2012 GPSA Research Symposium Retrospective
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The GPSA convened its eighth annual research symposium on 11 April 2012 in the Sun Room and
South Ballroom in the Memorial Union on the ISU campus. As well as providing a forum to discuss recent
sustainable agriculture research, the program this year also included a celebration of the tenth anniversary
of the creation of the GPSA (the first class enrolled in Fall 2001).
The program opened with reflections by Dr. John Pesek, ISU Distinguished
Professor Emeritus. Dr. Pesek provided an historical perspective on the creation and development of the
GPSA in his presentation, "Staging the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture."
Please see the following link for a podcast of Dr. Pesek's presentation.
"Staging the GPSA"
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Following Dr. Pesek, Dr. Doug Landis made the keynote research presentation. Dr. Landis
is a professor in the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University where he holds a research
and teaching appointment in insect ecology. His research focuses on the role of landscape structure
in shaping insect-insect and insect-plant interactions in working landscapes.
The title of Dr. Landis' presentation was
"Redesigning Agricultural Landscapes for Multiple
Ecosystem Services."
Please see the following link for a podcast of Dr. Landis' presentation.
"Ag Landscapes & Ecosystem Services"
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Following the two presentations, a research poster session was held
where the recent work of GPSA students and faculty was highlighted. The
posters were judged by a panel of guest experts for scholarship awards.
Practical Farmers of
Iowa (PFI) sponsored the session by providing monetary support for the awards.
The winners (left to right) were Meghann Jarchow, first place $100; Sarah Hirsh,
honorable mention $50; and Eric Clifton, honorable mention $50. Daniel Cwach
also earned an honorable mention and $50 prize but was unable to attend.
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A reporter from the ISU Daily was in attendance. For the related story and some photo highlights please see
ISU Daily story
ISU Daily photos
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To commemorate the occasion of the GPSA's 10th anniversary, the program created a special publication that
provides a summary of the past ten years. The following link provides access to a pdf copy.
10th Anniversary publication
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