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Thursday, February 3 2011

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Iowa poverty increasing but remains below national average for now: ISU researcher

Iowans have enjoyed lower poverty levels than the rest of the nation for nearly four decades. However, trends for the past 10 years show that Iowa is losing ground, according to recent findings by an Iowa State University researcher David Peters, assistant professor of sociology, who looked at recent poverty data collected by the Census Bureau and compared those figures with data going back to 1969.

News Release.

Designer of NASA's Mars mission cameras will speak at Iowa State on Feb. 10

Photo by Sara Hammond

Optical scientist Peter Smith, creator of the Mars Pathfinder Imager -- the first camera to return photos of Mars' surface -- will speak at Iowa State University on Thursday, Feb. 10. "The Next Phase of Martian Exploration: The Search for Life" will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Smith is a professor at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He has been a scientist for NASA missions to Venus, Saturn, Titan and Mars since 1978. His presentation is part of Iowa State's National Affairs Series on Innovation and is the Phi Beta Kappa Lecture. It is free and open to the public.

News release.

Learning communities transform student peer mentors into leaders at Iowa State

When Iowa State initiated learning communities in 1995, all eyes were focused on the intended benefits for first-year students -- to improve retention, graduation rates and overall satisfaction and engagement. And, while statistics bear out significant gains in those areas, a completely unexpected benefit emerged: learning communities also transform peer mentors into leaders. More than 300 students mentor their peers in Iowa State's 84 learning communities.

News release.

New exhibit explores 'Weddings in the Heartland: Apparel, traditions, memories'

The "Weddings in the Heartland: Apparel, traditions, memories" exhibit opened this week and runs through April 16 in the Mary Alice Gallery at the Textiles and Clothing Museum in ISU's Morrill Hall. There will be an opening reception this Sunday, Jan. 30, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. It contains 19 wedding garments dating from the late 19th-century to the present that display the Midwestern culture and trends of their day.

ISU researcher to get to root of many aspects of sustainable organic vegetable production

Iowa State University researcher Kathleen Delate is examining which organic vegetable growing practices are best for the soil, water, yields and even nutrition. The professor of horticulture and agronomy is undertaking perhaps the most comprehensive study of organic vegetable-growing practices by looking at the use of cover crops, manure, tillage and mulch.

News Release.