* Thanks to research at K-State's Beef Stocker Unit, modern-day cowboys could soon be using a bit of old-fashioned science to fight disease in the feedlot. Dale Blasi, a professor of animal sciences and industry, is researching the effectiveness of a new radio-frequency identification ear tag that takes the animal's temperature. Elevated temperature is thought to be a precursor to the onset of disease. K-State's Beef Stocker Unit is designed to emulate real stocker cattle receiving conditions in the interest of research. It is also home to the K-State Center of Excellence for Animal Identification, where researchers examine whether certain technologies have an economic benefit for producers. December 2007
* A recent K-State graduate has earned the cover article in a scientific journal for her research on the biological process of wheat germination. Work by Hicran Koc, a December 2007 master's graduate in grain science, and her research adviser, K-State's David Wetzel, professor of grain science and industry, was the cover article for the October issue of Spectroscopy. The article was based on research Koc had done over a two-year period under Wetzel's direction at K-State and at a federal laboratory. The nine-page article, which included several color graphics, was on research done with synchroton infrared microspectroscopy. Koc used this advanced form of analytical instrumentation and extremely bright radiation to perform experiments on Kansas wheat. The research was for the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. December 2007
* K-State's Mike Popelka, senior in agronomy, Munden, has been selected as a Gold Opportunity Scholar by the Crop Science Society of America. Popelka is among 15 undergraduates chosen for their academic achievements and interest in crop science. The scholars will begin a yearlong mentoring program and will receive support to attend Crop Science Society of America meetings. December 2007
* The K-State Crops Team has again claimed the title of national champion, a feat that K-State teams have accomplished in seven of the past nine years. The team won both the Kansas City Board of Trade and Chicago Collegiate Crops contests to win the national championship. K-State placed first in plant and seed identification and grain grading and second in seed analysis at both Kansas City and Chicago. Students competing at the national contest included Clint Patry, senior in agronomy, Colwich; Mike Popelka, senior in agronomy, Munden; and Cody Duitsman, junior in agronomy, Washington. The team was coached by Gerry Posler, K-State professor of agronomy. November 2007
* Shane Blaes, K-State freshman in agronomy, Cherryvale, placed second in the chapter division of the 2007 Chevron Delco tractor restoration national competition. The annual contest takes place at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. Blaes worked with his cousin to restore a John Deere 720. It is the second time Blaes has earned honors in the event. In 2006, he won the individual category for the restoration of his grandfather's 1944 John Deere Model B. November 2007
* Two K-State students have been elected officers of the National FFA Organization, while two other K-Staters have been recognized by FFA for their business skills. Becky Sullivan, sophomore in agricultural communications and journalism, Paola, was elected National FFA secretary, and Morgan Parker, sophomore in agricultural economics, Limon, Colo., was elected FFA's central region vice president at the 80th National FFA Convention, Oct. 24-27, in Indianapolis. Sullivan and Parker were selected from a field of 40 candidates for the national positions. Also at the convention, Caleb Alexander, senior in agricultural economics, Garden City, was named National FFA's American Star in Agribusiness for starting his own hay-bailing operation, CA Hay. Alexander was among four finalists for the honor. He received a $4,000 award and a plaque. K-State's Morgan Gauby, junior in agribusiness, received a National Agricultural Proficiency Award from FFA for agricultural sales-placement. Gauby was recognized for developing her interest in floriculture into a career. November 2007
* K-State's Soil Judging Team won first place in the overall team and second place in the group judging categories at the 2007 Region 5 Soil Judging Contest. The recent contest, hosted by Iowa State University, had 40 students from seven universities competing. The K-State team coach is Mickey Ransom, professor of agronomy. Students placing in the competition include Andrew McGowan, third highest individual; Adam Heitman, fourth highest individual; Paul Hartley, sixth highest individual; and Leah Ferdinand, eighth highest individual. November 2007
* Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan, university distinguished professor of biochemistry, and Barbara Valent, university distinguished professor of plant pathology, have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. K-State now has 15 faculty members who are fellows of the association, representing the fields of biology, chemical engineering, plant pathology, biochemistry, grain sciences and industry, geography, agronomy and physics. October 2007
* For the 13th year in a row, the K-State Crops Team placed first overall in the Central Region Collegiate Crops Contest. The event, Oct. 20 in Manhattan, was hosted by K-State agronomy. K-State students took the top three individual spots in the competition. They included: Mike Popelka, senior in agronomy, Munden, first individual overall. Popelka was first in seed analysis and grain grading and third in identification. Cody Duitsman, junior in agronomy, Washington, second individual overall. Duitsman placed first in identification, second in grain grading and third in seed analysis. Clint Patry, senior in agronomy, Colwich, third individual overall. Patry was second in identification and seed analysis and third in grain grading. The team is coached by Gerry Posler, professor of agronomy. October 2007
* A K-State distance education program and distance education technology have received national awards from a continuing education association and an educational communications cooperative. The Association for Continuing Education awarded its 2007 Distinguished Credit Award to K-State's comparative food and agriculture systems course, AGEC 710. The class is offered through the K-State department of agricultural economics and the Division of Continuing Education. The association also honored K-State with its Creative Use of Technology Award for the ExpanSIS student information system. ExpanSIS is a multi-institutional student information system developed jointly by the Institute for Academic Alliances and the K-State office of mediated education. It was first used by the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance. The system provides a consortium of universities with access to needed student data, including course scheduling and mapping, registration, enrollment, grades, reports, contact information, and student tracking. K-State's ExpanSIS system also received the 2007 Outstanding Work Award from the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications. The cooperative is a unit of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, which provides technology to e-learners for use in higher education. October 2007
* When the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service needed to take a serious look at animal identification systems, they came to experts at K-State. In August, K-State researchers received a $499,462 grant to determine the benefits and costs of electronic animal identification systems, which includes the impact of these systems on livestock disease management. The animal identification systems study is an outgrowth of prior work by Ted Schroeder and a team of agricultural economists that predicted as much as a $1.3 billion economic impact in Kansas if foot-and-mouth disease was intentionally introduced into a handful of large-scale cattle operations in the state. Schroeder, professor of agricultural economics, is principal investigator for the project, which will look at how expensive such tracking systems are and will attempt to quantify the benefits. Schroeder is also working with Dale Blasi, professor of animal sciences and industry; Kevin Dhuyvetter, professor of agricultural economics; and Jeri Stroade, Extension assistant in agricultural economics. Researchers from Colorado State University, Montana State University and Michigan State University are also involved. The study's results will be released in 2008. October 2007
* An international team of scientists led by K-State researchers has been awarded a four-year grant from Intsormil, the Sorghum/Millet Collaborative Research Program offered through the U.S. Agency for International Development, to improve sorghum and pearl millet production in West Africa. Vara Prasad, crop physiologist in K-State's department of agronomy, is the principal investigator on the project, along with co-principal investigators Scott Staggenborg, associate professor, and David Mengel, professor, both in the department of agronomy; and Terry Kastens, professor, department of agricultural economics. The team also includes scientists from Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The project will attempt to find ways to help West African farmers generate more income and provide food security. October 2007
* K-State's Paul Seib, professor emeritus of grain science and industry, is being recognized for his research work with a Higuchi award from the University of Kansas. Seib is receiving the Irvin Youngberg Award for Applied Sciences from KU. The honor includes a $10,000 award which must be used for research materials, summer salaries, fellowship matching funds, research assistance or other research-related support. A cereal chemist, Seib's expertise includes cereal carbohydrates, wheat-based foods and stable forms of vitamin C. He is the author of more than 200 journal articles, several book chapters and a monograph. He also holds 18 U.S. patents, including two involving a stabilized form of vitamin C used in animal feeds, particularly aquaculture feed. Seib's work also has earned numerous honors. September 2007
* Candice Shoemaker, associate professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources at K-State, has received a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Research Institute to study whether gardening can promote a healthier lifestyle. The study is called Project PLANTS, or Promoting Lifelong Activity and Nutrition Through Schools. With the grant, Shoemaker and colleagues will work to create gardens and high tunnels -- for gardening during the winter months -- in Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District schools, as well as an after-school program for fourth- and fifth-grade students to grow their own fruits, vegetables and flowers. She hopes to show that gardening can promote a healthier lifestyle and combat childhood obesity in several ways. Shoemaker said when children help to grow their own fruits and vegetables, they are more interested in eating them. Also, gardening not only gets children off of the couch and into the outdoors, but it also counts as physical activity. August 2007
* For the second consecutive year and the sixth time in the 10-year history of the event, the Kansas State University Powercat Tractors Design Team finished first at the annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition, May 31 through June 3, in Peoria, Ill. Competing against 28 teams from the United States and Canada, the K-State team also received the "Sound Quality Award" for having the quietest tractor and minimizing noise pollution. The team earned first-place points for the written design report and took second place in the four pulls of the "tractor pull" portion of the competition. The K-State Powercat Tractors Team, made up of undergraduates in biological and agricultural engineering, agricultural technology management and mechanical and nuclear engineering, is the only team to place in the top three, including six firsts, continuously since 1999. The competition began in 1998. All teams were required to use unmodified, 16-horsepower Briggs and Stratton engines and Bridgestone/Firestone tires. The rest of the design was up to each individual team. The K-State tractor used four engines with a four-wheel drive system. Finishing behind K-State were Purdue University, second place; Laval University, third place; University of Kentucky, fourth place; and University of Illinois, fifth place. July 2007
* K-State's Daniel Y.C. Fung, an international expert in microbial food safety, is receiving the inaugural Outstanding Educator in Food Safety Award from Food Safety magazine and ConAgra Foods. The new award recognizes an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to food safety education, both in and out of the classroom. Fung was selected for his outstanding service and contributions in advancing food safety during his nearly 40 years as an educator. Fung has taught more than 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students, distance learning students and professionals around the world through classroom teaching, symposia, seminars, workshops and meetings on microbial food safety. He also leads the annual International Workshop on Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology, which just completed its 27th session, at K-State. The popular workshop has attracted about 4,000 participants from 60 countries to Manhattan to be trained in the latest technologies in detecting microbes and controlling them for food safety and security. July 2007
* Zelia Wiley, assistant dean of diversity at the College of Agriculture, has been named the national president Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences, a national organization. Her term will last through 2008 and she will continue to serve on the executive committee the following year. Wiley is the first national president of the organization who rose through its ranks starting as a student member. May 2007
* Kimberly Williams, professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources, is receiving the Teacher Fellowship Award from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. Williams will be recognized with a plaque at the annual North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture conference June 20-22 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The award recognizes individuals whose efforts represent the very best in agricultural higher education. Criteria included in the selection process are statements from current students, alumni, administrative officers and peers. Factors such as availability to students, teaching innovations and departmental activity are also evaluated. April 2007
* The K-State Crops Team took first place in the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Crops Contest April 21 in Hutchinson. K-State has won the contest seven times in the last nine years. The 2007 team placed first in all four parts of the contest. K-State's total team score of 2,105.1 of 2,400 possible points was the highest score ever achieved in a North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Crops Contest. In addition, one of K-State's team members, Zach Unrau, Goessel, earned the highest individual score ever recorded in the contest, getting 556 of 600 possible points overall. Unrau, senior in agricultural technology management, placed first overall. He was first in identification, first in agronomic calculations, first in laboratory practical and tied for second in the agronomic quiz. April 2007
* The Professional Landcare Network recognized K-State's Landscape Contracting Team as a top 10 program at the 31st annual Student Career Days at Michigan State University. From March 28-April 1, the 27 K-State students from the department of horticulture, forestry and recreation services showcased their knowledge, talent and effort in 24 competitive events. They finished fourth out of 54 competing colleges and universities, K-State's highest finish ever in the competition. Many of K-State's team members claimed top 10 finishes in individual events. This marked K-State's seventh year in the national event known as the "landscape olympics." April 2007
* K-State's master of agribusiness program, the nation's first distance education master-level curriculum in agribusiness, is celebrating a decade of growth and success. Led by Allen Featherstone, professor of agricultural economics, , the first master of agribusiness class in 1998 was made up of 12 students, mainly from the Great Plains region. Students and alumni of the program can now be found in 35 states and more than 18 countries. Average class size has expanded to between 20 and 25 students from every sector of the food and agribusiness industry, with an age range of 25 to 55. March 2007
* A K-State professor has been named a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society. Barbara Valent, university distinguished professor of plant pathology, received the award for research work she has done with rice blast disease. She is a fungal molecular geneticist, performing research on the molecular genetics of pathogenicity and resistance in the Magnaporthe grisea-rice pathosystem. She is working toward better understanding how fungi make plants sick and how plants try to defend themselves. Her long-term goal is to make the plants more disease resistant. Valent has traveled extensively in Asia and Latin America where rice blast is a major problem. March 2007
*A K-State student earned the honor of being selected as one of the four finalists in the discussion meet of the American Farm Bureau Federation's Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference. Sarah Sexton, senior in agricultural economics, Abilene, competed against 26 other students from around the country before winning a seat on stage as a finalist at the conference in Jacksonville, Fla. For her selection, Sexton received a $1,250 scholarship from American Farm Bureau. March 2007
* Dana J. Minihan, assistant academic coordinator in the department of agronomy at Kansas State University, was recently elected president of the Kansas Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. Minihan will serve a two-year term, then continue as past-president for another two years. The Kansas Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture was established in May 1983 as a state affiliate to the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. The purpose of the association is to foster open communication between two-year and four-year institutions, and provide a means for discussion on questions and problems related to the improvement of higher education instruction in agriculture. March 2007
* Vara Prasad, assistant professor of crop physiology at K-State, has received the 2006 Young Agricultural Scientist Award from the National Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin. The association is an affiliate of the American Society of Agronomy, the largest organization of agricultural scientists in the world. The award recognizes young agricultural scientists of Indian origin who have made an outstanding contribution by the age of 40. Prasad joined the faculty of K-State's department of agronomy in September 2005. A native of India, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in crop physiology and stress physiology at K-State. His research involves the effect of environmental stresses on crops. March 2007
* Daniel Y.C. Fung, professor of food science and animal sciences and industry at K-State, is the first scientist to be honored as a Distinguished Professor by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain. The presentation was made Nov. 23, 2006, by Alfred Ferret, dean of the university's Veterinary School. The Spanish university has around 50,000 students. The honor is in recognition of Fung's contributions as a keynote speaker and principal lecturer for the Spanish university's Rapid Methods and Automation in Food Microbiology workshop series since it began in 2002. The conference draws around 200 national and international participants each year. Fung is an internationally recognized expert in the field of rapid methods and automation in microbiology. January 2007