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Sunday, May 22 2016

  • Iowa State’s Baja team wins first endurance race of the season, aims for more

    Iowa State's Baja SAE Team has already won a long race and earned a top-10 overall finish. The team's racing season still has stops in California and New York. To get ready, the student-engineers have been collecting data and fine-tuning their off-road racer.

  • No evidence that grit improves performance, Iowa State analysis finds

    There are many paths to success, but the significance of grit in helping you reach that goal has been greatly overstated, says an Iowa State University psychologist. Marcus Credé and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of all prior research on grit and found no evidence that grit is a good predictor of success.

  • Iowa State engineer part of defense department study of spray behavior, control

    Engineers from across the country -- including Iowa State's Ted Heindel -- will study the prediction and control of sprays as part of a U.S. Department of Defense research initiative. The engineers say a better understanding of spray physics and control could improve combustion systems, liquid cooling, 3D printing and even help mitigate ship wakes. The Defense Department is supporting the research team with a grant of up to $7.5 million over five years.

  • Iowa State business prof says ‘it pays to be paranoid’ to limit risk when acquiring other firms

    An Iowa State University management professor says corporations need to recognize the threat of competitive retaliation when acquiring another business. There are multiple ways competitors can reduce the deal’s value. By knowing and paying attention to the competitive dynamics, firms making acquisitions can make better choices.

  • Turtles immune to old age? Maybe not, according to new Iowa State University research

    Nearly 30 years of data collected on painted turtles in the Mississippi River near Clinton, Iowa, show that females suffer a steep dip in fertility before the end of their lives, a finding that flies in the face of what scientists have believed about turtles and aging.

  • Cyclone Space Mining doubles down on new and better robot technology

    Iowa State student-engineers are investing long hours in the design and assembly of their space-mining robots. The students will deploy their machines May 16-20 at the annual NASA Robotic Mining Competition at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The students like the technical upgrades they've made to this year's robots -- including metal tracks, a suspension system and better motors. And they think their two-robot mining system could be a great way to collect a lot of simulated Martian soil.

  • Architecture grad students among winners in AIA sustainable design competition

    ISU architecture graduate students Mengwei Liu and Anastasia Sysoeva are among the winners of the second annual American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment Top 10 for Students competition. Their project for Des Moines' 6th Avenue Corridor will be on display May 19-21 at the 2016 AIA National Convention in Philadelphia and at the 105th  Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting in Detroit next March. It was developed in the Sustainable Building Design studio taught by Ulrike Passe, associate professor of architecture and director of the ISU Center for Building Energy Research. 

  • ISU review finds majority of technologies aimed at reducing odor and gas emissions from livestock production never see field-scale testing

    A review of hundreds of academic articles on technologies to reduce odor and gas emissions from livestock operations shows that most such technologies undergo lab testing but never reach farm-scale study. A team of ISU researchers surveyed all the available publications on mitigation practices that focus on animal housing, manure storage and land application techniques.

  • Time to change how news media cover mass shootings, says Iowa State prof

    The amount of media attention focused on the shooter in a mass killing sends the wrong message, says an Iowa State University associate professor of psychology. Douglas Gentile, an expert on media effects, says news reports about the killer, the type and number of weapons used and rounds of ammunition glamorize the situation and set a “high score” for future mass shooters to beat.

  • Iowa State University researchers receive $1 million grant to study antimicrobial resistance in animal production

    The grant from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will allow the interdisciplinary team of researchers to advance new technology to study antimicrobial resistance, which poses a growing threat to human and animal health.

  • ISU graduating senior adapts urban roots to global agriculture

    Malcolm Smith knows that awesome things happen when he steps outside his comfort zone. He chose to attend an agricultural sciences high school without knowing anything about ag. He left his hometown of 2.7 million diverse people to go to college in a town of 60,000 less diverse people. He went on a service learning internship in Uganda after his freshman year and took graduate-level courses at a German university his sophomore year. On Saturday, May 7, Smith graduates from Iowa State with a double major in global resource systems and public service and administration in agriculture.

  • New grant will help Iowa State University researchers to explore genetics of stress resistance in corn

    A $2.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help ISU plant scientists build a better understanding of how corn plants deal with stress conditions such as heat waves. The research will focus on a delicate but vital process in plant cells called protein folding.

  • Iowa school teams, individuals head to science and technology world championship

    School students from across the state are heading to the FIRST Championship in St. Louis. They'll demonstrate what they've researched, built and learned in LEGO League and robotics programs. The whole idea is to inspire kids to be the "innovators, doers, and tinkerers of tomorrow."

  • Clothing made from tea byproduct could improve health of fashion industry

    The fashion industry generates a lot of waste, which is why a team of Iowa State University researchers developed a new fiber that's 100 percent biodegradable. Researchers are testing the fiber – made from a green tea byproduct – to see if it's a viable alternative.  

  • Jolly named Iowa State human sciences dean

    Laura Dunn Jolly, professor of textiles, merchandising and interiors at the University of Georgia, Athens, has been appointed the next dean and Dean's Chair of the College of Human Sciences. She will join the university July 5. Jolly succeeds current Dean and University Professor Pam White, who is retiring after more than 40 years of service to Iowa State.

  • Iowa State engineers develop micro-sized, liquid-metal particles for heat-free soldering

    Martin Thuo of Iowa State and the Ames Laboratory has led development of liquid-metal particles that can be used for heat-free soldering and other applications. He says Iowa State is the perfect place for the latest development of soldering technology. Back in 1996, a research team led by Iver Anderson of the Ames Laboratory and Iowa State patented lead-free solder. Thuo hopes his innovation is just as useful and has helped launch a startup company to develop and market the technology.