News Archive
Monday, January 2 2006
News
Residence hall living leads to higher graduation rates
Incoming freshmen who live in university housing at Iowa State for one year are 20 percent more likely to graduate than incoming freshmen who never live on campus.
Widow of former Sudanese VP to speak at Iowa State
Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, widow of John Garang de Mabior, and Pagan Amum, diplomatic affairs adviser to the president of Southern Sudan, will discuss the political situation in Sudan in a Feb. 4 campus talk. Nyandeng de Mabior's late husband, John Garang, died in a helicopter crash last year, shortly after becoming vice president of Sudan. Garang received his doctorate in economics from Iowa State in 1981.
Career fairs draw hundreds of recruiters
Iowa State hosts two separate career fairs this week. The College of Engineering hosts Career Expo 2006 in Hilton Coliseum Tuesday, Jan. 31, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Business jointly host Spring '06 Job Fair, Feb. 1, in Hilton. The first event will be the largest engineering job fair ever held on campus with more than 700 recruiters representing 200-plus companies. Around 4,500 students also are expected. The College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences expect about 143 companies to be represented and 2,700 students to attend.
Srinivas Aluru
A supercomputer for Iowa State University
Iowa State University's new supercomputer can do 5.7 trillion calculations per second. It's among the top 10 university supercomputers in the country.
Steps to improve child care recommended
A new study finds that high employee turnover and overhead costs may jeopardize continued operation of quality early child care and education programs in Iowa. The study offers four strategies for addressing the problem.
Speakers' talks will be available as podcasts
Many of the talks by visiting speakers on campus this semester will be available as podcasts.
Gartner on universities and economic development
In a recent talk to the Iowa House Economic Growth Committee, Regents president Michael Gartner tackled the "myth" that universities don't understand or participate in economic development. "The brainpower at the universities, the creativity, the inventiveness and the entrepreneurial spirit are second to none," Gartner said.
Presenting the research and development power of Iowa's Regent universities
The Innovation Iowa economic development program sponsored by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, will be 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center at 1200 Grand Ave. in Des Moines.
Bugeja: High-tech gadgets can distract students
Facebook and today's high-tech gadgets are becoming as much a distraction as a tool for learning, says Michael Bugeja, director of ISU's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.
Pollard
Top of the list
Jamie Pollard knew what he was looking for, and he found it in Ames. ISU's new athletics director is profiled in the winter edition of VISIONS, the magazine for members of the ISU Alumni Assn.
African American studies director named
R. Tunde Adeleke, director of African American Studies at the University of Montana, Missoula, has been named director of African American Studies in Iowa State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The appointment is effective Aug. 16.
ISU Department of Residence will expand student housing options for next fall
ISU's Department of Residence is offering more student housing options for fall 2006. The changes involve Wallace Hall, Schilletter/University Village Apartments (SUV) and Helser Hall.
Career fairs draw hundreds of recruiters
Iowa State hosts two separate career fairs this week. The College of Engineering hosts Career Expo 2006 in Hilton Coliseum Tuesday, Jan. 31, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Business jointly host Spring '06 Job Fair, Feb. 1, in Hilton. The first event will be the largest engineering job fair ever held on campus with more than 700 recruiters representing 200-plus companies. Around 4,500 students also are expected. The College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences expect about 143 companies to be represented and 2,700 students to attend.
Bugeja: High-tech gadgets can distract students
Facebook and today's high-tech gadgets are becoming as much a distraction as a tool for learning, says Michael Bugeja, director of ISU's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.
Pollard
Top of the list
Jamie Pollard knew what he was looking for, and he found it in Ames. ISU's new athletics director is profiled in the winter edition of VISIONS, the magazine for members of the ISU Alumni Assn.
African American studies director named
R. Tunde Adeleke, director of African American Studies at the University of Montana, Missoula, has been named director of African American Studies in Iowa State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The appointment is effective Aug. 16.
ISU Department of Residence will expand student housing options for next fall
ISU's Department of Residence is offering more student housing options for fall 2006. The changes involve Wallace Hall, Schilletter/University Village Apartments (SUV) and Helser Hall.
The science of alternative fuels
Faculty experts from Iowa's public universities on Thursday, Jan. 12, presented a seminar on renewable fuels to the Iowa General Assembly in the House Chamber of the Iowa State Capitol. Lawmakers requested science-based information on ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-based alternative fuels. Issues addressed by the faculty from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa included energy balance, performance, tax incentives, mandates and sustainability. Participating Iowa State faculty included Joe Colletti, interim senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture; Robert Brown, director of the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies; Larry Johnson, director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research; and John Miranowski, a professor of economics.
Entrepreneurship expert to speak Jan. 27
Michael Morris, internationally recognized expert on entrepreneurship, will speak at 9 a.m., Friday, Jan. 27 in the auditorium of LeBaron Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Get a good look at virtual reality
Carolina Cruz-Neira, a leader in virtual reality, will present the Spring 2006 Presidential University Lecture Monday, Feb. 6, in the Sun Room of Iowa State's Memorial Union. Demonstrations of virtual reality begin at 7 p.m. The lecture begins at 8 p.m.
Science and technology news from Iowa State University
This spring Iowa State University students and researchers are looking for sustainable answers to environmental problems, finding ways to make sure population surveys count everybody, improving forecasts of rain produced by thunderstorm clusters, leading efforts to improve cook stoves in developing countries and advancing to a regional computer security competition.
Sanderson's streak an NCAA 'defining moment'
Iowa State wrestler Cael Sanderson's final collegiate victory, a win that completed his four-year undefeated NCAA career, has been recognized as one of the "25 Defining Moments in NCAA History" and will be a featured vignette aired on ESPN Classic and ESPNU from January to March.
Gartner
Gartner's topic: History through editorial pages
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Board of Regents president Michael Gartner will examine U.S. history through the nation's editorial pages in a Jan. 24 talk on campus.
650 to compete in Iowa LEGO tournament
Iowa's state LEGO tournament will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 21 at Iowa State University's College of Engineering. Young students will demonstrate their engineering, research and teamwork skills and try to win a spot at the world LEGO tournament.
ISU a partner in swine genome effort
Iowa State University is collaborating on a new $10 million international effort to sequence the swine genome.
Celebrations commemorate King's birthday
A lecture by Harvard economist Roland Fryer, a panel discussion and two celebrations are part of observances surrounding Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.
Birt named interim director
Food scientist Diane Birt has been named interim director of the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition.
Directory lists native Iowa species
Those who want to plant native Iowa seeds this year can find information on more than 150 plants in the free Native Species Directory.
Patch now to combat Windows critical vulnerability
A new Windows vulnerability allows malicious programs to execute on Windows systems. This is a very serious vulnerability; you should patch your computer immediately.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Advancing One Community Award winners named
Carlie Tartakov and the YWCA Ames-ISU are recipients of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Advancing One Community Award
Martin Luther King holiday Jan. 16
University offices will be closed and classes will not be held Jan. 16, in observance of the national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Jan. 15 is the 77th anniversary of the civil rights leader's birth.
Accident claims life of recent ISU alum
Dave Serfling took graduate classes at Iowa State for nearly 17 years before receiving his master's degree in agriculture last month -- an accomplishment the Minnesota farmer was able to cherish for just 23 days. Serfling was killed Sunday in a one-car accident near Wykoff, Minn. His graduation from Iowa State was profiled in a Dec. 19 Des Moines Register article. Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at Greenleafton Reformed Church, rural Preston, Minn. Visitation is Thursday, Jan. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Thauwald Funeral Home, 157 W. Fillmore St., Preston.
Des Moines Register article | Winona Daily News article | Rochester Post-Bulletin obituary
Bids for food service contract available for review
Proposals submitted by four food service management organizations bidding to operate Iowa State's food service program will be available for review, beginning Jan. 9.
Visioning program communities selected
Twelve Iowa towns have been selected to participate in the award-winning community visioning program this year. ISU's landscape architecture extension is one of the program's sponsors.
Student will study hunger issues Uganda
Davenport native and Iowa State student Amber Herman will study and do research aimed at fostering agriculture during a trip to Uganda this semester.
Calendar art exhibit Jan. 17-31
Work by Frederick Remington, Maxfield Parrish and Maynard Reece are featured in a gallery show from a Red Oak company believed to be the birthplace of calendar art.
Brown
Summit comments
California is mounting a challenge to Iowa's current dominant position in ethanol production, biorenewables expert Robert Brown said during a Nov. 28 campus summit at Iowa State. More than 400 gathered at the summit to discuss ways to ensure Iowa's leadership role in the bioeconomy.
Download brown.mp3 .
Cruz-Neira
Eye on virtual reality
Carolina Cruz-Neira, a leader in virtual reality, will present the Spring 2006 Presidential University Lecture Monday, Feb. 6, in the Sun Room of Iowa State's Memorial Union. Demonstrations of virtual reality begin at 7 p.m. The lecture begins at 8 p.m.
In the News
Supercomputing
The Washington Post
Scientists at Iowa State University are using one of the nation's 10 most powerful university computers to help decipher the corn genome, a project that could allow them to expand the plant's uses in plastics, fuel and fiber.
Do the right thing
Juice (Des Moines Register publication)
"When you attempt to do the right thing for the right reasons, you grow -- even if it appears that you have failed or lost," agriculture dean Wendy Wintersteen told would-be up-and-comers in an interview on getting ahead in a career.
Researchers to map pig DNA
CNN.com
Deciphering the pig's genetic code will eventually help breed better pigs, says Max Rothschild, an Iowa State animal science professor who is part of an international research team working to sequence the swine genome.
Science Bowl draws record interest
The 16th annual Ames Lab/ISU Regional Science Bowl will take place Jan. 28 at the ISU Memorial Union. A record 48 teams with six more on the waiting list signed up this year.
Calendar art exhibit
An exhibit on campus features the work of a Red Oak firm that's believed to be the birthplace of calendar art.
Kickin' it for the Kids
Dance Marathon's "Kickin' it for the Kids" event will be held Jan. 21 in ISU's Memorial Union. More than 500 ISU students who have raised money for the Children's Miracle Network will stay on their feet for 15 hours while meeting central Iowa families that have benefited from Dance Marathon's fund raising.
Athletics
Jill Lansing
'Wheel of Fortune'
Iowa State junior and civil engineering major Jill Lansing from Cresco will be guessing letters and buying vowels on Wheel of Fortune Jan. 10 at 6:30 p.m. The program, which airs on TV station WH0 13 in central Iowa, is part of "Hollywood Walk of Fame Week" on the long-running game show.