Greetings, CALS colleagues,
Last week was the very exciting groundbreaking for the new BioMADE installations at the BioCentury Research Farm (see picture below). This will be a transformative effort, and at a $40 million value, it is a BIG deal for us all! There are more great things to come for the BCRF facility and our capacity to be world-leading in bioprocessing.
On Dec. 3 at 4:30 p.m. in Curtiss Hall, we will have the 2025 Deal Lecture, given by Gretta Irwin, executive director and home economist at the Iowa Turkey Federation. This will be a terrific seminar of inspiration and difference-making by a great, accomplished friend and partner of the college, and all of Iowa agriculture. Please come out and listen, learn and ask questions!
I have the privilege of serving as president of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation (RMF), and later this week, I will be in Washington, D.C. for the annual 2025 AAAS Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture, Policy Roundtable, and this year, a graduate student poster competition (which will include four Iowa State students!). The lecture will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, on "Pollinators, plants and people: Building networks for resilience," given by Christina Grozinger, professor of entomology at Pennsylvania State University. Please register to listen to the AAAS-RMF lecture online.
Early last week, I was at the annual national meeting of the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities, along with about 15 others from Iowa State. Among the many excellent presentations and conversations, I jotted down a quote from Russell Redding, a long-time acquaintance and Pennsylvania's Secretary of Agriculture. When talking about our work in science and public perceptions, and various ironies relating to agriculture and food and the challenges and opportunities of bringing forward new technology, he said: “People love science, just not in their food…”
I hope you all had a chance to get out last week and see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in the Story County sky! Amazing light show. No one can do it better than nature.
My best for a terrific week - Dan
Scenes from CALS
