CAHNRS & WSU Extension Potluck Picnic
Come help us celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the new academic year with the Annual CAHNRS and WSU Extension Potluck Picnic! Enjoy a delicious lunch, a Ferdinand’s grabber, live acoustic music, and great company on Aug. 18 from noon to 1 p.m. in Ensminger Pavilion.
Bring your family or a friend, a potluck dish to share, and your own beverage. Plates, eating utensils, and Ferdinand’s grabbers will be provided. Out-of-town or visiting faculty and friends are invited to join us. We will also be welcoming our new CAHNRS and WSU Extension faculty as they close their New Faculty Orientation activities.
Where: Ensminger Pavilion
Set Up: 10:30 a.m. to noon
Picnic: Noon – 1 p.m.
Clean Up: 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Please contact Sheila Brooks at 335-4487 or sbrooks@wsu.edu if you are willing to help with set up and/or clean up.
Convocation
Each year, University Convocation brings the WSU community together to celebrate the new academic year and to welcome new students, staff, faculty, and their families to Washington State University. Join the WSU community at University Convocation 2010 on Friday, August 20, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
Fall Festival
Come join us for food, fun and games on Sept. 9, 4-6 p.m. at Spillman Plaza (between Johnson and Hulbert Halls). There will be student club exhibits, department displays, a chance to win a scholarship toward a major in CAHNRS, and a live band playing fun, danceable rock. Meet students, professors, advisors and the deans of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.
WSU Plant and Animal Sciences, 13th in the World
Plant and animal scientists at WSU are among the most productive and most impactful in the world, according to rankings recently released by Thomson Reuters.
In its July 2010 “Essential Science Indicators,” the business and professional information gathering company ranked WSU 13th in the world and sixth in the United States based on the number of journal articles produced by faculty scientists.
More important were the number of citations those articles generated. From January 1999 to June 2009, WSU researchers produced 2,473 scientific papers, which garnered 32,544 citations by other scientists.
“This ranking is by citations per paper among those institutions that have collected 25,000 or more citations in plant and animal sciences,” according to the company. “The ranking by citations per paper seeks to reveal heavy-hitters based on per paper influence, not mere output.”
That reflects the quality and scope of plant and animal science being conducted at WSU in the colleges of Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, said Howard Grimes, WSU vice president for research.
“The fact that the science we’re producing is foundational to other work being done around the globe is especially important,” he said. “This speaks volumes about the kind of inquiry we’re tackling.”
Essential Science Indicators issues bimonthly updates of institutions ranked in the top one percent for a field over a given period, based on total citations. For the current version, 887 institutions are listed in the field of plant and animal sciences. Of those, just 40 collected 25,000 or more citations.
Other institutions in the top 20 include the John Innes Centre (United Kingdom), Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN, Japan), Max Planck Society (Germany), University of California San Diego, University of Arizona, National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, France), University of Washington, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the University of British Columbia (Canada).
Learn more about WSU’s history of big ideas by visiting http://bit.ly/dyXCqj.
Boeing Donates Building to Squaxin Island Tribe for Community Programs; WSU Facilitates Transaction and Logistics
Recent actions between The Boeing Company, the Squaxin Island Tribe and the Washington State University (WSU) Extension Energy Program will allow the Tribe to enhance youth and senior programs.
Boeing donated a 10-unit modular cafeteria complex of approximately 7,200 square feet to the Tribe.
“The opportunity to secure and relocate this cafeteria complex was brought to our attention by the WSU Extension Energy Program’s Plant Operations Support Consortium,” said Ray Peters, Executive Director of the Squaxin Island Tribe. “This will save us more than $250,000 and make a real difference in our community programming.”
The Tribe is an active member of the WSU Consortium and learned of this cafeteria complex – declared surplus by Boeing – from the WSU Extension Energy Program. This put Boeing’s acceptance of the grant proposal and the donation of this complex to the Tribe into motion as a public service.
“We saw this as a great opportunity to repurpose a building the company wasn’t using anymore and help a Tribal community that was in need of such a facility. Instead of being demolished and ending up in a landfill, this building will serve youth, seniors and other members of the Squaxin tribe,” said Liz Warman, Director of Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship in the Northwest.
The complex is scheduled to be removed from its current Boeing location on East Marginal Way in Seattle between now and August 20, 2010. The units will be separated, prepped and transported to a site between the Squaxin Tribal Center and the heath/athletic center.
The 300-person capacity cafeteria complex will be reconstructed in its original configuration on Squaxin Island Tribal land.
“We are thrilled to contribute to this collaboration and such a positive result,” said Bob MacKenzie, Manager of the Consortium at the WSU Extension Energy Program.
Jake Fey, Director of the WSU Extension Energy Program, added. “This is a good example of how a corporation like Boeing can assist a regional program – such as the Squaxin Island Tribe, and how WSU can serve as the facilitator to help make it happen.”
According to Peters, commissioning of the complex is set to happen sometime in October, and there will be a traditional Tribal event to celebrate.
“Tribal professionals have partnered with Boeing, WSU and others to work the issues, prepare the site and perform the appropriate measures to make this offering a practical reality,” said Peters.
Surf Report
New on Dean Bernardo’s blog: after traveling around the state to meet more than 20 of the larger and most sophisticated tree-fruit operations in Washington State, Dan is encouraged by the state of the industry, its future and WSU’s role in that future. Read more on Dan’s blog at http://bit.ly/blFEFM.
Why would a winemaker already at the top of his game come back to college to earn a degree in viticulture and enology from WSU? Take a minute (literally) to hear the answer of Merf Merfeld, the “Northstar Superstar.” http://bit.ly/9Xy6iI (bottom of page).
Grad students at the Interdisciplinary Design Institute at updating an American icon: the Airstream travel trailer. Check out the story and a short video at http://bit.ly/cWYyab.
Kudos
Eric Lampi, WSU Extension Master Gardener Program Coordinator in Grant County, is working with Spanish speaking residents in the several Grant County communities to help them participate in community garden projects. In a partnership with public schools, 4-H youth, Key Club, and FFA, Grant County Master Gardener volunteers have started several new community gardens. Each new garden measures approximately 2000 square feet, is irrigated, and has room devoted to both family gardening and producing food for community food banks. Community youth, supervised by Master Gardener volunteers, maintain and harvest the food bank plots in order to get good quality fresh produce onto the plates of people in need. Nearly $10,000 in local money and in kind contributions were raised this year for these projects. When completed, each garden will have a drip irrigation system on a timer, raised beds and ADA compliant pathways, a garden shed with tools, benches, and a composting system. Lampi, a former Spanish teacher, describes himself as the “palanca,” a Spanish word meaning “lever” or the person who provides a connection between the power of a motor and the people needing to harness that power. “I saw a need and have made efforts to let the people of these communities know that help is available.” Lampi also prepared a Spanish language flyer for the project, which can be downloaded in .pdf format at http://cahnrs.wsu.edu/downloads/royal-city-flyer-spanish.pdf.
AMDT student Virginia Gibbons represented WSU in the Project OR competition at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City last week. Virginia “had an amazing experience there and am so glad [she] got the opportunity to go.” Project OR is a 48 hour design competition for the outdoor industry and Virginia was one of 6 contestants. The contestants are hand-picked from top design programs around the country to produce a garment prototype that is original. Some clips of the Project highlights can be found at http://www.outdoorretailer.com/summer-market/events-seminars/projector.
Larry McGrew, Field Technician for Frank Young, USDA-ARS Weed Scientist in the Land Management and Water Conservation Research Unit and Crop and Soil Science Adjunct Faculty, was named the USDA-ARS Pacific West Area co-technician of the year award for 2010.