News Service

News

Iowa State University open, classes in session Dec. 10

Iowa State University is open and classes are in session Thursday, Dec. 10. Those considering travel to campus are urged to put safety first, taking into account road conditions and wind chill temperatures of -20 to -30 degrees.

Officials urge faculty and supervisors to accommodate those who are unable to make it to campus.

Iowa State University CLOSED; classes canceled

Classes are canceled and Iowa State University offices are closed today, Dec. 9, due to the severe winter weather. Only emergency personnel need to report to work. Emergency personnel who are unable to get to work should call their supervisors or departmental offices.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory also is closed.

Severe weather cancellations, closings

  • Tuesday evening classes and events (scheduled for 6 p.m. or later) are canceled. Decisions for Wednesday will be made at 6 a.m. Check the ISU home page for updates.
  • Parks Library and all University Library branches are closing at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
  • Reiman Gardens is closing at noon Tuesday.
  • ISU Extension's Ag Chemical Dealer Update meeting, scheduled for Dec. 9 at the Storm Lake Extension office, is canceled.
  • This afternoon's (Dec. 8) Faculty Senate meeting has been canceled.

Winter winds will generate electricity for Ames, ISU

The winds of January are a good thing if you're getting electricity from a wind farm, and that's the case for the City of Ames and Iowa State University. The city and university will begin buying wind-generated electricity from a new wind farm north of Zearing soon.

News release.

Winter break hours in University Relations

The Office of University Relations, including News Service, will be closed Dec. 24 through Jan. 3. This period includes three university holidays, one weekend and a partial university-wide shutdown Dec. 28-31 to help meet a state budget reduction.

If you must reach a staff member over break, leave a message at (515) 294-7958. This number will be checked periodically throughout the break period.

Following is the schedule:

•Dec. 24-25: University holidays, office closed
•Dec. 26-27: Weekend, office closed
•Dec. 28-31: Office closed
•Jan. 1: University holiday, office closed
•Jan. 2-3: Weekend, office closed

Iowa State entrepreneurship professor offers advice for starting a small business in 2010

Howard Van Auken, the Bob and Kay Smith Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, offers advice for starting a small business in 2010.

News release

Iowa State, Ames Laboratory researchers named AAAS Fellows for distinguished work

Four Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory researchers have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their distinguished work in materials science, chemistry and agronomy.

News release.

125 years of student health care at Iowa State

The gritty 125-year history of the student health center includes tales of altruistic doctors who juggled such duties as football coach, professor or sanitation inspector.

See story.

125 years of student health care at Iowa State

The gritty 125-year history of the student health center includes tales of altruistic doctors who juggled such duties as football coach, professor or sanitation inspector.

See story.

125 years of student health care at Iowa State

The gritty 125-year history of the student health center includes tales of altruistic doctors who juggled such duties as football coach, professor or sanitation inspector.

See story.

Wild chimps have near human understanding of fire, says study by ISU's Pruetz

A new study by Iowa State anthropologist Jill Pruetz reports that savanna chimpanzees in Senegal have a near human understanding of wildfires and change their behavior in anticipation of the fire's movement.
News release.

125 years of student health care at Iowa State

The gritty 125-year history of the student health center includes tales of altruistic doctors who juggled such duties as football coach, professor or sanitation inspector.

See story.

Catching up with ISU's cuisine queen

ISU's Madison Mayberry, who caught culinary attention when she won The Rachael Ray Show's "Hey, Can You Cook?" contest, has a brand-new journalism degree. She's putting her education to use blogging, cooking and working for Better Homes and Gardens.

Alumni association story.

ISU faculty address how to re-tool business education to prevent another collapse

The faculty and staff of Iowa State's College of Business are discussing how best to prepare future generations to prevent another financial collapse and economic meltdown. They have ideas on the most pressing needs for business education in 2010 and beyond.
News release.

H1N1 vaccination clinics open to all ages

Story County Public Health has scheduled four H1N1 vaccination clinics this week. Anyone more than six months old is eligible for the free vaccine. Children nine years and younger should receive a second dose at least 28 days after the first dose. This week's scheduled clinics are:

  • Ames: Tuesday, Dec. 15, 4-7 p.m. (First United Methodist Church, 508 Kellogg)
  • Huxley: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 5-8 p.m. (3C Recreation Center, 515 North Main)
  • Nevada: Thursday, Dec. 17, 4-7 p.m. (Story County Medical Center, S. 19th St. and G Ave.)
  • Ames: Friday, Dec. 18, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (260-262 Scheman Building)

Updates are available on the Story County Public Health web site, and by calling the hotline at (515) 233-7577.

Iowa State University commencement is Dec. 18-19

An estimated 1,581 students will receive degrees from Iowa State University during winter commencement events Dec. 18-19. The undergraduate ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, in Hilton Coliseum, and the graduate commencement ceremony will be at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, in Stephens Auditorium. Tickets are not required for either graduation ceremony.

News release.

Weather-related announcements

  • CyRide has canceled service for Dec. 9.
  • Many ISU Dining locations remain OPEN, including Union Drive Marketplace, Seasons Marketplace, East Side Market, West Side Market, Wallace/Wilson C-Store, Hawthorn Market and Cafe and Clyde's Sports Club. Any changes or updates will be available online.
  • The Dec. 10 Pease Family Lecture by Barry Franklin has been canceled.

Iowa State replica of first electronic digital computer going to Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum of Mountain View, Calif., will be the new home for Iowa State University's full-scale, working replica of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) for at least 10 years. The replica of the first electronic digital computer was completed and demonstrated in 1997 as a tribute to the late innovators of the ABC, John Vincent Atanasoff, a former Iowa State professor of physics and mathematics, and Clifford Berry, a former physics graduate student.

News release.

Photo by Chip Clark, Smithsonian Institution

Photo by Chip Clark, Smithsonian Institution

Chimps' spear from Pruetz discovery to be in Smithsonian

A spear-shaped hunting tool used by savanna chimpanzees in Senegal and provided by Iowa State Associate Professor of Anthropology Jill Pruetz will be displayed in a new exhibition hall opening next year at the Smithsonian's National Museum of History.
News release.

A 79-year-old woman who dropped out 60 years ago graduates from Iowa State Dec. 19

Shirley Burns Smith dropped out of Iowa State to marry engineering student Vic Smith in 1949. They lived in married student housing until he graduated in 1950. Last year, she and Vic returned to Iowa State (and to married student housing) so she could finish what she started. On Dec. 19, the 79-year-old Smith will receive her diploma -- 60 years after she left school.
News release.

ISU psychologist studies how product messages influence our willingness to pay

Kevin Blankenship, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State, led two recent studies of 280 students finding that those who were given a message that assigned greater value to an alarm clock were willing to pay an average of $15 more for that clock than the subjects who were given an opposite message.
News release.

Two ISU design programs rank in top 20 nationally

Iowa State's programs in landscape architecture and architecture are among the top 20 in the nation, according to a new survey of practitioners by DesignIntelligence, a bimonthly publication for leaders in design professions. The magazine's annual report, "America's Best Architecture and Design Schools," is the only national college ranking survey that focuses exclusively on design. Landscape architecture and architecture are in the College of Design.
News release.