News Archive
Tuesday, November 28 2006
News
Leaders discuss Iowa's role in the bioeconomy
More than 400 leaders from Iowa industry, government and higher education gathered on campus Nov. 28 to participate in a summit on ensuring Iowa's leadership role in the bioeconomy.
Feeling lonely? ISU prof recommends forgetting ghosts of Christmas past
Dan Russell, a professor of human development and family studies and a researcher with ISU's Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, has been studying loneliness since the early 1980s. He provides some tips on how individuals can cope with or overcome loneliness at the holidays.
Chizik is new ISU football coach
Gene Chizik, the assistant head coach at the University of Texas whose resume includes a national championship with the Longhorns and league championships in three different Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conferences, is the new head football coach at Iowa State.
Nonnecke honored for teaching
Horticulture professor Gail Nonnecke is one of only two people to receive the annual USDA Food and Agricultural Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award. The national award, which encompasses all the food and agricultural disciplines, honors teaching quality, philosophy, methodology and service to the profession and students.
Landscape designer to discuss ecological stormwater solutions Nov. 27
Internationally known sustainable designer and teacher Penny Livingston-Stark will present the Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture's annual P.H. Elwood Lecture at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27, in Kocimski Auditorium, College of Design. She will speak on "Water and the Landscape: Ecological Design Approaches and Innovative Solutions for Management of Stormwater Runoff." The lecture is free and open to the public.
Every winter is a crash course in driving across snow and ice
Now is the time to drive extra carefully when the forecast calls for snow. A paper by researchers at Iowa State University's Center for Transportation Research and Education reports that the rate of winter weather crashes on Iowa's primary roads is highest in November. The rate plummets as drivers relearn winter driving skills.
ISU prof sees Christian privilege in public schools, offers advice for religious equity
Warren Blumenfeld, an assistant professor of multicultural and international curriculum studies at Iowa State, authored an article titled "Christian Privilege and the Promotion of 'Secular' and Not-So 'Secular' Mainline Christianity in Public Schooling and in the Larger Society," for a professional journal. It documents examples of Christian privilege -- including celebration of Christian holidays -- and offers guidelines for bringing about more religious equity.
Transition to college is made easier with Iowa State 'star'
Iowa State University's Jennifer Farrell is one of five admissions counselors nationwide to receive the "Rising Star Award" from the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
Iowa State-based transportation center to focus on safety
Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa are working together to establish a transportation center supported by $3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The center will support research aimed at developing tools so departments of transportation can consider safety when planning and managing roadways.
New agricultural law center created
A new Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation has been established at Iowa State. The center addresses a need for expertise in agricultural decisions that are an increasingly shaped by legal and tax issues.
ISU forensic statisticians hunting for hidden messages
Two Iowa State mathematicians have developed software that will detect secret files in seemingly innocent digital images. Jennifer Davidson and Cliff Bergman, both professors in the math department, are fine-tuning the artificial neural net (ANN). When plopped into a computer, the ANN will work like radar that culls out suspicious images.
Holiday recording features Simon Estes
A recently released CD, "Holiday Classics With Simon Estes," features the internally acclaimed bass-baritone along with two ISU groups -- ISU Wind Ensemble and the Ames Piano Quartet. Estes is the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Iowa State.
ABC correspondent Lynn Sherr is fall Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics
A correspondent on ABC's Newsmagazine "20/20," Sherr will deliver a free, public presentation titled "Outside the Box: Women, Politics and Media" at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28, in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.
Lee Harris
After accident, student vows 'Forever is not an option'
ISU sophomore Lee Harris, who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident a year ago, maintains his busy pre-accident routine while raising funds for experimental surgery.
In the news
Divorced women have poorer health
The Associated Press, MSNBC, USA Today and others
Women who divorce may lose some of their good health, according to a study at Iowa State University.
Viral videos as the new attack ads
CNBC
YouTube can carry candidates' messages, or record their lesser moments for posterity. University Professor of Political Science Steffen Schmidt discusses YouTube's effect in next week's election in CNBC's "On the Money."
Nothing 2 LOL about
The Associated Press
Text messaging has advantages and drawbacks, but the technology has a "power we have not earned and don't yet know how to use," says Michael Bugeja, director of ISU's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.
Yield of dreams
Successful Farming
Pat Schnable and the Plant Sciences Institute are featured in Successful Farming magazine's October cover story, "Yield of dreams," about groundbreaking crop technology in the works. Research by Schnable and others to sequence the corn genome is key. It will enable scientists to speed development of varieties with desired traits, like drought resistence and cold tolerance, so that agricultural productivity can keep pace with increasing demand for food and fuel.