October 06, 2000
Susan Kaiser Chairs Division of Textiles & Clothing
Professor Susan Kaiser was named chair of the Division of Textiles and Clothing effective July 1, 2000. She previously served as associate dean for curricular and student affairs, associate dean for human health and development and director of Science and Society, a program she assisted in developing. She is past president and a fellow of the International Textile and Apparel Association. Kaiser's research focuses on social meanings related to textiles, clothes and appearances, with specific interest in gender and race issues.
Susan B. Kaiser
Professor and Chair
Division of Textiles and Clothing
sbkaiser@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-9277
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Neal Van Alfen Joins Wine-Food-Arts Board
Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was appointed to serve as UC Davis representative to the board of trustees of the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts. The appointment, made by Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, becomes effective in December. Professor emeritus Robert Fridley, special assistant to the dean, also serves. The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts is situated on 12 acres alongside the Napa River in Napa, California. Ground was broken in June 1999; the grand opening is planned for fall 2001. When complete, the center will explore American culture, highlighting innovations and investigating distinctive approaches to food and drink. Programs, classes, exhibitions and demonstrations will bring together chefs and home cooks, wine makers and wine lovers, artists and audiences, experts and amateurs, all sharing their connections with food and wine as expressions of American culture. Complete with auditorium, concert terraces, demonstration kitchen, classrooms, restaurant, gift shop, exhibition galleries, resource center and gardens, the center will present public programs including films, classes, readings, lectures, demonstrations, tastings and workshops.
Neal K. Van Alfen
Dean
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
nkvanalfen@ucdavis.edu
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Eric Bradford Honored by ASAS
Professor emeritus Eric Bradford, Department of Animal Science, was presented the 2000 Fellow Award (At-Large Category) by the American Society of Animal Science. He has been a member of the organization since 1951. Bradford held various administrative appointments at UC Davis and taught courses in international agriculture, introductory animal science, animal breeding and genetics, beef cattle and sheep production and animal growth. From 1978 through 1996, he was a principal investigator in the USAID-funded Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program and conducted projects in Kenya, Indonesia and Morocco. Since retirement in 1993, Bradford has continued his programs in international agriculture and expanded his focus to include issues of global food supply. He recently chaired the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology international task force.
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Walter Leal Elected ISCE President
Associate professor of chemical ecology Walter Leal, Department of Entomology, was elected president of the International Society of Chemical Ecology during the organization's 17th annual meeting in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. He will serve a one-year term as president, one-year term as past-president and three-year term as "councillor." Society members are natural product chemists specializing in insect, plant and marine products, biologists, ecologists, molecular biologists and neurophysiologists. Nine hundred members represent 40 countries. Leal also was named associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Ecology. He will handle papers related to all aspects of pheromones. Leal's research program focuses on the isolation, identification and synthesis of pheromones and other semiochemicals from species relevant to California agriculture, both native and potential invasive species. The long-term goal of his program is the development of new environmentally safe strategies for pest control.
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Joy Mench Serves on Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Joy Mench, Department of Animal Science and director of the Center for Animal Welfare, is a member of the scientific advisory committee for the new Free Farmed Certification Program. The first such certification effort in the U.S., the program is designed to establish living standards for poultry, dairy cows and beef cattle raised for food production. It is modeled after England's eight-year-old Freedom Food Program that certifies nearly 25 percent of Britain's animal-based food products. Mench, an animal stress expert, and Carolyn Stull, UC Cooperative Extension large-animal welfare specialist, helped establish the program to certify and label food products that meet animal welfare standards. The program was launched recently by the American Humane Association and will be administered by affiliate Farm Animal Services. The service will conduct audits of farms, dairies, processing plants and other businesses; the inspection process will be verified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "The guidelines our committee - developed for the humane treatment of farm animals - are based on members' collective animal management experience," Mench said. "Our goal was to develop standards that are scientifically sound, as well as practical and achievable from an industry standpoint." Mench conducts research on the welfare of farm, laboratory and captive animals. Her work focuses on better understanding social and abnormal animal behaviors and on designing better animal-management practices and housing environments.
Joy A. Mench
Department of Animal Science
jamench@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-7125
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Scott Rozelle Organizes U.S.-China Trade Policy Conference
Associate professor Scott Rozelle, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, organized a U.S.-China trade policy conference in July and hosted a policy study team from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Several ARE faculty members, including Rozelle, contributed seminars on the U.S. grain marketing system and U.S. agricultural and trade issues: professor and department chair Colin Carter; assistant professor Rachael Goodhue; professor Daniel Sumner, director, Agricultural Issues Center; and professor Jeffrey Williams. Topics were the outlook and policy for biotechnology, the working of futures markets, domestic agricultural and trade policy management. Young Chinese academics, professionals and government officials and members of the PRC Ministry of Agriculture, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the State Council Development Research Center, China Agricultural University and Renmin University attended the conference. The itinerary included stops at UC Davis, the Chicago Board of Trade, a grain trading facility in Iowa, Cargill in Minnesota and other stops in the Midwest.
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Michael Denison Chairs Dioxin 2000 Symposium
Professor Michael Denison, Department of Environmental Toxicology, organized and chaired the 20th International Symposium on Halogenated Environmental Organic Pollutants and Persistent Organic Pollutants, Dioxin 2000, in Monterey in August. Nine-hundred-eighteen participants represented 34 countries. The diverse international group included scientists, government regulators and researchers, industry representatives, media and the general public. The program included 277 talks in 34 sessions and 313 posters in 20 sessions. Program topics ranged from analytical and environmental chemistry to molecular biology, human health and risk assessment. The meeting included 17 special platform sessions showcasing recent advances in biological and analytical detection methodologies, source identification and novel bioremediation technologies.
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Calvin Qualset Appointed to National Committee
Calvin Qualset, professor emeritus, Department of Agronomy and Range Science, and director of the Genetic Resources Conservation Program (GRCP), was appointed to serve on the U.S. national committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) by the National Academy of Sciences Office of International Affairs. The committee is the formal representative of the U.S. biological community to IUBS. He will serve six years. Qualset's research interests span agronomy, genetics, quantitative inheritance, plant breeding and plant genetic resources. GRCP's objective is the identification of animal, microbial and plant genetic resources critical to California and the support of onsite and offsite resource conservation; development of improved methods and strategies for procuring and maintaining genetic resources; and facilitation of teaching and dissemination of information concerning genetic resources conservation.
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Lee Baldwin Named to NRC Overview Committee
Professor Lee Baldwin, Department of Animal Science, was appointed to serve on a new 15-member overview committee of the National Research Council. The Committee on Opportunities in Agriculture will review, synthesize and write a report with overall conclusions and recommendations drawn from information reported from three subcommittees addressing specific components of agricultural research, education and extension. The subcommittees will address the quality, relevance and effectiveness of agricultural research, education and extension and the future role of federally funded agricultural research in the areas of (1) food and fiber supply, food safety, and diet and nutrition; (2) environmental quality and harmonization of natural and agricultural resources; and (3) economic and social development and competitiveness in a global economy. Baldwin's research interests include energy metabolism, systems analysis and lactation. William Lacy, UC Davis vice provost - university outreach and international programs, also serves on the committee.
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Julian Alston Receives Outstanding Alumnus Award
Professor Julian Alston, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, received the 2000 Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University. A presentation was made at a ceremony and reception held in September in Raleigh, North Carolina. The award is presented to alumni who "have distinguished themselves in their postgraduate endeavors." Alston presented the annual Outstanding Alumni Seminar titled "Reassessing Research Returns: Attribution and Related Problems." Alston's research interests include demand analysis, agricultural policy, and economics of agricultural research and technical change. He teaches classes in agricultural policy and supply and demand for agricultural products. In August 2000, Alston was named a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association. He is president-elect of the Australian Agricultural Economics Society.
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Richard Zinn Presented Ruminant Nutrition Research Award
Professor Richard Zinn, Department of Animal Science, was presented the 2000 Ruminant Nutrition Research Award by the American Society of Animal Science. He was recognized for significant and lasting contributions to ruminant nutrition, technology for feeding cattle and the feed industry. In addition to numerous presentations at U.S. nutrition conferences and symposia, Zinn is a popular speaker in Mexico and throughout Latin America because of his fluency in Spanish. Zinn's research in the area of protein nutrition provides a broad base of data on factors affecting ruminal microbial growth, site and extent of protein digestion and metabolizable protein requirements of feedlot cattle.
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Researchers Carry on Gary Polis's Work
Two decades of pioneering research on desert-island ecosystems in Mexico's Sea of Cortez did not end when ecologist Gary Polis, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, died there six months ago. Three postgraduate researchers who worked closely with Polis-Francisco "Paco" Sanchez-Pinero, Paul Stapp and Gary Huxel-are continuing the research on the islands off Baja California. Huxel is a survivor of the March 26 boat accident that claimed the lives of Polis, postgraduate researcher Michael Rose and three visiting Japanese scientists. The other two researchers collaborating with Huxel were long-standing members of Polis's research group-Sanchez-Pinero for four of the last six years and Stapp for three years. Huxel and Sanchez-Pinero have been named as lead investigators for about $550,000 in grants Polis obtained from the National Science Foundation. Included in that funding is a $400,000, four-year grant that Polis applied for last winter and the NSF awarded after his death. Stapp, who will be returning to UC Davis in October, will be the principal investigator on one of the grants. Polis, an internationally renowned expert on scorpions and spiders, was studying complex food webs and how the sea subsidized life on the desert islands. His work was considered important by other ecologists because it showed connections between two environments - the sea and land. Sanchez-Pinero and Huxel said they felt it was important to continue the research for a combination of emotional and scientific reasons. They wished to honor Polis's memory, as well as advance research in which they each have much personal investment. "There's a lot more to be done there," Huxel said. "We still see Baja as a place that has a lot of opportunity to do some good scientific research." UC Davis plans to hold a ceremony to plant five memorial trees-one for each scientist who died-in the arboretum near Putah Creek Lodge. A date for the ceremony is pending. David Burger, chair of the Department of Environmental Horticulture, who helped select the trees, said a desert willow that bears burgundy flowers in the summer will be planted for Polis who also conducted research in deserts in California and Namibia. A "Flame" variety of the North American redbud, which comes from the Midwest, was chosen to honor Michael Rose, who grew up in Illinois. A Japanese variety of magnolia will be planted in memory of each of the University of Kyoto scientists who died-Takuya Abe, Masahiko Higashi and Shigeru Nakano. Huxel said he and Sanchez-Pinero received widespread support that extended far beyond the campus. "Other scientists around the world contacted us and said, whatever resources we would need, they would help," he said. "There is a strong desire by the scientific community to keep Gary's work going."
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Master's International Program
Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef formalized an agreement this week with Peace Corps deputy director Charles Baquet III to create the Master's International Program with Peace Corps. Students may choose to study horticulture and agronomy, soil science or plant biology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences or preventive veterinary medicine in the School of Veterinary Medicine, all existing UC Davis master's degrees. Students will perform two years of foreign service with the Peace Corps after completing required course work for their degrees and before finishing theses or projects in the final quarter of school. Although the Peace Corps and campus do not provide a special stipend to students in the new program, two half-time teacher's assistant positions are available for returning Peace Corps students. "Students will benefit from the academic preparation on campus and applied experience abroad," said Patrick Brown, CA&ES director of international programs. UC Davis is the 43rd college or university to collaborate with the Peace Corps on the Master's International Program. Currently, 396 individuals are enrolled in the program; 117 are overseas, and the remainder is doing coursework on campuses across the U.S.
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Development Highlights
For the fourth consecutive year, UC Davis set a new record for private gifts and grants in a 12-month period. The campus received $72.2 million in private support from July 1, 1999, through June 30, 2000, an increase of $8.6 million or 14 percent over the previous 12-month period. The college received $18.5 million during the reporting period, an increase of $7.3 million or 65 percent over 1999 totals. It was the most private support recorded in any 12-month period in the college's history. The college's previous record for private support was set in 1993. "This is a positive reflection on our outstanding faculty and staff," commented Dean Neal Van Alfen. "This is a strong indication that we are headed in the right direction. Our donors contributed to our areas of greatest need, which continue to be support for facilities, graduate students, endowed chairs and undergraduate students. We greatly appreciate our donors and their generosity."
Neal K. Van Alfen
Dean
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
nkvanalfen@ucdavis.edu
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IFAFS Grant Awards Announced
USDA secretary Dan Glickman announced the grants being awarded under the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems. Eighty-six awards were selected from almost 1,000 proposals submitted for peer review.
The complete list of awards is availableonline
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"Traditions in Transition" Exhibition
The Center for Design Research, Landscape Architecture Program, announces an exhibition of photographs documenting the changing face of rural life in Northern California. Titled "Traditions in Transition," the exhibition runs October 13 through November 24, 2000, at the Davis Art Center. The opening reception is Friday, October 13, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. A panel discussion precedes the reception at 7 p.m. The work of two photographers is featured. Matt O'Brien's "Back to the Ranch" is a compelling study of ranching in the East Bay, home to one of America's oldest cattle-ranching communities. His work celebrates this traditional western lifestyle as it faces the increasing pressures of urban sprawl. Gerald Tsuruda's "Silent Harvest" chronicles the plight of the family farm in the Central Valley. The project draws attention to the small-acreage farmer's struggle to continue farming on family land that, in many cases, spans generations.
Victoria E. Whitworth
CDR Coordinator
Department of Environmental Design
vewhitworth@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-2245
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"Fantasies in Papier Maché"
Design Alliance, support group to the Design Program, Department of Environmental Design, announces an exhibition of paper maché toys by Jack Roads, October 15 through November 22, 2000, at the Design Gallery in Walker Hall. Design professor Dolph Gotelli is curator. Roads will lecture on Sunday, October 15, at 1 p.m., 176 Everson Hall. Guest fee is $10; students and Design Alliance members are admitted free. An opening reception and silent auction will be held Sunday, October 15, from 2 to 4 p.m. in 145 Walker
Rhonda R. O'Brien
Program Representative
Department of Environmental Design
rrobrien@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6223
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Health and Safety in Western Agriculture Conference
The UC Agricultural Health and Safety Center at Davis is hosting the Western Regional Conference for Agricultural Health and Safety November 5 - 7, 2000, in Sacramento. The theme of the conference is "Health and Safety in Western Agriculture: A Practical Approach." Presenters from UC Davis include: Desmond Jolly, director of the Small Farm Center; Fadi Fathallah, assistant professor, and John Miles, professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering; Phillip Martin, professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics; Marc Schenker, director, and Stephen McCurdy, research coordinator, UC Agricultural Health and Safety Center; Barry Wilson, professor, Department of Animal Science and Department of Environmental Toxicology; Carl Winter, director, FoodSafe Program; and Larry Vanderhoef, chancellor
AHSC Online
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ANR Web Site SIG
A new special interest group for those managing or designing Web sites affiliated with the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) is meeting Thursday, November 2, 2000, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in 3201 Hart Hall. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum for sharing ideas and expertise dealing with Web issues and technologies. It is an opportunity to coordinate efforts and learn from one another. DANR information technology manager Claudia Myers will describe an ANR Web-support project being coordinated by ANR Communication Services. She'll discuss ways to receive support from the project and way to collaborate.
Claudia A. Myers
Information Technology Manager
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
camyers@ucdavis.edu
(530) 754-8537
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Horse Day Symposium
The 15th annual Horse Day Symposium will be held October 14-15, 2000, on the UC Davis campus. The event provides up-to-date information to hobbyists and professional breeders. Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Lectures held in the Main Theatre, Hutchison Drive, east side of main campus. Topics include exercise and health, diagnosing lameness, horseshoeing, aging horses, parasite control, semen transport and Internet horse sites. A demonstration on reining training methods will be presented at 3:30 p.m. at the animal science horse barn. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Horseshoeing workshop, including a shoeing demonstration.
Jan F. Roser
Department of Animal Science
jfroser@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-2918
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RFP: Hansen Trust
Hansen Trust is soliciting proposals addressing agricultural literacy and agricultural issues. The Thelma Hansen Trust Fund was established to benefit and sustain agriculture and natural resources in Ventura County through research and education. While it is not necessary that projects be conducted in Ventura County, it should be evident that projects address relevant needs of the county. The trust is designed to fund projects and programs that (1) increase public understanding and support of agriculture, including the relationship of agriculture to the economy and the natural resource base; (2) encourage the study, discussion and debate of agricultural/urban issues for better policy decisions and achieve balance among competing interests; and (3) assist in agricultural land preservation and educate the public in caring for the land. Deadline: October 20, 2000
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CA&ES Currents, the faculty/staff newsletter of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, is distributed every other Friday. News deadline is noon Monday preceding Friday publication. Send inquiries to Ann Filmer, afilmer@ucdavis.edu
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Issue Editor:
Rhoda McKnight
(530) 752-9328
Contributors: Donna Gutierrez, Thomas Kaiser, Susan Kancir, Rhoda McKnight, Neal Van Alfen, John Weston.
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