Newsline for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED November 30, 2007:

  1. CALS RANKED TOPS IN FACULTY PRODUCTIVITY FOR SECOND YEAR
  2. ENTIRE INDUSTRY BENEFITS FROM UA'S LUNDGREN CENTER FOR RETAILING
  3. 2006 CITRUS REPORT AVAILABLE ONLINE
  4. VIABLE BIOFUEL CROP BEING INVESTIGATED FOR ARIZONA
  5. GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS LONGER WHEN HOME IS SUPPORTIVE
  6. NEW DIRECTOR FOR UA ARID LANDS INFORMATION CENTER
  7. RANGE 101 WORKSHOP DEC. 4-5
  8. NEW BOOK REVIEWS 50 YEARS OF DRYLANDS RESEARCH
  9. SCIENCE FOUNDATION ARIZONA AWARDS 2.17 MILLION TO GALBRAITH
  10. CALS IN THE NEWS
  11. NEW COOPERATIVE EXTENSION FACULTY FOR 2007

1 CALS RANKED TOPS IN FACULTY PRODUCTIVITY FOR SECOND YEAR

For the second year in a row, a national ranking index has placed the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) first overall in faculty productivity in the agricultural sciences.

The 2007 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, published in the Chronicle of Higher Education in October, ranked 24 areas of study at the UA within the top 10 nationwide, ranging from agricultural, biological and medical sciences to business, education, engineering, social and behavioral sciences, and others.

Other CALS rankings included:
* plant pathology--No. 1,
* plant sciences--No. 3,
* entomology--No. 5,
* soil science--No. 5,
* nutrition science--No. 6 and
* natural resources and conservation--No. 8.

For the entire report from the Chronicle of Higher Education site go to: http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?year=2007&institution=142&byinst=Go

Colin Kaltenbach, CALS dean and director of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, kltnbch@ag.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/9.23.html

2 ENTIRE INDUSTRY BENEFITS FROM UA'S LUNDGREN CENTER FOR RETAILING

Even in this age of online professional networking, face-to-face interaction still plays an important role in the recruitment process. That's why the new brick-and-mortar site that will house the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona is attracting tremendous support from potential employers of retailing and consumer sciences grads.

The industry benefits from faculty and graduate research on customer and consumer behavior, retail strategy and marketing.

The four-story, $24 million McClelland Park under construction at Park Avenue and Fourth Street will allow the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences to intensify its education, recruitment, research and networking activities in a more centralized, spacious, high-tech facility.

To see the entire article from the Fall, 2007 magazine "Advancing Arizona" go to the link below.

Melinda Burke, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, mburke@ag.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://uafoundation.org/pdf/UAF_Advancing_Arizona_32.pdf

3 2006 CITRUS REPORT AVAILABLE ONLINE

>From chemical control and integrated pest management to fertilization, cultivar and rootstock evaluation, the 2006 Citrus Research Report has the latest citrus research findings from UA scientists in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The full report is available online at the link below.

Glenn C. Wright, Yuma Mesa Agricultural Center, gwright@ag.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1441/

4 VIABLE BIOFUEL CROP BEING INVESTIGATED FOR ARIZONA

Whatever role Arizona may play in the promising field of biofuel production, corn is not likely to be the crop to enable farmers and others in the state to cash in on the developing biofuel market. Water and climate, especially water, limits what grows and thrives in the state. Despite alluring possibilities, Arizona is not a big corn-growing state.

Researchers at the University of Arizona are considering various crops for bioenergy production that could be grown in Arizona. An acre of sweet sorghum grown this summer at a UA agricultural facility is about ready to be harvested.

Joe Gelt, Water Research Resources Center, jgelt@ag.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://ag.arizona.edu/azwater/awr/novdec07/feature1.html

5 GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS LONGER WHEN HOME IS SUPPORTIVE

For many young girls, a stable family life is one key factor to avoiding a number of serious health problems. Joint research by at the University of Arizona and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, indicates that girls who grow up with supportive parents who themselves have a strong relationship are more likely to delay the onset of puberty.

The research findings , "Family Environments, Adrenarche, and Sexual Maturation: A Longitudinal Test of a Life History Model," appears in the November/December issue of Child Development, the journal of the Society for Research in Child Development.

Early puberty in girls is already known as a risk factor for a variety of health problems, including mood disorders, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy and cancers of the reproductive system. Understanding these risks are also essential as a means to develop effective early intervention and prevention strategies.

Bruce Ellis, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, bjellis@email.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://uanews.org/node/16864

6 NEW DIRECTOR FOR UA ARID LANDS INFORMATION CENTER

The Office of Arid Lands Studies, part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona, recently announced the appointment of Holly C. Hartmann as the new director of OALS' Arid Lands Information Center (ALIC).

Hartmann moves to ALIC from the UA Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, where she has been an assistant research scientist and was deputy manager of the Hydrologic Data and Information System (HyDIS) InfoMart. She also recently served as interim program manager for the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) project within the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE).

Holly Hartmann, Office of Arid Lands Studies, holly.hartmann@arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://www.arid.arizona.edu/Divisions/division.asp?div=ALIC

7 RANGE 101 WORKSHOP DEC. 4-5

Range managers and ranchers will get a close examination of plant communities, grazing management and tolerance levels and rangeland vegetation characteristics at the upcoming workshop "Range 101, an Arizona Guide to Range Management and Analysis." It will be held December 4-5 at the Apache Gold Convention Center on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in central Arizona.

Participants In addition, concepts and terminology regarding rangelands will be described, along with research applications and the importance of assessment, inventory and monitoring to the health of rangelands.

A copy of the workshop brochure is available for download at the link below (603 KB).

George Ruyle, School of Natural Resources, gruyle@ag.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/gila/whats_new/Range_101_Dec07.pdf

8 NEW BOOK REVIEWS 50 YEARS OF DRYLANDS RESEARCH

"The Future of Arid Lands Revisited: A Review of 50 Years of Drylands Research", a new book written by a team led by the director of the UA Office of Arid Lands, Chuck Hutchinson, was formally launched in Paris in October.

The book, commissioned by UNESCO, assesses the current state of drylands science, how it has developed over the past 50 years, and what lessons can be drawn for current drylands management practices.

Throughout, this new publication clearly shows how current drylands development thinking has evolved into a systems-based approach that considers people as integral to any drylands development strategy.

There are two versions of the book available.

The hardcover commercial version is from Springer Verlag (http://www.springer.com/west/home?SGWID=4-102-22-173755437-0) and costs $169.00.

A softcover version from UNESCO (http://publishing.unesco.org/details.aspx?Code_Livre=4562) costs 32 euros.

Chuck Hutchinson, Office of Arid Lands Studies, chuck@cals.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/16.8.html

9 SCIENCE FOUNDATION ARIZONA AWARDS 2.17 MILLION TO GALBRAITH

The Science Foundation Arizona has awarded University of Arizona BIO5 Institute member David Galbraith and High Throughput Genomics, a Tucson-based company, a two-year, $2.17 million grant to fund the Chemical Genomics and Translational Research Center.

The center, a collaboration between Galbraith and BIO5 and the company, known as HTG, will develop HTG's quantitative Nuclease Protection Assay platform into a high density microarray. The platform will improve the quality and speed of biomarker and target identification, validation and subsequent screening and optimization of agricultural and pharmaceutical compounds.

To see the entire article from the Fall, 2007 magazine "Advancing Arizona" go to the link below.

David Galbraith, BIO5, galbraith@arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://uafoundation.org/pdf/UAF_Advancing_Arizona_8.pdf

10 CALS IN THE NEWS

Toxin-resistant pink bollworms on way to eradication

There aren't many stories about south-of-the-border intestinal distress that end with a scholarly paper about cotton pest eradication published in the journal Science.

Bruce Tabashnik has spent much of his entomology career studying an insect's ability to resist human efforts to kill them.

www.azstarnet.com/metro/209500.php

Share in Discussion about Nutrition, Health

America's food system is full of contradictions. Recent estimates suggest 12 percent of Arizona households are food-insecure. They are uncertain of having, or are unable to acquire, enough food to meet the nutrition needs of all their members because of lack of money.

http://www.azstarnet.com/opinion/211836

It's flower, vegetable time
Temperatures really start falling this month, and while many outdoor gardening activities are winding down, this is the time to plant some cool-season flowers and vegetables. It's also an excellent time to clean up and compost yard and garden litter.

You'll find a good selection of annual flowers to choose from at your local garden center to brighten your yard and patio through the fall and winter. Just be sure to select varieties that will tolerate our periodic cold snaps.

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/209405.php

11 NEW COOPERATIVE EXTENSION FACULTY FOR 2007

The 2005 State Legislature Decision Package and other state funds allowed for the hiring in 2007 of new extension agents and specialists. They include:

-Todd Bilby (Assistant Specialist in Dairy, Animal Sciences)

-Stephanie Shank (Assistant Agent, 4-H Youth Development, Yavapai County)

-Cynthia Warzecha (Area Assistant Agent, Natural Resources & Agriculture, Coconino County & also serving Yavapai County)

-Erin Taylor (Area Assistant Agent, Agriculture, Maricopa County & also serving northern Pima County and Pinal County)

-Kevin Rice (Area Assistant Agent, Agriculture, Pinal County & also serving Maricopa and northern Pima County)

-Mark Apel (Area Associate Agent, Community Resource Development, Cochise County, serving Southern Arizona)

-Channah Rock (Assistant Specialist, Soils, Water & Environmental Sciences)

-Erik Glenn (Area Assistant Agent, Community Resource Development, Yavapai County, serving Northern Arizona)

-Pedro Andrade-Sanchez (Assistant Specialist, Maricopa Ag Center)

-Bill Brandau (Graham County Director & Area Agent, September 4)

-Stacey Bealmer (Assistant Agent, Urban Horticulture, Yuma County)

-Lauren Romig (Assistant Agent, 4-H Youth Development & Youth & Family, Graham County)

-Doug Tolleson (Natural Resources Specialist located at the V Bar V, starting in 2008).

In addition, four extension faculty took over as county directors--Melvina Adolf (Greenlee County), Darcy Dixon (Santa Cruz County), and Juanita Waits (Navajo County), and Kurt Nolte (Yuma County).

Jim Christenson, Arizona Cooperative Extension, jimc@ag.arizona.edu

To learn more:
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension

To find out about available CALS publications and upcoming events, go to http://cals.arizona.edu/. If you have questions or comments about NewsLine, send an email to newseditor@ag.arizona.edu. Previous issues can be viewed at http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/newsline/previous-issues.html

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