As 2016 comes to an end, the Iowa State University News Service staff is looking back and sharing some of its favorite and more popular stories of the year. Click on each headline to link to the full release.
Clothing made from tea byproduct could improve health of fashion industry
The fashion industry generates a lot of waste, which is why a team of Iowa State University researchers developed a new fiber that's 100 percent biodegradable. Researchers are testing the fiber – made from a green tea byproduct – to see if it's a viable alternative.
Iowa State engineers develop flexible skin that traps radar waves, cloaks objects
Iowa State engineers have developed a "meta-skin" that uses liquid-metal technology to trap radar waves and cloak objects from detection. By stretching the flexible meta-skin, the device can be tuned to reduce the reflection of a wide range of radar frequencies.
Iowa State University researcher helps to forecast the chances of monarch butterfly survival
Eastern monarch butterflies in North America may face quasi-extinction in the next 20 years unless something is done to expand their population capacity, according to an Iowa State University researcher. The eastern migratory monarch population declined 84 percent between 1996 and 2014.
Change Agent: Warren Madden
For a man who has worked in the same place for a half century, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Warren Madden has experienced – and helped orchestrate – his fair share of change at Iowa State University. Madden retired this fall. During his tenure at ISU, he directly served seven university presidents.
Breathing new life into schoolyards benefits entire communities
An Iowa State University assistant professor of landscape architecture and her students are part of a collaborative effort to breathe new life into more than 300 neglected schoolyards in Philadelphia. They represent a burgeoning national movement to green schoolyards.
ISU researchers use big data to save big dollars for DOT
It's a question many transportation managers have likely asked: Is it better to replace or repair an older vehicle? With the help of Iowa State University researchers, the Iowa Department of Transportation now knows the answer for its snow plow trucks. And the answer could save the department millions.
Science Bound celebrates 25 years of pursuing academic excellence
Science Bound is designed to meet state and national need for a technical workforce by increasing the number of ethnically diverse Iowa students who earn STEM degrees. The program draws students from middle and high schools in Des Moines, Denison and Marshalltown.
Iowa State University scientists identify new lead in search for Parkinson’s cure
ISU scientists have identified a protein that may safeguard neurons from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease. A better understanding of this protein could help slow development of the disease or lead to new therapies.
More than learning a language, students experience what it means to be deaf
Language is about more than words. Whether they are written, spoken or signed, words are part of a language that cannot be separated from the culture. This philosophy is the foundation of the American Sign Language program at Iowa State University.
ISU industrial design and Courage League Sports team up to create assistive sports devices
Iowa State industrial design students teamed up with Courage League Sports to design assistive sports equipment for people with special needs. Several students volunteered at Courage League to better understand the athletes' special needs during sports play.
For ISU veterinarian and vet students, an endangered black rhino’s pregnancy is a (very) big deal
An Iowa State University veterinarian helped deliver the first ever rhino birth at Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. It’s a rare event. Changes in habitat and illegal poaching have devastated the black rhino population, leaving them critically endangered.
Iowa State engineers study glass in batteries as a way to increase performance and safety
Iowa State University's Steve Martin has researched battery materials for 30-plus years. He has a new grant that will allow him to expand his fundamental materials studies into research and development of new, all-solid-state technology for actual batteries.
Iowa State, Chevron team up to develop pilot plant, advance biofuel technology
Iowa State engineers are working with Chevron U.S.A. to develop a pilot plant and study an advanced biorenewables technology called solvent liquefaction. The technology converts biomass such as quarter-inch wood chips into a bio-oil that can be processed into fuels or chemicals and a biochar that can enrich soils.
Iowa State research shows perennials would reduce nutrient runoff to the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone
Computer-generated models show perennial plants such as switchgrass could reduce nitrogen runoff from farm fields into the Gulf of Mexico. The ISU agronomist who led the study said perennials could be an important tool in combatting the Gulf of Mexico’s hypoxic zone.
More than just a cue, intrinsic reward helps make exercise a habit
Anyone who has tried sticking to an exercise routine knows it isn't easy. But the combination of a conditioned cue and intrinsic reward may be the key to developing an exercise habit, according to a new Iowa State University study.
