News Archive
Saturday, May 28 2011
News
Biofuels and politics
Iowa State's Robert Brown, left, talks biofuels with Don Gonyea, national political correspondent for NPR. The radio network is expected to air a Gonyea story about ethanol and presidential politics this weekend. Gonyea is also working on a feature story about Iowa as an early state in the presidential-selection process. That story should run later in the summer. Brown is an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering and Iowa Farm Bureau Director of the Bioeconomy Institute. Brown told Gonyea that discussions of ethanol should really be discussions of American agriculture and energy security.
Fountains get some TLC
The Fountain of the Four Seasons, one of the most beloved
landmarks on the ISU campus, has been noticeably dry this
spring. It is one of several Christian Petersen art works
getting some love from fine art conservator Francis Miller this
month. Miller will conserve three of Petersen's fountain
sculptures and a selection of studio sculptures.
Inside Iowa
State story.
Terry Besser, an Iowa State professor of sociology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is leading the project.
ISU sociologist leads research on the 'new destination towns' in the Great Plains
Iowa State physicists explain the long, useful lifetime of carbon-14
James Vary and Pieter Maris, Iowa State University physicists, have discovered the reasons behind the unexpectedly slow decay of carbon-14. That slow decay makes it possible for scientists to use carbon dating techniques to accurately date the relics of history. Understanding the decay of carbon-14 could also help researchers unravel other mysteries of matter. The physicists' findings were recently published online by the journal Physical Review Letters.
Restoring Iowa prairie while keeping the land productive is goal of ISU research
Researchers at Iowa State University and elsewhere are working to restore native Iowa prairies that once covered almost the entire area between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and have now shrunk to less than 1 percent of the landscape. Restoring those prairies, while maintaining Iowa's agricultural productivity, is the goal of Diane Debinski, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology.
ISU Power Pullers team hopes for revenge in upcoming competition
ISU's Power Pullers will see how they measure up at the 14th Annual International ¼ Scale Tractor Student Design Competition, to be held June 2 to 5 in Peoria, Ill. This year's tractor is named Cy's Revenge after dissappointing results last year.
ISU Catt Center to present Ready to Run: Campaign Training for Women
In the news
The 'inevitable' year of very deadly tornadoes
Huffington Post
La Niña may be responsible for this year's devastating tornadoes, says ISU Professor Bill Gallus, but the number of significant tornadoes (EF-2 or greater) has stayed the same or even fallen slightly over time. It's the destruction that is so extraordinary. "It seems strange to say, but it's bad luck," Gallus said. "It's a big coincidence that the tornadoes this year have been hitting fairly large cities."
Bachmann and Palin could compete for the same political ground
Bloomberg/San Francisco Chronicle
Sarah Palin's "One Nation Tour" is stirring speculation that she will enter the presidential race, in which she and Rep. Michele Bachmann would compete for much the same constituency.
"I think she is trying to make a preemptive strike to maybe convince Bachmann not to run," said Dianne Bystrom, director of ISU's Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.