Inside IFAS December 2006

Wow, another year is almost over! It doesn’t seem so long ago we were wrapping up 2005, does it? We hope that you and yours will enjoy a happy, healthy and safe holiday season and a prosperous new year.

This is an abbreviated issue of “INSIDE IFAS” because we wanted to publish it before finals week ended. Look for our first 2007 issue in mid-January.

As always, we need your help to keep “INSIDE IFAS” going strong as the voice of faculty and staff. Please send brief news items to insideifas@ifas.ufl.edu, including all the essential information – who, what, when, where, why and how.

Produced by UF/IFAS External and Media Relations in cooperation with IFAS Communication Services, the online “INSIDE IFAS” is a work in progress, so please let us know if you have any suggestions for improvements. We look forward to hearing from you.

Below, you’ll find a table of contents with links that will take you to different sections of the issue.

ONLINE STORIES

12.8.2006 UF researchers find new chink in a “superbug’s” armor
http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.aspx?id=1183

12.6.2006 German cockroaches winning the war against pest control baits
http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.aspx?id=1181

12.4.2006 Allergy-free protein shows hope for a risk-free peanut
http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.aspx?id=1180

11.30.2006 New consortium aims to promote better research to protect state’s forests
http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.aspx?id=1178

FEATURES

Wayne Smith named fellow by Society of American Foresters

Wayne Smith, a director emeritus and professor emeritus with the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, has been named a fellow by the Society of American Foresters.

Smith received the honor at the 86th Annual Society of American Foresters National Convention, held Oct. 25-29 in Pittsburgh. SAF bestows the title on members who have provided outstanding contributions to the organization and to the forestry profession. Only about five percent of SAF members receive this honor.

“To be chosen for this honor through a very deliberative process, by peers who are overachievers, gives me a real feeling of gratitude,” Smith said.

A member of the school’s faculty since 1964, Smith served as its fifth director, from May 1995 to June 2003. He was also the school’s assistant director in 1971-78, interim dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in 2005 and interim IFAS dean for research in 2004.

He has served in numerous other leadership positions at UF, including director of the Center for Biomass Programs, the Florida Energy Extension Service and the Center for Environmental and Natural Resources Programs.

Smith said he is particularly proud of his accomplishments in research, notably his work in tree nutrition, nutrient cycling and the ecologically sound use of fertilization in forestry. He was a pioneer in forestry best management practices and biomass energy research.

As an administrator in the school, Smith emphasized curriculum development, research initiatives and aggressive outreach. He also encouraged faculty and students to join SAF, and consequently UF’s student representation in the organization is among the highest of any U.S. institution.

He is currently chair-elect of SAF’s regional organization, the Southeastern Society of American Foresters, and will take office in January 2007. He previously served as chair of SAF’s state organization, the Florida Society of American Foresters.

Since retiring in June 2003, Smith has remained active at IFAS. He is co-leader, with Janaki Alavalapati, of the project Bioenergy: Optimum Incentives and Sustainability of Non-Industrial Private Forest in the U.S. South. Recently he spearheaded projects to build an academic mace for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and establish a permanent IFAS exhibit at the site of the annual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition, billed as the world’s largest farm show.

Smith earned a doctoral degree in forest soils from Mississippi State University, a master of science degree in forestry and soil science from Mississippi State and a bachelor of science degree in agriculture from UF.

New Web site unites UF alumni, students and friends

Gators from all over the world can connect with each other on a new interactive Web site, www.GoGatorNation.com.

The online community enables alumni, students and friends of UF to upload personal photos and videos, share memorable stories, learn facts about the university and simply connect with each other.

One major component of the site is a page that enables users to submit “Go Gators” videos patterned after the television commercials aired nationally during 2006 Gator football games.

As part of the site’s launch promotion, UF plans to select two submissions for special prizes. Two lucky video creators, chosen before Dec. 31, will each be awarded four tickets to the Jan. 31 UF-Vanderbilt men’s basketball game. The two winning videos will be broadcast at the game on the GatorVision jumbotron television screen.

GoGatorNation.com also includes a links page, news releases highlighting UF accomplishments and slide shows with professional photographs of campus life, local landmarks and Gator sports activities.

“The site is simply a fun way for Gators to connect and learn more about the university,” said Susan Stewart, associate director of public relations for the University Relations office. “You don’t need to be a student or alumnus. Anyone may participate.”

Visitors are encouraged to watch for periodic site enhancements in the future.

INFORM

EMR offers “IFAS in the News” daily briefing

With programs active in all of Florida’s 67 counties, IFAS generates a lot of media coverage. But keeping up with it is no easy task.

That’s where the External and Media Relations office can help.

Each week, EMR distributes several “IFAS in the News” e-mails featuring the latest coverage of our programs and personnel around the state, as well as related items concerning UF, agriculture and natural resources.

Depending on your interests, these e-mails can help you…

* Monitor news coverage of research, extension and education events, such as publication of a paper in the journal Science that suggests smoke from forest fires may help cool – rather than heat – the Earth’s atmosphere (covered by the Associated Press Nov. 17).

* Discover new opportunities, such as Florida’s emerging macadamia nut industry (profiled in the Palm Beach Post Nov. 27).

* Learn about new challenges to the state, such as the invasive insect attacking sago palms, known as cycad aulacaspis scale (reported by the Associated Press Nov. 27).

* Make plans to attend upcoming events, such as the Osceola County Extension Service’s presentation on communicating with your young teen (mentioned in the Orlando Sentinel Nov. 26).

* Find out about new and proposed legislative action, such as the $4.5 million appropriated to IFAS to create two centers of excellence, the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Energy Technology Incubator (reported in the Tallahassee Democrat Nov. 17).

* And of course, read about your colleagues and maybe even see your own name in print.

“If you’ve been interviewed by a reporter, there’s a good chance the story will appear in ‘IFAS in the News,’” said Kimberly Mansfield, an EMR media relations coordinator who assembles the e-mails from online clippings. “You can forward e-mails to supervisors and stakeholders to showcase your accomplishments and keep them informed about current events.”

It’s easy to sign up for “IFAS in the News,” and you don’t even have to be an IFAS employee to receive it. Just contact Mansfield at kimmans@ufl.edu, ask to be added to the mailing list and make sure to mention the e-mail address where you’d like the briefings sent.

NEW ARRIVALS AT UF/IFAS

Timothy Spann named assistant professor with Citrus REC

Timothy Spann has been named an assistant professor with the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. The appointment became effective Oct. 23.

Spann also will hold an assistant professor position with UF’s horticultural sciences department. In extension, he will develop a comprehensive program in collaboration with the citrus extension team, which will address topics such as nursery practices, new varieties, production efficiency, harvesting issues, and management of citrus greening and citrus canker.

As a researcher, he will investigate topics such as horticultural best management practices, disease management, mechanical harvesting, tree health and fruit quality.

Before being appointed, Spann was an associate instructor with the University of California, Davis’ plant sciences department. Previously, he was a teaching assistant with UC Davis and UF. He has 15 publication and presentation credits.

Spann holds a doctoral degree in plant biology from UC Davis, master of science and bachelor of science degrees in horticulture from UF and an associate of arts degree from Edison Community College in southwest Florida.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

See IFAS experts in online broadcasts from PBS “foodie” program

Earlier this year, several IFAS researchers graciously subjected themselves to a Boston television crew to lend their expertise on topics ranging from tasty ways to cook alligator meat to how to wash one’s hands properly.

Those interviews – shot at locations on the UF campus – have been made into podcasts and are now available through a Web site affiliated with the PBS show “Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie,” that’s being aired by public television stations across the country.

There’s a link to the podcasts on the IFAS home page, at http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/.

So far, three of the WGBH podcasts – called “Rose oil,” “Alligator meat” and “How clean is clean?” can be seen, but more are expected to appear on the site in the next few weeks.

PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS

Inglett wins SSSA’s Emil Truog Award for dissertation

Patrick Inglett, a postdoctoral research associate with the Department of Soil and Water Science, was named the 2006 winner of the Emil Truog Award, presented each year by the Soil Science Society of America to one doctoral-degree recipient who has made an outstanding contribution to soil science as evidenced by his or her dissertation.

Inglett received the honor at the society’s annual meeting, held Nov. 12-16 in Indianapolis, Ind.

His dissertation, “Stable Nitrogen Isotopic Ratios as an Indicator of Wetland Eutrophication: A Case Study in the Florida Everglades,” investigated processes affecting the composition of nitrogen found in wetland plants and soils. Through his study, Inglett was able to demonstrate a new way to detect phosphorus pollution in sensitive wetland systems.

Inglett is the fourth UF graduate student to receive the Emil Truog Award; it has been presented to 34 recipients

Dog costume contest a howling success

The contestants included ghosts, a pirate, a hula girl, a dinosaur and a bumblebee – not to mention celebrities such as Batman, Winnie the Pooh and Toto from The Wizard of Oz.

Just another costume contest? Not quite. The competitors were canines, participating in the Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club’s fourth annual HOWL-o-ween Dog Costume Contest, held Oct. 21 at UF’s Cecil M. Webb Livestock Pavilion just west of the vet school.

About 20 competitors and their owners showed off their fiendish (and often funny) finery to an appreciative crowd that included owners, friends and even a few noncostumed dogs. Prizes were awarded in six costume categories – scariest, funniest, cutest, most creative, owner/dog look-alikes and dogs disguised as other animals.

The best of show prize went to a pair of pirates – animal sciences junior Helen Horan and her 9-year-old cairn terrier Buddy. They were accompanied by that quintessential pirate accessory, a parrot, portrayed by Horan’s pet rat, Chimp.

The event raised funds for the pre-vet club; 25 percent of the proceeds went to the Alachua County Humane Society.

Thanks, and we’ll see you next time!