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Friday, March 2 2012

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ISU professor studying how to make new teachers most effective in the classroom

EunJin Bang (center), an ISU assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, has been part of a team conducting a five-state study of nearly 100 new secondary education science teachers. They've been determining what type of mentoring support programs make the new teachers most effective in the classroom and more engaged in a teaching career. Their study will be honored this month by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching as the most influential paper of the year published in its official journal.

VP Biden tours Make To Innovate (M:2:I) lab

Vice President Joseph Biden, second from right, visited Iowa State University on Thursday, March 1. Biden participated in a student manufacturing tour prior to his remarks at a town hall meeting in Howe Hall. Here, the vice president learns about rapid prototyping, which engineering students use to build models -- speeding the design process and getting new products to market faster. Explaining the process are ISU students Shannon Krogmeier of Donnellson (far right) and Jared Juel of Council Bluffs (center). Looking on are ISU President Steven Leath (far left) and College of Engineering Dean Jonathan Wickert.

College of Engineering video: Biden's town hall remarks

Slate columnist Farhad Manjoo will discuss battle of tech giants March 7

Farhad Manjoo, a technology columnist for Slate magazine and National Public Radio contributor, will speak on "The War between Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon," at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Manjoo is the author of "True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society," and contributes regularly to Wired News and Fast Company. His lecture is free and open to the public.

Ambassador leading U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking will speak at ISU March 6

Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, President Obama's appointee to direct the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, will present "Fighting Human Trafficking" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Working under three presidential admistrations to combat human trafficking and modern forms of slavery, CdeBaca has investigated and prosecuted servitude cases in which victims were held for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, farm labor, domestic service and factory work. CdeBaca is a Huxley native and Iowa State alumnus. His lecture is free and open to the public.

Ecologist and cancer survivor to talk about pollution and health March 4

Sandra Steingraber, a biologist, cancer survivor and author, will speak on "Environmental Pollution, Climate Change and Our Health" at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 4, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. In her latest book, "Raising Elijah: Protecting Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis," Steingraber speaks as a scientist and a mother about the joys of bringing up her son while searching for ways to shield him - and other children - from the effects of climate change and environmental pollution. Steingraber's presentation is the 2012 Shivvers Memorial Lecture. It is free and open to the public.

Iowa State, Ames Lab chemists aid study of mutated plants that may be better for biofuels

A new study says genetic mutations in plants could make it easier to break down plant cellulose to the sugars that are fermented into biofuels. Mei Hong, a professor at Iowa State and an associate of the Ames Laboratory, and Tuo Wang, an Iowa State graduate student, contributed their expertise in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the study. The researchers' findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.