News Archive
Saturday, October 11 2008
News
Iowa State researchers developing wireless soil sensors to improve farming
Iowa State University researchers are developing wireless soil sensors that could one day help farmers maximize their production while minimizing environmental impacts. The prototype sensors are designed to collect and send data about soil moisture -- and eventually soil temperature and nutrient content -- while working completely underground. Farmers and their equipment could work right over the top of them.
ISU economists assess recessionary conditions, give tips for tough times ahead
Meghan O'Brien, an economist with Iowa State's Regional Capacity Analysis Program (ReCAP), authored a new report titled "Retail Economics 101: Lessons and Strategies of a Recession." O'Brien and fellow ISU economist Joydeep Bhattacharya both see economic indicators that suggest a deep recession is underway, or on its way.
As good as it gets for a furniture design student
Iowa State senior Andrew Kopp's bench won Best of Show in the International Woodworking Fair's Design Emphasis '08, considered the nation's premier furniture design competition for students. The honor includes a $2,000 prize and a trophy.
ISU College of Veterinary Medicine to dedicate new Veterinary Medical Center
The new Dr. W. Eugene and Linda Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine will be dedicated at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18. The dedication event will be held outside of the medical center on the east side of the new complex.
Award-winning landscape architect will present P.H. Elwood Lecture Oct. 22
Gary Hilderbrand, an award-winning landscape architect and adjunct professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will present the P.H. Elwood Lecture in Landscape Architecture on Wednesday, Oct. 22. His presentation, "Space of Trees," will be at 6 p.m. in Kocimski Auditorium, College of Design. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Expanded Seed Science Center to open at Iowa State University
Iowa State University's Seed Science Center is opening a 5,000-square-foot addition with a dedication ceremony at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the corner of Wallace Drive and Osborn Road on the Iowa State campus.
College of Human Sciences dean's search committee finalized
Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will lead an 18-member committee in the search for the next dean of ISU's College of Human Sciences.
Ralph Nader will speak at ISU Oct. 10
Peace and Freedom Party presidential and vice presidential candidates Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez will be on campus Friday, Oct. 10, as part of the 2008 Campaign Series. They will discuss the current economic crisis and U.S. foreign policy concerns at 1:30 in the Memorial Union Great Hall. A consumer advocate, lawyer and author, Nader led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The 2008 Campaign Series provides the university community with opportunities to question candidates or their surrogates before election day. The talk is free and open to the public.
Magazine features ISU furniture design students
The current issue (Dec. 2008) of Woodwork Magazine features a two-page spread of work by students of Chris Martin, associate professor of art and design. The photo gallery shows work by eight BFA and MFA students in Martin's furniture design course last year. And the magazine's back cover features a piece by Chris Martin, associate professor of art and design. Martin's article describes processes involved in creating a desk inspired by Czech Cubism.
Two renowned photo journalists to speak at ISU Oct. 14 and Oct. 19
Two award-winning photographers will present lectures at Iowa State University in October. Washington Post staff photographer and former White House photographer Susan Biddle will speak on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Bill Eppridge, who photographed the Kennedy campaigns, Vietnam, Woodstock and nearly every Winter Olympics since 1980, will speak on Sunday, Oct. 19.
ISU student appointed to regents board
Gov. Chet Culver has appointed Iowa State student Greta Johnson to the State Board of Regents. Johnson is a junior, majoring in political science. She has served as a page in the Iowa Legislature and an intern in the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at ISU.
Political author Jonah Goldberg to speak Oct. 16
Jonah Goldberg, one of the most prominent young, conservative commentators in the nation, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 in the Memorial Union Sun Room. His lecture, "Liberal Fascism," is free and open to the public. Goldberg is a contributing editor to the National Review, founding editor of National Review Online, and a weekly syndicated columnist for The Los Angeles Times.
ISU grad and Bank of Hawaii CEO Allan Landon to give Stafford Lecture Oct. 17
1970 ISU College of Business graduate Allan Landon, who is now chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of Hawaii, is the fall 2008 speaker for the Robert Stafford Lecture Series on Banking in ISU's College of Business. Landon will discuss several banking topics -- including the current financial crisis facing the industry -- during his 11 a.m. talk on Friday, Oct. 17, in the Gerdin Business Building's Stark Lecture Hall.
Iowa State University professor seeks sensible, thoughtful policy on biofuels
ISU University Professor Richard Cruse has joined 22 other scientists and researchers from around the country to ask for a new biofuels policy direction.
ISU's 21st Century Entrepreneurial Business Strategies Conference postponed
The 21st Century Entrepreneurial Business Strategies Conference -- hosted by ISU's College of Business and scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 9. -- has been postponed. Organizers are planning to reschedule it during the Spring 2009 semester.
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.
In the news
Ethanol could be key to Iowans on the fence
USA Today
Bob Bowman, who farms 2,000 acres, illustrates what agriculture and political experts such as Iowa State University political scientist Steffen Schmidt say is a potential lever to sway on-the-fence voters in Iowa. Ethanol might have slipped off the national radar, he says, but could grow in importance if the race in Iowa tightens between Republican John McCain and Democratic Barack Obama.
Identity-theft threats seem to be a constant, thanks to porous networks and laid-back users.
University Business
Iowa State University officials, for example, are pilot testing a two-hour online identity theft seminar that students, and even parents, can take. The material was developed through testing with law enforcement and insurance industry representatives, notes Steffen Schmidt, professor of political science at ISU and co-author of The Silent Crime: What You Need to Know About Identity Theft (Twin Lakes Press, 2008).
At home women hold the power
USA Today
Making decisions equally is the "socially desired response" forcouples today, but it's not necessarily the reality, says Megan Murphy,director of the marriage and family therapy program at Iowa State University-Ames and co-author of a study of 72 couples that also found women in charge at home.