News Archive
Wednesday, May 16 2018
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Cyclone Power Pullers hope new tractor configuration will help to carry the load in engineering competition
The quarter-scale tractor ISU students will enter into a competition in a few weeks draws a stark contrast to the club’s efforts in previous years. Changes to the competition’s rules allowed the ISU team to build a segmented tractor that team members hope will allow for greater maneuverability.
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Iowa State students develop plans for crowded cemeteries, a looming issue for communities across the nation
An Iowa State University researcher brought his unique work to the classroom, studying the land-use implications of cemeteries and burial. This semester, his students researched and planned various options for the city of Perry, which – like many communities across the United States – is facing space constraints in its cemetery.
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Cyclone Space Mining launches new concept for NASA’s Robotic Mining Competition
Cyclone Space Mining returns to NASA's Kennedy Space Center May 14-18 with new ideas about mining, collecting and unloading simulated Martian soil. Team members have designed and built a bigger, heftier machine with the goal of digging deeper into the hard soil so they can scoop up more of the gravel that represents subsurface Martian ice.
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Motivation to move may start with being mindful
A meditation and stress reduction program may be as effective at getting people to move more as structured exercise programs, according to a new study led by an Iowa State University researcher. Jacob Meyer, an assistant professor of kinesiology, also is part of another study that found resistance training reduces symptoms of depression.
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From 10-minute pitches to a 10-week intensive: Meet three startups accepted to CYstarters
After a 10-week intensive accelerator program this summer, a new cohort of Iowa State University student entrepreneurs will come up for air with a plan to move their startup businesses forward. Meet three of the startups that made the cut for this year’s cohort.
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Des Moines business leader joins Ivy College of Business
Suku Radia joins the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business as it launches an executive MBA program — the first in the Midwest to focus on food, agriculture and biosystems. Radia, who recently retired from Bankers Trust, will serve as executive-in-residence and will be instrumental in planning and leading a high-quality speaker series for those enrolled.
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Iowa State students design, build children’s garden at Iowa women’s prison
Iowa State University design students worked with incarcerated women and prison staff at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women to design and build a children’s garden, which will encourage positive family visits and healthy relationships.
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Engineers studying nanodefects suspected of causing early failures of electrical materials
Breakdowns in electrical materials can lead to short circuits and blown fuses, robbing the power grid and even cell phones of reliability and efficiency. Iowa State's Xiaoli Tan is working to be the first to see and record how nanoscale defects in electrical insulators may evolve into material breakdowns. The project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Basic Energy Sciences Program.
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Iowa State student named Udall Scholar
Zoey Mauck, a senior working toward degrees in landscape architecture and community and regional planning, has been named a 2018 Udall Scholar for her tireless efforts to make communities more bicycle- and pedestrian-accessible through planning, design and community engagement.
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Brain activity, reactivity help explain diabetics’ negative feelings and risk for depression
For millions of Americans who are obese and living with diabetes or prediabetes, feelings of sadness, anger and anxiety are often part of daily life. A new Iowa State University study suggests those negative feelings may stem from problems regulating blood sugar levels that influence emotional response in the brain.
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Simpson named registrar
Mark Simpson, director of enterprise student systems at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, has been named Iowa State's new registrar, effective May 21.
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Iowa State University researchers model how Midwestern land-use changes affect carbon storage over the last 165 years
Expanded agricultural activity throughout the Midwest since 1850 has reduced the amount of carbon that can be stored in the soil, according to models designed by ISU scientists. However, modern farming practices such as no till can improve carbon sequestration, which could help to slow climate change.
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Around the world in four years: Graduating senior finds calling in research abroad
Summers are no time to relax for Adam Willman. Instead, the graduating Iowa State University senior in agronomy and global resource systems has hopped on a plane every summer to study and work – from California to Turkey to Morocco to China.
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First-generation graduate: On the fast track to a future in social justice
First-generation graduate Jacqueline Garcia is celebrating two milestones this weekend: She’ll receive her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and wrap up her first year of law school at Drake University in Des Moines.
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Iowa State graduate's legacy: A stronger community
Malik Burton wasn’t sure college would happen. Four years later, he’s graduating from Iowa State University as a campus leader in diversity and inclusion efforts, and a passionate advocate with plans to improve higher education through social justice.
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New Iowa State University research could help farmers diagnose soybean stresses with a smartphone
A new approach developed by ISU scientists could allow plant breeders and farmers to diagnose soybean stresses – such as iron deficiency, disease or herbicide injury – by using a smartphone. The technology may have uses in unmanned aerial vehicles and ground robots as well.
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Disguising access patterns to protect sensitive data in the cloud
A team of computer scientists is working to defend against the next potential cyber risk – cloud storage. Wensheng Zhang, an associate professor of computer science at Iowa State University, says cloud users can encrypt sensitive data and information, but how they access the data may make it vulnerable.
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Iowa State creating biographical dictionary featuring hundreds of influential Cyclones
University Museums is nearing the end of a massive effort to collect biographies of the Cyclones who have left a mark on the world. Iowa State University is only the third university in the world to create its own biographical dictionary.
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Design students create prairie-inspired project for Iowa Arboretum in Madrid
Iowa State University design students planned and built an educational and artistic installation for the Iowa Arboretum in Madrid, partnering with engineering students to learn about concrete and formwork. In the end, they created “Bluestem,” a field of 200 painted wooden poles that resemble the bluestem tallgrasses and prairie that once dominated Iowa’s landscape.
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April’s cold and snow shouldn’t worry farmers – yet
Despite cold and snowy conditions this spring, there’s still enough time for most Iowa farmers to plant corn and soybeans without having to worry about reduced yields due to a shortened growing season, according to an ISU agronomist. But any further delays to planting could mean some farmers will be cutting it close.
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CYstarters accelerator supports students’ big ideas
With ideas ranging from boomboxes to aerial videography, a cohort of Iowa State students will spend 10 weeks this summer working to develop and grow their businesses. The students were selected for the CYstarters program, which provides support and financing for entrepreneurs.
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Diving into the history of planned communities in Iowa State honors seminar
This spring, Iowa State University students examined planned and ideal communities in “A Good Place,” an honors seminar that took students on a journey through former and existing planned communities in the U.S. and utopian and egalitarian ideals, including studies of the Amana Colonies in Iowa and an assignment to create their own hypothetical planned community.
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Iowa State architecture students create massive, twisting structure for Reiman Gardens exhibition
This spring, 77 students in Iowa State University’s second-year architecture studios designed, built and installed a 1,300-square-foot structure at Reiman Gardens for its “Forces of Nature” kinetic art exhibition, on display April 28 through Nov. 3.
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Iowa State engineers create innovative disaster relief container for 3M challenge
Iowa State University engineering students have developed a new, practical and cost-effective way to drop medical supplies into a disaster area as part of the inaugural 3M Disruptive Design Challenge last week at 3M headquarters. Their air-drop container survived a 150-foot fall and water submersion, and was successfully repurposed as a stretcher.
Postcard from Campus: Graduation Day
Check out the sights and sounds inside Hilton Coliseum as thousands of Iowa State students graduated.