Inside IFAS May 2005
Welcome to the first online edition of the INSIDE IFAS faculty and staff newsletter. After many years of producing the newsletter in a printed format, we’re making the transition to an electronic document, which should be more convenient for everyone. From now on, you can access INSIDE IFAS with a few keystrokes, and all electronic issues will be archived so that you can refer to them at any time. The archive should be available shortly, so look for an announcement in the June 2005 issue.
Another important change is that INSIDE IFAS will be produced monthly. Some things won’t change, of course. We’ll continue to bring you news about UF/IFAS faculty and staff from around the state. And we’ll continue to need your help. Please send brief news items to insideifas@ifas.ufl.edu, including all the essential information – who, what, when, where, why and how.
Produced by IFAS Communication Services, the electronic 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!
ONLINE STORIES
01.10.2005 UF/IFAS Professor Mary Collins Is First Woman Elected President Of Soil Science Society Of America http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=928
01.12.2005 UF Scientists Selected For International Awards http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=931
03.18.2005 UF/IFAS College Celebrates National Agriculture Week, March 20-26 http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.php?id=947
HOY RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIST AWARD
Marjorie Hoy (entomology and nematology) received the 2004 Distinguished Scientist Award from the Nearctic Region Section of the International Organization for Biological Control.
The award recognizes Hoy’s career achievements in the field of biological control, which have ranged from classical biological control to genetic improvement of natural enemies. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Salt Lake City, Utah, November 15-17, 2004.
The IOBC Distinguished Scientist award is conferred annually on one individual who has made significant contributions to the development and implementation of biological control.
Hoy has been honored by many professional organizations, including the Entomological Society of America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Royal Entomological Society of London and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, during a career in biological control that has spanned more than three decades. She currently holds the Davies, Fischer and Eckes Endowed Chair in Biological Control in the entomology and nematology department.
UF/IFAS PROFESSOR NAMED FNGLA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
Gary Knox (environmental horticulture) has been named 2005 Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association. The award recognizes dedication and service to the nursery and landscape industry through active involvement in the teaching of horticulture. It will be presented to Knox at FNGLA’s annual meeting in Kissimmee, July 1-3.
Knox helps educate growers, master gardeners, landscapers and homeowners via his technical support for the statewide Florida Yards & Neighborhoods environmental education program, and through extension and research activities pertaining to nursery production and demonstration and evaluation of new landscape plants. He is also co-leader of the statewide extension goal team, Creating and Maintaining Florida Friendly Landscapes.
UF/IFAS EMPLOYEES HONORED FOR SUPERIOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Twenty-three UF/IFAS employees were recognized by UF’s Superior Accomplishment Awards Program at a ceremony in the J. Wayne Reitz Union March 30. The awards honor UF employees who contribute outstanding and meritorious service, improve efficiency and enhance the quality of life at UF. Each awardee received a $200 cash prize as well as a certificate and commemorative coffee mug set. UF/IFAS recipients of 2005 Superior Accomplishment Awards were:
Administrative/Supervisory Personnel: Paula Cunningham (agronomy), Donna Dyer (horticultural sciences), Bert Faircloth (animal sciences) and Annabelle Hutcheson (information technology).
Administrative/Professional Personnel: Stephen Coates (wildlife ecology and conservation), Oliverne Mattson (sponsored programs), Lacy Park (agricultural education and communication), Richard Puckett (West Florida REC – Milton Campus) and Robin Snyder (agricultural and biological engineering).
Academic Personnel: R. Elaine Turner (food science and human nutrition) and Judy Yates ( Pinellas County extension).
Clerical/Office Support Personnel: Vicki Jenkins (food and resource economics), Mary Lettelier (fisheries and aquatic sciences), Glenda Walton-Tucker (animal sciences) and Jeanette Wilson (agricultural and biological engineering).
Scientific/Technical Personnel: James Aldrich (North Florida REC – Monticello), Amber Brad (animal sciences), Monica Carpio (Ft. Lauderdale REC), Tina Dispenza (Tropical REC – Homestead), Helena Niblack (agricultural and biological engineering) and Sky Notestein (fisheries and aquatic sciences).
Support Services Personnel: Clarence Chellette (facilities planning and operations) and Bruce Robertson (Citrus REC – Lake Alfred).
NEW ARRIVALS AT UF/IFAS
Personnel recently joining the UF/IFAS family include:
Extension – Brian Cameron (Bay County extension), Gary England (Sumter County extension), Rebecca Jordi (Nassau County extension), Cyndy Mondelus (Orange County extension), Wilfredo Morales, Sr. (Holmes County extension), Lester Muralles (Gadsden County extension), Jessica Potter (Miami-Dade County extension), Justin Sapp (Taylor County extension).
Faculty – Fred Fishel (agronomy), Kati White (agricultural and biological engineering).
Other – Rachel Kudelko (4-H).
PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS
To help Florida’s fight against the invasive Brazilian peppertree, James Cuda (entomology and nematology) and Julio Medal (entomology and nematology) traveled to Paraguay March 5-16 to search for organisms that prey on the plant. Paraguay is part of the peppertree’s native range but had not been adequately surveyed for potential biological control agents. On the trip Cuda and Medal forged collaborative ties with three Paraguayan institutions: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Asuncion, Inventario Biologico Nacional and Fundacion Moises Bertoni.
Cuda and Medal co-authored a study on host specificity testing of a peppertree natural enemy, the pergid defoliating sawfly Heteroperreyia hubrichi, that was published in the February 2005 issue of the journal BioControl. Other authors contributing to the study were UF/IFAS’s Dale Habeck (entomology and nematology) and M.D. Vitorino (Federal University of Parana in Curitiba, Brazil).
Cuda gave a presentation on the status of the Brazilian peppertree classical biological control program at a joint DEP-UF/IFAS Aquatic and Invasive Plant Research Review meeting held in Gainesville March 28-29. He also received a $75,000 grant from the South Florida Water Management District to continue his research program on classical biological control of the peppertree, Florida’s most widespread invasive plant.
Six UF/IFAS faculty were named UF Research Foundation Professors for 2005, part of a group of 33 faculty recognized campuswide. Honorees were recommended by their college deans and selected for achieving a distinguished research record and a strong research agenda likely to lead to continuing distinction in their fields. The three-year award carries a $5,000 annual salary supplement and a $3,000 grant. Honored were Daniel Cantliffe (horticultural sciences), Robert Ferl (horticultural sciences), Charles Guy (environmental horticulture), L. Phillip Lounibos (entomology and nematology), James Preston (microbiology and cell science) and Lavern Timmer (plant pathology).
Several UF/IFAS faculty researching space agriculture will be collaborating with their counterparts from NASA and Krasnoyarsk State University in Russia. On April 12, representatives from all three institutions held a teleconference to showcase their current projects. UF/IFAS personnel participating included Ray Bucklin (agricultural and biological engineering) and Anna-Lisa Paul (horticultural sciences). Other UF representatives were Fedro Zazueta (UF Office of Academic Technology) and Valentina Kratasyuk (visiting scholar from Krasnoyarsk State University). The group’s initial goals include obtaining research funding to develop international science and education collaborations, through videoconferencing, in space biotechnologies. They also want to develop biological and engineering systems needed for crop production and waste management during long-term space missions, and apply these technologies to biological and ecological systems on Earth.
Elaine Turner (food science and human nutrition), has been accepted to the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration, to be held June 26-July 22 at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. The program helps participants enhance their leadership and management skills, covering a wide range of topics from strategic planning and economic trends to diversity issues and labor relations.
In April, four UF/IFAS faculty were elected by their peers as new members of the UF Faculty Senate, where they will serve three-year terms beginning in August. Congratulations go to Alison Fox (agronomy), Lisa Guion (family, youth and community sciences), Rick Rudd (agricultural education and communication) and James Selph ( DeSoto County extension). The UF Faculty Senate is the legislative body of the university and addresses issues such as the creation of new degree programs, criteria for faculty promotion and tenure and scheduling of the academic calendar.
UF was one of six institutions collaborating on a project recognized by the American Distance Education Consortium with an honorable mention in its Excellence in Distance Education competition. The project, a CD-ROM titled “Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design,” is aimed at first-time course developers but can assist even seasoned experts. Led by Ricky Telg (agricultural education and communication), the team included Tracy Irani (agricultural education and communication), and Nick Place (agricultural education and communication), Lisa Hightower (IFAS Communication Services) and Ron Thomas (IFAS Communication Services) and Colleen Swain (UF College of Education). Also involved were former UF/IFAS personnel Lisa Lundy and Becky Raulerson. The award was presented April 27 at the All ADEC meeting in New Orleans.
A new campuswide teaching honorary includes two UF/IFAS faculty among its first five members. In February, the UF Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars inducted Gail Kauwell (food science and human nutrition) and Michael Olexa (food and resource economics). They were selected for demonstrating sustained innovation and commitment to teaching throughout their careers, and will hold lifetime appointments to the academy. As part of the appointment, Kauwell and Olexa will each serve for three years on the advisory board of UF’s University Center for Excellence in Teaching and receive $15,000 for program development.
Six UF/IFAS employees received 2005 Golden Gator Trophies from the UF Communications Network April 21. The trophies, presented at a banquet in the J. Wayne Reitz Union, honor outstanding achievement in public relations, communications and related fields. The winners are:
News Release: Chuck Woods (IFAS Communication Services)
Special Events: Robin Koestoyo (Indian River REC – Ft. Pierce)
Video/DVD: Ginger Allen (Southwest Florida REC – Immokalee), Julie Carson (Southwest Florida REC – Immokalee), Martin Main ( Southwest Florida REC – Immokalee) and Al Williamson (IFAS Communication Services)
Stephen Mulkey has been named director of research and outreach/extension for the School of Natural Resources and Environment. Currently an associate professor in the UF botany department, Mulkey will assume the new role May 19. As director, he will assist faculty with large interdisciplinary grant proposals, supervise and evaluate SNRE grant programs, supervise centers and programs administered by SNRE and assist with private donor development.
Two School of Forest Resources and Conservation faculty received 2004 Awards for Excellence from the Southern Extension Forest Resource Specialists Group recently. Martha Monroe (natural resources education) and Alan Long (forest operations and environmental regulations) were recognized in the journal publication category for their article on “Wildland Fire in the Southeast: Negotiating Guidelines for Defensible Space,” published in the April/May 2003 issue of Journal of Forestry. Monroe received the research technology transfer award for her work on the USDA Forest Service publication “The Moving Edge: Perspectives on the Southern Wildland-Urban Interface,” which helped launch a new USDA work unit on the UF campus. Long was recognized in the project administration category for his work directing three extension projects designed to help landowners – one on forest stewardship education that was developed for and with the Florida Division of Forestry, another that developed guidelines to reduce wildfire susceptibility and a third on agroforestry that is helping agents and landowners combine agriculture and forestry practices on the same piece of land.
Maia McGuire (Sea Grant extension) recently received the 2005 John Beakley Marine Educator of the Year Award from the Florida Marine Science Educators Association at their annual conference in St. Augustine. This award is given by FMSEA to an educator who has demonstrated dedication to promoting and developing marine science in Florida.
LeRoy Creswell (St. Lucie County extension) was elected vice-president of the National Shellfisheries Association at their annual spring meeting, held in Philadelphia, Pa. Established in 1909, NSA is the oldest and largest professional organization in North America dedicated to the biology, fisheries, and aquaculture of shellfish.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has selected Doug Archer (food science and human nutrition) to receive its Distinguished Alumni Award, which will be presented May 6 at the FDA Honor Awards Ceremony in Gaithersburg, Md. The award recognizes Archer’s contributions to FDA food-safety programs when he was employed by the agency as well as collaborations after he came to UF/IFAS. In April, Archer co-chaired a three-day conference for the Institute of Food Technologists, which focused on protecting the U.S. food supply from terrorist attack. A comprehensive report of research recommendations made at the conference will be published in an upcoming issue of Food Technology magazine.
Lonnie Ingram (microbiology and cell science) wants to make the world less dependent on fossil fuels by developing inexpensive methods of producing ethanol, a form of alcohol used as an industrial chemical and a clean-burning fuel. On April 11, Ingram appeared in Washington, D.C. to share his knowledge with members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and other government agencies. Ingram gave a 45-minute briefing titled “Energy – Our ‘Growing’ Need” explaining how genetically altered E. coli bacteria can make ethanol from plant waste such as sugar cane residues, producing the chemical at a much lower cost than conventional methods relying on yeast fermentation. As outlined by Ingram, “The conversion of renewable forest and plant biomass to ethanol could replace half of the automotive fuel used in the United States, roughly equivalent to half of U.S. oil imports.” The presentation was the second in a series sponsored by the National Coalition for Food & Agricultural Research that brings leading-edge researchers to Washington to discuss their work.
Thanks, and we’ll see you next month!
