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Thursday, October 17 2013

  • Iowa State astronomer helps research team see misaligned planets in distant system

    NASA's Kepler space telescope has helped astronomers see a distant planetary system featuring multiple planets orbiting their host star at a severe tilt. Iowa State's Steve Kawaler contributed to the study as part of the research team that studied regular changes in the brightness of the host star. The discovery is described in the Oct. 18 issue of the journal Science.

  • End of growing season creates opportunities to plant cover crops, according to Iowa State University professors

    Iowa State professors from a range of disciplines are reaching out to producers and landowners in an effort to expand the use of cover crops in the state, a goal that has the potential to protect the environment while improving yields.

  • Iowa State student's family from Washington fulfills dream with move to Iowa

    A compelling mix of Iowa State University's dairy science program, a historic barn west of Ogden and plain old-fashioned "Iowa nice" was all it took for the Hodges-Tinner family of Hockinson, Wash., to pick up and move to Iowa. Greg, Margot, Erich, five horses and one beloved Brown Swiss cow are among the newest — and perhaps happiest — Cyclones in the Hawkeye state. Their love affair with all things Iowa started in 2009 during Erich's freshman year in dairy science and animal science at Iowa State.

  • No joke: ISU students learning the tricks of standup comedy

    Peter Orazem and Gavin Jerome believe comedy is just like any other skill you can learn. That's why the two are teaching a Comedy College course to help Iowa State students learn the tricks and techniques of standup comedy. Students may never step foot on stage after this course, but Orazem and Jerome know it's a skill students will use throughout their career.

  • Architecture students rule the roost with their first design-build project

    It's their first architectural design studio. And all 87 new majors in the professional architecture degree program at Iowa State have been hard at work, designing and building houses — for chickens. With names like "Rustic Ranch," "The Griddle" and "Raise the Roost," the 20 ingenious structures don't look like alien spaceships exactly, but they aren't your standard, run-of-the-mill chicken coops, either. They'll be on display Oct. 14 -25 on the southeast lawn of the College of Design.

  • U.S. DOT awards Iowa State $5.2 million to establish Midwest Transportation Center

    The U.S. Department of Transportation is supporting a new Midwest Transportation Center based at Iowa State University. A two-year grant of nearly $2.6 million will launch the center and its mission to develop data-driven performance measures of transportation infrastructure, safety and construction. In addition to Iowa Staters, the center includes researchers and students from five universities in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

  • ISU researchers use video games to bridge generational gap and get older adults moving

    People are living longer, but not necessarily living healthier, and that is something a group of Iowa State University professors wants to change. They hope to accomplish that goal by using video games to promote fitness and encouraging older adults to get active.

  • Grain storage takes on greater importance this harvest, according to Iowa State ag engineering professor

    Uneven quality and maturity in this year’s corn harvest means grain storage management will take on even greater importance than in previous years, according to an Iowa State University grain storage expert.

  • Iowa State landscape architecture student wins 3-D design contest

    An Iowa State University undergraduate student has achieved the “holy grail of 3-D graphics” with her winning entry in a competition to design a three-dimensional tree for use in rendering landscape plans. Sara Davids, Knoxville, a junior in landscape architecture, won the 2013 Student 3-D Design Contest sponsored by Land F/X, a professional landscape and irrigation design software add-on. She will receive a new FlashForge 3D printer. And she'll donate it to her hometown high school.

  • Iowa State building research and development program for bioplastics

    Iowa State's Biopolymers and Biocomposites Research Team is working toward two long-term goals: Helping bioplastics capture at least 20 percent of the plastics market and transferring bioplastic technologies from the university to Iowa startup companies. Team researchers have won $6.5 million in research grants over the past five years. They're now working to build support for a proposed Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites.

  • Real-life Olivia Pope from 'Scandal' will speak Oct. 21

    CANCELED

    The crisis manager and former White House deputy press secretary who is the real-life inspiration for the lead in ABC's "Scandal" will speak at at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21 in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Judy Smith will discuss her experiences that help shape the hit program's storylines about a professional fixer. Her talk, "Leading in a Crisis: Real Stories Behind 'Scandal'" is free and open to the public.

  • Gourmet pig breeder will speak on quest to develop tastiest pork on Oct. 18

    Carl Blake's Iowa Swabian Hall gourmet pigs are based on a 19th century German formula. And they are winning culinary contests, attracting praise from chefs, and landing Blake in an episode of the Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods," and a guest appearance on "The Colbert Report." He will share his experiences in a talk, "In Pursuit of the Perfect Pig," at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, in the Memorial Union Gallery. Is free and open to the public.

  • Starting a business: Entrepreneurs offer insight and guidance for ISU students

    There are some lessons in business that can only come from experience, and others that entrepreneurs wish they would have known before starting their own business. It is the kind of advice that business professionals will share with Iowa State University honors students this fall to help them avoid similar pitfalls.

  • Over the limit: ISU researchers test how size, shape and color of wine glass affect how much you pour

    Pouring a glass of wine is rarely an exact measurement, especially in a social setting. While most people think of a glass as one serving, in reality it could be closer to two or three. Just how much one pours is influenced by a variety of environmental factors, researchers at Iowa State and Cornell universities discovered, and that could have serious consequences when it comes to overconsumption.

  • MEDIA ADVISORY: Iowa State experts available to comment on 2013 harvest

    As farmers across the Midwest solidify their plans for the 2013 harvest, agriculture experts at Iowa State University are watching closely to determine how this year's harvest will impact producers, consumers and the economy.

  • Iowa State, Ames Lab chemists help find binding site of protein that allows plant growth

    Chemists from Iowa State and the Ames Laboratory are part of a research team that discovered where a protein binds to plant cell walls, a process that makes it possible for plants to grow. Researchers say the discovery could one day lead to bigger harvests of biomass for renewable energy. The findings have just been published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition.

  • ISU professor identifies oldest and youngest stag-moose in North America

    Matthew Hill has identified countless bones found by farmers, fishermen, rock hounds and heavy equipment operators. Most of the remains turn out to be deer, bison, horse or cow bones, or simply odd looking rocks. But some discoveries turn out to be highly unusual, as was the case with an antler from an extinct Ice Age animal known as a stag-moose or elk-moose.

  • Record number of students to fight off hackers, try to keep computer systems safe

    A record number of Iowa State students will be fighting off computer hackers during a Cyber Defense Competition from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 21 on the first floor of Coover Hall. The event is free and open to the public. “It’s very chaotic,” said Iowa State's Doug Jacobson. “There will be computers and students everywhere.”