News
Transportation focus at Iowa State University becomes institute
The Center for Transportation Research and Education, a Regents-approved center at Iowa State University since 1996, has been designated an Iowa State institute and will be called the Institute for Transportation. The institute will also be known as "InTrans."
Barry Griswell and Bob Jennings will speak April 13
Two Des Moines business gurus will speak at Iowa State about ways businesses can grow stronger by overcoming and embracing adversity. Barry Griswell and Bob Jennings will present "The Adversity Paradox: Achieving Uncommon Success in Business" at 7 p.m. Monday, April 13, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. A book signing and reception follow. The events are free and open to the public.
Exercise your freedoms at First Amendment Day April 16
The Greenlee School of Journalism's annual First Amendment Day celebration serves as a reminder of the five freedoms granted by the Constitution. The event kicks off the evening of April 15 with a discussion on the future of the freedom of the press, and continues all day April 16 with a freedom march, lectures, free food, soap box debates and a roundtable discussion.
Emerging Technologies Conference shows off latest in human computer interaction
The annual Emerging Technologies Conference at Iowa State University will be Thursday, April 2, and Friday, April 3. The conference features speakers, demonstrations, technical presentations, networking and some IT fun and games. The event is free for Iowa State students, faculty and staff. Registration fees are required for others.
Reecy named director of the Office of Biotechnology at Iowa State University
James Reecy, associate professor of animal science at Iowa State University, will become director of the university's Office of Biotechnology on July 1. Reecy will transition into the position by becoming the associate director on April 1.
Iowa State to host statewide rural aging conference on April 3
Iowa State University will host the "Rural Aging Conference: Living and Aging Well" in the Scheman Building on Friday, April 3. The day-long conference will feature presentations by six leading aging research scholars.
ISU study finds college students are online regularly and reading more overall
A new Iowa State study examining data from a 2006-07 online survey of 539 students attending a "highly selective" but unnamed Midwestern university found that students are routinely using the Internet more than ever, but they're also spending considerably more time reading than they did 10 years ago.
Spring fashions, local Marc Jacobs designer featured in April 25 ISU Fashion Show
The ISU Fashion Show 2009 will be held on Saturday, April 25, in Stephens Auditorium, and feature work by Mansoor Amjed -- a Des Moines native who is a designer for women's wovens at Marc by Marc Jacobs. The event will have a showcase exhibit of student portfolios and mounted pieces at 6 p.m., with the runway show scheduled for 7 p.m.
Learning communities program earns national honor
The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) honored Iowa State's learning communities program with the Promising Practices Award for 2009. The award recognizes colleges and universities for their outstanding partnerships between student affairs professionals and academic affairs. Iowa State's learning community program has served as a model for other schools.
Ames Laboratory to receive $1.7 million in recovery act funding
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ames Laboratory will receive approximately $1.7 million as part of President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding will be applied to a variety of energy conservation projects at the Ames Laboratory.
17th Annual Voorhees Business Conference on supply chain management set for April 3
The 17th Annual Voorhees Business Conference -- sponsored by ISU's College of Business, Jacobson Companies, Caterpillar Foundation and John Deere -- will take place on Friday, April 3, in the Scheman Building. The conference will focus on "The Green Supply Chain: Challenges and Best Practices" and features industry leaders in that area.
ISU gets OK to proceed with early retirement option
Iowa State will move forward with its proposed early retirement incentive program, after getting approval from the state Board of Regents at its March 19 meeting in Iowa City. President Gregory Geoffroy introduced ISU's plan as an immediate cost-saving budget measure for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Nobel laureate in chemistry to speak at March 31
Dudley Herschbach, the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University and recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, will present the 2009 President's Lecture in Chemistry on Tuesday, March 31. His presentation, "The Impossible Takes a Little Longer: Reflections on Teaching Science as a Liberal Art," will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. It is free and open to the public.
ISU Catt Center sponsoring Ready to Run: Campaign Training for Women on April 3
Iowa State's Carrie Chapman Catt Center and the League of Women Voters of Ames, Iowa, are sponsoring Ready to Run Iowa: Campaign Training for Women, on Friday, April 3. The workshop -- which is designed for anyone interested in running for elected office, serving on public boards or commissions, or working on a campaign -- will take place from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Scheman Building.
ISU engineering students lead a symposium to educate others on water conservation
Two Iowa State seniors will lead a water conservation symposium on Sunday, March 29, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Howe Hall as part of their project for ISU's Engineering Leadership Program.
Spring blood drive under way
There's still time to donate blood to the student-run spring blood drive, which runs through Thursday, March 26. Donors should drop by Memorial Union Great Hall between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
White
Dean interview March 26-27
Pamela White, finalist for the position of dean of the College of Human Sciences, will interview on campus March 26-27. White is interim dean of the college and University Professor of food science and human nutrition. An open forum with White will be held 3:45 to 5 p.m. March 26 in 2019 Morrill Hall. The forum also will be web cast.
State Science + Technology Fair of Iowa attracts 545 young researchers
The annual State Science + Technology Fair of Iowa will be on the Iowa State University campus March 27-28. The public is invited to several events: Review projects and meet students from 12 to 5 p.m. Friday, March 27, and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at Hilton Coliseum and the Scheman Building. Hear space journalist Andrew Chaikin speak about "A Passion for Mars" at 7 p.m. Friday, March 27, in Hilton. And, see two Saturday award ceremonies: special awards will be presented 8 to 9:30 a.m. and the fair's grand awards will be presented at 5 p.m.
ISU teams take two top prizes in statewide Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan competition
Iowa State University student entries were chosen as two of the three top prize winners in the statewide Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition. Corey Kliewer, a freshman in agriculture and systems technology; and a team of graduate students in mechanical engineering each received $5,000 top prize awards for their new ventures.
Plans for fans
Check out the plans for Cyclone fans at the Big 12 Championship Basketball Tournaments in Oklahoma City this week.
Iowa Power Fund advances Iowa State development of clean energy technologies
Researchers from Iowa State University, Frontline BioEnergy and Hawkeye Energy Holdings are using a $2.37 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund to develop new burner and catalyst technologies. The technologies will use gas made from biomass to efficiently produce ethanol and provide clean, renewable power for heating and drying equipment.
Wells to appear in "60 Minutes" story on eyewitness misidentification Sunday
Gary Wells, a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State, will be featured on the CBS News show "60 Minutes" this Sunday, March 8 (6 p.m., KCCI, channel 8), in a package on eyewitness misidentification in criminal cases. Wells and ISU graduate student Deah Quinlivan published a paper related to the topic in the February Law and Human Behavior, the journal of the American Psychology-Law Society.
Student is passionate about dancing with bulls
When Lucas Moore talks about nimble footwork and all the right moves, he's not talking tango. He's talking bull. The Iowa State University freshman is a bullfighter -- a type of rodeo clown that protects bull riders who dismount or are bucked off. The bullfighter distracts the bull before it hooks or tramples the cowboy.
ReCAP report finds state per capita retail sales are down 4.0 percent since 2000
Iowa's retail per capita sales (taxable sales and not total retail sales) have gone down 4 percent between 2000-08, according to the new Retail Sales Analysis & Report for Fiscal Year 2008 by Iowa State University's Regional Capacity Analysis Program (ReCAP), authored by ISU economist Meghan O'Brien.
White
ISU human sciences dean search narrowed to one
The committee searching for the next dean of the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University has unanimously recommended one finalist to move forward in the process. That candidate is College of Human Sciences Interim Dean Pam White, who also is a University Professor of food science and human nutrition.
University leaders discuss budget issues with legislative subcommittee
President Gregory Geoffroy and the other regents university presidents met with the Iowa Legislature's Education Appropriations Subcommittee March 3 to discuss the effects of reduced state appropriations to the universities.
ISU research examines how plants produce high-energy storage organs
David Hannapel, ISU horticulture, and Guru Rao, ISU biochemistry, Biophysics and molecular biology, are studying how plants produce storage organs that humans use as food.
Avoid self-handicapping at work, advises an Iowa State management professor
An Iowa State management professor advises against self-handicapping on the job. James McElroy, a University Professor of Management at ISU; and J. Michael Crant, a management professor at the University of Notre Dame, published a study last year that found the more times an individual turned to self-handicaps, the less credible those handicaps became to their co-workers -- particularly if the project eventually failed.
Iowa State researchers receive awards for Parkinson's Disease study
Two researchers in the Iowa Center for Advanced Neurotoxicology (ICAN) at Iowa State University have received awards totaling more than $4 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The awards represent innovative approaches to funding biomedical research in Parkinson's Disease by NINDS.
Undergraduates will present their research projects at annual Capitol event
From the antimicrobial effect of common plant extracts to the upper-air flow patterns of floods in the Central Plains, 23 Iowa State undergraduate students have lots to talk about when they present their research to legislators and others during the fourth annual "Research in the Capitol." The event will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, March 9, in the rotunda of the State Capitol building in Des Moines.
