CALS Research News

• Disease that caused Irish potato famine is devastating tomatoes, potatoes this year | Cornell Chronicle feature | 07/01/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  This year, late blight is killing tomato and potato plants in gardens and on commercial farms in the eastern United States. In addition, basil downy mildew is affecting plants in the Northeast.
• CALS wins three awards for publications and an event | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/30/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association (NAADA) has recognized Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) with a first-place and two second-place awards in its annual competition.
• Cornell celebrates long-standing collaboration with India-based management company | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/30/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Cornell honored its 15-year collaboration with India-based Sathguru Management Consultants and the 10th anniversary of the Cornell-Sathguru Agribusiness Management Program (AMP) at an event on June 25, 2009.
• Three USDA labs on Cornell campuses to receive $925,000 for upgrades | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/30/2009 Chronicle feature
  Cornell's Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health in Ithaca and the Plant Genetic Resources Unit and Grape Genetics Research Unit on Cornell's Geneva campus will receive $925,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for upgrades.
• Theater educator Martha Dewey killed in car accident | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/29/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Mary Opperman, vice president for human resources, said: "We have lost a colleague, a mentor and a friend. Martha's impact on the campus through her role as artistic director and founding member of CITE was profound, her talents were many and impressive."
• Cornell provides insights into results from new poll partnership with New York Times and NY1 | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/25/2009 Chronicle feature
  The findings of the first Cornell/New York Times/NY1 poll gave New York state residents a snapshot of their collective zeitgeist about obesity, key politicians, the economy and gay marriage when it was released in early June 2009.
• Like burrs on your clothes, virus-size capsules stick to cells to target drug delivery | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/25/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  "This study greatly extends the range of therapies," said Michael King, Cornell associate professor of biomedical engineering, who co-authored the study with lead author Zhong Huang, a former Cornell research associate.
• Skorton to speak at Ethiopian university's graduation on East Africa trip | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/25/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  When the first class of Cornell's Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree program in international agriculture and rural development graduates at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia, Cornell President David Skorton will be there to deliver a speech.
• A mystery solved: Space shuttle shows 1908 Tunguska explosion was caused by comet | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/24/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The mysterious 1908 Tunguska explosion that leveled 830 square miles of Siberian forest was almost certainly caused by a comet entering Earth's atmosphere, says new Cornell research.
• Gardens sow common ground for military families to cope with deployment stress | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/24/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Cornell Cooperative Extension's (CCE) Defiant Gardens program plants gardens in the ground and in plastic containers on military bases and in communities with many military families and sends container gardens to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
• Biofuels Research Lab officially opens | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/24/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The multidisciplinary BRL serves as the hub of Cornell's research and development of sustainable and economical biofuels derived from nonfood crops. Its goal is to develop renewable energy sources and stimulate economic opportunities for NY agriculture.
• Bio-acoustic recorders could answer question: Do wind farms pose risks to migratory birds? | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/23/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Nobody really knows for sure because two-thirds of migrating bird species fly at night, making direct study of their habits and potential hazards a challenge, said researchers at the Cornell Workshop on Large-Scale Wind-Generated Power, June 13, 2009 .
• Donated truck from the state almost doubles Cornell's milk-moving ability | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/23/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Cornell Dairy Operations can now transport almost twice as much milk -- and thereby use half as much fuel as before, thanks to a 4,200-gallon tanker truck transferred to Cornell by the New York State Department of Corrections.
• Professors brief Congressional staffers about food safety before key vote | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/22/2009 Chronicle feature
  Just days before a U.S. House committee voted to expand the Food and Drug Administration's power to monitor the nation's food supply, Robert Gravani and colleague Kathryn Boor briefed about 45 Congressional staffers on the science of food safety.
• Eight receive Provost's Award for Distinguished Scholarship | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/19/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The $15,000 awards recognize research and scholarship by outstanding tenured faculty members early in their careers and are an opportunity for the university to recognize its own talented researchers.
• Emeritus professor helps farmers in Malawi | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/19/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Hugh Price, professor emeritus of horticultural sciences at the NYSAES, just returned from a 3-week assignment in Malawi as part of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Developmen
• Instructors pair up with librarians to ramp up student research skills | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/19/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Cornell Library's Information Competency Initiative is a weeklong seminar with follow-up meetings throughout the year. The program aims to improve student research skills by helping faculty redesign their courses' research components.
• World use of fertilizer varies wildly and threatens environment, says professor | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/19/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  An Article published in the Policy Forum piece of this week's Science journal compares the nutrient balances of the three very different agricultural systems that grow maize as a major grain.
• Deadly beetle discovered for first time in New York, threatening state's ash trees | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/18/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Washington, D.C., announced official identification of the beetle in New York state June 18 after receiving and examining specimens sent by Cornell researchers.
• Professors learn to navigate diversity in the classroom | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/17/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The Cornell Faculty Institute for Diversity, held June 7-10 2009, provided participants with the intellectual and pedagogical tools to infuse diverse perspectives into their courses and among their students.
• Brown named vice provost for undergraduate education | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/12/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  English Professor Laura Brown, the John Wendell Anderson Professor of English, will succeed Michele Moody-Adams, July 1, 2009.
• Cornell Plantations plagued by sophisticated plant thieves | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/12/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  "These thefts have a ripple effect. They rob faculty and students of the teaching value of these collections, they demoralize our dedicated gardening staff and destroy valuable research," said Donald Rakow, Cornell Plantations director.
• CALS helps make sure water under the bridge runs clear | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/10/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  "With our faculty and resources, we can be one of the premier water programs in the country," says Rebecca Schneider, Ph.D. '94, Cornell associate professor of natural resources, adding that water is potentially an even bigger issue than oil.
• Online tool helps N.Y. grape growers pick vineyard sites | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/10/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The resource, funded by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation offers users macroscopic aerial views of the state's diverse grape-growing regions.
• PRI receives one of the world's largest collections of Antarctic invertebrates | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/10/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The collection of Cretaceous to Eocene mollusk fossils from Seymour Island, Antarctica, was donated by William J. Zinsmeister, a professor of geology at Purdue University.
• Today's dairy farms use less land, feed and water | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/10/2009 Chronicle feature
  The dairy industry has reduced its carbon footprint over the past 60 years by improving genetics, nutrition, herd management and animal welfare, reports a study by Jude Capper, lead author and a former Cornell postdoctoral researcher, with Dale Bauman.
• Cornell to buy MRI scanner for cutting-edge research in behavioral and life sciences | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/09/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  The medical imaging device, which should be up and running by fall 2011, will allow researchers to delve into new areas, ranging from the biological processes that influence decision-making to prescription drug delivery and tissue engineering.
• Cornell teams up with National Renewable Energy Lab to establish national center | 06/09/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Building on it's leadership in sustainability and the knowledge gained through development of its Climate Action Plan (CAP), Cornell is collaborating with the NREL to create a virtual resource: The Center of Expertise on Net-Zero Carbon Campuses.
• Incoming freshman class more diverse, but achievement rates still lacking, says deputy provost | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/08/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  Enrolling students from more diverse backgrounds is just one of four broad university goals. Equally important are engagement, inclusiveness, and achievement.
• Old hats at sustainability, Haudenosaunee show the way during Reunion Weekend | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/08/2009 Chronicle feature
  
  In celebration of the vital role that indigenous peoples have played in sustainability, the American Indian Program and the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future co-hosted the 2009 Cornell Native American Alumni Association Reunion Iroquois Social.
• First 'computational sustainability' conference to draw an unexpected crowd | Cornell Chronicle feature | 06/05/2009 Chronicle feature
  Researchers will converge on Cornell June 8-11 for the first conference on computational sustainability -- how to use computing to balance environmental, economic and societal needs for a sustainable future.