Message from the Dean - January 21, 2025

Hello, CALS,

Welcome to the semester and the deep cold! Please, everyone, keep warm and safe in this weather.

A special note of thanks to our colleagues who work outdoors taking care of our farms, in a hundred different ways, in every kind of weather.  

If you’ve not had a chance to read the university's directions for today given the cold, please do so.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Farm Foundation Round Table. It was exciting to learn about many innovations developing in the agriculture and life sciences arena all across the country. For example:

  • the use of CRISPR technology to develop seedless blackberries and cherries, and mustard greens that taste more like lettuce but with the nutrition of greens;
  • new ways to spin cotton and add value and sustainability to fabric manufacturing;
  • new approaches in the high-tech investor space;
  • ideas about marketing in the biotech food industry;
  • novel pest control technologies;
  • public perceptions of biotech.

There is so much going on everywhere on the many topics we work on here in CALS. I was thrilled at every turn to reflect on our work and conclude that we truly are playing at the top of the game here in the college. Thanks to the work each of you do.

Have a great week. - Dan

Scenes from CALS

Iowa State University's central campus at sunset, framed by leafless trees and the Campanile.
A colorful sunset seen from the steps of Curtiss Hall the evening of Jan. 17.