News Archive
Saturday, September 27 2008
News
ISU design students' project on CBS News "Sunday Morning" this week
Work by the 11 ISU design students in last spring's class, The Hobo Studio, will be featured in a segment on CBS News "Sunday Morning" this Sunday, Sept. 28. Led by Bridget Belkacemi, a lecturer in landscape architecture, the interdisciplinary studio worked on a service project to retrofit and rehabilitate the National Hobo Museum in Britt. "We found the old theater seats in the basement, rehabbed them, and created exhibits that restored the spatial character of the theater and celebrated the rhythm of the rails," Belkacemi said. "It is like the hobos on exhibit are sitting in the theater seats." In central Iowa, the program airs from 8-9:30 a.m. on KCCI-TV.
Greenlee School grad student says bumper stickers still make mark in current campaign
An Iowa State University graduate student in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, Patti Brown has spent more than a year researching the trends of political bumper stickers and their marketing effectiveness. And she's found they're still relevant to the current presidential campaign.
Engineering dean search is under way
Labh Hira, dean of ISU's College of Business, will lead a 20-member committee in the search for the next dean of ISU's College of Engineering.
Acclaimed environmental sculptor Patrick Dougherty to speak Oct. 8
Internationally known environmental sculptor Patrick Dougherty will speak at Iowa State Wednesday, Oct. 8, as part of the College of Design's 30th anniversary celebration. "Building Sculpture on Location: A Melding of Design and Community," will be at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The talk is free and open to the public. Dougherty will be in Ames working with volunteers at Ada Hayden Park to create an organic, free-standing sculpture inspired by the local environment.
Jacobson Makes $5 Million Gift to Athletics
The Iowa State University Athletics Department announced Thursday that it has received a $5 million gift from Richard O. "Dick" Jacobson, a long-time and generous ISU supporter and Des Moines area businessman. Jacobson's gift, the largest ever made to the Iowa State Athletics Department, will help finance renovations to Jack Trice Stadium pending approval from the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.
Iowa State finance professors try to make sense of current economic crisis
Three Iowa State finance professors -- Rick Carter, Burt Porter and Roger Stover -- try and make sense of the country's widening economic crisis.
Report finds fewer Iowa schools meet federal goals; ISU faculty offer ways to do better
Two ISU education faculty members respond to a report released by the Iowa Department of Education last week showing fewer schools across the state met goals for student progress in reading and math than they did the previous year. David Whaley and Scott McLeod offer some ideas on how schools might do better in educating students.
President Geoffroy congratulates Gloria Betcher
Geoffroy outlines goals
Filling key leadership positions and clearing the $700 million mark in the university's capital campaign and energy-saving initiative Live Green! are among president Gregory Geoffroy's goals for the Iowa State community this year. Geoffroy outlined his objectives during the university convocation and awards ceremony Sept. 22.
Former CIA director opens thematic year for Iowa State engineering institute
R. James Woolsey -- CIA director from 1993 to 1995 and a specialist in energy and security issues -- will present "Energy and its Relationship to National Security" from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, in the Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium of Iowa State University's Howe Hall. The address is free and open to the public. It officially opens the Engineering Policy and Leadership Institute's first thematic year, "Energy Security and Sustainability."
Regents give green light on new center, more Vet Med renovation
University leaders received state Board of Regents approval to establish a center for biorenewable chemicals and proceed with planning on a second phase of renovation and construction at the College of Veterinary Medicine during the board's Sept. 18 meeting in Coralville.
Cyclone Stampede Rodeo set for Oct. 2-3
Iowa State students will host college rodeo teams from 13 schools for the 46th annual Cyclone Stampede Rodeo on Oct. 2 and 3 at 7 p.m. at the Iowa State Rodeo Arena, south of campus. More than 200 contestants will compete in 10 events, including bareback bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down calf roping, steer wrestling and team roping.
Iowa State researchers part of $208 million supercomputer project
Iowa State University researchers will be part of a large consortium working to develop and use the world's most powerful supercomputer. The new machine will be capable of sustained performance of a quadrillion calculations per second. It will be based at the University of Illinois' National Center for Supercomputing Applications and is expected to go online in 2011.
Cargill endows Iowa State faculty chair to accelerate biorenewables
Cargill has pledged $1.5 million to Iowa State University to establish the Cargill Endowed Chair in Energy Economics. The endowment will help Iowa State recruit a nationally recognized energy economist to accelerate work in biorenewables and bring crucial leadership to the biobased industry center in its early development.
Growing marketplace seeks Iowa State University agricultural business majors
Almost 100 percent of Iowa State University agricultural business graduates land jobs right out of school, according to ISU officials.
21st Century Entrepreneurial Business Strategies Conference set for Oct. 9
The 21st Century Entrepreneurial Business Strategies Conference, hosted by ISU's College of Business, will take place on Thursday, Oct. 9., in the Scheman Building of the Iowa State Center.
Iowa State engineer works to clean and improve engine performance
Iowa State University's Song-Charng Kong and his students are working to reduce emissions in diesel engines, develop a computer model of a gasoline engine and optimize new engine technologies. The results could be cleaner, more efficient engines in our cars and trucks.
National Science Foundation funds $2.1 million soybean disease project at ISU
Identifying genes essential for the soybean plant's defense against three major diseases will be the aim of a new $2.1 million research project led by Iowa State University.
Alumni, working on the wild side
Alumni who work at top zoos and aquariums are featured in the latest edition of the ISU alumni magazine.
Christina Hixson and President Gregory Geoffroy
Additional funds to popular scholarship program
The Hixson Opportunity Awards Program received an additional $7 million gift from the Lied Foundation Trust through its trustee and native Iowan Christina Hixson. Hixson scholarships help students pursue an Iowa State degree, despite hardships.
In the news
So many ways to mess up our kids, so little time
Los Angeles Times
Positive thinking by moms may help curb their teens' alcohol use, says ISU Associate Professor Stephanie Madon. When mothers help children develop positive concepts about themselves, "children are likely to make choices that match how they view themselves," Madon's analysis of 800 Iowa mothers found.
Top scholars stay in Iowa
The Des Moines Register
A Des Moines Register survey finds that a majority of top Iowa high school graduates choose to stay here for college, and the largest number of them come to Iowa State.
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.