News Releases

Can local communities pyrolize their wastes and residues, to make renewable fuels and chemicals at biobased super-refineries? Two-step processes could be the ticket to the future, according to an Iowa State team.

Journalist and foreign policy analyst Robin Wright will discuss trends and policy in the Arab world during "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. As a United States Institute for Peace Senior Fellow and a Wilson Center Distinguished Scholar, Wright's projects explore new trends in the Islamic world that will be a major policy challenge for the United States and the West. As a journalist, she has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Sunday Times of London, CBS News and The Christian Science Monitor. Wright's talk, which is part of the university's World Affairs Series, is free and open to the public.

Iowa State University engineers and researchers have built and are testing a bio-oil gasifier. It will allow them to combine two thermochemical technologies to produce the next generation of fuels from renewable sources such as corn stalks and wood chips.

Aphids possess a unique ability to block the genetic defense response of soybeans and may open the door for other pests to do even more damage to crops, according to a recent study by researchers at Iowa State University. The paper found that aphids essentially can short-circuit the hormonal defense mechanism in soybeans meant to combat insect infestations, making it easier for other pests, such as the soybean cyst nematode, to colonize the plant as well.

Iowa State University officials are keeping an eye on Saturday’s weather forecast. It's looking better, but could potentially bring severe storms before the much anticipated Cyclone-Kansas State football game (11 a.m. kickoff) at Jack Trice Stadium. For now, all of the usual game day activities are continuing as scheduled. Parking lots will open at 5 a.m., and Jack Trice Stadium gates open at 9:30 a.m.

A research team led by Iowa State University's Laura Jarboe is working to develop hungry, robust microbes that can ferment biofuels from the bio-oil produced by rapidly heating biomass such as corn stalks and sawdust. It's all part of Iowa State's efforts to combine two conversion paths -- thermochemical and biochemical -- to find efficient ways to produce renewable fuels and chemicals.

Pammel Drive between Stange and Wallace roads has reopened, and pedestrians and motorists may resume their usual activity, according to ISU Police Captain Aaron DeLashmutt. CyRide has resumed its normal schedule. Alliant Energy crews are working to repair the gas line leak in the area, and the gas is now turned off. Watch this space for updates.

The chief administrators of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Peace Corps will present the World Affairs Series keynote address. Dr. Rajiv Shah and Carrie Hessler-Radelet will present "Feed the Future: Food Security and Agriculture in Development" at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Shah leads more than 8,000 professionals in 80 missions around the world, and spearheads President Barack Obama's landmark Feed the Future food security initiative. Hessler-Radelet has worked in the field of public health for the past two decades, specializing in HIV/AIDs, and maternal and child health. Their address is free and open to the public.

An attorney who has argued 25 cases before the Supreme Court in the past 13 years, and is founder and publisher of SCOTUSblog -- a premier Internet site about the law and legal system -- will present Iowa State University's Constitution Day Lecture. Thomas Goldstein will present "How Has the Supreme Court Reshaped American Law?" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Goldstein is with the firm Goldstein and Russell, and teaches Supreme Court litigation at both Stanford and Harvard law schools. His talk, which is part of the National Affairs Series, is free and open to the public.

A federal grant announced this week will help to propel Iowa State University’s Swine Medicine Education Center (SMEC) from a regional presence to a national leader that will attract veterinary students from across the country. The three-year, $713,847 Higher Education Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will transform SMEC into a national center of excellence and a resource for providing unparalleled hands-on opportunities to veterinary students who want to specialize in swine medicine.