staff.matters
the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences staff newsletter

May 5 , 2004

UPCOMING EVENTS

Smartpark Annual Information Session - Smartpark Research and Technology Park will be holding its annual information session for residents of Fort Richmond and Fort Garry on Thursday, May 6 from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at 135 Innovation Drive on the University's Fort Garry campus.  Everyone is welcome.  Call 474-7975 to RSVP.

Two Faculty Council Meetings in May - There are two Faculty Council meetings coming up this month.  The first is Monday, May 10 and the second is Friday, May 21, both at 9:00 am in Room 130 Agriculture Building. Please send regrets to Wendy Kramer at 474-6066.  If you attend the May 10 meeting, you will have an opportunity to view the Faculty's new branding symbol (see General News below).

The 2004 Science Teachers' Workshop is scheduled for Friday, May 14 in the Faculty.  This annual workshop brings high school science teachers on-campus for lectures and labs that explore the cutting edge science of agricultural and food sciences.  This year's instructors are Mario Tenuta, Soil Science, and Rachael Scarth, Plant Science.  If you know any science teachers who would be interested in this great workshop, get them to contact Crystal Jorgenson at 474-9435. Spaces are still available!

Campus Beautification Day - Join the Faculty's Green Team and get a green T-shirt! Volunteers are needed once again to join in with beautifying the campus beginning at 9 am on Wednesday, May 19. Along with the usual raking, weeding and planting around our buildings, Bernie Dronzek says volunteers are needed this year to help plant a fruit nursery in the southeast corner of St. John's College.  At noon, a barbecue lunch sponsored by ARAMARK will be held in the quad. If you are interested in any of the Faculty's greening activities, please contact Harminder Dhanjal, Dean's Office, at 474-6027 and she will put you in touch with your area coordinator. Bring gloves and garden tools if possible. Rain date is Thursday, May 20.

UTS Workshops Offered - University Teaching Services is once again offering its popular Spring Workshop Series that is open to full-time faculty, sessional staff, graduate and post-doctoral students and support staff. Workshops run from May 10-27 and provide innovative teaching ideas and techniques that assist with the development of effective teaching practices. Topics this year include PowerPoint, Preparing a Teaching Dossier, Accent Adjustment, and Course Construction and Organization.  Register online or call UTS at 474-6958 if you have any questions.

Call for papers for the University of Manitoba - University of Iceland 2005 Partnership Conference to be held at the University of Iceland March 18-19, 2005. Themed "Culture and Science: Mutually Reinforcing", this is the fourth conference to be held under an agreement made between the University of Manitoba and the University of Iceland. Airfares will be covered by the University of Manitoba, and accommodation and meals by the University of Iceland.  Papers that deal with the topic in reference to either Canada or Iceland are invited. Please submit an abstract of your paper by October 30, 2004, to Catari Macaulay Gauthier, Department of Icelandic Studies, University of Manitoba, 357 University College, Winnipeg, MB  R3T 2M8, uctyp@cc.umanitoba.ca.


STAFF NEWS

YWCA/YMCA Woman of Distinction Award for Science, Technology and Environment to be awarded today - Rachael Scarth, Associate Dean (Research), will be honoured Wednesday evening as one of two nominees for the 2004 YWCA/YMCA Woman of Distinction in Science, Technology and Environment for Manitoba. Rachael is a world renowned canola breeder and scientific advisor to the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. Writing in support of her nomination, the Manitoba Canola Growers said "Dr. Scarth's contribution to the rural farm scene cannot be overstated". She has won many awards for her work including being made an Honourary member of the Canadian Seed Growers' Association in 2000 for "services rendered to Canadian agriculture". Rachael is an outstanding role model for young women in science. She is the first female Associate Dean in the 98-year history of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. Rachael has been a judge at the Manitoba Science Fair for many years and is a mentor for the Aventis Biotech Challenge for high school students.

Gary Johnson, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, was honoured to receive a University of Manitoba Outstanding Teacher Award at the 12th annual Students' Teacher Recognition reception on April 29. The event is put on the by University of Manitoba Students' Union and University Teaching Services. Gary was nominated by Jacqueline Gordon, a 2004 Agribusiness graduate. This is the second year in a row Gary has received this particular award. Jacquie selected Murray Hart, her high school chemistry and physics teachers from Neepawa & Area Collegiate, as her outstanding high school teacher.

At the same Students' Teacher Recognition ceremony, Ron Britton, Biosystems Engineering, was named an outstanding University teacher by mechanical engineering student Chris Evans.

Three SSHRC grants awarded to Faculty researchers - Three new grants are coming to researchers in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Barry Coyle, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, will receive $6, 811 in support of research to develop "A Dynamic Econometric Model of Crop Production and Investment at the Manitoba Crop District Level". Dilantha Fernando, Plant Science, will be awarded $7,500 to put toward research into "Identifying Genes Important for Bio-control Activity of Pseudomonas chlororaphis Strain PA-23 Using Tn Mutagenesis". Jung Han, Food Science, will receive $3,650 to help purchase "Image Processing Equipment for Structural Chemistry of Starch-based Bio-polymer".

Brian Oleson, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, is presenting a paper to the Wheat Congress Conference May 13-14 in Argentina. Brian will be part of an international panel discussing the wheat sector in competing countries, and his paper will provide an overview of the Canadian wheat system. Following the conference, the presentation will be available on the Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics Department website.

Plant Science's Dilantha Fernando and graduate students Xiben Wang and Yilan Zhang are in Copenhagen, Denmark attending the International Conference on Induced Resistance and PR Proteins.


STUDENT NEWS

The Department of Soil Science would like to welcome Amandine, Bastien, David and Stephan, visiting French students from the University of Perpignan in France. These students will be working on summer research projects as part of their degree requirements with the University of Perpignan. Cedric and Laury will be joining the Soil Science team later this month.


 IN THE NEWS

Farmers Independent Weekly - This week's article by Nazim Cicek, Biosystems Engineering, features the trip made by a team of Biosystems Engineering students to an international design competition in April in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The team placed second for its design, a sprayer system using peroxyacetic acid and acetic acid-sodium chloride solutions to reduce the fecal coliform load on tomatoes.

The spring issue of the MIA Agrologist newsletter is jam-packed with Faculty news! The cover story, "Careers in agriculture - can we meet the demand?" highlights the opportunities for students in agricultural and food sciences, with quotes from Diane Wreford, Dean's Office. Inside are photos of Walter Bushuk, Food Science, receiving his Life Membership, and of Diane, Dean Harold Bjarnason, President Emõke Szathmáry, and Crystal Jorgenson, Dean's Office, at Ag Days in Brandon. The centerfold article "Can GMOs and non-GMOs co-exist?" details a presentation by Anita Brulé-Babel, Plant Science, made to the MIA annual meeting. And on the back page, MIA scholarship recipient and Faculty student Anais Hacault is featured, as well as Ag Challenge participants J-C Saquet and Robert Kazuk. Extra copies of the Agrologist are available in the Dean's Office - contact Nancy Danwich at 474-6026.

Diploma graduation resulted in some excellent media coverage, including the Farmers' Independent Weekly and on Golden West Radio (Steinbach). Radio farm reporter Chris Sumner interviewed Altona students Brent Friesen and Jason Voth about their experiences in the Diploma in Agriculture program.


GENERAL NEWS

The Faculty is getting a new look! Along with the new recruitment campaign, a fresh new graphic identity will be shared at the upcoming Faculty Council meeting on Monday, May 10. For get a sneak preview, visit Our New Look online.

Most of the Faculty's 2003 Degree graduates are working in their fields - A survey of the degree graduating class of 2003 shows 88.8 percent are working in permanent or term positions in their chosen fields. All but one of the 94 graduates responded to a Faculty survey over the past few months. Thirteen indicated they are at graduate school - twelve at the University of Manitoba and one at the University of Calgary. Of the others, just over 80 percent are employed in full-time in positions such as research agronomist, agrifood marketing rep, resource planner, HACCP co-ordinator and accounts manager. Almost nine percent are working in term positions as assistant agronomist, field research assistant and crop input sales manager. The remaining 10 percent are traveling or undecided about their future employment goals. For more details, contact Gord Mushey, Co-operative/Job Posting Co-ordinator, Dean's Office, 474-6943.

More congratulations for high school students who did well at the Science Fair last week. Fort Richmond Collegiate students Alyson Huang and Zexi Wang, mentored by Lyle Friesen and Rene Van Acker of Plant Science for the Aventis Biotech Challenge, won Best Overall Senior Group Project at the Manitoba Schools Science Symposium for their project "Seed to Seed Effects on Germination".

Plant Science's Hort Line is up and running for the summer, staffed this year by Caroline Frey who will be entering her second year of Diploma this fall and completing the Prairie Horticulture Certificate. The phone number for Winnipeg callers is 474-8489 and for out-of-town callers, 1-800-432-1960 (ext. 8489). Caroline says she's already had quite a few calls about browning spruce trees and insect control. The Hort Line is supervised by Bill Remphrey, Plant Science, and is open for business from the beginning of May to the end of August. Over the winter, the horticulture team developed a complementary website, located at www.umanitoba.ca/afs/hort_inquiries, which includes information and photos of problems relating to gardens, lawns and trees.

staff.matters is e-mailed weekly on Wednesday afternoon to members and friends of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba. The weekly news deadline is Tuesday at 4:00 pm. Email Crystal Jorgenson with your news or get in touch with your department staff.matters rep:

  • Agribusiness: Judy Powell 9259
  • Animal Science and Entomology: Claire Hutchinson 6125
  • Biosystems Engineering: Connie Wenzoski 6033
  • Food Science: Yvonne Halden 9621
  • Plant Science: Bev Godard 8225
  • Soil Science: Terry Ramm 8153

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