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Friday, September 3 2010

News

ISU closed Sept. 6

Iowa State University offices will be closed, and no classes will be held Monday, Sept. 6, in observance of the national Labor Day holiday. A few facilities will remain open Monday, including:

  • Reiman Gardens, 9 a.m. -6 p.m. (Butterfly Wing is open 9-4:30 p.m.)
  • Some dining facilities (see schedule).
  • Beyer Hall recreation facilities, 6 a.m.-midnight
  • Memorial Union building and Maintenance Shop are open. Offices and food courts are closed.

Iowa State chemists discover method to create high-value chemicals from biomass

Walter Trahanovsky, an Iowa State professor of chemistry, was trying to produce sugar derivatives from biomass using high-temperature chemistry. He was surprised when his research also produced significant yields of high-value chemicals.
News release.

ISU faculty study community college role in educating women, minorities in STEM fields

Two Iowa State researchers -- Soko Starobin and Frankie Santos Laanan -- were editors of a professional journal providing research on the role community colleges play in broadening participation among women and minorities in STEM fields. The issue concludes with an essay led by Elizabeth Hoffman, ISU executive vice president and provost, providing policy recommendations on how to strengthen that role.

Wall Street Journal's editorial page editor Paul Gigot to speak at ISU Sept. 21

Paul Gigot

Paul Gigot, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Stephens Auditorium. Gigot will share lessons he learned from Iowa State journalism alumnus Bob Bartley, longtime editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal. Bartley, who won a Pulitzer Prize and was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, grew up in Ames and began his career as editor of the Iowa State Daily. Gigot's talk, "The Future of Opinion Journalism," is free and open to the public.

News release.

Yang

Yang

ISU researchers develop hybrid protein tools for gene cutting and editing

An Iowa State University team of researchers, led by Bing Yang, has developed a type of hybrid proteins that can make double-strand DNA breaks at specific sites in living cells, possibly leading to better gene replacement and gene editing therapies.


News release.

Space telescope’s new survey of outer galaxy helps Iowa State astronomers study stars

Iowa State University astronomers Massimo Marengo and Charles Kerton are now using the Spitzer Space Telescope to study stars in the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy. Marengo studies big, cool-temperature stars and the dusty disks that form around them. Kerton is using Spitzer data to study star-forming regions of the galaxy.

News release.

Reggie Watts will bring his free-form comedy to Iowa State Sept. 18

Reggie Watts, a free-form comedian-musician who recently toured with Conan O'Brien, will perform Iowa State's comedy opener on Saturday, Sept. 18. Watts' "Comedy on the Edge" will be at 8 p.m. at Stephens Auditorium, the closing event of Engineers' Week. Watts received the Andy Kaufmann Award in 2006 for his distinctive brand of innovative stand-up performance. The show is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m.

News release.

ISU design college honors Mark Engelbrecht with the Christian Petersen Design Award


Mark C. Engelbrecht, professor of architecture and dean emeritus of the College of Design, is the 2010 recipient of the Christian Petersen Design Award presented by the college. He was honored in a program Aug. 23. Engelbrecht joined the architecture faculty in 1969 and served as dean from 1994 to 2009. Established in 1980, the Petersen award is given annually to alumni, staff and friends of the university for distinguished work that advances the design and art professions.
News release.

World culture observer and author Pico Iyer will talk at Iowa State Sept. 16

Pico Iyer, one of the most respected observers of the changing world and author of nine books about cultures converging, will speak at Iowa State on Thursday, Sept. 16. His talk, "Global Souls: Citizens in the Future Tense," will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The lecture is part of the World Affairs Series. It is free and open to the public. Iyer's books include "Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East" (which appeared on several lists of the top travel books of the 20th century). His most recent book, "The Open Road," describes 35 years of talks and travel with the Dalai Lama.

News release.

Sylvia's creator cartoonist Nicole Hollander will speak at Iowa State Sept. 9

For three decades, the cantankerous, sharp-tongued Sylvia has enriched newspaper comics throughout the world, disseminating the acerbic wit and wisdom of her creator, Nicole Hollander. Hollander will share tales from her life in a talk at Iowa State University, Thursday, Sept. 9. Her presentation, "My Life in the Comics: Thirty Years of Graphic Misbehavior from Reagan to Obama," will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. It is free and open to the public.

News release.

ISU economists determine economic impact of state's 2008 weather-related disasters

Two Iowa State economists have released a report that evaluates the economic impact of the weather-related damage to the state in 2008. And while Dave Swenson and Liesl Eathington acknowledge that many Iowans were devastated by those weather-related disasters, their evaluation found that the damaged areas weathered the storm quite well economically.


Flood updates: Lied Center closes

The Lied Recreation Center has been closed to facilitate total dehumidification of the facility. More information on facilities, events and ways to give or receive help in the flood's aftermath can be found on the "flood updates" website.