Solid Ground discusses the $5 million investment in WSU R&E centers in Prosser and Wenatchee by the Washington cherry and stone fruit growers, the development of a potato sprout inhibitor, herbicide drift avoidance, and a factsheet on Understanding the Relationship between Water Price, Value, and Cost. Read all about it at http://bit.ly/W6jap2.

CAHNRS News – February 8, 2013

Posted February 8, 2013

Dr. Richard Zack, Assistant Director for the ARC

The Agricultural Research Center is pleased to announce Dr. Richard Zack will be acting as the Assistant Director for the ARC, taking the lead on the reporting system for all ARC research projects. Dr. Zack will also be assisting with the Plan of Work/Annual Report to the USDA, and representing the ARC at various meetings or travel where appropriate. We welcome Rich to the ARC. Read more »

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Family Forest Expo slated at Green River Community College, March 23

Posted January 30, 2013

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Family owners of private forestland in Washington will have the opportunity to learn how to keep their forests safe and healthy at the Family Forest Expo. The Washington State University Extension educational event will be held on Saturday, March 23, at Green River Community College in Auburn. Gates will open at 8 a.m. and presentations will begin at 9 a.m. Read more »

Filed under Release, tagged family forest owners workshop, Forestry

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CAHNRS News – January 25, 2013

Posted January 25, 2013

ARC Director Candidate Seminar

Please help us welcome Dr. James Moyer as he interviews for the CAHNRS Associate Dean and Director of the Agricultural Research Center position. The seminar, Vision for Future Research in the WSU Agricultural Research Center, with Q&A session, is scheduled for February 1, 2013, 2:15–4:00 p.m. in Lighty Student Services Building, room 405 with videoconference connections to Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, and Wenatchee. The seminar will also have a live videostream at http://windowsmedia.wsu.edu/event.

Academic Showcase

Faculty members, staff and students are encouraged to submit abstracts for the 2013 Academic Showcase. The deadline to submit abstracts is Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. The Academic Showcase will be held on Friday, March 29, 2013 in the M.G. Carey Senior Ballroom in the Compton Union Building. To submit abstracts go to: http://bit.ly/hKe9F9.
Please print and display this call for abstracts: http://bit.ly/UZvVhe.

Academic Advising Survey

All CAHNRS teaching faculty should encourage their students to take the 2012-2013 CAHNRS Academic Advising Survey so that we can continue to monitor the quality of our advising. The survey will remain live until Friday, February 8. Our goal is to identify good advising strategies that are working well for students, and to help identify opportunities for improvement. The survey is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AdvisingSurvey2012. Survey flyers also are posted around CAHNRS, allowing students to use their smart phones to access the survey by scanning the QR code. The survey has 14 questions and should take 5-10 minutes to complete. For more information, contact Adrea Cox, andrea.cox@wsu.edu, 509-335-5013.

New 2013 Summer Internship Program to Support WSU Extension Youth and Family Programs

This internship program is designed to further support WSU Extension Youth and Family programs across Washington State. The paid student intern can support 4-H youth development, family living, nutrition, parenting or any youth and family integrated Extension program(s). Applicants must be a junior, senior, or graduate student at a 4-year University.
For an explanation of the program, a template position description and a faculty agreement form, contact Doreen Hauser-Lindstrom, (509) 358-7686, doreen@wsu.edu, or Pat Boyes, (253) 445-4589, boyesp@wsu.edu. The County/or Area Specific Position Description and Faculty Agreement are due February 20, 2013.

Required Lab Self-Inspections

New Peer-Reviewed Extension Journal

The School of Human Sciences at Mississippi State University is sponsoring a new online, open access peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Human Sciences and Extension. The editors are seeking high quality research and/or effective applied techniques related to human sciences. Researchers and professionals across the following disciplines are asked to submit manuscripts: human development (e.g., early care and education, youth development); family studies; agricultural education; leadership development; extension; health and wellness; apparel, textiles, and merchandising; agricultural economics; nutrition and dietetics; family resource management; and program planning and evaluation. Detailed instructions for authors are available on the journal’s Website at http://bit.ly/TsaSqA.

Photo Challenge

Who are these young scientists? What lab are they in? Why is one using a compound microscope, while the other uses a dissecting microscope? What are they looking at? And why has the woman covered her light source with a crocheted (or knitted) cloth?

WSU CAHNRS is seeking your help in cataloging its photo archive. To help us identify the contents of this and many more images, see http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/2013/01/23/photo-id/. More photos have been added recently, so please have another look at the full collection of historical images!

Need promotional products for your department or club?

Want to use the WSU logo for your next fundraiser or promotion? This new page, http://bit.ly/WWRBbx, makes it easy to locate a licensed vendor — a company authorized to produce merchandise with the WSU names and logos. More information on logo usage and licensed vendors is available at http://www.trademarks.wsu.edu.

Events

Towards Global Food Law: Transatlantic Competition and Collaboration

Originating at the University of Washington School of Law and broadcast to 312 Cleveland Hall, Washington State University School of Food Science on Feb. 8, 2013. Available for graduate credit: FS 501 Sec 3 (SLN 05043), 1 credit. Pullman location, 312 Cleveland. For more information, contact Barb Rasco Rasco@wsu.edu or 509-990-7361.

Spanish Strengthening Families Program Facilitator Training

Save the Date: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals

Navigating Difference: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals, presented by WSU Extension on May 14-16, 2013, Federal Way, Wash. The Navigating Difference training is one of four Essential Skills Trainings based on the core competencies for WSU Extension Professionals and is recommended for all Extension personnel. For details, see http://bit.ly/Tsj8qE.

Seminars

Dr. Paul Porter, University of Minnesota, Global Food Production, 1:10 p.m., Monday, January 28, Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Sean McCotter, M.S. Plant Pathology student, “a loves me, b loves me not: Sexual reproduction in the Basidiomycota,” (See Announcement), and Chongjing Xia, M.S. Plant Pathology student, Genome-wide Association and Nested Association Mapping of Quantitative Resistance to North Leaf Blight in Maize (See Announcement), Monday, January 28, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343. (WECN Dial-up #:5777077.)

Horticulture Invited Speaker: Chris Benedict, WSU Extension Educator, Whatcom County. Thursday, January 31, 2:50–3:40 p.m., Pullman in Murrow 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Dr. Michelle Wander, Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture, 1:10 p.m., Monday, February 4, Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

Michele Wiseman, M.S. Plant Pathology student: Novel biological control agents for post-harvest apple pathogens, and Eric Christianson, M.S. Plant Pathology student, Transmission of plant viruses by the parasitic weed, dodder, Monday, February 4, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343. (WECN Dial-up #:5777077.)

Horticulture Invited Speaker: Vicki Bradley, Agronomist, Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing, USDA-ARS, Pullman. Thursday, February 7, 2:50–3:40 p.m., Pullman Murrow 55 and transmitted via AMS.

Kudos

Craig Morris in the department of Crop and Soil Sciences has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Cereal Chemistry journal.

Crop and Soil Sciences Ph.D. student Alecia Kiszonas‘ paper “A Critical Assessment of the Quantification of Wheat Grain Arabinoxylans Using a Phloroglucinol Colorimetric Assay” was named one of the five top papers from 2012 by Cereal Chemistry journal.

On January 10, 2013 Gary A. Moulton was honored on his retirement from WSU Mount Vernon NWREC at a lunch celebrating his 30 years of service to agriculture in the Puget Sound. Over 60 well-wishers were on hand, including WSU Mount Vernon faculty and staff, representatives from fruit grower groups, home gardeners, nursery growers, and others who conveyed their thanks for his many years of work in tree fruit research and extension.

Recent News Releases

Online class helps western Washington forest owners care for trees, lower taxes
A Study in Paradox: December Weather Windy, Warm and Snowy

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The January 24 edition of Voice of the Vine features a story on a wine tour for continuing education. Also featured are announcements of a workshop for winery/vineyard business and production techniques and an updated lab manual for winemakers. Read it here »

Online class helps western Washington forest owners care for trees, lower taxes

Posted January 25, 2013

EVERETT, WASH. – Washington State University Extension will offer its forest stewardship coached planning course online 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays Feb. 6-March 20. Read more »

Filed under Release, tagged Family and Small Acreage Forestry, Forestry

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CAHNRS News – January 11, 2013

Posted January 10, 2013

From the Dean’s Blog

Take a Tour – With a Click of Your Mouse

The expression “armchair travel” took on a new dimension recently when the School of Food Science launched a new way of touring its facilities. Combining video with elements of a video game, the “virtual tour” allows you to get a guided look at all the School has to offer, all from the comfort of laptop or desktop computer.

It’s always important to get first-hand knowledge of an educational program – to learn not only what classes you have to take but also what resources the program has to offer that will increase the value of your education. But it is not always practical to travel across state – or across country – to visit a campus in person. That’s why we’ve produced the virtual tour of the School of Food Science.

Travel is also enhanced by guides who have “been there, done that” – they know the ins and outs and the cool, not-to-be-missed features that enrich your visit to a new place. That’s why the virtual tour is conducted by the people who know it best…the School of Food Science’s students, faculty and alumni. You’ll get an up-close view of classes, labs, student activities, career possibilities, and internships – all narrated by experts with local knowledge.

To take the tour, just click here – once you are on the tour page, follow the simple directions. Just like in a video game, you can navigate through the virtual space with simple key strokes, mouse clicks, and the space bar.

Let us know what you think of the tour. And stay tuned for more tours of other areas of the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.

Go Cougs! Dan

CAHNRS is now on Facebook!

Stay updated on college news stories, alumni events, and student affairs within the college.

CSS Calendars

The Crop and Soil Science Graduate Student Club has published a 2013 calendar to raise start-up funds. The calendar features photos of the Palouse and WSU research stations taken by Crop & Soil Science graduate students. The calendars cost $12 each and can be purchased in the CSS Departmental Main Office, Johnson Hall 131, with cash or check. For more information, contact Natalie Jeschke, 509-335-3475 or nvannuland@wsu.edu.

Events

Beekeeping Webinar
Beekeeper and WSU faculty member Natalie Boyle is offering WSU students an introduction to beekeeping during a free one-hour webinar. Boyle will introduce honey bee biology, discuss the tools needed for beekeeping, show a 10-minute video of herself working a hive, and hold a Q&A session. The webinar is available through WSU’s CougSync platform, part of its Global Campus, and open only to WSU students, faculty and staff with a campus ID number. It runs from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 16, repeats Jan. 17, and runs again from 12:30-1:30 Jan. 18.

Oilseed Production and Marketing Conference
Plan now to attend the only conference in the Pacific Northwest addressing dryland and irrigated oilseed agronomy, processing, economics, marketing and end use. “Golden Opportunities” is the theme this year, representing the many benefits that oilseed crops can provide, including increased wheat yield in a cereal rotation, better weed management, steady local market demand, crop diversity, and quality livestock meal and forage.
Dates: Jan. 22-23.
Conference website: http://bit.ly/oilseedconf.

One-day Course

Towards Global Food Law: Transatlantic Competition and Collaboration

Originating at the University of Washington School of Law and broadcast to 312 Cleveland Hall, Washington State University School of Food Science on Feb. 8, 2013. Graduate credit is available for $50.00. For more information, contact Barb Rasco Rasco@wsu.edu or 509-990-7361.

Grazing Conference
A slate of outstanding speakers including producers, land managers and agency personnel will discuss their experience with Holistic Management and planned grazing and their impacts on the triple bottom-line—economic, environmental and social. January 25-25 at Walla Walla Community College. See details »

Seminars

January 14
Dr. Drew Lyon, Extension Weed Scientist, department of Crop & Soil Sciences, Dryland Corn Production: Experiences from Western Nebraska, Monday, 3:10-4:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall Room 204 and via WECN.

David Wheeler, M.S. Student, department of Plant Pathology, Parasite-mediated ecosystem change: phytoplankton chytridiomycosis in a pelagic ecosystem, Monday 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and via WECN dial-up #:5777077. See Details »

Kudos

Qin Zhang, Director of the Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, has been named a Fellow at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).

Recent News Releases

Educating the next generation in sustainable, urban farming
Why Aren’t Plants Sick More than They Are?
$1.3M research grant will help WSU, partners address Christmas tree problems
Oilseed production, marketing conference slated for Jan. 22-23 in Kennewick
WSU Extension, Team Win Inland Northwest Partners’ 2012 Partnership Award

All our news releases are archived at http://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The Jan. 9 edition of On Solid Ground announces the launch of WSU’s own brand of commercial premium beef, with two options: Angus choice and Wagyu. Also, OSG discusses Lee Hadwiger’s research into molecular signaling of non-host resistance in plants. Read all about it at http://bit.ly/WFSWTQ.

$1.3M research grant will help WSU, partners address Christmas tree problems

Posted December 18, 2012

PULLMAN, Wash. – Newly funded research at Washington State University will address issues hampering the Christmas tree industry – and possibly expand the market for live trees. Among the biggest problems for growers is Phytophthora root rot, a fungus disease that can shrink plantation yields up to 75 percent. An issue critical to consumers of live Christmas trees is the mess in their homes from fallen needles. Read more »

Filed under Release, tagged Christmas trees, Phytophthora

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CAHNRS News – December 14, 2012

Posted December 14, 2012

Length of Service Awardees

President Floyd recognized the 2012 Length of Service Awardees yesterday at the Employee Recognition Reception. CAHNRS and Extension had many individuals recognized for their milestone lengths of service at Washington State University. We would like to personally congratulate those in our area that have been with the university for more than 30 years. What an accomplishment!

Ken Casavant, School of Economic Sciences – 45 years
Betty Musick, Horticulture – 45 years
Becky Priebe, CAHNRS & WSU Extension Business and Finance Office – 40 years
Karen Weller, School of Food Science – 40 years
Tim Smith, WSU County Extension – 40 years
Ron Mittelhammer, School of Economic Sciences – 35 years
Jim Kropf, WSU Extension – 35 years
James Freed, WSU County Extension – 35 years
Juan Alonso, WSU Mount Vernon NWREC – 35 years
John Steinbock, WSU Prosser IAREC – 35 years
John Wilson, WSU Prosser IAREC – 35 years
Ed Mitchell, WSU Wenatchee TFREC – 35 years
Tom Okita, Institute of Biological Chemistry – 30 years
Michael Costello, School of Food Science – 30 years
Debra Marsh, Johnson Hall Graduate Center – 30 years
Kathleen Duncan, WSU Extension – 30 years
Rob McDaniel, WSU Extension – 30 years
Lynn Mills, WSU Prosser IAREC – 30 years
Guy Reisenauer, WSU Prosser IAREC – 30 years
Randy Roehl, WSU Puyallup REC – 30 years

CAHNRS & WSU Extension Holiday Gathering

Dan Bernardo would like to thank you for joining him at the CAHNRS and Extension Holiday Gathering yesterday evening. We had a wonderful turnout with abundant holiday cheer. There aren’t many chances for everyone in the CAHNRS family to gather, from emeritus and active faculty, through graduate and undergraduate students, down to the infant children of some guests. A tasty spread of food nourished all, while Kim Kidwell, Don Holbrook and Pete Jacoby served Northwest beers and Washington wine to the crowd. About a dozen lucky guests had their names pulled for holiday items. Don Pierce and Tim Murray, for example, went home with honey donated by the Entomology department, while Cameron Peace and Ellen Johnston won WSU t-shirts.

As you all know, the true focus of our annual gathering is giving, especially to those in need in our own communities. Thank you to all who contributed goods for our local food banks. If you couldn’t attend, there is still time to contribute to the…

…CAHNRS and WSU Extension Food Drive

You can still donate to our annual food drive through Tuesday, Dec 18. Bring canned and nonperishable food, toiletries or paper products for area food banks to 421 Hulbert Hall. Dan and Pam Bernardo will match your donation pound for pound. Last year CAHNRS and WSU Extension delivered over 2,600 pounds of goods to food banks in our communities, and we’d love to break that record.

Happy Birthday, CSANR!

The WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources celebrated 20 years of science in action last week. The January issue of Green Times will include a full wrap-up story but in the mean time, check out this short video outlining past accomplishments and future challenges: http://bit.ly/TYixer.

Another Mystery Scientist

Who is this scientist? What is he doing? And what are the gauges in front of him? What liquid is in the bottles on the shelf? And is it 8:40 a.m. or p.m.?

WSU CAHNRS is seeking your help in cataloging its photo archive. To help us identify the contents of this and many more images, please see http://bit.ly/wsuphotoid.

As Seen at CAHNRS: Video Happenings around the College

He sings, he plays guitar, he teaches molecular genetics: Catch Michael Neff, Director of the Molecular Plant Sciences Graduate Program, doing all three at once, as he performs 1-800-DNA.
Moths don’t sing, but they taught graduate student Teah Smith quite a bit as they flew in circles. We’ve added the musical background: Insect Flight Mills.

Crabapple ‘Puget Spice’ named and released by WSU

On Nov. 27 the Horticulture Cultivar Release Committee announced the official naming and release of the crabapple ‘Puget Spice’ from Carol Miles (WSU faculty), G.A. Moulton (WSU staff), R.A. Norton (WSU Professor Emeritus) and J. King (WSU staff). The crabapple is a cross of the apple varieties ‘Alkmene’ and ‘Prima’ made at WSU Mount Vernon NWREC in 1990 by Norton and Moulton, and tested as “WSU AxP crabapple.” Trees of ‘Puget Spice’ are highly resistant to scab and mildew, with profuse white single flowers in mid-April, and small (1 to 1.375 in. diameter) edible fruit, orange-red in color, particularly suited for culinary use (spiced apples, apple jelly) and for both hard and sweet cider blending. Potential uses are as a landscape ornamental-edible, and in home and commercial cider making. Budwood of ‘WSU AxP’ is available from Carol Miles, WSU Mount Vernon NWREC.

Events

WSU Tukey Horticulture Orchard Fruit Sales
Fridays, 12 Noon – 6 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., through Dec. 22. ”Already picked” produce available. More details »

Kudos

Drs. Joan Ellis and Karen Leonas were awarded a grant from Cotton Incorporated for $26,543.00 through their 2013 Cotton Student Sponsorship Program. The purpose of the project is to increase students’ awareness and understanding of cotton fiber and cotton textiles through a series of seminars on topics about cotton and sustainability to be held on the Pullman campus. Students will also visit Cotton Incorporated headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. The visit to Cotton Incorporated headquarters provides students the opportunity to see the testing, production and processing of cotton textiles Students will also interact with researchers and learn more about the support and resources that Cotton Incorporated can offer as they prepare for careers in the textile and apparel industry.

Anthony Melo, undergraduate Apparel Design major, won the Student Bookstore Competition T-Shirt Design Contest. His “Air Cougar” t-shirt design will be printed on about 600 shirts and will be handed out at half-time during the basketball game against Arizona on February 2.

The undergraduate winners of the student poster contest at the CSANR twenty-year celebration are Laurel Graves, for her entry “Soil Nitrogen Loss in Windblown dust on the Columbia Plateau” and Raymond Kinney for “Breeding Spelt (Triticum aestivum spp. Spelta) for improved Yield and Threshability in Organic Systems.” Graduate student winners were Hannah Walters for “Irrigation and Intercropping with Quinoa (Chenopodium album) in the Palouse” and Eliane Bodah & Brian Bodah for “Sustainable Agriculture Development in an Indigenous Community of the Amazon Rainforest.” Each poster award was accompanied with a $500 scholarship.

Soil Science graduate student Cornelius Adewale was elected as the new student representative on the Board of Directors for the Tilth Producers of Washington. His adviser is Lynne Carpenter-Boggs.

School of the Environment student Amy Segovia won an ExxonMobile Geoscience grant of $7,500 for her project “Evidence for volatile recycling at continental boundaries: A geochemical analysis of melt inclusions from the 1886 eruption of Mt. Tarawera, New Zealand.” Amy is one of only two Master’s students in the US to receive this award.

As part of the Shop Pullman First holiday promotion, three teams of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles students from the 208 Visual Merchandising and Promotion class taught by Dr. Carol Salusso received Certificates of Achievement from the Pullman Chamber of Commerce. Customers at ten participating merchants offered critiques to help select winning teams. Recipients are:

1^st place, Shelby Kostelecky and McKenzie Johnson, mentored by Melanie Hodges, Lily Bees Consignment Shop;
2^nd place, Caley Allen and Annee Conzatti, mentored by Kate Sullivan, Crimson & Gray; and
3^rd place, Abbie Galusha and Kelli Smith, mentored by Leslie O’Dell, At Home Designs: Framing it up.

Recent News Releases

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The Dec. 12 issue of On Solid Ground has stories on Christmas tree research, and links to new videos on insect flight mills and Michael Neff, the singing professor. Read the current issue at http://bit.ly/XiP9wQ.

The Dec. 13 issue of Voice of the Vine features a story on SFS grad student Lauren Schopp’s research on wine spoilage organisms. Check it out at http://bit.ly/XiNEia.

Events

WSU Horticulture Club’s poinsettia sale is this Friday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the greenhouses across the street from Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shop. Red, gold, maroon, and pink poinsettias will be available for purchase. The cost of each plant is $11.00.

Tukey Orchard “already picked” fruit and potato sales continue this week, Friday, November 30, noon – 6 p.m. and Saturday, December 1, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. More details »

To recognize the agricultural diversity of the southern Puget Sound, the Savor South Sound event will bring together the growers, restaurants and chefs who contribute to the rich, local food economy. The free event will be 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Thurston County Fairgrounds Expo Center. See details at http://bit.ly/savorsouthsound.

Sustainable Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources Symposium
Join CSANR on Thursday, December 6th, 2012 to look back on the history, celebrate the achievements, and engage with scientists on current research questions. Free of charge. All are welcome!
See the agenda and information on travel scholarships and the poster session at http://bit.ly/CSANRcelebration.

Webinar: Tax and Financial Risks Due to Drought and Disaster, Friday, December 7, 2012, 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. More Details »

Student Seminars

Maninder Chahal, Soil Science Ph.D. Candidate: Modeling the spatial temporal variability of field-scale soil moisture using geo-statistical techniques on the Palouse, Monday, December 3 at 1:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 204 and broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee stations.

Alecia Kiszonas, Crop Science Ph.D. student: Arabinoxylan Quantification, Characterization, and Relationship to End-Use Quality in Wheat, Monday, December 3 at 3:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 204 and broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser and Puyallup stations.

Michael Schwager, Plant Pathology M.S.Student: Novel Methods for Post-Harvest Control of Botrytis and Possible Applications in Washington Agriculture, Monday, December 3 at 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343. (WECN Dial-up #:5776907. Read Annuncement »

Horticulture “Life After Graduate School” Series:
Carolina Torres, Ph.D., Centro de Pomacea, Univ of Talca, Chile: How Does Environmental Stress Affect Fruit Production in Chile?
Ricardo Diaz, M.S., M.A., Director, Research and Development, Centro de Estudios en Alimentos Procesados (CEAP), www.ceap.cl: Challenges of the Chilean Processing Food Industry: An Opportunity for Young Innovative Researchers.
Thursday, December 6, 1:25 – 2:15 p.m., Pullman FSHN T101 and transmitted via AMS.

Kudos

Professor Joan Davenport has been recognized for her years of service to the Washington grape industry by receiving the Grape Society’s 2012 Walter Clore Industry Service award. A longstanding member of the Grape Society, serving on the Board for the past 6 years, she manages the visual speaker presentations as well as chairing the Grape Society’s scholarship fund. She is a member of the American Society of Agronomy, ASEV, Soil Science Society America, and is the recipient of a long list of industry awards. In 2005, she and her husband, Gordon Taylor opened DavenLore Winery, located in Prosser.

Joan Ellis, Associate Professor in Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, has received the 2012 Fairchild Books Textile and Apparel Faculty Grant, awarded for the development of quality curricula and research that contributes to the depth or breadth of the textile and apparel field. Ellis and collaborators Dr. Rita Keen, University of Nebraska, and Dr. Molly Eckman, Colorado State University, submitted the proposal “Preparing 21^st Century Students for Success.”

The WSU/UI Dairy Products Evaluation Team took first place in the Ice Cream competition at the 91st Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest in Springfield, Missouri on Nov. 1. The team collected first place in the Ice Cream competition on the strength of team member Lisa Piontek’s second place finish. Students on the team were Lisa Piontek (who took second place in the individuals for ice cream), Lynette Anderson and Shiloh Mangan. Team advisor is Mike Costello. The number of schools participating in this year’s contest nearly doubled over last year.

Brian Bahder, Doug Walsh’s Ph.D. student, received the Washington State Grape Society Scholarship award.

Assistant Professor Michelle Moyer was recently elected to the Washington State Grape Society Board of Directors.

Recent News Releases

Celebrate South Puget Sound’s local food economy
Design students envision resilient futures for Lower Snake River
WSU Ag Education Leader Michael Swan to Retire
Center marks two decades of science serving sustainable future
Adapt to climate change rather than trying to eliminate it, challenges WSU author in new book published by Prometheus Books

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The Nov. 30 issue of Green Times has stories on a symposium celebrating the 20th anniversary of WSU’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, a new cookbook by Jamie Callison of WSU’s School of Hospitality Business Management, a farm on Marrowstone Island donated with WSU, and some water-related stories. Check it out at http://bit.ly/Trchbh.

The Nov. 30 issue of On Solid Ground includes a story about WSU professor Shulin Chen, who won a Gates Foundation grant involving nutrition in children, and wrap-ups of a symposium on prebiotics and probiotics and entomology professor Richard Zack’s annual lunch with bugs on the menu. Intrigued? Read about it at http://bit.ly/Tx6DI8.

CAHNRS News – November 16, 2012

Posted November 16, 2012

CAHNRS News – November 16, 2012

Who is this Mysterious Man?

We already know that the man on the right is Clarence (aka Bud) Ryan, the renowned plant microbiologist who transformed our understanding of plant defense mechanisms. But who is the man with him? And why are they studying these plants? And what are the instruments on the shelves behind them?

WSU CAHNRS is seeking your help in cataloging its photo archive. We are scanning hundreds of old slides, negatives, and prints to put online. To help us identify the contents of this and many more images, please see http://bit.ly/wsuphotoquest.

Employment Notes

Dr. Jim Harsh has been appointed as chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences effective January 1, 2013. Harsh, a long-time CSS faculty member, will work with Rich Koenig, the outgoing CSS chair, to ensure a smooth transition.

Stefano Musacchi, an internationally recognized leader in pomology (the science of fruit and fruit growing), will join the faculty at Washington State University in August 2013 as the endowed chair in tree fruit physiology/management. The chair is funded by the state’s apple and pear growers through their historic partnership with WSU by investing $27 million to expand tree fruit research and extension as part of the Campaign for WSU. Read More »

One of the world’s leading experts in tree fruit horticulture extension, Desmond R. Layne, is joining the faculty at WSU. Layne is the first endowed chair funded by the historic $27 million investment by Washington State tree fruit growers to the Campaign for Tree Fruit. Read more »

CAHNRS Advising, Extension, Research, Staff, Teaching, and Team Awards

Events

Free Film and Panel, Sponsored by CSANR: American Meat
At Smith CUE, Saturday, Nov. 17. American Meat shows the difficulties of the US livestock industry and a new kind of farmer that is saving themselves and the land. See the film at 4:30 p.m., hear a producer panel discussion at 6:00 p.m., and have refreshments with local meat vendors from 6:30-7 p.m. For details, contact Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, lcboggs@wsu.edu.

Webinar: Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Pacific Northwest
Presented by Georgine Yorgey, Research Associate, WSU CSANR, Thursday, November 29, 10:00 -11: 00 a.m. at http://breeze.wsu.edu/csanr_series/. See Details »

Horticulture department invited speaker: Todd Einhorn, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University, Thursday, November 29 at 1:25 in FSHN T-101, Pullman, and via AMS. Einhorn specializes in tree fruit physiology.

Michele Wiseman, Plant Pathology M.S. seminar, Investigating Prospects of Using Trichoderma Gene HSP70 to Increase Fungal Pathogen and Abiotic Stress Resistance in Arabidopsis, Monday, November 26 at 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343. (WECN Dial-up #:5776907)

WSU Tukey Horticulture Orchard Fruit Sales
Fridays, 12 Noon – 6 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., through December 22. ”Already picked” produce available. More details »

Plant Sensor Phenomic Candidate Seminars

Dr. Yufeng Ge from College Station, Texas will present a seminar entitled: “Sensor Systems in Agricultural and Biological Applications,” Monday, November 26, 10:00-11:00 a.m. in Hulbert 409. See Details »

Dr. YS James Kim from West Layfette, Indiana., will present a seminar entitled: “Plant Sensing for Intelligent Agriculture,” Tuesday, Nov. 27 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Hulbert 409. See Details »

Dr. Sindhuja Sankaran from Lake Alfred, Florida will present a seminar entitled: “Advancing Sensing Technologies for Crop Phenotype Monitoring,” Wednesday, Nov. 28 from 2:15-3:15 p.m. in Hulbert 409. See Details »

Jean Burton from Eddie Bauer will be giving two presentations on how to set up a professional LinkedIN account on Monday, November 26. Session 1 runs from 1:10 to 1:55 p.m. and Session 2 runs from 3:10 to 3:55 p.m. Both sessions will be held in KMAC 53.

Ceil Kullman will be visiting AMDT on Thursday, November 29. She will be giving a presentation on how the cost of cotton impacts product development. Her presentation will be in KMAC 53 from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m.

Sustainable Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources Symposium
Join CSANR on December 6th, 2012 to look back on the history, celebrate the achievements, and engage with scientists on current research questions. Free of charge. All are welcome!
See the agenda and information on travel scholarships and the poster session at http://bit.ly/CSANRcelebration.

Kudos

Surachet Aramrak, Ph.D. Student in the department of Crop and Soil Sciences, has won the Poster and Lightning Oral Presentation Student Competition of the Soil Physics Section at the Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America in Cincinnati this October. His presentation was entitled “Colloid Detachment by a Moving Air-Water Interface: Effect of Particle Shapes.”

WSU Mount Vernon Hosts World’s Largest Hard Cider Tasting

Cider from Around the World, a special cider tasting, was held at WSU Mount Vernon NWREC, in cooperation with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), on November 12, 2012 . Researchers Will McClatchey and Dave Reedy from BRIT have traveled the world collecting ciders, and presented 300 different ciders from 14 countries, including France, England, Spain, Germany, Mexico, and Australia as well as the U.S. and Canada. This was an unofficial world record for the largest (by variety) hard cider tasting. The purpose was to present cider makers, both professional and amateur, an opportunity to sample a wide diversity of ciders and evaluate their characteristics. Carol Miles, WSU Horticulture Extension Specialist, hosted the event, which was attended by some 60 participants from around the Puget Sound region.

Recent News Releases

World-renowned Italian pomologist to fill endowed research chair at WSU
Will your trees survive the storms? WSU Extension offers workshop to reduce, manage wind damage to trees
Everything in a season: WSU summary shows October weather anything but constant
Registration open for 2013 WSU dairy short courses
James Harsh is new chair of WSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Bring on the Bugs: Insects Are Part of Menu at Class Event Nov. 9
WSU hires world leader in tree fruit horticulture extension

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The Nov. 7 issue of On Solid Ground has stories on drought resistance research, the hiring of Desmond Layne, and the Spiiner Corporation’s gift. Read more at http://bit.ly/QK4etY.

The Nov. 15 issue of Voice of the Vine has a feature about the student winemaking project, an update on the Wine Science Center, and more at http://bit.ly/TMkura.

Will your trees survive the storms? WSU Extension offers workshop to reduce, manage wind damage to trees

Posted November 14, 2012

EVERETT, Wash. – Powerful windstorms are regular visitors to the Cascade foothills, especially this time of year. Washington State University Extension is offering a workshop for people living in wooded areas on how to reduce the risk of wind damage to trees and how to properly clean up tree damage after a storm to prevent further problems. Read more »

Filed under Release, tagged Forestry

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CAHNRS News – November 1, 2012

Posted November 1, 2012

CAHNRS News – November 1, 2012

Early Edition of CAHNRS News

CAHNRS News is going out a little early this week, as the CAHNRS Marketing, News, and Educational Communication site, http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/, is being migrated to a new server as a part of the ongoing Web Integration Project.

Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

Thank you to those of you that have completed the mandatory online Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Prevention training. To date, 61 percent of CAHNRS and WSU Extension employees have completed the training. If you have not completed the training, please do so as soon as possible. Please be reminded that you have until January 4, 2013 to complete the training. However, we have an internal goal to have 100 percent completion by CAHNRS and WSU Extension employees by December 17th. For new employees, the course must be completed within six month of the date of hire. You can access the course at http://bit.ly/WbwCYA.

Reminder: International Travel Award Nov. 15 Deadline Coming Up

The deadline for the International Travel Award sponsored by the Office of International Programs and Office of Research is November 15. Three to five travel awards (averaging $2,000-5,000) will be awarded to enable our WSU faculty who are actively engaged in research to visit their international collaborators or to invite their collaborator to WSU. Please see award’s guidelines and requirements at http://bit.ly/VeX8yG, and FAQ at http://bit.ly/SAlAsz.

WSU Extension’s Global Reach: A Hands-on Learning Experience for Afghan Extension Agents

A group of eight Afghan extension employees were fortunate enough to visit the U.S. for a comprehensive tour of the U.S. Extension System the first two weeks in September, 2012. USDA’s Borlaug program funded the Agricultural Executive Management Course for the second year in a row with WSU’s office of International Research and Development helping with the program’s design and accompanying the tour group.

Their journey started in Kabul, the group of 8 employees from the District and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (DAIL and MAIL respectively) traveled straight to Washington DC, where they spent four intense days learning all about USDA policies that govern how extension works on the ground in the U.S. From DC they took a brief drive to Baltimore, where Catholic Relief Services (CRS) held a leadership, change management, and strategic planning training course over the weekend.

Once fully informed on management strategies and U.S. extension policy, the group flew out to the Washington of the West, where they met with CAHNRS faculty and extension personnel at WSU in Pullman before taking a tour through the state from Pullman to Prosser, Wenatchee to Seattle to witness how Universities, U.S. policy, and local County Extension all work together to provide useful and well researched recommendations to their clients: farmers.

After a smoky couple of days in Wenatchee, their trip culminated in Seattle on Sunday September 16th with certificates of completion being awarded on a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. At the end of the two week tour all 8 participants flew back home to Afghanistan, where they have both the means and the understanding to make meaningful changes in the extension methods currently used there.

Raise a Glass, Fund a Scholarship Program

Support Washington State University Viticulture and Enology students this holiday season by visiting restaurants participating in Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ 5th annual Raise a Glass, Fund a Scholarship promotion and choosing wines that support this scholarship program. Your participation in 2011 contributed $40,000 to the program at WSU. For a list of participating restaurants, please visit http://bit.ly/veglass.

AMDT Students Participate in “Promoting Pullman Project”

Visual Merchandising and Promotion students from the Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles department having created promotions and displays for 10 merchant clients in Pullman. This Promoting Pullman Project is coordinated with the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, WSU Office of Civic Engagement, and the following merchants: At Home Designs: Framing it up, Barnes & Noble “Bookie”, Crimson and Gray, Design Effects, Flirt, GLASSPhemy, Lily Bee’s Consignment Shop, Neill’s Flowers and Gifts, Ric-O-Shay, Sam Dial Jewelers. Starting with Chocolate Decadence, November 8 from 4-6 p.m., you can show your support for this endeavor by visiting these participating merchants, shopping locally, and balloting for the best displays. Ballot entrees qualify you to win the Home for the Holidays Prize-pack. Best displays and Prize-pack winners will be announced December 1^st at Holiday Fest from 4-6 pm in Pine Street Square. AMDT is taught by Dr. Carol Salusso with Amanda Rawling, Graduate TA and Caze Chui, Undergraduate TA.

Hispanic and Women Farmers and Ranchers Claims Resolution Process

The United States Government is establishing a Claims Process to make available up to $1.33 billion or more to farmers who alleged discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) based on being female or based on being Hispanic, in making or servicing farm loans during certain periods between 1981 and 2000. Those who qualify and submit a timely claim could receive an award of up to $50,000 or up to $250,000 in cash, depending on the evidence. Rich Koenig, Associate Dean and Director of WSU Extension and Dan Fagerlie, Extension’s representative on the USDA Statewide Strategic Outreach Committee, ask that Extension personnel distribute the flyer at https://www.farmerclaims.gov//Documents/9-13%20HWFR%20poster-508.pdf to these audiences. They also request Extension offices send a short email reporting the quantity and distribution method to: Philip Eggman, Rural Development in Olympia, philip.eggman@wa.usda.gov.

Events

Ross Bricklemyer, Soil Science Ph.D. Student, “Soil carbon determination using rapid, inexpensive, non-destructive spectroscopic techniques,” Monday, November 5, 1:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 204. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, Wenatchee.

Karen Hills, Crop Science Ph.D. student, “Improving Baking Quality and Local Markets for Wheat Grown in Western Washington,” Monday, November 5, 3:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 204. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup.

Sowmya Ramachandran, Plant Pathology Ph.D. student, “Actin Remodeling During Pathogen Invasion and Host Defense,” Monday, November 5, 4:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 343. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, Wenatchee. Read More ».

Daniel Zommick, Horticulture Ph.D. student, “Temperature stress and physiological bases for retention of postharvest quality in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.),” Thursday, November 8, 1:25 p.m., Food Science T101. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, Wenatchee, & Whatcom County.

Marco Costanigro of Colorado State University will hold a seminar on Truthful, Misguided Labels: Nutritional Outcomes Signaled by Product Attributes and Labels Friday, November 9, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.in Hulbert 27.

Marianne Powell, Plant Pathology M.S. student, “Disease Outbreaks in High Tunnels in Western Washington and Isolation of Microbes from Agricultural Mulches,“ Wednesday, November 14, 4:10 p.m. in Johnson Hall 343 and on WECN 5700971.

WSU Tukey Horticulture Orchard Fruit Sales

Through the end of November. Fridays, 12 Noon – 6 p.m., Saturdays, 10 am – 4 p.m. U-pick and ”already picked” produce available (U-pick ONLY in October). More details »

Save the Date: CSANR Symposium for Sustainable Ag

WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources will host a Sustainable Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources Symposium on December 6, 2012 from 2:00 to 7:00 PM in Ensminger Pavilion on WSU Pullman Campus. See Agenda »

Kudos

Charles Coslor, M.S. student in the Entomology program, was selected to receive this year’s Louis W. Getzin Memorial Scholarship which will support travel to the National Entomological Society of America meeting in Knoxville on November 11-14, 2012. Charlie will present his research paper entitled Management of Drosophila suzukii through systemic activity of neonicotinoids on highbush blueberry. He will also present a poster entitled Systemic activity of neonicotinoids on Drosphila suzukii in blueberry for general submission at the national meeting.

Dr. Daniel Toro-Gonzalez (WSU Ph.D., WSU School of Economic Sciences, May 2012) has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Food Distribution Research Society’s National Appelbaum Award for Best Dissertation.

Dr. Peter Tozer has joined the School of Economic Sciences as an Research Associate.

Dr. Marketa Halova has joined the School of Economic Sciences as an Assistant Professor.

Dr. Brian Love, Program Officer for the Gates Foundation, has been named an adjunct faculty member at Mount Vernon Research and Extension Center (NWREC). Dr. Love has been working in international agriculture for over a decade, and currently works in agricultural development supporting projects in Africa and South Asia. As an adjunct faculty member he is collaborating with Drs. du Toit and Jones and also organizes research opportunities for graduate students housed at the Center.

Recent News Releases

WSU Organic Agriculture Education to Benefit from Gift of Marrowstone Island Farm
WSU receives $1.5 million grant for collaborative water modeling in Columbia Basin
Public, Press Invited to Celebrate Dedication of Twin Vista Ranch to WSU

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The Oct. 24 issue of On Solid Ground has stories on virus interactions, the new online food science program, and a wrap-up on the CPAAS Technology Expo and promising new orchard automation technology. Read all about it at http://bit.ly/QY3eNz.

WSU receives $1.5 million grant for collaborative water modeling in Columbia Basin

Posted October 23, 2012

PULLMAN, Wash. – Finding ways to involve primary water users in the research process to develop scientifically sound and economically feasible public policy for water usage in the Columbia River Basin is the focus of a new, $1.5 million grant at Washington State University. Read more »

Filed under Release, tagged Top Story, Water, Water Management, water resource management, water supply

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CAHNRS News – October 19, 2012

Posted October 19, 2012

Research Enrichment Initiatives

The Office of Research is pleased to announce two new Research Enrichment Initiatives (REIs) made possible by generous support from President Elson Floyd. The goal of these REIs is to stimulate new research and support existing research and scholarly activities, thus supporting the university’s strategic objective of growing the research enterprise at WSU and facilitating single discipline and interdisciplinary research and collaborative scholarship.

The following REIs will begin this year:
Augmentation of New Faculty Seed Grant Program ($500,000): to help investigators generate preliminary data for larger federal single-investigator grants as well as multi-disciplinary grants. Faculty members in their first 4 years of appointment who have not obtained major external funding in excess of $100k are eligible. Individual awards will be up to a maximum of $30k. The RFP release date is mid October 2012.

Proposal Development Stimulus Funds ($400,000): to strengthen a new or revised proposal that just missed a fundable score. Available upon request and documented need, up to $40,000 funding will be awarded to generate additional data or missing segments of peer-reviewed proposals along with any needed proposal development support for targeted faculty (or faculty teams) as designated by the Dean or his/her designee of the college. The OGRD Proposal Management Unit will be available where appropriate to facilitate the reworking of these proposals. The RFP release date is October 2012.

The request-for-proposals (RFP) for these initiatives will be forthcoming from OGRD.

Dan Fagerlie, WSU Extension Tribal Relations Liaison

Dan Fagerlie is coming out of retirement to take on a new, temporary, part-time position as the WSU Extension Tribal Relations Liaison. He will be assisting interested WSU Extension educators in developing or strengthening working relationships with Tribal Governments. He will also act as the Project Director of the WSU Colville Reservation Extension Program to keep that office up and running and hopefully expand it into new areas. In addition, he will serve as WSU Extension Administrative Liaison to the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program and represent Extension on the USDA Strategic Outreach Committee for Washington. His contact information is:

Dan Fagerlie, WSU Extension Tribal Relations Liaison
WSU Colville Reservation Extension Project Director
350 E Delaware Ave, #9
Republic, WA 99166-9747
Cell: 509 690-0009
Cell does not work in most locations so please also try 509-775-3087 (FAX # also)
e-mail: fagerlie@wsu.edu

Events

What Do We Currently Know about the Impacts of Climate Change on Pacific Northwest Cropland Agriculture?

A changing climate will likely affect each of the highly diverse agricultural systems found in the Pacific Northwest, from extensive rain-fed cereal grain farming systems to intensive horticultural production systems dependent on irrigation. Join WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture Natural Resources (CSANR) Director, Chad Kruger, for an exploration of how early research findings indicate that climate change may affect crop production in the Pacific Northwest. This webinar also highlights some of the ongoing research in the region that will provide additional scientific insight into this question during the next several years. Watch this webinar if you are curious about what current science says we might expect for cropland agriculture in the Pacific Northwest.

Webinar: What Do We Currently Know about the Impacts of Climate Change on Pacific Northwest Cropland Agriculture?
Who: Presented by Chad Kruger, Director, WSU CSANR
When: Thursday, November 1, 10:00 -11:00 a.m.
Where: Webinar URL: http://breeze.wsu.edu/csanr_series/ Login on November 1.

This webinar is the latest in the CSANR series: Pacific Northwest Agriculture and Climate Change. Find the series including archived presentations online at http://csanr.wsu.edu/pages/AgClimateWebinars.

WSU Tukey Horticulture Orchard Fruit Sales

Through the end of November. Fridays, 12 Noon – 6 p.m., Saturdays, 10 am – 4 p.m. U-pick and ”already picked” produce available (U-pick ONLY in October). More details »

2012 Harvest Seminar: A Closer Look at Local and Regional Food Systems

Featuring Dr. Michael Carolan, Chair of the Department of Sociology at Colorado State University, Vanessa C. Cooper, coordinator of the Lummi Traditional Food Project, and Sarah Mizejewski, Management Analyst for Lane County, Oregon Community and Economic Development division. Tuesday, October 30 at 5:00 p.m. at the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, Mt. Vernon. See details »

Plant Pathology Seminars

Danny Humphreys, Ph.D. student, Origin of the Western European Populations of the Potato Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) and Evolution of Gp-Rbp-1 Avirulence Gene, Monday, October 22, 4:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 343. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee. Read more »

Madhu Kappagantu, Ph.D. student, Trans-Generational Inheritance of Plant Defense, Monday, October 29, 4:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 343. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee.

Horticulture Seminars

Ziduan Han, M.S. student, Assessing the Damage Potential of Root Lesion Nematode on Red Raspberry Varieties, Thursday, October 25, 1:25 p.m., Food Science T101. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup, Wenatchee and Whatcom County.

Franklin Johnson, Ph.D. student, Physiological Development and Transcriptome Changes Associated With Apple Fruit External Injuries During Controlled-Atmosphere Storage, Thursday, November 1, 1:25 p.m., Food Science T101. Videoconference arranged for Mt. Vernon, Prosser, Puyallup and Wenatchee.

Soil Science Seminar

Tai McClellan, Ph.D. Candidate: Nitrogen cycling in alternative dryland crop rotations, Monday, October 29, 1:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 204. Also broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser Puyallup and Wenatchee stations.

Crop Science Seminar

Emi Kimura, Ph.D. student, Freezing effect on germination and seedling vigor of switchgrass, October 29, 3:10 p.m., Johnson Hall 204. Also broadcast to Mt. Vernon, Prosser and Puyallup stations.

Kudos

Dr. Gary Chastagner, Professor of Plant Pathology located in Puyallup REC, co-authored the OSU Christmas Tree Nutrient Management Guide which received the Extension Education Materials of Excellence Award.

Recent News Releases

All our news releases are archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/news-archive/.

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

The Oct. 10 issue of On Solid Ground features stories on insect flight mills, the new “science on your plate” class, and a WSDA workshop series on value-added agricultural enterprises. Check it out at http://bit.ly/WtEhjE.

The Oct. 18 issue of Green Times includes stories on tools for measuring sustainability, an idea for replenishing depleted African soils, the Eggert Family Farm dedication, as well as several upcoming events. Read Green Times at http://bit.ly/TgDhyR.

The Oct. 18 issue of Voice of the Vine contains stories on Brettanomyces research, a profile of the WSU-alum owned Airfield Estates, and the new issue of VEEN. Quaff the latest issue at http://bit.ly/OM7jrI.

Contact Robert Hoffmann

Marketing, News, and Educational Communications

219 Hulbert
Phone: 509-335-7744
Email: bhoffmann@wsu.edu

Marketing, News, and Educational Communications , PO Box 646228, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-6228, 509-335-2243, Contact Us

CAHNRS and WSU Extension

Robert Hoffmann

Recent articles by Robert Hoffmann

Posted March 22, 2013

New CAHNRS Paid Internship Program—Deadline Extended!

Nominate a CAHNRS Senior Who Exemplifies Excellence

Newly Promoted and/or Tenured Faculty

Retirement Reception for Professor Jack Rogers

Required Lab Self-Inspections

Events

Campbell Professorship Celebration

Robert E. Allan Symposium

“Explore Exporting” Seminar

Showcase 2013

Science in Your Glass

Chocolate Decadence

Virginia Lee Fundraiser

Seminars

Kudos

Recent News Releases

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

Archives

Filed under Admin News

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Posted March 22, 2013

Filed under Release, tagged family forest owners workshop, Forestry, Healthy Forest

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Posted March 13, 2013

Filed under Release, tagged Environment, science education

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Posted March 8, 2013

Announcing Dr. James Moyer, Director of the ARC and Associate Dean for Research

New CAHNRS Paid Internship Program

Please Provide Input Regarding Performance: Bernardo

Ag Science Education Is Hot

Pullman’s spring commencement is right around the corner!

Events

“Explore Exporting” Seminar

Science in Your Glass

“Vine to Wine” Workshop

National Urban Extension Conference

Save the Date: Cultural Competency Training for Extension Professionals

The Art of Queen Bee Rearing Workshop

Seminars

Kudos

Recent News Releases

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

Archives

Filed under Admin News

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Posted March 6, 2013

Filed under Release, tagged Family and Small Acreage Forestry, family forest owners workshop, Forestry

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Posted February 22, 2013

The Alexander A. Smick Scholarship in Rural Community Service and Development

Required Lab Self-Inspections

ReConnect Online Subscriptions

Photo ID

Reinterpreting Reality Art Exhibit

Events

Spanish Strengthening Families Program Facilitator Training

Seminars

Recent News Releases

New in CAHNRS e-Newsletters

Archives

Filed under Admin News

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Posted February 8, 2013

Dr. Richard Zack, Assistant Director for the ARC

Filed under Admin News

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Posted January 30, 2013

Filed under Release, tagged family forest owners workshop, Forestry

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Posted January 25, 2013

Academic Showcase

Academic Advising Survey

New 2013 Summer Internship Program to Support WSU Extension Youth and Family Programs

Required Lab Self-Inspections

New Peer-Reviewed Extension Journal