March 27 , 2007

Congratulations to --

• Kelly Garrett, who received a Certificate in Organizational Leadership & Supervision from the Purdue University College of Technology on Saturday, May 5.  Please join me in congratulating Kelly on this milestone as she progresses toward a Bachelor of Arts degree.
• To Marty and Sam Brown on the birth of not one, but TWO, grandsons during the week of April 23.  Luke David Brown was born in Lafayette on Monday, April 23, and Wyatt Gregory Brown was born in Indianapolis on Wednesday, April 25. 

Publications

• Turner S.M., Faisal M. & DeWoody J.A. 2007. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotype predicts susceptibility to Renibacterium salmoninarum in Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.).  Animal Genetics (in press) .
• Salifu, K.F., Apostol K.G., Jacobs D.F., and Islam M.A. 2007. Growth, gas exchange and nutritional responses in ( 15 NH 4 ) 2 S0 4 fertilized Quercus rubra seedlings. Annals of Forest Science (Accepted).

Faculty in the News

Shorna Broussard was the focus of a 4-page article in the April/May issue of Helen magazine.  The article covered Shorna's numerous roles on campus and in the community, as well as her research in forestry and natural resources.  The final quote in the article speaks volumes:  “Making a difference is very important to me,”, Broussard says.  “In both my research and volunteer work, I want to help improve communities.  How can we have cleaner water?  Better managed forests?  Improving communities is the thread that goes through everything I do.” 

Ilinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program

Educating students about ocean and Great Lakes topics can enhance their math and science skills and foster a stewardship ethic, which is key to the wise use of these resources, according to the 2004 Ocean Commission report. A new collection of classroom activities makes these goals that much easier.

The Greatest of the Great Lakes is a CD-ROM of 41 multidisciplinary activities for grades 4-10 that bridge science with math, geography, environmental studies and language arts. Funded through COSEE Great Lakes (Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence), this collection offers insight into current Great Lakes concerns, as well as potential solutions.

The collection is designed to enhance a number of learning skills, including inquiry, data interpretation, hypothesis development and decision making. Activities chosen for this collection have been aligned by classroom teachers to state and national science and earth system standards.

If you would like to order The Greatest of the Great Lakes, send your request and a $15 check payable to the University of Illinois to Susan White, 388 NSRC, 1101 W. Peabody Dr , Urbana , IL 61801 . Call (217) 333-9441 or email white2@uiuc.edu for more information on the CD-ROM.

Coming Up

• Sunday, May 13 - FNR Graduation at 9:30
• Wednesday, May 16 - Spring Fling, 11:30 - 4:00
• Monday, May 28 - Memorial Day, an official university holiday

April 23 , 2007

In the News

• Marisol Sepulveda's work was featured in the Indianapolis Star on Tuesday, April 17 in an article on the Bindley Bioscience Center .
• Shorna Broussard was promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations, Shorna!!
• Linda Prokopy and the capstone course poster session were featured on the TV 18 News on Wednesday, April 18.  Shorna Broussard's email to the department on Thursday, April 19, says it all:  I would like to congratulate Linda Prokopy on the capstone presentation session last night.  The student products were professional and well-informed and it was great to see the support from the Lafayette/West Lafayette community.  Students communicated the details of their plans to community leaders like State Respective Sheila Klinker, Councilwoman Patti O'Callaghan, and West Lafayette Mayor Jan Mills among others. It was also nice to see FNR as well as broad support from across campus in terms of attendees.   The project was timely, relevant, and should help students gain critical skills.  I thoroughly enjoyed walking around to speak to the students about their work last night and once again congratulate all the students as well as Linda and her teaching assistants for making it happen.    Linda was assisted by graduate students Aaron Thompson and Adam Baumgart-Getz.  A photo from the poster session is shown below. 

Publications

• Jorde, P.D., T. Schweder, J.W. Bickham, G. H. Givens, R. Suydam, D. Hunters, and N.C. Stenseth. Detecting genetic structure in migrating bowhead whales off the coast of Barrow, Alaska.   Molecular Ecology , 2007.
• Johnson KG, Muller JK, Price B, Ware A, Sepúlveda MS, Borgert CJ, and Gross TS.  (2007). Influence of seasonality and duration of exposure on the accumulation and reproductive effects of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene and dieldrin in largemouth bass.  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 26: 927-934. 
• Muller JK, Scarabough JE, Sepúlveda MS, Gross TS, Borgert CJ.  (2007).  Dose verification after topical treatment of Alligator ( Alligator mississipiensis ) eggs.    Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 26: 908-913.

Graduate Program News

• Christian Roschke passed his M.S. (non-thesis) exam on April 17. Christian's major professor is Paula Pijut.

Spring Awards Recipients

Coming Soon

• April 28 - Classes End
• April 30 - Exam week
• May 5 - Semester ends
• May 13 - FNR Commencement at 9:30

April 11 , 2007

Honors and Awards

• Gene Rhodes received the Hoosier Wildlife Award at the spring meeting of the Indiana chapter of The Wildlife Society.  The award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to wildlife conservation in Indiana .  Congratulations, Gene!!
• Purdue University and Zach Lowe were recognized by BASF as a 2006 Quality Vegetation Management Project Habitat Award winner in the category Specialty – University/Educational Research category.  Projects were judged by an expert panel, and BASF distributed award announcements to key industry media outlets. 

In the News

• Kwamena Quagrainie was featured in the Annual Highlights publication of International Programs in Agriculture for his leadership of the Aquaculture CRSP program serving Tanzania .
• Also recognized in the IPIA Annual Highlights for the contributions and activities were Rado Gazo (Australia), Guofan Shao (China), Rosa Goodman, Anna Marsh, Kathleen Coates, Bill Hoover, and Tamara Benjamin (Costa Rica), Bryan Pijanowski (east Africa), Barny Dunning (Europe), Rick Meilan (South Africa), and Roshni Nuggehalli (Sri Lanka).
• Connie Fir (aka - Rita McKenzie) appeared with Pat Sullivan every day at the CrumPlex during the Flower and Patio Show in Indianapolis recently. She talked about the benefits of trees and proper planting Connie Fir was also featured in the April edition of ISA Today http://www.isa-arbor.com/publications/ISAToday/ISAToday0407.pdf

Coming Soon

• April 13 - Game Road at Martell Forest, 6:00 pm
• April 13 - Research Symposium oral presentations at 8:00, Deans Auditorium
• April 13 - Research Symposium poster session zt 1:00 Pfendler Hall
• April 14 and 15 - Spring Fest (FNR participates on Saturday) 10:00 to 5:00
• April 15 - Spring Awards Brunch & Ceremony, 10:30 a.m., Pfendler Hall 2 nd floor Gallery & Deans Auditorium

March 27 , 2007

Congratulations to --

• Tamara Benjamin, who was named “Best Professor in Agroforestry” at CATIE for 2006.  Tamara has done an excellent job with teaching and outreach activities, and we congratulate her on this well-deserved award.  Dean Randy Woodson, Cliff Sadof, and Steve Yaninek visited Tamara at CATIE the week of March 5 to learn more about her activities there.

Outside Support

• Olin E. Rhodes, Jr., $30,000, Lilly Endowment, “Efficacy of Oral Delivery of the Anthelmintic Pyrantel of Raccoon Roundworm”
• Elizabeth Hinchey-Malloy and Brian K. Miller, $81,460, NOAA, “ Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Pollution Prevention and Burn Barrel Reduction Initiative”
• Charles Michler, $112,200, USDA Forest Services, “Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center ”
• Paul B. Brown, $386,444, United Soybean Board, “Soy in Aquaculture 5”
• Richard Meilan, $117,161, Department of Energy, “Genome-enabled modification of Poplar root development for increased carbon sequestration”
• Brian K. Miller, $246,328, NOAA, “Conducting extension and outreach for Great Lakes monitoring, water quality, and legacy programs”
• Rita McKenzie, $300, voluntary support Indiana Arborists Association
• Harvey A. Holt, $4,500, voluntary support DuPont
• J. Andrew DeWoody, $33,493, National Birds of Prey Trust, “Molecular ecology and conservation of Imperial Eagles ( Aquila heliaca ) and White-Tailed Eagles ( Haliaeetus albicilla ) from Kazakhstan

Undergraduate Scholarship Winners

• Ag Research Programs announces the recipients of undergraduate research scholarships for the 2007-2008 year.   15 students will receive $1000.00 (if graduating in December 2007) or $2000.00 (if enrolled fall and spring) based on their proposals for research.   Along with the requirement that a student be enrolled in research credits during the scholarship timeframe, students are obliged to report progress each semester and to present at the April 2008 Undergraduate Research and Poster Symposium, if enrolled in spring semester. Winners from FNR were Leslie Schreiber, $1,000 and Joe Ross, $2,000.  Congratulations Leslie and Joe!

In the News

• The April issue of National Geographic includes an article about research on Imperial Eagles in Kazakhstan conducted by Andrew DeWoody and former graduate student Jamie Rudnick, Ph.D. 2006.
• Hoosier National Forest Research Scientists Kelle A. Reynolds, Tom Thake, Cynthia M. Sandeno and Clark D. McCreedy (M.S., 1989, Ph.D. 1996) were recently honored by the Wildlife Management Institute with its prestigious 2007 Presidents Award, in recognition  of ingenuity, originality and accomplishment that significantly advances natural resources conseration in North America .  The four scientists are members of the HNF's Early Successional Forest Management Team, which was formed in 2001 to develop recommendations and strategies to be incorporated into its Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, which was completed in 2006.  (from Wildlife Mgmt. Institute press release 3/24/07)

Coming Soon

• Friday, April 13 - Annual FNR Research Symposium
• Friday, april 13 - The Annual Game Roat at the Wright Center at 6:00.
• Saturday, April 14 - Spring Fest
• Sunday, April 15 - Annual Awards Ceremony and Brunch, 10:30 at Pfendler Hall