Susan A. Henry
The Ronald P. Lynch
Dean of Agriculture
and Life Sciences
eCALSconnect - Vol. 14-2 / December 2007
Message from the Dean
CALS has a significant role to play in two major universitywide initiatives that have taken important steps forward this year. The first is the Cornell Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology (CICMB), which entered a new phase on Feb. 1 with the arrival of Scott Emr, professor of molecular biology and genetics, as the Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of '56 Director. Professor Emr characterizes the CICMB's research theme as cell signaling and molecular dynamics, a broad topic area that encompasses many fundamentally-and medically-important questions in cell biology. Recruiting is now underway for three faculty members to be appointed after completion of the Life Sciences Technology Building next spring. CALS has committed to hiring six of the 12 faculty members envisioned for the institute.
The second important initiative has been the creation of the Center for a Sustainable Future and the appointment in late summer of Frank DiSalvo, the John A. Newman Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, as its interim director. This center will draw on the expertise of many CALS faculty members as it seeks to develop interdisciplinary solutions to problems along the sustainability spectrum from environmental to economic issues. While several task forces and individuals contributed momentum to the establishment of this center, an early proponent and intellectual leader of the effort was David Atkinson '60, a CALS alumnus and Advisory Council member, who chaired the council task force on sustainability that proposed the center. Mr. Atkinson recently pledged to contribute $1 million annually for three to five years to fund its start-up.
Read more about CALS' campaign progress in the full dean's message.
Featured photo
Michael Hoffmann
CALS Associate Deans Michael Hoffmann and Helene Dillard visit the Emperor's summer palace in Beijing.
See more photos from around the College and beyond.
Features
- Outstanding alumni and faculty honored at reception
- CALS and the ALS Alumni Association (ALSAA) recently honored six alumni and two faculty members with Outstanding Alumni and Outstanding Faculty Awards.
- CALS and CHE reception honors 2007 Research and Extension Award recipients
- The recipients of the CALS 2007 Research and Extension (R&E) Awards include an entomologist with a cabbage named in his honor, an animal scientist who is one of the most highly cited science authors in the world, and a team in the business of cleaning sludge.
- CALS AD's Michael Hoffmann and Helene Dillard visit China on an IPM exchange tour
- CALS Associate Deans Michael Hoffmann and Helene Dillard traveled to China to share and compare Chinese and American efforts to deal with agricultural pests.
- CU-Soil™ + porous asphalt = less runoff and cleaner water
- A new 15-page booklet by CALS researchers, Using Porous Asphalt and CU-Structural Soil®, details the benefits of combining these two technologies.
- "Buy local” The North Country Regional Foods Initiative investigates the effectiveness of farm-to-consumer initiatives
- Cornell extension experts, North Country area producers and community economic development leaders gauge how the "Buy Local" movement benefits the agricultural sector in their region.
- Addressing global climate change at the local level: A CALS-led team shows how Tompkins County can cut its ‘carbon footprint’ by two-thirds
- CALS professors have joined with a team of Northeast regional experts to tackle global warming on a local level, creating blueprints for communities like Tompkins County to identify and reduce their “carbon footprint.”