News Archive
Friday, October 29 2004
News
Researcher controls erosion to save the African Sahel
An Iowa State agronomy professor is using erosion control methods to restore the Sahel and Niger River in West Africa, where land degradation threatens the region's economic stability. He will present his findings next week in Seattle at the 2004 international annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America in Seattle.
2004 Inventor of the Year
Edward Yeung Distinguished Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of chemistry has been named 2004 Inventor of the Year by the Iowa Intellectual Property Law Association. He was honored for his development of a DNA sequencer that combines laser microfluorescence with capillary electrophoresis, two analytical chemistry methods for determining the minute components of a substance. The sequencer can detect, monitor and quantify materials 24 times faster than earlier DNA sequencers.
Celebrities campaign on campus
- Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and rocker Jon Bon Jovi will visit Iowa State Thursday to campaign for Presidential candidate John Kerry and Paul Johnson, Democratic candidate for Iowa's fourth congressional district. The stars were invited to appear by the ISU Democrats' student organization. The rally is set for 10 a.m. Thursday in the College of Design atrium. It's open to the public.
- On Thursday evening at 7, actor Brendan Fraser will introduce a free screening and discussion of the documentary, "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry." That event will be held in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Fraser will introduce documentarian George Butler, and following the 87-minute film, Butler and former Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey will lead a discussion.
- Conservative commentator and legal affairs correspondent Ann Coulter will speak at ISU's Stephens Auditorium on Friday at 8 p.m. Her lecture, "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)," is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m. Coulter's lecture is part of the Institute on National Affairs series on politics and humor in America, and is cosponsored by the Committee on Lectures (funded by the Government of the Student Body) and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, a conservative, Washington, D.C.-based institute.
New x-ray imaging device demonstrated
The College of Engineering will demonstrate a new x-ray imaging device used to study part of the paper recycling process during an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, in the Transport Processes Laboratory, 1121 Black Engineering Building. Mechanical engineering professor Ted Heindel required the specialized industrial imaging device to study the interaction of multiphase flows (gas, liquids and solids) in a contained area. The device has potential uses for everything from food to fuel to pharmaceuticals. The device was funded with $640,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation and Iowa State.
How can GM and organic crops coexist?
That's the subject of a Nov. 6 symposium at ISU. Hosted by the Bioethics Program, the symposium will information and discussion about the coexistence of organic agriculture and genetically modified (GM) crops. The event will be from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the Gallery of the Memorial Union. It is free and open to the public.
National Science Foundation funds ISU research on influence of political parties
An Iowa State University political scientist has received a $90,000 National Science Foundation grant to study the influence of national political parties on local, state and national elections. Robert Lowry, associate professor of political science, said the study, "National Party Committees, Competitive Elections, and State Autonomy Before and After the Bipartisan Campaign," focuses on how national committees and their distribution of large sums of money nationwide affect the competitiveness of elections.
Iowa League of Cities honors two
Two Iowa State University faculty members were inducted into the Iowa League of Cities Hall of Fame recently for their service to local governments. The league is a municipal advocacy and training organization based in Des Moines. Jack Whitmer, emeritus associate professor of political science, and Paul Coates, associate professor of political science, were honored for their roles with the Iowa Municipal Clerks' Institute and Iowa Municipal Clerks' Academy.
Stephens Auditorium is 'Building of the Century'
ISU's Stephens Auditorium has been selected as "Building of the Century" by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Iowa Chapter.
Boo!
"Tara Cotta" (above), by the ISU Horticulture Club, is among the scarecrows entered in a contest at Reiman Gardens. The
scarecrows will be on display through Oct. 31.
On the election
ISU in the news
Tornado team on network TV
ABC's "Good Morning America" featured Iowa State's tornado simulator on Oct. 28. The simulator is a collaboration of ISU faculty Partha Sarkar, Bill Gallus and Fred Haan.
Background on tornado simulator.
Election Early Birds
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Iowa, like several states, is allowing early voting in addition to absentee ballots in the 2004 election. Both major political parties are aggressively working to "get the vote out" because Iowa's seven electoral votes could be crucial this year, says Dianne Bystrom, director of Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State. Bystrom said early voting is good for young people and single parents. "There are no excuses for not voting," she said.
High-maintenance lotus
The New York Times
Folklore says fuzzy caterpillars can predict the weather. Can they? Iowa State University Extension entomologist Donald Lewis fields a few hundred questions about this every year, and explains the subtle differences between woolly bear caterpillars and other fuzzy species in the same family.