Crop Sciences Newsletter #116, April 7, 2006

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

...Congratulations to Mohammed Babadoost, Patricia Stoller, George Czapar, Cleo D’Arcy, Robert Dunker, Darin Eastburn, Josie Hugie, Kris Lambert and Dean Riechers, who all were on the “Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by their Students - Fall Semester 2005".

...Congratulations to Tatiana C. Tatum on the completion of her Ph.D. degree. She worked with Lane Rayburn and is now an Assistant Professor at St. Xavier University in Chicago.

...Congratulations to Wyatt K. Gross, Allen Hardy, Thomas M. Kelley, Jonathan Nordby, Daniel J. Schaefer, and Cesar Solorzano on the completion of their masters degrees. Wyatt, Allen and Thomas worked under the direction of Fred Below. Daniel worked with Fred Below and Howard Brown. Jonathan was advised by Snook Pataky and Cesar worked with Dean Malvick.

...Congratulations to Andrew Bowman, who was elected as one of four 2006 Undergraduate Directors to the National Board of Directors for Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. Andrew is a sophomore majoring in crop science. His campus involvement includes serving as Alpha Zeta treasurer, ACES Student Council reporter, ACES James Scholar, ACES JBT Scholar, and 2004- 2005 Dean’s List honoree. Alpha Gamma Rho is the National Agricultural Fraternity with 67 chapters and a membership exceeding 60,000 men in 50 states and 54 countries.

FUNDING RECEIVED

...Fred Below received $154,396 from BASF for the project “Genetic Analysis of Nitrogen Use Efficiency Traits in Maize”. Curtis Hill received $2,900 from Pioneer for a project to “Perform Charcoal Rot Screening on 58 Coded Soybean Samples”. Terry Niblack received a subcontract through Iowa State University from the Iowa Soybean Association for “Investigations of Interactions Between the Soybean Aphid and Soybean Cyst Nematode”. Torbert Rocheford received $80,000 from Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical for “Genetic, Genomic and Breeding Strategies to Facilitate Biofortification of Maize”. North Central Integrated Pest Management granted Pat Tranel $90,098 for his project “Understanding the Weeding Chenopodium Complex as a First Step Towards its IPM”.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Apr. 7, ACES Faculty Meeting, 11:00 a.m., Heritage Room, LIAC. Program: Chancellor Herman and the new Interim Provost Katehi. Awards and Recognitions Reception immediately following at noon.

Apr. 18, Crop Sciences Donor Appreciation Dessert Reception, 3:00 p.m., Heritage Room, LIAC.

Apr. 23, noon, Undergraduate Awards Banquet at the Hawthorn Suites

Apr. 25, ACES and Paul A. Funk Recognition Awards Program; Illini Union

Apr. 26, Field & Furrow Banquet, Heritage Room, LIAC (more details forthcoming)

Apr. 28, ACES Faculty Meeting, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., LIAC Heritage Room

May 14, UI Commencement. ACES Student Convocation – Undergraduate, 9:30 a.m., KCPA Great Hall – Graduate, 10:00 a.m. Smith Music Hall

UPCOMING CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA & WORKSHOPS

...The Second International Workshop for the Morphological and Molecular Identification of the Straminipiles: Phytophthora and Pythium, will be held May 21-26, 2006. This event is organized by the Plant Pathogen Identification Laboratory (PPIL), under the direction of Dr. Gloria Abad <gloria_abad@ncsu.edu>. The Web site includes all the essential details for registration, including forms for reserving lodging accommodations.

...The Soil and Water Conservation Society 2006 Annual Conference “Rocky Mountain Rendezvous II” will be July 22-26, 2006 at the Keystone Resort and Conference Center, Keystone, CO.

...The Plant Biology 2006 Symposium is in Boston, MA August 5-9, 2006 at the Hynes Convention Center.

...The Illinois Water 2006 Conference “Preparing for the Future” will be held October 3-5, 2006 at the Holiday Inn, Urbana, IL.

GRAD STUDENT BULLETIN BOARD

...Are you graduating this May? If so, congratulations! With all the last-minute details, don't lose sight of the following upcoming deadlines:

April 7, 2006 Last day to apply for May Graduation
April 14, 2006 Last day to take final exam for May doctoral degree
April 28, 2006 Masters Deposit Deadline
May 5, 2006 Doctoral Deposit Deadline
May 14, 2006 Commencement (May degree conferral)

...Commencement
If you plan to participate in the campuswide commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2006, you must:

• Deposit dissertation in the Graduate College Thesis Office by May 5.
• Register for the campuswide commencement ceremony by May 8. This can be done on-line.
• Order academic attire by April 24. This can be completed on-line or by visiting the Authors Corner on the second floor of the Illini Union Bookstore.

PERSONALS

...Friends and colleagues in Crop Sciences, From my heart, I thank you very much for the beautiful flowers and show of support during the difficult days around my mother’s death. On behalf of my family, I express sincere gratitude for your thoughtfulness. Kevin Steffey

...Ethel Hymowitz, 93, of Deerfield Beach,Florida, the mother of Ted Hymowitz passed away on Wed. March 22, 2006. Services and internment were held on March 24, 2006 in Pinelawn, NY, at the New Montefiore Cemetery. The family requests memorial contributions to the charity of your choice

SEMINARS

Apr. 11, noon, Vis-a-vis, University YMCA Tutoring Progam, “University and Urbana- Champaign, Partners in Education”, Latzer Hall, YMCA.

Apr. 12, noon, Lori Mestre, Associate Professor Graduate School of Library and Informational Science and Digital Learning Librarian, “Unveiling the Learning Commons”, 23 Illini Hall.

Apr. 14, noon, Stephen Hartnett, Associate Professor, Department of Speech, UIUC, “Democracy in an Age of Empire”, Latzer Hall, YMCA.

Apr. 26, noon, Gary A. Cziko, Professor of Educational Psychology & English as an International Language, “Autonomous Technology- Assisted Language Learning: Principles, Resources, Needs & Possibilities”, 23 Illini Hall.