PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

...Congratulations to Kris Lambert, who will be the 2005 recipient of the Syngenta Crop Protection Award through the Society of Nematologists. Kris is being honored for his contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms of nematode parasitism of higher plants. The results of his work have influenced many other areas, from the design of crop rotations for management of cyst and root-knot nematode populations to the evolutionary biology of plant-parasitic nematodes.

...Congratulations to Patricia Burton, who received a teaching enhancement grant for CPSC 112. She also received a grant for CR 499 which she co-teaches with Bob Dunker. Congratulations to Darin Eastburn and Cleo D'Arcy, who received a teaching enhancement grant for PLPA 200. The grants are supported by the Karl E. Gardner Enhancement endowment.

...Congratulations to Germán Bollero, Patricia Burton, Robert Dunker, Darin Eastburn, Kris Lambert, Mark Muellner, Dean Riechers, Matias Ruffo and Jigyasa Tuteja, who were named to the Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their students for Fall Semester 2004.

...Congratulations to Jarrod Hudson, who completed his masters degree under the direction of Bob Hoeft. He is now working for United Soils in Trivoli, IL.

...Congratulations to María Villamil on the completion of her masters degree. She studied with Germán Bollero. She will be finishing the semester working for Bob Hoeft as a lab technician. She will enroll as a masters candidate in Agricultural Education in the fall.

...Congratulations to Stephen R. Doench, Ryan A. Johnson, David L. Koehn and Gregory A. Watters on the completion of their masters degrees. Gregory and Stephen were advised by Fred Below; Ryan by Steve Moose and David by Wayne Pedersen.

...Five Alumni Awards for Graduate Student Travel were announced. Jeff Coulter will participate in the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy in Salt Lake City, UT; Emily Heaton in the USDA Greenhouse Gas Symposium in Baltimore, MD; Carlos Pavon in the annual meeting of the American Phytopathological Society in Austin TX; Tatiana Tatum, in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry joint conference in Carbondale, IL; and, Qin Zhang in the Plant Proteomics Symposium in St. Louis, MO. These awards are made possible by a generous gift from A. Forrest Troyer.

FROM OUR OFFICE TO YOURS

...An invitation to submit manuscripts to the Soil Science Society of America Journal on the subjects of Urban Soils and Landscape Management has been extended by Dr. Rich Mulvaney, Editor. Submit at www.manuscripttracker.com/sssaj. For more information contact mulvaney@illinois.edu.

PUBLICATIONS

Singh, R. J. (series editor) and Jauhar, P. P., 2005, Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Grain Legumes, Volume I, CRC Press, 376 pp.

SEMINARS

April 19, 7:30 p.m., the 14^th Daniel S. Sanders Peach & Social Justice Lecture, Karin Landgren, Chief of child protection, UNICEF, "Children in the Crossfire: Can they be protected?", Levis Faculty Center, 3^rd floor

April 25, 4:00 p.m., George Crabtree, Senior Scientist and Director, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, "The hydrogen economy: challenges and opportunities", 190 ESB, April 15, 2005.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Apr. 21 Field and Furrow Achievement Banquet at the Hawthorn Suites

Apr. 22, ACES Faculty Meeting, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.; LIAC Heritage Room

Apr. 24, ACES Student Awards Banquet, 11:00 a.m.; Hawthorn Suites

Apr. 26, ACES and Paul A. Funk Recognition Awards Program; Illini Union

May 4, ACES Retiree Reception, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.; LIAC Heritage Room

May 15, ACES Undergraduate Convocation, 9:30 a.m. ACES Graduate Convocation, 10:00 a.m. UI Commencement, 2:00 p.m.

June 9, Ewing Field Day

June 22, Urbana Weeds Field Day

July 7, DeKalb Weeds Field Day

July 13, Belleville Field Day

July 28, Brownstown Field Day

Aug. 2, DeKalb Field Day

Aug. 4, Dixon Springs Field Day

Aug. 16, Monmouth Field Day

Aug. 18, Agronomy Day, Urbana

Aug. 23, Orr Center Field Day

Sept. 8, Ewing Field Day

Sept. 19 & 20, Department of Crop Sciences Retreat at Allerton Conference Center

UPCOMING CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA & WORKSHOPS

...The Environmental Horizons 2005 showcase of environmental research, engagement and art on campus will be held April 22 from 12-5:00 in the Illini Union. Curt Meine, conservation biologist and writer will give a keynote address "Home, land, security: conservation and the common good" at noon in Room A. After his talk, students will display research and engagement posters during a reception. From 3:30-5:00 a panel discussion will be held in Room A.

...The International Grape Genomics Symposium will be held July 12-14, 2005 in Saint Louis, MO.

...The International Shortcourse on Agroecology 2005 “Using Agroecology for Building Community Connections in Food Systems” at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) , Santa Cruz, CA, will be held July 10-23, 2005.

...The VIII International Symposium on Thysanoptera and Tospoviruses will be held September 11-15, 2005 at the Asilomr Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA. Information available at 222.istt205.net.

GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS

...The Association of Women Soil Scientists (AWSS) is sponsoring a program to provide funding for undergraduate and graduate women to travel to the Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting to present the results of their research. Grants of up to $500 may be used only for defraying the cost of registration, travel, and accommodations associated with the meeting. Please see the application guidelines for more information at www.awss.org.

PERSONALS

...Department of Crop Sciences Faculty & Staff: Thanks so much for the nice retirement party and gifts. I have a lot of good memories working at Turner Hall and friends I have made. I appreciate the opportunity to work with great people. Sharon Gocking