News
Solar Decathlon student team prepares Iowa State's solar house for a road trip
How long does it take to disassemble a house, transport it halfway across the country and reconstruct it to exact specifications? For traditional homes, the answer might be months or even years. Thanks to the Interlock House's unique design, the Iowa State University Solar Decathlon Team will accomplish this feat in the span of about three weeks, in time for the Oct. 8 start of the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Iowa State joins other leading research universities to launch futurity.org
Iowa State University is among 35 North American research universities that have launched futurity.org, an online news source featuring the latest discoveries in science, engineering, the environment, health and more.
Plant Sciences Institute leader goes to NSF, interim successor named
The director of Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute has accepted a position with the National Science Foundation. Agronomy Professor William Beavis, the George F. Sprague Endowed Chair, has been named interim director.
News release - Beavis named PSI interim director.
Two ISU students receive Fulbright scholarships
Doctoral students Laura Christianson and Elise Regen have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarships for 2009-2010.
As ash borer claims more trees, researcher at ISU works for species survival
Estimates say more than 70 million ash trees have been destroyed nationally by the emerald ash borer insect. Mark Widrlechner, assistant professor of agronomy and horticulture at ISU, is racing the clock to collect seeds from different ash species including green, white, blue, and black ash, and many variations within each species before they are killed by the pest. He thinks he may be about 10 percent there.
It's a record-breaker: Iowa State University fall enrollment nears 28,000
This fall has ushered in Iowa State University's highest-ever enrollment -- 27,945 students, an increase of more than 4 percent compared to fall 2008.
Arrive early for annual Iowa State-Iowa matchup
The Cyclones and Hawkeyes will renew their intrastate football rivalry for the 57th time this Saturday, Sept. 12, at Jack Trice Stadium. Officials encourage fans to plan ahead and allow extra travel time to arrive in Ames safely and make the 11 a.m. kickoff.
The Morgan twins.
Identical twins come from inner city to Iowa State on Gates Millennium Scholarships
When Iowa State's Derrick Rollins visited the inner-city home of two talented brothers and their family in Kansas City, Mo., he talked with them about the school's great facilities, supportive environment and dedication to success. But Rollins wasn't recruiting athletes. He was recruiting engineering students.
Rollins is assistant dean for diversity affairs in Iowa State University's College of Engineering. And his unique, personal approach to finding high-potential minority students and bringing them into the college has landed two of the nation's top recruits: identical twins Jonathan and Donathan Morgan.
Iowa Power Fund helps Iowa State establish Wind Energy Manufacturing Laboratory
Iowa State University researchers are working with TPI Composites Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories to study and improve the process used to manufacture wind turbine blades. The researchers' work is supported, in part, by a $2.1 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund.
Ambassador leading U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking will speak Oct. 15
Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, President Obama's appointee to direct the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, will speak on "U.S. Leadership in the Global Fight Against Slavery" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. A Huxley native and ISU alumnus, CdeBaca has worked under three presidential administrations to combat human trafficking and modern forms of slavery. His talk will be in the Memorial Union Sun Room and is free and open to the public.
ISU fall blood drive under way
There's still time to donate blood to the student-run blood drive, which runs through Friday, Oct. 2. Donors should drop by the Memorial Union Great Hall between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. now through Wednesday; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.
Des Moines Public Schools, ISU receive $1.5 million grant to strengthen history education
The 2009 World Food Prize winner to present Borlaug Lecture Oct. 12
James Bushnell named Iowa State’s first Cargill Endowed Chair in Energy Economics
James Bushnell, formerly of the University of California Energy Institute, has been named Iowa State University's first Cargill Endowed Chair in Energy Economics. He'll also lead Iowa State's Biobased Industry Center. He hopes to make the center a place for formal and informal discussions.
ISU to host annual meeting of Central States Chapter of Society of Toxicology
Iowa State University will host the annual meeting of the Central States Chapter of the Society of Toxicology at the Iowa State University Alumni Center, 420 Beach Drive, Ames, Iowa, Oct. 1-2.
Iowa State to train the next set of cyber warriors for the government
Iowa State's Information Assurance Center receive funding from the National Science Foundation that provides 24 full-ride scholarships for students to receive a master's degree in information assurance.
Iowa State on The Daily Show
Gene Takle, an Iowa State professor of geological and
atmospheric sciences and agronomy, will be featured on The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The show is
at 10 p.m. Central on Comedy Central. Takle said he tried to
talk science through the segment's silliness. He was
invited on the show after he and two other Iowa State
researchers contributed to a study that found average wind
speeds across the country have decreased by an average of .5
percent to 1 percent per year since 1973. The study found
similar wind speed declines in Iowa.
News
release.
Vanity Fair writer and co-author of "The Smartest Guys in the Room" will speak
Vanity Fair contributing editor Bethany McLean, who co-wrote "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron," will speak at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 in the Memorial Union Sun Room. McLean, who was with Fortune from 1995 to 2008, wrote the first article to raise questions about the immense profitability of Enron, then a darling of the stock market. Her talk, "Following the Money: From Enron to Hedge Funds," is free and open to the public.
ISU study finds intervention program helps kids eat healthier, reduce screen time
MFA in creative writing is nation's first with its own nature preserve
A donation by 1946 ISU graduate Everett Casey of a 76-acre plot of largely underdeveloped land outside of Boone near Don Williams Park has made Iowa State's Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and environment program the nation's first to now have its own nature preserve.
Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Hill tries biofeedback. Photo by Bob Elbert
Biofeedback Center newest stress-buster for Iowa State University students
Stressed-out college students are nothing new. But at Iowa State University, they have a new option for dealing with stress: Biofeedback. This fall, the university opened a Biofeedback Center that is free and open to all students. Biofeedback uses technologies like video games and guided meditations to teach relaxation techniques, concentration skills and healthy coping responses. Iowa State is the first of the three Regents' universities to offer a biofeedback service to address students' emotional needs.
First year of Center for Biorenewable Chemicals builds bridges to science, industry
A five-year, $18.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation established the NSF Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals at Iowa State University one year ago. The center's 24 researchers from nine academic institutions are now working toward a goal of transforming the chemical industry from one based on petroleum to one based on biorenewable resources.
ISU researchers working to develop, market embryonic test for bovine genetics
A team of clinicians and diagnosticians and genetic researchers at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine are looking to test calves to determine if a bovine is genetically sound when it is still an embryo prior to being implanted in its mother. If successful, this would allow producers to select which embryos are valuable before spending the time, effort and expense of producing a calf only to find out that it has genetic defects that render it of little value.
Community Visioning Program applications available
The Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning Program is accepting applications for the 2010 program. Since 1996, 159 communities throughout the state have benefited from the program, which integrates technical landscape planning and design techniques with sustainable community action. The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation in partnership with Iowa State University Extension Landscape Architecture and Trees Forever.
ISU education researcher offers community college policy suggestions in book chapter
Linda Serra Hagedorn, a professor of educational leadership and policy studies and director of Iowa State's Research Institute for Studies in Education, warns community college officials to proceed with caution as they use new federal money to expand their degree options. Hagedorn made policy suggestions on how community colleges could become more effective in their postsecondary education role in a chapter she authored for the annual edition of "Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research."
ISU researchers study insecticide-free method for control of soybean aphids
Two Iowa State University researchers are looking at a way to genetically modify soybeans to prevent damage from aphids. If successful, soybeans will carry in-plant protection from aphids, similar to the way genetically modified corn now keeps the European Corn Borer from destroying corn yields.
Iowa State's seventh bioeconomy conference will be virtual
Iowa State will join 11 other Midwest universities to offer
solutions for sustainability at "Growing the
Bioeconomy," a virtual conference set for Dec. 1. It's
the seventh bioeconomy conference ISU has hosted, but the first
time the university has collaborated with other schools to
simultaneously hold the event. James Lovelock, renowned for his
global environmental science thinking, will be the keynote
speaker.
Researcher hopes to see results through federally funded ISU, UI collaboration
An Iowa State University researcher, Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic, has been named one of the lead investigators and head of animal research for the United States Veterans Affairs Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Visual Loss. Grozdanic will lead ISU's efforts as part of a $5 million federal grant that will focus on preventing and curing visual impairments.
Iowa State career fairs continue to flourish in spite of the weak economy
ISU's fall career fair season is underway. The Engineering Career Fair will take place Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Hilton Coliseum and the Scheman Building, with the Business/Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Fair taking place the next day in Hilton. The Ag Career Day is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the Lied Recreation Center.
ISU Dance Marathon wins award from Children’s Miracle Network
The 11th annual ISU Dance Marathon raised $171,955.41 to benefit sick and injured children and their families back in January. Organizers were also rewarded for their efforts this summer as they won the 2009 Best Closing Ceremony Award from Children's Miracle Network -- a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children's hospitals nationwide.
The Post Carbon Institute's Richard Heinberg to speak at ISU Sept. 24
Keynote speaker for ISU's Live Green! Sustainability Series
Richard Heinberg, a leading author on oil depletion and a post carbon world, will keynote Iowa State University's Live Green! Sustainability Series. Heinberg's lecture, "Toward a Post Carbon Food System," will be at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24 in the Memorial Union Sun Room.
Iowa State students document the freshman-year experience through photos
College of Business hosts free financial literacy seminars over next five Mondays
Iowa State's College of Business is hosting a series of free financial literacy seminars, featuring presentations by area financial leaders, over five consecutive Mondays, starting Sept. 14. Each seminar is open to the public and will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Carver Hall, Room 101. News release.
Goff named Anderson Chair in Veterinary Medicine
Jesse Goff, professor of biomedical sciences at Iowa State, has been named the first Anderson Chair in ISU's College of Veterinary Medicine. The Anderson Chair was established through an anonymous gift to Iowa State, which was combined with matching funds from the State of Iowa (Battelle Endowment) in an effort to enhance the state's biosciences, information technology and advanced manufacturing industries.
Seasonal flu shot clinic for employees under way
ISU employees can get seasonal flu immunizations on campus
weekdays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) in the Technical Administrative
Services Facility. The clinic will operate weekdays through
Sept. 28 or until the supply of vaccinations is gone. The
immunizations are available to eligible employees at no cost to
them.
More
information.
Apollo 13 astronaut and space shuttle test pilot Fred Haise to speak Sept. 19
Astronaut Fred Haise, a member of the ill-fated 1970 Apollo 13 space mission who was severely burned while filming "Tora! Tora! Tora!," will speak at Iowa State on Saturday, Sept. 19. His presentation, "Failure is not an Option," will be at 7 p.m. in Stephens Auditorium. The event, which is free and open to the public, is a highlight of Engineers' Week 2009.
Seasonal flu shot clinic for employees under way
ISU employees can get seasonal flu immunizations on campus
weekdays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) in the Technical Administrative
Services Facility. The clinic will operate weekdays through
Sept. 28 or until the supply of vaccinations is gone. The
immunizations are available to eligible employees at no cost to
them.
More
information.
ISU exhibit displays ethnic textile traditions of Iowa immigrant and native populations
"The Ethnic Textile Traditions of Iowa Immigrants and Native Populations" will be showcased in the Mary Alice Gallery, 1015 Morrill Hall, Wednesday, Sept. 16, through Friday, Nov. 20. The gallery is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Seasonal flu shot clinic for employees under way
ISU employees can get seasonal flu immunizations on campus
weekdays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) in the Technical Administrative
Services Facility. The clinic will operate weekdays through
Sept. 28 or until the supply of vaccinations is gone. The
immunizations are available to eligible employees at no cost to
them.
More
information.
Greenlee School adjusts offerings to prepare students for a new age of journalism
Iowa State's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication continues to attract students -- with 650 to 750 students each of the past five years -- in spite of the massive downsizing of print media nationally. School officials are addressing the current curriculum to better serve students in a new digital age of journalism.
Harls pledge $1.5 million to renovate Curtiss Hall
Long-time faculty member Neil Harl and his wife, Darlene, have pledged $1.5 million toward renovations of Curtiss Hall, the iconic building housing the main offices of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Neil Harl is a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences and emeritus professor of economics at Iowa State.
Iowa State faculty forums to address nation's most critical issues
The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and the Committee on Lectures are sponsoring a series of faculty forums highlighting the research of several Iowa State faculty members, as well as some outside experts, on timely topics. All the free, public forums will be held at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall, Memorial Union. The first forum, slated for Thursday, Sept. 10, will address health care reform.
ISU receives high marks in Washington Monthly’s annual college rankings
Iowa State ranks 32nd among 258 colleges and universities in Washington Monthly's 2009 national university college rankings. The rankings, out this week, rate schools on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories - improving social mobility, producing research and promoting public service.
ISU gets high marks for federal work-study funds spent on service (ranked No. 4), science and engineering degrees awarded (ranked No. 33), ROTC (ranked No. 55), research expenditures (ranked No. 63) and faculty in national academies (ranked no. 79).
Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu to speak at Iowa State on Sept. 17
Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu will give a free, public lecture titled "Global Hopscotch: The Borderless World and the Search for Home," at 8 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 17, in the Sun Room of ISU's Memorial Union.
