News Archive
Sunday, December 23 2012
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Rajala named next dean in Iowa State’s College of Engineering
The new dean of Iowa State's College of Engineering will be Sarah Rajala, currently engineering dean at Mississippi State University. She also has served as department chair of electrical and computer engineering at Mississippi State and associate dean for research and graduate programs at North Carolina State University. She chairs the Global Engineering Deans Council and is a former president of the American Society for Engineering Education. Her Iowa State appointment is effective April 1, 2013.
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ISU professor helps map genome of cotton
An international consortium of scientists that includes an Iowa State University professor has mapped the genome sequence for cotton in a paper published this week in the journal Nature. The sequencing of the genome will have sweeping ramifications for cotton growers, plant biologists and producers who grow other cash crops.
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Winter break schedules at Iowa State
Iowa State University offices are closed for the holidays Dec. 24-25 and Jan. 1. Additionally, many buildings and departments will be partially or fully closed from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1 -- a period when classes aren't in session, university activities slow down and many employees take vacation. Visitors to campus Dec. 22 through Jan. 1 should call ahead to ensure that their destination facilities are open.
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Interior design students win People's Choice Award in international competition
Two interior design seniors received the People's Choice Award for their entry in the International Interior Design Association's 2012 Student Sustainable Design Competition. Erica Riha and Ashley Olson created their project, "Vitality Assisted Living Facility," last spring in the department's healthcare design studio for juniors. Their design garnered more than 2,100 votes of the 11,000 votes received from IIDA members, friends and design enthusiasts from more than 15 countries.
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Former high school principal talks about guns in schools
Chuck Achter, lecturer and assistant director of the School of Education at Iowa State, was a high school principal for 32 years. While it is natural for parents to want additional security measures after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Achter does not believe armed administrators are the answer.
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How to talk to kids about Connecticut elementary school tragedy
In the wake of the nation’s second-worst school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., mental health professionals at Iowa State University have some guidance on how to discuss the tragedy with young children who may be troubled by the information they see and hear as events unfold.
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ISU student selected to be student ambassador for U.S. Department of Interior
An Iowa State University sophomore has been named a U.S. Department of Interior student ambassador for the 2012-13 school year. Biology major Nicole Bradley, Harvey, Ill., is one of 22 students nationwide selected by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and the Interior Department to promote the department's internships and job opportunities on Iowa State's campus.
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Iowa State engineer looks to dragonflies, bats for flight lessons
Iowa State University's Hui Hu is using wind tunnel and imaging tests to learn the aerodynamics that allow dragonflies and bats to get off the ground in the slow-speed, high-drag conditions of small-scale flight. His findings could one day help military engineers build micro-air vehicles with the power and agility to carry cameras, sensors or even weapons into dangerous territory.
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ISU landscape architecture's community design students help Mapleton reinvent itself
A 2011 Category 3 tornado damaged 60 percent of Mapleton, Iowa. On a recent Sunday in December, residents had the opportunity to visualize the possibilities for reinventing the town during an open house hosted by the Iowa State University landscape architecture community design studio and the Mapleton Rebuild and Recover Committee. The open house was the capstone of a semester-long project to identify landscape-based strategies for Mapleton’s long-term recovery.
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ISU professor explains lack of help for man thrown on subway tracks
A New York Post photo of a man just moments from his death has generated a lot of debate. Craig Anderson, Distinguished Professor of psychology at Iowa State University, explains why the photographer and other bystanders did not try to offer help to a man thrown onto the tracks of the New York City subway.
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ISU professor gives climate change talk before U.N. conference
An ISU climate science expert presenting data before a United Nations conference last week said that climate change is influencing Iowa farmers to adjust their operations. And, although scientists can’t attribute the 2012 drought to climate change, the data does suggest that such extreme weather events are becoming more common in the Midwestern United States.
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Iowa State geneticist, computer engineer honored for scientific advances
Two Iowa State researchers -- a geneticist and a computer engineer -- have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The new fellows are being honored for their distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The association is the world's largest general scientific society.
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Iowa State experts expect compromise to avoid fallout from the ‘fiscal cliff’
Iowa State professors comment on the status of the fiscal cliff. An Iowa State economist said if Congress does not take action before the deadline there will be an impact on jobs and the economy. An Iowa State political science professor talks about the likelihood of a compromise.
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Iowa State’s Rosenberg serves U.S. high-energy physics, learns global neutrino lessons
Eli Rosenberg is back on campus after four years of helping to manage the country's high-energy physics programs. His temporary assignment with the Department of Energy gave Rosenberg a great view of America's physics future. It also helped him learn new lessons in neutrino physics.
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Iowa State, Ames Lab chemist elected president of American Chemical Society
Tom Barton of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has been elected president-elect of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. He will be president-elect in 2013, president in 2014 and immediate past-president in 2015. Among his leadership priorities is improving elementary and secondary science education in America.
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Iowa State researchers seek right mix of bacteria in cattle
A pilot program at Iowa State recently began collecting nasal mucus and fecal matter samples from cattle on the ISU McNay Research and Demonstration farm in Chariton. The researchers will study those samples to gain a better understanding of the interaction between the bacteria populations and the cattle.
State Gym renovation hits the mark
The renovation and west addition to ISU's State Gym, completed last winter, has earned LEED® Platinum certification, the highest of four award levels. It joins the College of Design's King Pavilion, completed in 2009, as LEED platinum-certified facilities on campus. The State Gym project is one of just four recreation facilities in the country to achieve LEED's platinum level and one of two in higher education. The University of Arizona, Tucson, has the other.
Let's go bowling!
The Iowa State football team will return to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis after a visit more than four decades ago under legendary coach Johnny Majors. The Cyclones will play in the 2012 AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31 at 2:30 p.m. against Tulsa. The game will be televised by ESPN.