CAHNRS News – 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, 2nd 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://cahnrs.wsu.edu/2013/03/13/wsus-on-solid-ground-struvite-cattle-fertility-new-apple-march-13-2013/.

Archives

CAHNRS News is archived at http://cahnrsnews.wsu.edu/category/cnews/.