CAHNRS News – January 14

Call for nomination letters for 2010-2011 CAHNRS Student Award Nominees

We encourage each department to nominate deserving student candidates enrolled in their majors for these awards. Please discuss your intention to nominate a candidate with your department chair prior to submitting a letter to coordinate the process.

Details concerning the nomination and selection process are as follows:

  1. Visit http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/awards.htm to access the official CAHNRS Awards web page where you will find a list of Individual Student Awards.
  2. For more information about these awards and instructions as how to nominate deserving individuals, please visit http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Awards/criteria/student-announcement.html.
  3. On the Student Award Nomination Process page, you will find:
    1. Deadline Dates and Activities
    2. Award Eligibility
    3. Nomination Process
      1. Specific details and guidelines for each award can be accessed by clicking on the link for that specific award.
      2. A one-page electronic nomination letter is requested that justifies the merit of the nominee, and lists worthy accomplishments related to the intentions of the award.
      3. Please submit letters to Jeanne Dahmen (dahmenj@wsu.edu) by Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011.
  4. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Jeanne Dahmen (509-335-9115, dahmenj@wsu.edu) or Sean McIlraith (509-335-4562, smcilraith@wsu.edu) in the Academic Programs Office.

Thank you for helping us acknowledge outstanding students in our college.

2011 Showcase Call for Abstracts

Faculty members are encouraged to submit their work for the poster session at this year’s Showcase. Showcase, our annual celebration of the accomplishments of the faculty and staff, will take place on March 25 this year. The day starts with the Academic Showcase (9 a.m. to noon) at which selected faculty members display posters presenting their research, scholarship and/or creative activity. To be eligible to present, faculty members must submit a 250-word abstract of their work by Jan. 31, 2011 to http://showcase.wsu.edu/abstractform.aspx. The Academic Showcase is an exciting and stimulating event. Faculty members who participate should enjoy the experience and may meet others with similar interests. Further information about Showcase in general, or the academic poster session in particular, is available at: http://showcase.wsu.edu.

WSU Extension and CAHNRS All Faculty Conference Oct. 4-6, 2011

Mark your calendars to attend the joint WSU Extension and CAHNRS all faculty Conference in Pullman that will address issues of collaboration, integration and sustainability in Washington State University’s goal to be an integral part of solving the state, national, and global needs. Stretching over two days, this conference will look at successful partnerships within WSU as well as national models of successful research collaboration and integration in the following broad topical areas:

  • Natural Resources & Environmental Stewardship
  • Climate Change
  • Sustainable Energy
  • Food Safety
  • Agriculture & Sustainable Food Systems
  • Childhood Obesity & Nutrition
  • Youth & Families
  • Community & Economic Development

Please consider making this conference part of your classroom syllabus for next year. If you have a successful program or project that you would like to highlight or have thoughts for national success stories that you would like to see at the conference, please e-mail joythompson@wsu.edu.

The planning committee includes Jim Lindstrom and Thomas Power, Co-chairs; Joy Thompson, Matthew Carroll, Doug Collins, Kelly Fisk, Brigitta Jozefowski, Kathleen Manenica, Carol Miles, Dale Moore, Bill Pan, Hanu Pappu, Kevin Wright and Vikram Yadama.

Volcanic Muse: Research and Creativity at Mount St. Helens: A Panel Discussion between a Biologist, Geologist, and Two Writers

Two WSU faculty members are discussing the connections between creativity and scientific research and how poets and essayists help the research process by interpreting science through creative writing. Pullman-based associate professor of landscape architecture Jolie Kaytes and Vancouver-based associate professor of biology John Bishop are discussing their work at Keen, Inc. Headquarters, located at 926 NW 13th Avenue, Suite 210 in Portland, Oregon, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Jolie Kaytes at jolie@wsu.edu.

Kudos

Two staff members were honored recently for their contributions to the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center. Andy Bary, senior scientific assistant in Crop and Soil Sciences, is the administrative professional employee of the year. Bary was commended for helping faculty and staff with research and extension programs by sharing expertise, insights, equipment and connections. His collaboration with external audiences has done much to enhance WSU’s reputation in the greater community. Liz Myhre, agricultural research technician and webmaster in Crop and Soil Sciences, is the classified staff employee of the year. Myhre was honored for developing and maintaining a system for handling samples and data that allows her colleagues to readily find what they need – be it a physical sample, laboratory result or summary spreadsheet. As an active member of the safety committee, she has stepped up efforts to ensure that work is done in a safe environment.

Joyce Parker, a PhD student working with Bill Snyder, won the President’s Prize (first place oral presentation) at the National Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in San Diego. This is the third year in a row that Joyce has won this award!