News Archive
Thursday, May 16 2013
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Iowa State engineers design, test taller, high-strength concrete towers for wind turbines
Iowa State's Sri Sritharan and Grant Schmitz have designed and tested a concept for building concrete towers to replace the steel towers used for wind turbines. Concrete towers could be a practical way to raise turbine towers from today's 80 meters to the better winds at 100 meters and higher. Even under extreme loads up to 170,000 pounds, the engineers' test segments performed well in structural tests.
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Power Pullers preparing for national competition with new quarter-scale tractor
A team of students at Iowa State University is putting the finishing touches on a built-from-scratch 1/4-scale tractor to enter in a nationwide engineering competition at the end of May.
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It’s all about reliability for this year’s Iowa State Baja racing team
The student-engineers of Iowa State's Baja SAE Team have been busy designing and building what they hope is a reliable off-road racer. Their first real test is later this week at an international competition in Bellingham, Wash. Team members are hoping the car can survive the contest's big event, a four-hour endurance race.
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Iowa State University cadet awarded ROTC Medal for Heroism for saving a life
An Iowa State University student has received the Department of the Army's highest medal for the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Cadet Nicole Donato, a kinesiology and health major, was awarded the ROTC Medal for Heroism for administering medical assistance and CPR after a car accident on I-35 last October.
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What the birth rate says about changing family dynamics
An Iowa State University sociologist is not surprised by a recent U.S. Census Bureau report showing a spike in the number of unmarried women giving birth. According to the report, nearly 36 percent of babies born in 2011 were to single mothers.
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Harmon named associate vice president for student affairs
Martino Harmon, executive director of student success and retention at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Ohio, will become the next associate vice president for student affairs at Iowa State.
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Spalding named College of Business dean
David Spalding, senior vice president and senior adviser to Dartmouth College's interim president Carol Folt, has been appointed the next Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the College of Business. He will begin his new position Aug. 1.
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Iowa State professor weighs benefit vs. risk of facial recognition technology
Law enforcement agencies are using facial recognition software as a crime-fighting tool. Now businesses are looking to use the technology to reach customers. But an Iowa State University professor questions whether customers are ready for it.
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Human health and performance conference to be held at Iowa State
An international conference to be held at Iowa State University will focus on protein-centric scientific developments that will enhance human health and performance. The conference, titled “Proteins in Human Health and Performance,” will feature an extensive lineup of health experts with a central focus on proteins, including their roles in muscle health and weight management.
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Iowa State, Ames Lab researcher to study the effects of cell adhesion on spread of cancer
Sanjeevi Sivasankar of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has studied how healthy cells stick to each other. Now he's turning his attention to cells affected by cancer. A four-year, $715,000 grant from the American Cancer Society will support studies of the bonds between cancer cells and how changes in those bonds could affect the spread of cancer.
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For farmers, plenty of uncertainty accompanies planting season
The first week of May is traditionally thought of as the ideal time for Iowa farmers to begin planting, but a slow start to spring and volatile grain markets in recent weeks have left many producers anxious to get in the fields, agronomy and grain markets experts at Iowa State University said.
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ISU report finds few counties in compliance with gender balance legislation
Just two of Iowa’s 99 counties have achieved gender balance on appointed boards and commissions, according to a new report by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University and Friends of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women.
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Iowa State graduating senior embarks on new journey to inspire others
Since someone first believed in her, Ebony Jones has been determined to graduate from college so that she might inspire at-risk youth like she once was. After overcoming learning disabilities and culture shock, Jones will march into Hilton Coliseum on Saturday for Iowa State University's commencement, adorned in a celebratory trail of glitter that marks her journey.
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Wind power tour
U.S. Rep. Steve King toured several Iowa State labs on May 1 and heard about some of the wind energy research projects on campus.
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Iowa State computer science student selected for Innovation Lab in the Sky flight
Cassidy Williams started her spring semester at Iowa State University by speaking at a national White House meeting on technology. She's ending it as a handpicked participant in British Airways' unparalleled experiment at 30,000 feet. Williams, a third-year computer science student, will be part of UnGrounded, an innovation lab aboard a private flight from San Francisco to London on June 12. She will join Silicon Valley's most prominent thinkers to address the misalignment between emerging talent and existing jobs.
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Iowa State engineer brings computing expertise to White House Big Data Workshop
Iowa State University's Srinivas Aluru will bring his expertise in high performance computing to the May 3 White House Big Data Workshop in Washington, D.C. Aluru is leading a three-year, $2 million project to develop a computing toolbox that will help scientists manage all the data produced by today's DNA sequencing instruments.
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Updated meat labels will bolster consumer confidence, according to Iowa State animal science expert
Upcoming changes to how cuts of meat are labeled in grocery stores will clear up confusion and bolster confidence among consumers, said an Iowa State University animal science expert. The updated labels will offer greater clarity as well as simplified, descriptive and uniform names for retail cuts of beef and pork with plans to include lamb and veal later.
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Ames Laboratory interim director named
Thomas Lograsso has been named interim director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. Lograsso will succeed Alex King, who is stepping down to lead the laboratory’s Critical Materials Institute, a $120 million DOE Energy Innovation Hub announced in January.
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Department of Residence to lease apartment complexes for fall 2013
Iowa State's Department of Residence will lease apartment space off campus to accommodate housing requests for fall 2013. The Iowa Board of Regents approved the proposal at its April 25 meeting.
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Iowa State University’s Science Bound program announces $400,000 gift from DuPont
Iowa State University will receive a $400,000 gift from DuPont Pioneer for the university’s Science Bound program, which encourages youth in the state’s urban communities to consider careers in agriculture and science.
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PROSPER prevention programs dramatically cut substance abuse among teens
Prevention is often the best medicine, and that is not only true when it comes to physical health, but also public health. Case in point – young adults reduce their overall prescription drug misuse up to 65 percent if they are part of a community-based prevention effort while still in middle school, according to researchers at Iowa State University.
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Improving mental health starts with early childhood relationships
Iowa State researchers want to improve effectiveness as well as access for families to prevention and intervention programs to make sure children grow up in a safe and stable environment. The work is critical to the mental and emotional development of children.
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Iowa State engineer working to put more science behind bloodstain pattern analysis
Daniel Attinger, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, is working to put more fluid dynamics behind the bloodstain pattern analysis used at crime scenes. His research team is developing instruments to produce and study bloodstains. The team is also working to develop portable tools that crime-scene investigators can use.
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Iowa State MBA students apply their skills while giving back
Corporate social responsibility is more than just a topic first-year MBA students at Iowa State University will learn about in the classroom – it is an expectation. To emphasize the importance of giving back to the community, students are assigned to teams to work with nonprofit organizations on service projects.
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Iowa State University researchers unlock secrets of turtle genome
Using the latest technology, researchers at Iowa State University have helped to unlock some of the 200-million-year-old secrets buried deep in the genome of a species of turtle.
Pomp and circumstance
Watch a replay of Iowa State's commencement ceremonies. Congratulations, graduates!
Video: Sandbagging skills
About 60 Iowa State employees volunteered for a training course that could help protect campus from flood damage.