Crop Sciences Newsletter #119, September 11, 2006

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

...Congratulations to Emeritus Professor John Dudley, who was presented with A Lifetime of Distinguished Service in Crop Sciences Award at the International Plant Breeding Symposium held in Mexico City, Mexico in August.

..Congratulations to Cleo D’Arcy, who received the 2006 “Excellence in Teaching Award” from the American Phytopathological Society.  This award recognizes an APS member for excellence in teaching plant pathology.

...German Bollero, Brian Diers, Jerald “Snook” Pataky, and Dean Riechers were elected to represent at-large faculty for two-year terms on the Faculty Advisory Committee beginning August 16, 2006, and continuing through August 15, 2008.  Cleo D'Arcy, Stephen Long, and Kevin Steffey were elected to three-year terms on the Promotion and Tenure Committee beginning August 16, 2006, and continuing through August 15, 2009.  Jeff Coulter was elected to represent the graduate students for a two-year term on the Department Advisory Committee beginning August 16, 2006, and continuing through August 15, 2008.  Andrew Bowman was elected to represent the undergraduate students for a one-year term on the Department Advisory Committee beginning August 16, 2006, and continuing through August 15, 2007.  Congratulations to all!

...Welcome to 2 new faculty members in the Department of Crop Sciences.  Fabian Fernandez is Assistant Professor of Soil Fertility and has an office in N-315 Turner.  Youfu “Frank” Zhao is Assistant Professor of Phytobacteriology and is occupying room 224  in the Edward Madigan Lab.

...Congratulations to Don White, who was approved for Professor Emeritus status.

...Congratulations to Carlos Pavon, who completed his M.S. degree working with Mohammad Babadoost and is still working in his lab.

...Welcome to the new graduate students:  Kevin Armstrong (Ph.D. with Germán Bollero), Michael Bell (M.S. with Pat Tranel), Andrea Skinner (M.S. with Glen Hartman), Gene Finley (M.S. with Gustavo Caetano-Anolles), Adam Henninger (M.S. with Fred Below), Kang-Mei (Nancy) Hsu ( M.S. with Michael Plewa), Catherine Kandianis (Ph.D. with Torbert Rocheford), Matthew Maughan (M.S. with Germán Bollero and Ben Tracy), Sridevi Nakka (Ph.D. with Torbert Rocheford and Marty Sachs), Phillip Parrish (M.S. with Emerson Nafziger), Timothy Pruski (Ph.D. with Brian Diers), Anya Salas (M.S. with Steve Moose), Sukhvinder Singh (Ph.D. with Pat Tranel), David Strutz (M.S. with Glen Hartman), Eugenia Tang (M.S. with Glen Hartman), Nicholas Tinsley (M.S. with Kevin Steffey), and Andrew Zundo (M.S. with Glen Hartman).

FUNDING RECEIVED

...FREC has funded the following grants for Crop Sciences researchers:  Fred Below received $23,107 for the project “Sources of N for Fall Applied N in Northern Illinois”; $47,847 for “Role of Roots in Improving Nitrogen Management of Continuous Corn;” and $64,347 for “Fertilizer and Management Inputs to Optimize End-Use Characteristics of Corn Hybrids”.  Steve Ebelhar received $45,335 for “Evaluation of New Nitrogen Fertilizer Technologies on Corn”; $22,867 for “Soil pH and Manganese Effects on Yield of Roundup Ready Soybeans”; $31,712 for “Effects of Tile Drainage on Crop Yields & Nutrient Management in Southern Illinois”; and $14,498 for “Nutrient Management Effects on Soybean Diseases”.  Emerson Nafziger received $65,450 for “A Statewide, On-Farm Corn N Rate Response Testing Program”; $19,866 for “Assessing Variability in Corn Response to N Rate”; and $11,630 for “Managing Continuous Corn for High Yields”.

...Lila Vodkin and Jack Widholm each received $30,000 from the Illinois Soybean Association for the project “Genomics and Biotechnology Approaches to Identify Gene Function in Soybean”.

...Monsanto granted Don White $20,000 for the project “Responses to Experimental Bt Events to Corn Earworm Fall Armyworm and Fusarium Verticilliodes in the Corn Belt”; and Curt Hill $600 for the Technical Testing Agreement.

...Torbert Rocheford received $160,023 from the National Science Foundation for the project “Genetic Mechanisms Regulating Inflorescence Architecture and Related Cereals”.  USDA-NCR-SARE granted Rick Weinzierl $966 for “Demonstration of Mating Disruption for Oriental Fruit Moth Management I Sustainable Peach Production”.  The North Central Soybean Research Program awarded Les Domier $27,973 for the project “Mitigating the Effects of Soybean Virus Disease in the North Central States” and Kevin Steffey $5,000 for “Soybean Aphid Management in the North Central States”.

...Several department researchers received funding from the Soybean Research, IL 06-09 grant for the  Soybean Disease Biotechnology Center:  Gustavo Caetano-Anolles ($139,000), Steve Clough  ($36,000), Brian Diers ($70,000), Matt Hudson ($110,000), Terry Niblack ($60,000), Michael Plewa ($56,000), Ram Singh ($45,000) and Lila Vodkin ($116,000).

PERSONALS

...Congratulations to Fabian and Anahí Fernandez on the birth of their son, Ruben Gabriel born on July 28 at 5:42PM.

...To thank you for your kindness and sympathy at a time when it was deeply appreciated.  The flowers sent by Crop Sciences were beautiful and greatly appreciated.  We are thankful for the many friends within your group that Dad enjoyed over the years.  The Family of John Alexander.

FROM OUR OFFICE TO YOURS

...Faculty and staff members may update the information used to create their listings in the 2006-2007 Student/Staff Directory.  Deadline is Sept. 15.  Direct questions to Creative Services at 333-9200 or opm@uiuc.edu.  Details are available.

Faculty and staff members may withhold their home address and/or home telephone number from the Student/Staff Directory. For more information, contact creative services@uiuc.edu. Fill out the online form before Sept. 15.

...The Secretary of State will be on campus the last Wednesday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the English Building lower-level atrium. Employees can renew, replace or correct driver's licenses and state IDs, and buy vehicle registration renewal stickers and U. of I., passenger vehicle and B-truck license plates. More info at URL: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com.

...Mileage Reimbursement Rate to Increase July 1.  Effective July 1, 2006, the mileage reimbursement for employees using private passenger vehicles for University business increased from 40.5 cents per mile to 44.5 cents per mile.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Sept. 14, Doris Christopher Hall Dedication Ceremony

Oct. 5, ACES Career Fair; 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.; Illini Union Rooms A-B-C

Oct. 6, ACES Alumni Association 50th Anniversary Celebration

Nov. 2, ACES Graduate Student Recognition

Dec. 8,  JBT Banquet; Illini Union A-B-C

Apr. 23, 2007 College of ACES and Paul A. Funk Recognition Awards Banquet

UPCOMING CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA & WORKSHOPS

...The 24th Symposium in Plant Biology “Gene Silencing:  The Biology of Small RNAs and the Epigenome” will be held January 18-20, 2007 at the Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, CA.

GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS

...Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowshisp are designed to increase diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.  Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national and planning a career in teaching and research at the college or university level.  Fellowships are offered for predoctoral (Nov. 16), dissertation (Nov. 30) and postdoctoral (Nov. 30) candidates.  Deadlines are in parentheses.  More details at website:  http://national-academies.org/fellowships.

SEMINARS

Sept. 11, 8:00 p.m., Avshalom Caspi, Professor of Personality Development, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, and Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, “How our genes shape the way we respond to our environment”, Auditorium, Beckman Institute, MILLERCOM2007

Sept. 12, noon, Graduate Employees’ Organization, “Labor and learning:  graduate employees at the U of I”, Latzer Hall, YMCA.

Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m., Douglas Hofstadter, Director, Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition, Indiana University, “Analogy as the core for cognition”, Lincoln Hall Theatre, MILLERCOMM2007

Sept. 15, noon, Bill Sullivan, Director, Environmental Council/Associate Professor, UIUC, “Update on UIUC Energy Sustainability”, Latzer Hall, YMCA

Sept. 19, noon, Robet Exley, President, Parkland College, “Parkland College and the University of Illinois:  Success Guaranteed”, Latzer Hall, YMCA

Sept. 22, noon, Zsuzsa Gille, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, UIUC, “Whose nature?  whose rights?”, Latzer Hall, YMCA

Sept. 26, noon, Nathaniel Banks, Assistant Dean of Students/Musician, “Jazz music:  the expression of a people”, Latzer Hall, YMCA

Sept. 29, noon, Rainforest Action Network, “How corporate campaigning can save the world”, Latzer Hall, YMCA

Oct. 3, noon, Jim Westcoat, Professor, Landscape Architecture, UIUC/Chair, Chancellor’s Task Force on Civic Commitment in the 21st Century”, Latzer Hall, YMCA

Oct. 6, noon, Katrin Klingenberg, Executive Director, Ecological Construction Laboratory, “Ecological design as the essence of sustainability”, Latzer Hall, YMCA