News Archive
Thursday, November 17 2011
News
ISU photo by Bob Elbert
New ISU horticulture app gives students, gardeners mobile flower power
A smart phone application developed by Iowa State University that started as a classroom tool has now blossomed into a resource for master gardeners and home garden enthusiasts. The app, called "Mobile Educator: Flowers 101," helps gardeners identify more than 250 garden plants by using the plant's features - color, height, growing zone, etc.
Cain top choice in new ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll, but voters have not made up their minds
A new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of 1,256 registered Iowa voters finds Herman Cain leading Republican presidential candidates among likely caucus goers, with Ron Paul second. Cain (24.5 percent) is more than four percentage points ahead of Paul (20.4), with Mitt Romney (16.3 percent) being the only other candidate receiving more support than "Can't Decide" (8.1 percent). But the race remains remarkably fluid. Respondents were asked how certain they were of their choice and the majority of them (52.3 percent) indicated that they were undecided.
Parking tips for Iowa State - OSU game Nov. 18
Iowa State's home football finale is this Friday, with a 7 p.m. kickoff against No. 2 Oklahoma State. Fans will begin streaming into the Jack Trice Stadium parking lots hours before classes and work end for the day. Here's everything you need to know about parking before the big game.
Iowa State finance professors study bank failures and the FDIC's role in their restart
Valentina Salotti (right), an Iowa State assistant professor of finance; and Arnold Cowan, a professor of finance, have been studying recent bank failures and the role the FDIC has played in their resolution. Despite having 85 more bank failures this year through October, the ISU researchers say the rate of bank failures is slowing as the industry finds firmer financial ground.
Iowa State engineers establish national panel to advance a carbon negative economy
Iowa State University researchers have established a national panel to research and develop technologies that take carbon out of the atmosphere and make money while doing it. The 33-member National Panel for a Carbon Negative Economy recently met for the first time. The effort is part of the Dean's Research Initiatives in the College of Engineering.
Becoming part of global, shoestring team requires researchers only to play fair, share
Asking a scientist to take part in research that has little
budget, less infrastructure and almost no central bureaucracy
would appear a lost cause. A group that was founded in part by
an Iowa State University researcher operates with almost no
budget, and has grown to a substantial
worldwide research force in just six years. And potential
collaborators are still banging on the door to get in.
Iowa State study finds health value to children of National School Lunch Program
A recent study by current and former Iowa State researchers -- including economics professor Brent Kreider (at left) -- confirmed that the National School Lunch Program improves the health outcomes of children who reside in low-income households. The study of nearly 2,700 NSLP children (ages 6-17) found that the NSLP reduces the prevalence of food insecurity by 3.8 percent, poor general health by 29 percent, and the rate of obesity by at least 17 percent in its participants.
Veterans are focus of ISUs Beginning Farmer Centers new partnership
The Beginning Farmer Center, part of Iowa State University's Extension and Outreach program, is beginning to work with the new, national California-based Farmer Veteran Coalition that works with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who want a career in agriculture. The coalition then matches them with farmers who are transitioning out of the field.
Political analyst Charlie Cook to headline inaugural Harkin Institute events on Nov. 29
ISU professor has solo art show in New York City
"No 'nother country," the first solo exhibition of work by Mitchell Squire to be held in New York City, will open Saturday, Nov. 19, at CUE Art Foundation in the city's Chelsea Historic District. In addition to being an associate professor of architecture, Squire is an installation and performance artist and sculptor. "No 'nother country" features 10 of his most recent mixed-media works -- two wall pieces, seven freestanding installations and one video. The show will run through Jan. 14. Complete details, including photographs and an essay by Elly Fishman, "Harvesting Narratives: Tales of Rural America and Race in the Work of Mitchell Squire," are in the catalogue online.
In the news
'Kardashian marriages' are rare, but aren't unheard of in Iowa
The Des Moines Register
People don't like to talk about divorces, but with nearly one in four U.S. marriages ending in the first five years, it's sport to pick apart others, says Susan Stewart, associate professor of sociology at Iowa State. "We are fascinated when people crash and burn," Stewart said. "It's a way to work through it: 'They are worse off than I am.'"
Mitt Romney hits campaign trail in Iowa
USA TODAY (via Radio Iowa)
David Peterson, associate professor of political science at Iowa State, says GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's campaign "has been smart to watch all of these candidates get their moment in the sun." Peterson said Romney needs to outlast the bursts of momentum other candidates have been getting in Iowa. "If Romney doesn't try very hard and somehow ends up winning Iowa, the race is pretty much over."