News Archive
Friday, September 5 2008
News
Iowa State wins $18.5 million grant to create NSF Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals
The National Science Foundation has awarded Iowa State University and its research partners an $18.5 million grant to establish the NSF Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals based at Iowa State. The center's focus will be to develop catalysts that promote the chemical reactions that can efficiently produce biorenewable chemicals. The center is also expected to create university and industry partnerships that promote innovation, transform engineered systems, advance technology and produce engineering graduates who can creatively contribute in a global economy.
ISU researchers help map first plant-parasitic nematode genome sequence
Iowa State University researchers have contributed to the release of the annotated genome of one of the most destructive nematodes: Meloidogyne incognita -- the southern root-knot nematode, as reported recently in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Iowa State University to Break Ground on New Chemistry Facility Sept. 6
A ceremonial groundbreaking for Hach Hall, Iowa State University's newest chemistry facility, will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, on the northwest side of Gilman Hall. Kathryn Hach Darrow of Mukilteo, Wash., the lead donor to the project with a $10 million commitment, will be speaking at the event.
Author and reporter Sonia Nazario to speak Sept. 23
Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sonia Nazario will speak on "Enrique's Journey and America's Immigration Dilemma," at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. The event is free and open to the public.
Author Adrienne Rich to speak, Sept. 22
Adrienne Rich, writer, award-winning author, poet and feminist icon, will speak at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
ISU student organizations dish up something for every taste
ISU students can climb mountains, ride unicycles, build robots, speak French, study the Bible, dance Celtic, prepare for the Marines, march for peace and walk for AIDS. That's because ISU student organizations have something for everyone. They'll show be showcased at Clubfest "Come See What Happens After Class," 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Memorial Union Durham Great Hall.
Henry Rollins performs free Sept. 18
Henry Rollins, known as a post-punk renaissance man, will launch his new Recountdown Tour, an election-time talking show, at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in Stephens Auditorium at Iowa State University. The performance is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m.
ISU study finds link between a mother's stress and her child becoming overweight
A mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight in low income households with sufficient food, according to a new Iowa State study that is published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the professional journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Point/Counterpoint: Speakers debate development of a bioeconomy
The annual Biobased Industry Outlook Conference at Iowa State University will feature prominent speakers debating three major issues facing the growing bioeconomy -- food versus fuel, climate change and biomass conversion technologies. The point/counterpoint session will be 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, in Iowa State's C.Y. Stephens Auditorium.
Carly Fiorina is fall Mary Louise Smith Chair
Carly Fiorina -- Victory '08 chairman for the Republican National Committee and the former chair and CEO of Hewlett-Packard -- is the Fall 2008 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics and will conduct a free, public lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.
In the news
Bonobos may have greater linguistic skills than previously thought
ScienceDaily
What happens when linguistic tools used to analyze human language are applied to a conversation between a language-competent bonobo and a human? The findings, published this month by Iowa State Ph.D. student Janni Pedersen in the Journal of Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, indicate that bonobos may exhibit larger linguistic competency in ordinary conversation than in controlled experimental settings.
Survivor
National Wildlife magazine
New science is helping biologists understand how some bobcats can thrive in human-altered landscapes. ISU Professor William Clark has studied Iowa's burgeoning bobcat population since 2003. Clark and his fellow researchers from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are learning that the cats are "highly adaptable, expanding their range, and reestablishing populations in more fragmented landscapes."
When will Iowa elect a woman to higher office?
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Iowa is one of only two states to never have elected a woman governor or as a member of Congress. Dianne Bystrom, director of ISU's Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, says that's mostly been an issue of timing. Qualified female candidates have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.