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Monday, April 18 2011

News

Too many relatives ruining your picnic? Be glad the flies don’t invite their cousins

An Iowa State University researcher is one of a team of scientists who have recently researched the fly family tree -- one of the most complicated in the animal world. It turns out that houseflies have more than 152,000 cousins. And those are just the ones we know about.

News release.

Learn to run a biorefinery in a virtual control room developed by Iowa State researchers

Iowa State University researchers have developed a virtual biorefinery control room based on ethanol and biodiesel plants in Iowa. The system is designed to teach students and workers to efficiently run a biorefinery. The simulations take into account more than 20 production attributes including moisture, starch content, contaminants, temperature and particle size.
News release.

Slow and steady wins the race: Pokéwalker beats other pedometers in ISU study

In an Iowa State study that tested step-counting devices for accuracy, the Pokéwalker -- a pedometer that works with a Pokémon video game -- had substantially reduced step-counting error compared to both a standard DigiWalker pedometer and a Sensewear armband as walking speed on a treadmill increased. But all three devices showed a high degree of error when compared to manual counting at slower speeds.

John Arends named Greenlee School's 2011 Schwartz Award recipient

John Arends, president and CEO of Arends Inc., a marketing agency founded by his father Don Arends -- a 1990 James W. Schwartz Award honoree -- has been chosen as the 2011 winner of the same award representing the university's highest honor for contributions in journalism and mass communication. Arends will be presented the award during homecoming activities on Friday, Oct. 21, in Hamilton Hall.

Supporting science

"If other countries invest in science, everybody benefits. But at some time those countries that have been leaders in innovation and science have also been economic leaders - superpowers. If the United States is to remain a leader, I think it is important that our science and engineering funding is at a top-notch level relative to our competitors."

Subra Suresh, director of the National Science Foundation who earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State in 1979 and will be honored during VEISHEA with a Distinguished Alumni Award.

Iowa State University researchers have 273 active grants from the National Science Foundation totaling $128 million.

Big 12 signs 13-year cable rights deal with Fox Sports

The Big 12 Conference has reached a landmark 13-year cable rights agreement with Fox Sports Media Group to televise a minimum of 40 football games annually beginning in 2012. "Today's announcement is the culmination of last summer's talks in which I joined with my fellow presidents and chancellors to chart a strong future for the Big 12 Conference," said Iowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy. "All 10 schools will benefit significantly from this contract, which further strengthens the long-term commitment that our member institutions made to one another last summer."

Cyclones.com news release.

ISU researchers collaborate on report showing Pell Grant impact on community college expansion

A new national report authored by researchers from three universities, including ISU's Linda Serra Hagedorn, at right, shows that recent increases in Pell Grant funding have produced both increased enrollment and students taking more credit hours at community colleges in recent years. The report, titled "The Growing Impact of the New Pell Grant Funding: A profile of 205 Community Colleges in 25 States," was presented this week at the annual meeting of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges in New Orleans.

Experts will discuss affordable housing for flood-prone areas April 21-22 at ISU

Experts in affordable housing, disaster resilience and sustainable design will join local housing and planning officials and nonprofit and for-profit housing developers for "The Symposium on Affordable Housing and Disaster Resilience," April 21-22, at the Environmental Health and Safety Services Building Learning Center, on the north side of campus. Two sessions are free and open to the public on Thursday.
News release.

Undergraduates showcase their research and creative expression at ISU April 19

Does the arena decibel-level during Hilton Magic really impact basketball player performance? What happens in cyberspace during virtual mourning? And what do China's cities look like in the midst of epic change? These are just three of the 87 research projects Iowa State University students will share during the university's fifth annual "Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression," Tuesday, April 19, in the Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public.
News release.