2017 Year in Review
December 18, 2017
As 2017 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.
Iowa State hires first woman president
The Iowa Board of Regents selected Wendy Wintersteen as the 16th president of Iowa State University. The former College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean started her new role on Nov. 20. President Wintersteen quickly outlined some immediate priorities and explained why she'll spend the spring semester listening.
Post-surgery rehab has gone to the dogs at ISU animal hospital
The canine rehabilitation center at Iowa State University offers cutting-edge equipment and expertise to help dogs recover from injury and surgery. ISU veterinary students also benefit from the facility through two-week rotations and volunteer experience.
Team PrISUm steps up to world stage in race across Australian Outback
Team PrISUm took its new "Solar Utility Vehicle" on a 1,900-mile race across the Outback of Australia. Iowa State's student-engineers designed and built a car that can comfortably make that journey.
Festival highlights benefits of music of people with Parkinson's disease
Hosting a music festival is something Elizabeth Stegemöller has wanted to do since starting a music therapy class for people with Parkinson's disease. The festival will not only highlight her clients' musical talents, but celebrate the strength they have built through song.
Change Agent: Julie Stevens
Over the past six years, Julie Stevens, her landscape architecture students and the women at Iowa Correctional Institution for Women have transformed the facility’s barren 30 acres into a living landscape of trees, native prairie, vegetables, flowers, butterflies and bunnies. There are outdoor classrooms for learning, quiet spaces for reflecting and fresh produce for eating.
ISU engineers test heated pavement technology at Des Moines International Airport
Iowa State engineers have installed two test slabs of electrically conductive concrete at the airport. So far, the special pavement has effectively cleared ice and snow and engineers have calculated that the benefits are greater than the costs.
In the eye of the beholder: Researchers use eye-tracking technology to detect deception
Researchers in Iowa State University’s College of Business are using eye-tracking technology to better detect when people are lying. They’re specifically interested in cues that may signal deception during job interviews. Go inside the college’s neuroscience lab to see how the research could help businesses weed out dishonest employees.
ISU scientists design electricity generator that mimics trees
Researchers have built a prototype biomimetic tree that generates electricity when wind blows through its artificial leaves. The researchers think such technology may help people charge household appliances without the need for large wind turbines.
Prairie strips yield big environmental benefits over 10 years
The ISU Prairie STRIPS project has found the strategic use of native prairie plants among agricultural fields yields a wide range of environmental benefits, including erosion and runoff reduction and increased wildlife habitat. The findings, published this week, draw on 10 years of data and cover dozens of environmental metrics.
Ames Laboratory celebrates 70 years of science, discovery on ISU campus
The U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory is celebrating 70 years on the Iowa State University campus. The close university-laboratory ties have helped recruit researchers, educate students, build research teams and make scientific discoveries possible.