News Archive
Friday, September 3 2010
News
ISU closed Sept. 6
Iowa State University offices will be closed, and no classes will be held Monday, Sept. 6, in observance of the national Labor Day holiday. A few facilities will remain open Monday, including:
- Reiman Gardens, 9 a.m. -6 p.m. (Butterfly Wing is open 9-4:30 p.m.)
- Some dining facilities (see schedule).
- Beyer Hall recreation facilities, 6 a.m.-midnight
- Memorial Union building and Maintenance Shop are open. Offices and food courts are closed.
Iowa State chemists discover method to create high-value chemicals from biomass
Walter Trahanovsky, an Iowa State professor of chemistry, was
trying to produce sugar derivatives from biomass using
high-temperature chemistry. He was surprised when his research
also produced significant yields of high-value chemicals.
News
release.
ISU faculty study community college role in educating women, minorities in STEM fields
Wall Street Journal's editorial page editor Paul Gigot to speak at ISU Sept. 21
Paul GigotPaul Gigot, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, in Stephens Auditorium. Gigot will share lessons he learned from Iowa State journalism alumnus Bob Bartley, longtime editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal. Bartley, who won a Pulitzer Prize and was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, grew up in Ames and began his career as editor of the Iowa State Daily. Gigot's talk, "The Future of Opinion Journalism," is free and open to the public.
Yang
ISU researchers develop hybrid protein tools for gene cutting and editing
An Iowa State University team of researchers, led by Bing Yang, has developed a type of hybrid proteins that can make double-strand DNA breaks at specific sites in living cells, possibly leading to better gene replacement and gene editing therapies.
Space telescopes new survey of outer galaxy helps Iowa State astronomers study stars
Iowa State University astronomers Massimo Marengo and Charles Kerton are now using the Spitzer Space Telescope to study stars in the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy. Marengo studies big, cool-temperature stars and the dusty disks that form around them. Kerton is using Spitzer data to study star-forming regions of the galaxy.
Reggie Watts will bring his free-form comedy to Iowa State Sept. 18
Reggie Watts, a free-form comedian-musician who recently toured with Conan O'Brien, will perform Iowa State's comedy opener on Saturday, Sept. 18. Watts' "Comedy on the Edge" will be at 8 p.m. at Stephens Auditorium, the closing event of Engineers' Week. Watts received the Andy Kaufmann Award in 2006 for his distinctive brand of innovative stand-up performance. The show is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m.
ISU design college honors Mark Engelbrecht with the Christian Petersen Design Award
Mark C. Engelbrecht, professor of architecture and dean
emeritus of the College of Design, is the 2010 recipient of the
Christian Petersen Design Award presented by the college. He
was honored in a program Aug. 23. Engelbrecht joined the
architecture faculty in 1969 and served as dean from 1994 to
2009. Established in 1980, the Petersen award is given annually
to alumni, staff and friends of the university for
distinguished work that advances the design and art
professions.
News
release.
World culture observer and author Pico Iyer will talk at Iowa State Sept. 16
Pico Iyer, one of the most respected observers of the changing world and author of nine books about cultures converging, will speak at Iowa State on Thursday, Sept. 16. His talk, "Global Souls: Citizens in the Future Tense," will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. The lecture is part of the World Affairs Series. It is free and open to the public. Iyer's books include "Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East" (which appeared on several lists of the top travel books of the 20th century). His most recent book, "The Open Road," describes 35 years of talks and travel with the Dalai Lama.
Sylvia's creator cartoonist Nicole Hollander will speak at Iowa State Sept. 9
For three decades, the cantankerous, sharp-tongued Sylvia has enriched newspaper comics throughout the world, disseminating the acerbic wit and wisdom of her creator, Nicole Hollander. Hollander will share tales from her life in a talk at Iowa State University, Thursday, Sept. 9. Her presentation, "My Life in the Comics: Thirty Years of Graphic Misbehavior from Reagan to Obama," will be at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. It is free and open to the public.
ISU economists determine economic impact of state's 2008 weather-related disasters
Flood updates: Lied Center closes
The Lied Recreation Center has been closed to facilitate total dehumidification of the facility. More information on facilities, events and ways to give or receive help in the flood's aftermath can be found on the "flood updates" website.
Flood video
Travis Ballstadt of the College of Engineering captured the Aug. 11 flooding on video. Watch here.
In the news
Searching for STEM success
Best lunch hour ever: Iowa State lets loose with Lady Gaga
Take me out to the calculator
See story.
Eye popping from MTV to the lab
When Song Zhang, a mechanical engineer at Iowa State University, was approached by U2's people last spring asking if the band could use his novel 3D imaging technology for a concert performance, he immediately sent an email to his lab asking: "Does anyone know who U2 is and whether or not we should spend time on them?"
See story.