News Archive
Saturday, September 16 2017
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Team PrISUm steps up to world stage, prepares to race across Australian Outback
Team PrISUm is preparing to take its new "Solar Utility Vehicle" on a 1,900-mile race across the Outback of Australia. The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is Oct. 8-15. Iowa State's student-engineers think they've designed and built a car that can comfortably make that journey.
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Iowa State announces $145 million endowment to support College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
A gift initially reported in January will result in a new endowment of approximately $145 million to support the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The endowment is made possible through a gift from an anonymous donor couple of an equity stake in Curriculum Associates, LLC, which recently entered into a capital partnership.
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High-skilled workers leaving Iowa because of lack of jobs
A shortage of high-skilled jobs is a primary factor driving Iowa’s brain drain, according to a new analysis by Iowa State University researchers. The report measured Iowa’s competitiveness in attracting and retaining highly skilled, educated workers as compared to the rest of the country.
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U.S. News rankings: Iowa State 53rd among national publics; first in ag/bio engineering
The latest undergraduate rankings from U.S. News and World Report magazine have Iowa State tied for 53rd among public national universities. Iowa State's program in agricultural and biosystems engineering is tied for No. 1. And Iowa State's learning communities program is recognized by the magazine.
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Iowa State receives $50 million commitment to name College of Business
Debbie and Jerry Ivy's $50 million gift is the largest-ever commitment to the college. In recognition of the couple’s generosity, the college will be renamed the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business, pending approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Once approved, the Ivy College of Business will be the first donor-named college at Iowa State.
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$14 million committed by Kent Corporation, Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Sukup Manufacturing Co. for Iowa State feed mill, grain science project
Kent Corporation is committing $8 million, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board $4 million and Sukup Manufacturing Co. $2 million in support of a new Iowa State educational and research facility for feed milling and grain science. The $14 million in gifts are the first to be announced for the $21.2 million feed mill and grain science complex, which will be funded entirely through private giving.
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Comedian and author Sara Benincasa will headline Mental Health Expo at ISU Sept. 19
Comedian, mental health advocate and author Sara Benincasa will share her experience with mental illness, panic attacks and college life during a talk at Iowa State. Benincasa will present "Help! You Need Somebody!" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Her talk is free and open to the public. It is part of the Mental Health Expo, a resource fair with local mental health and substance abuse professionals that will be held in the adjoining South Ballroom beginning at 6 p.m.
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Fall enrollment is second highest on record
Iowa State's fall 2017 enrollment is 36,321, the second-largest in school history. Overall enrollment is down about one percent from last year's record 36,660 students. The new student body number reflects a "leveling off" university leaders have predicted over the past year, following a decade of growth and eight consecutive years of record enrollment. Iowa State's student body is the most diverse ever, and ISU continues to enroll more Iowans than any other university in the world.
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Iowa State physicists contribute to Higgs boson analysis, understanding
Iowa State University physicists have been part of an international search for evidence that the Higgs boson, as predicted, most often decays into two bottom quarks. That search has been a challenge -- billions of bottom quarks are produced inside the Large Hadron Collider and most have nothing to do with the Higgs boson. But physicists believe they finally have evidence of the hard-to-find decay.
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Author will discuss history of medical experiments on black Americans Sept. 18 at ISU
Twenty years ago, then-President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology for the U.S. Public Health Service's 40-year Tuskegee Syphilis Study. During the study, 600 poor African-American men — many with latent syphilis — were unknowingly treated with a placebo so researchers could monitor the disease's progression for decades, long after a treatment was widely available. Harriet Washington will discuss the Tuskegee study and others in "Medical Apartheid: The History of Experimentation on Black Americans" at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept 18, in the Memorial Union Great Hall.
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Network to prepare students of color for math degrees receives NSF grant
The National Science Foundation has announced a grant for an Iowa State University-led initiative designed to provide a network of support for students of color interested in mathematics. The network will include mathematicians of color from U.S. colleges, universities and industry who want to invest time in, share their expertise with, and learn from students of color and their teachers.
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ISU professor helping lead effort to expand digital literacy in Iowa
Access to digital technology has far outpaced the availability of educational resources to promote responsible use. Douglas Gentile, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University, fears what the consequences might be if that trend is not reversed. That is why Gentile is working to expand digital literacy programming in schools.
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Time to expand foreign language opportunities, says Iowa State professor
Language immersion programs not only improve fluency and vocabulary, but also build confidence in speaking the language. It is difficult to replicate that experience in a foreign language class, which may only meet for an hour a day. That is why an Iowa State University professor is a strong advocate for dual-language immersion programs at the elementary and secondary level.
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New grant will help Iowa State University scientists search zebrafish genome to promote human health
A research team at Iowa State hopes advanced gene editing techniques will help them locate genes in zebrafish that may allow for the development of new treatments for disease in humans. The research is supported by a nearly $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
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Center for Biorenewable Chemicals introduces idea for new molecules, innovation, value
Leaders of the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals based at Iowa State University are proposing a new model for creating, applying and commercializing chemicals made from corn stalks, wood chips and other sources of biomass. The model calls for identifying “bioprivileged molecules” that offer unique properties that could lead to new products.
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Iowa State University biomedical researcher conducts promising trial of potential therapy for spinal muscular atrophy
A study led by a biomedical researcher at Iowa State University found that a potential treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a leading genetic cause of infant mortality, shows promise in animal models.
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Viruses and aphids that help crops? ISU scientists think it may be possible
Iowa State University scientists are contributing to a multi-institutional effort to help corn stand up to stress brought on by drought and disease by using viruses and aphids to activate desirable traits. It’s speculative research that could yield new insight into how viruses, insects and plants interact.