9-18-00

Contacts:
David Jiles, Materials Science and Engineering, (515) 294-9685
Troy Ross, Carver Trust, (319) 263-4010
Tom Mitchell, ISU Foundation, (515) 294-4077
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917

CARVER GRANT HELPS ISU-AMES LABORATORY BUILD MAGNETOELECTRONICS RESEARCH PROGRAM

AMES, Iowa -- The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, Muscatine, has made a $530,000 donation to Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory to set up a magnetic thin-film and magnetoelectronic device research laboratory.

The lab will explore new magnetic storage media for computers. The grant was awarded to David Jiles and John Snyder, who are researchers at both Ames Laboratory and ISU.

"Magnetoelectronics is a very, very hot area," Jiles said. "We've all got computers and we all want to be able to store more and more data on them. Ames Laboratory and Iowa State need to get into this area because there's a huge market for this cutting-edge technology."

Much of the work in the new lab will involve using an ion-beam deposition system to produce thin-film materials that will expand computer data-storage capacities. The types of storage media that will be explored could boost computer storage capacity by 10 to 50 times the capacities of today's computers, Jiles said.

The Carver Charitable Trust, is the largest private foundation in Iowa, awarding grants that total more than $14 million annually in support of scientific research, scholarships, general education and other issues related to the needs of youth. During the past 12 years, the Carver Trust has awarded more than $13.5 million to support scientific research and educational initiatives at ISU.

The Iowa State University Foundation assists the university by securing and managing private gift support from individuals, corporations and foundations. It recently completed Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best by raising more than $458 million over five years.

Ames Laboratory is operated for the Department of Energy by Iowa State University. Ames Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials.

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