October 2016

Dan's Observations

Citizens of the world

International education drives economic innovation and global leadership. New knowledge, developed and shared internationally, provides a strategic advantage to Oregon and the nation.

At the College of Agricultural Sciences, we encourage our students to be global citizens—to recognize, among other things, that decisions we make in the U.S. that affect our economy and our environment also impact economies and environments across the globe.  For many people, the path to global citizenship begins with an international experience in college. Perhaps it’s a faculty-led tour of agriculture in a foreign country. Or maybe it’s a semester abroad, immersed in the challenges of a new language and culture. Or maybe it’s that international student sitting next to you in class, right here at Oregon State.

At the College of Agricultural Sciences, we offer a wide range of global experiences for our students. Classroom seminars such as Exploring World Agriculture invite students to begin to think globally. Faculty-led tours let students experience first-hand the agriculture and natural resources of other countries. We encourage students to study abroad, perhaps through our partner universities in New Zealand and France. And we provide support for students who challenge themselves with internships far, far from home. But these experiences are expensive. We are grateful to generous supporters, such as ER Jackman Friends and Alumni, who provide financial support to help students with international experiences. 

The College of Ag Sciences’ Global Experiences Fund is another valued source of support. This fund was initiated by a generous gift from Hiram Larew, a 1977 and 1982 graduate of OSU’s Botany and Plant Pathology Department. Dr. Larew served as Director of International Programs at the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture, where he transformed international agricultural science programs into models for sustainable development overseas. He fostered partnerships between American universities, businesses, governments, and charitable organizations to assist countries around the world. He won the hearts and minds of people around the world by helping to fill empty stomachs.

Dr. Larew’s story reminds me of a handful of our AgSci students who visited Puerto Rico last year on a faculty-led tour of agriculture and natural resources. Before the end of their 7-day tour, they were already planning a return trip, a service-learning trip, with plans to make a positive difference for Puerto Rican communities. They discovered ways they could help make things better. They became citizens of the world.

Sincerely,

Dan

Daniel J. Arp
Reub Long Professor and Dean
College of Agricultural Sciences
Director
Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station

Recent News

CAS Academic Report for 2015-2016

The College of Agricultural Sciences (AgSci) connects people and the environment, helping communities and industries thrive by finding real-world solutions that are both economically and ecologically sustainable.  With 2500 students, 250 professorial faculty, $500,00 in scholarships and $52.3 million in sponsored research funding, AgSci is integral to OSU's standing as a top-tier land-grant university and its ranking in the top 10 worldwide for agriculture and forestry.  This report provides a point-in-time snapshot of the outstanding work of faculty, staff, and administrators, and the College’s contributions to students, residents, and stakeholders regionally, nationally, and globally. (Read more...)

Meet our new faculty

The CAS Dean’s Office welcomed a large number of new faculty with a dinner with unit leaders on September 19th and an orientation session on the 20th attended by the Dean, Associate and Assistant Deans, and several others. Each new faculty member created one slide to introduce themselves, their background and research interests. These slides represent most of the faculty who were able to participate in the session and several who were not able to attend in person. Please enjoy meeting our newer faculty; we look forward to more sharing of expertise across the college and with our alumni and friends located elsewhere. The College has a high priority of mentoring our newer faculty to assist in their success. Stella Coakley is providing support for this endeavor as part of her part-time special projects assignment following her March 2015 retirement as associate dean.  (View new faculty slides)

OSU Update

OSU-Cascades opens as Oregon’s first new public university in 50 years

Cascades’ new campus in Bend opened September 13th, fulfilling a 30-year quest for higher education in what had been the largest region in the state without a four-year university.

“This campus launches a new era for educational attainment, economic growth, community partnerships and cultural enrichment in Central Oregon,” said Oregon State President Ed Ray.

Ray, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, state Rep. Knute Buehler, OSU-Cascades Vice President Becky Johnson and Elizabeth Woody, Oregon’s poet laureate, are planned to participate in the opening celebration. They were joined by Amy Tykeson, whose family supported funding for the branch campus’ first academic building, and after whom Tykeson Hall is named.

OSU research funds reach second consecutive record of $336 million

Oregon State University research funding reached $336 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30 – a second consecutive year of record-breaking growth and an increase of more than 60 percent over the past decade.

In 2006, the university garnered $209 million from state, federal and private-sector sources. Since then, OSU has received research revenues totaling more than $3 billion. In the last year, Oregon State researchers brought in $27 million more from all sources than they did in 2015, a 15 percent increase in competitive federal grants and an overall 9 percent increase. (Read more...)

Our Best

Hiram Larew recipient of 2016 OSU Alumni Fellow award

The OSU Alumni Association will celebrate the 2016 Alumni Fellows and Young Alumni Awards in conjunction with Homecoming festivities on Friday October 28, 2016.

The Alumni Fellows Award was established by the Oregon State University Alumni Association in 1988 for the purpose of recognizing some of our most eminent alumni. These alumni have distinguished themselves in career or community. Through the Alumni Fellows Program, the honorees have an opportunity to share their expertise and experiences with the university community.

Hiram Larew, who earned a masters degree in botany and plant pathology in 1977, and a Ph.D in entomology in 1982, was nominated by the College of Agricultural Sciences. (Read more...)  Alumni Fellows Award past recipients

Dr. Kim Anderson, recipient of the 2016 OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award

The 2016 OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award was presented to Kim Anderson, professor in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, College of Agricultural Sciences, during University Day activities in September.  It is given to the person who demonstrates outstanding professional achievement through teaching and scholarship, service to the university and the community, and professional leadership, nationally and internationally. 

Award Criteria

List of previous recipients

Hillary Egna and the AquaFish Innovation Lab receive honors

Aquaculture Without Frontiers recognized Dr. Hillary Egna in September for her work in the Creation of a Legacy of Aquaculture Research Program. Since the early 1980’s Dr Hillary Egna has built a legacy of aquaculture research programs focused on helping small-holder aquaculture.

Hillary’s outstanding contribution to aquaculture began some 30 years ago after she was appointed Director of the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP (PD/A CRSP), she began to apply for competitive research grants. The PD/A CRSP ended in 1987, yet coming from a background in private consulting in fisheries, Hillary took a chance and wrote a proposal making her the youngest and one of only two women to be lead Principal Investigator (PI) of a CRSP, a collaborative research program under USAID’s sponsorship. In the heavily male-dominated environment of academia and aquaculture of the 1980s, she overcame challenges to establish a reputation for delivering innovative solutions. Through a series of independent grants and collaborations, Hillary has created an international aquaculture R&D center under which she has provided organizational continuity. 

The AquaFish Innovation Lab and Hillary Egna were also recently recognized in August with two gold awards from the Asian Fisheries Society.

joyce-loper200.jpg

Joyce Loper inducted into the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Hall of Fame. 

Joyce Loper, Oregon State University professor of plant pathology, was inducted into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Science Hall of Fame in September. The prize is a significant honor conferred on ARS scientists who have made major impacts on agricultural research, are recognized by peers for their significant accomplishments and serve as exemplary role models for younger scientists.

Loper has been a research plant pathologist at the USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis and joined OSU as a courtesy assistant professor in 1987. She became associate dean of the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences this year. Her work, which focuses on plant-associated bacteria in agricultural soils, has led to breakthrough discoveries on the biological control of plant diseases. Loper uses a combination of genomics, chemistry and molecular approaches to identify new antibiotics produced by certain soil-dwelling bacteria. She was among the first to probe the molecular ecology of bacteria in the genus Pseudomonas, which are common in agricultural soils and which lend themselves to biological control of a host of disease-causing microorganisms.  (Read more...)

Jeremiah Dung awarded for early career work

Jeremiah Dung, plant pathologist for the Central Oregon Ag Research Center in Madras, was recently awarded the American Phytopathological Society Pacific Division Early Career Award at the annual Pacific Division Meeting in La Conner, Washington. Dung's work is around molecular epidemiology, population biology, disease modeling, and integrated disease management. 

Research conducted in the plant pathology lab at the Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center aims to advance understanding of diseases impacting high-value specialty crops grown in this region, with the ultimate goal of improved and sustainable plant disease management. Specific research interests include pathogen etiology and detection, population genetics of plant pathogens, spatial and temporal dynamics of plant disease, and identifying environmental factors that contribute to plant disease epidemics. (Read more...)

Bruce McCune receives Acharius Medal from International Association for Lichenology

Bruce McCune, Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology, received the highest international honor for a lichenologist at the August 2016 meeting of the International Association for Lichenology in Helsinki, Finland.  The Acharius Medal is awarded for a lifetime achievement in lichenology, with few ever having been received by North Americans.  The award was announced on Aug 2, 2016, at the Eighth International Lichenological Symposium, IAL8.  Bruce McCune was a plenary speaker at this symposium. 

(Read more about Bruce McCune...)

2016 CAS Faculty and Staff Award Recipients

The 2016 College of Agricultural Sciences Award Recipients (see list) were recognized and celebrated for their accomplishments at the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Faculty and Staff Awards luncheon on Thursday, October 13 in the Memorial Union Horizon Room. (Read more in the Faculty and Staff Awards program)

Shown are Fred Menino presenting the 2016 Diversity Commitment Award to Michelle Kutzler. 

2016 Diamond Pioneer Agricultural Achievement Registry

The Diamond Pioneer Registry was established in March 1983, when the College of Agricultural Sciences observed its 75th anniversary.  With the Registry, the College has recognized significant contributions of many of our friends and colleagues who have served agriculture and related areas throughout a portion of their careers. 

The College, with support from the Agricultural Research Foundation, held it's annual luncheon to honor new Diamond Pioneers on October 5, 2016 at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center.   (Read more in the Diamond Pioneer Program)

Global Experiences

Veronica in Kiwiland

Studying abroad in New Zealand in 2016, Veronica Martin, a Pre-Vet student in the College of Agricultural Sciences chronicled her experiences while at Lincoln University in Canterbury. You do not want to miss her blog with beautiful photographs and find out what Pineapple Lumps are!

(Read more...)

Kaewa by Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith is currently studying at Lincoln University in Christchurch, NZ.  For the next five months, I will be studying at Lincoln University in Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand. Lincoln is a small town southeast of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. There is one grocery store, two pharmacies, a library, and a number of miscellaneous shops, but not much else. I have really enjoyed the small town feel so far. LU is a very small school (only about 2500 students), and campus is fairly small – much smaller than what I am used to at Oregon State. There are around 60 international students here, which seems like a lot given how many students there are total.

I am living in a flat on campus in an area called The Junction with a number of other people, five of whom I have become pretty close in the last week. (Read more...)

Global Experiences Fund - Gifts support life-changing experiences overseas

Students in the College have extraordinary hands-on learning experiences made possible in part by the Global Experience Fund in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Thanks to growing support from the Oregon State community, more and more students throughout the university likewise are jumping at the chance to participate in research, service, and educational programs around the world.

The Global Experience Fund was established in 2012 by Hiram Larew ’77, ’82, who recently retired as director of the Center for International Programs in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this role, and as a policy adviser at U.S. Agency for International Development, he spent years traveling in developing countries, guiding programs in Afghanistan, Armenia, Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Nicaragua, South Africa, and more.  Recently Hiram made a new gift commitment to create an endowment for the Global Experience Fund, assuring that support will be available perpetually for students and faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences. His gift was matched with $20,000 from the ER Jackman Enhancement Fund and $5,000 from the college’s Dean’s Fund for Excellence.  

It’s been a great pleasure for Hiram Larew to hear back from students like Jocelyn. “They’ll often say, ‘I went over assuming I knew what I’d be doing, that I knew the problem and what the answer would be. But when I got there, all bets were off. Nothing was as I expected,’” he notes. “Then they say, ‘But as a result, I’m a better person. I’m smarter. I found that, yes, I can offer insights, and I also gained insights.’ That’s what I really hope this fund will allow.” (Read more...) Support the Global Experiences Fund

Graduate Students

OSU student receives $132,000 EPA STAR fellowship

Christina Murphy, a doctoral student at Oregon State University, has received a $132,000 Science to Achieve Results, or STAR fellowship, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Murphy, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at OSU, is conducting research on how best to manage dams to protect salmon.

STAR graduate fellows are selected from a large number of applications in a highly competitive review process, EPA officials say. Since the program began in 1995, the EPA has awarded nearly 2,000 students a total of more than $65 million in funding. (Read more...)

Students

Wildlife Safari National Dance Day Video

Check out this joyful dance video with Taylin Sparks, Animal Science major (minor in Fisheries and Wildlife), during her three-month internship at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. Of the 5 interns in the video, 3 are current OSU students and one is an alum! (Watch on YouTube)

New Fields

2016/17 Agricultural Council Officers

L to R:  Ben Rietmann, Vice President, Monica Debord, Director of Correspondence; August Peterson, Director of Finance; Meg Marchand, Director of New Fields; Trinity Shodin, President; Kayla Rushing, Director of Public Relations; Scott Jacobson, Director of Ag Days

In the Spring of this past school year, the Agricultural Executive Council elected a new officer team. The officers met in September at an officer retreat to plan the fun and exciting upcoming year. The 2016-2017 officers for Oregon State University Agricultural Executive Council are ...(See more...)

Welcome Back!

Hey Oregon State Students and Staff!

Our annual College of Agricultural Sciences Ice Cream Social kicked off our fall term with 29 clubs in attendance! And whether we were ready or not, we’re back in full motion and it ‘s our first Monday of the term. So for my sake (and maybe yours too) I wanna flashback to spring term and reminisce a little on this unforgettable summer.

I wasn’t quite ready to jump right back into school, so I reached out to my teammates for one last taste of sweet summertime and I want to share it with you! Here’s a little bit of what we were each up to this summer:

In the Spring, we elected a new Agricultural Executive Council Officer Team, almost an entirely new team aside from our president Trinity Shodin. Trinity is entering her Junior year as an Agricultural Sciences student. She spent her summer working and hanging out with friends–holding down the fort for us here in Corvallis. (Read more...)

Ag Exec 101

What is “Ag Exec?”

Ag Exec is the shorthand for Agricultural Executive Council. The Agricultural Executive Council serves as the governing body for the students and clubs within the College of Agricultural Sciences.

What does the council do exactly?

The council is comprised of 20+ agricultural clubs and organizations at Oregon State University. Throughout the year, the council hosts a number of professional and personal development events to help prepare students for leadership, internship, and career opportunities. As a council, we hold true to the agriculture way of life with values of integrity, responsibility, dedication and passion. The Agricultural Executive Council brings a unity to one of the most diverse colleges at Oregon State; priding itself on preparing and introducing top students to the many opportunities within agriculture, forestry and natural resources! 

(Read more...)

Research

A Brief History of the Agricultural Research Foundation Competitive Grants Program

The Agricultural Research Foundation (ARF) was established in 1934 to facilitate and encourage research in all branches of agriculture and related fields for the benefit of the agricultural industry and to collaborate and work in close partnership with the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences to accomplish these goals.  Throughout its long history, it has provided grants for specific projects beginning with a $840 grant from the Hood River Apple Growers Association to study beneficial use of by-products from apples and pears.  

For nearly 40 years, ARF has run a Competitive Grants program through which ARF-generated funds are provided to OSU researchers.  The beginning of the Competitive Grants program is not completely clear, but in a history document published by Floyd and Foote in 1984, an item appears in the minutes of the 1978 meeting, “Following the recommendations of the directors, Foote had circulated a list of requests for projects, part of a plan to support small research projects.  Members of the Foundation Board rated the top six, which were to be supported with amounts ranging from $1,500 to $6,000, for a total of $18,600.”   This is the first mention of a program whereby proposals are requested and Board members select those to be supported from ARF General Funds.  Therefore, the beginning of the Competitive Grants program is assumed to be 1978.

The Competitive Grants Program is designed to encourage and fund research studies at OSU that will enhance Oregon’s agricultural productivity, the quality of its produce and products, and wise management and use of its natural resources – air, water, watershed, forest, fisheries, and wildlife. The goal is to make small catalytic grants that help young scientists launch their research and help established scientists embark on new research directions or approaches.  Since its inception in 1978, ARF has infused over $7 million dollars into the OSU research system.  Grants for the 2016-18 period funded in fiscal year 2015-16 ranged from $7852 to $12,500 (the grant maximum).  The average amount of the 35 grants given was $12,183.  Grant total was $426,396.  A total of 77 proposals were submitted for 2016-18 funding.

Dr. Arnold Appleby, Professor Emeritus of Crop and Soil Science and ARF Board member, and Russ Karow, ARF Executive Director, have written a history of ARF’s Competitive Grant Program.  If you are interested in obtaining a printed copy, please contact the ARF office at 541-737-3280 or Charlene.Wilkinson@oregonstate.edu. (Read the full publication online...)

There is now a sixth taste – and it explains why we love carbs (New Scientist)

It has long been thought that our tongues register a small number of primary tastes: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Umami – the savory taste often associated with monosodium glutamate – was added to this list seven years ago, but there’s been no change since then. However, this list misses a major component of our diets, says Juyun Lim at Oregon State University in Corvallis. “Every culture has a major source of complex carbohydrate. The idea that we can’t taste what we’re eating doesn’t make sense,” she says. Complex carbohydrates such as starch are made of chains of sugar molecules and are an important source of energy in our diets. However, food scientists have tended to ignore the idea that we might be able to specifically taste them, says Lim. Because enzymes in our saliva break starch down into shorter chains and simple sugars, many have assumed we detect starch by tasting these sweet molecules.  Her team tested this by giving a range of different carbohydrate solutions to volunteers – who it turned out were able to detect a starch-like taste in solutions that contained long or shorter carbohydrate chains. “They called the taste ‘starchy’,” says Lim. “Asians would say it was rice-like, while Caucasians described it as bread-like or pasta-like. It’s like eating flour.”  The volunteers could still make out this floury flavor when they were given a compound that blocks the receptors on the tongue for detecting sweet tastes. This suggests we can sense carbohydrates before they have been completely broken down into sugar molecules. (Read more...) (Listen to the interview...)

Monitoring whale health

(Phys. Org.) A lot of people think what Leigh Torres has done this summer and fall would qualify her for a spot on one of those “World’s Worst Jobs” lists. After all, the Oregon State University marine ecologist follows gray whales from a small inflatable boat in the rugged Pacific Ocean and waits for them to, well, poop. Then she and her colleagues have about 20-30 seconds to swoop in behind the animal with a fine mesh net and scoop up some of the prized material before it drifts to the ocean floor.. (Read more...)

Art About Agriculture

The OSU College of Agricultural Sciences’ Art Gallery

Gallery 440 is a new art gallery space; part of the College of Agricultural Sciences’ fourth floor administrative suites in Strand Agriculture Hall. The inaugural art exhibition, a selection of works from the Art About Agriculture Permanent Collection, was displayed from October 2015 through mid September 2016. For the remainder of the 2016 — 2017 academic year the College presents three featured artists’ shows during each of the fall, winter, and spring terms.

 

Susan S. Johnson  Oregon Agriculture in Color  September 21 through November 30, 2016
College of Agricultural Sciences, Gallery 440, 440 Strand Agriculture Hall

Oregon Agriculture in Color features sixteen of Susan's works in collage, colored pencil and ink, and Oilbar.  She is represented in the College's Art About Agriculture permanent collection with her Oilbar painting on museum board.  From "Flower" to Food, which is included in the exhibition. Susan was granted the 2000 Jurors’ purchase award, sponsored by the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences.

Gallery hours:  11:30 to 1:00 p.m. every Thursday until November 17, 2016.

Nelson Sandgren (American 1917 — 2006)  Nelson Sandgren:  Eye, Hand, Spirit in Balance  January 9 through March 10, 2017
Reception and Gallery Talk: Thursday, February 16, 2016, 3:30 to 5 pm, in the gallery. Gallery talk by Erik Sandgren, beginning at 4 pm.
Gallery hours: TBD

The late Nelson Sandgren, OSU Emeritus Art Professor, is widely regarded for his work in oil, lithography, and watercolor. This retrospective includes his work in these three mediums, in addition to monoprints. Nelson is represented in the College’s Art About Agriculture Permanent Collection with The Gardener, monoprint; and Spring Series #3, oil on board. Nelson was granted, respectively, the 1990 Dean of Liberal Arts purchase award, sponsored by Bill Wilkins and the College of Agricultural Sciences; and the 1992 Monsanto purchase award, sponsored by Darby Moeller and the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Multimedia Connections

Facebook Pages

College of Agricultural Sciences 

Agricultural Education and Agricultural Sciences

Biological and Ecological Engineering

Fisheries and Wildlife

Food Science and Technology

Horticulture

OSU Extension

Reaching Out

Oregon Small Farm News

Vol. XI No. 4 Fall 2016

Oregon Small Farm News is a free online newsletter that concentrates on both commercial small farm entrepreneurs as well as non-commercial small acreage landowners. Our focus embraces organic/biological and conventional farming systems and emphasizes three areas.

• Small Acreage Stewardship - Addressing enterprises, land management and soil and water quality for non-commercial small acreage's.

• Commercial Small Farms - Entrepreneurial Agriculture Addressing high value horticulture, livestock and poultry, and alternative crop production emphasizing organic and pasture-based systems and specialty and niche production.

• Community Food Systems - Address alternative and specialty marketing through creation and enhancement of local and regional food systems and farm direct marketing channels.

Dryland Farming

(ODA, Celebrate Oregon Agriculture) In Corvallis, you are constantly surrounded by fields growing some kind of delicious crop, but not all the crop fields are created equal. Some of these fields are doing things a bit differently and there are people working behind the scenes to make sure you hear all about what they’ve been up to.
Meet Amy Garrett. (Read more...)

Alumni & Friends

Castle land donation benefits Philomath students

Leaving Corvallis for home, 93-year-old Emery Castle and his daughter, Cheryl Rogers, had a warm feeling inside that they had done the right thing. They had just gifted a 20-acre forested plot of land that will serve as an outdoor classroom for Philomath students.

“We really think that there is nothing that we could’ve done with the land that will provide any better service for the community and secondly, the generations to come,” said Rogers, who lives in the South Waterfront area of Portland in a condominium across the street from her father. “It felt very good and everybody in the room walked away with just an uplifting attitude because it was such a positive experience.” (Read more...)

Hazelnut farming, for future generations

(by Jan Wepster, '63)  Deep down I think I always knew someday I’d take over the family farm. But my father always said I should go to college. If I paid for the first semester, he’d pay for the second—that was the deal.

It was a good deal, and I took it. Oregon State people were often on our farm giving tours or helping us solve a problem, so that was a natural choice for me after high school. I did the ROTC thing, and I joined Alpha Gamma Rho, the Ag fraternity. Those were good years.

Most weekends I came home to work on the farm. We grew walnuts and prunes. I chose forestry as a major initially, but after a couple years the farm looked better than it did as a senior in high school. By the end of my sophomore year I knew I’d be going back to the farm, and I switched my major to horticulture. Right after college I went into the army to fulfill part of my obligation, and then I came back to the family farm. (Read more...)