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NEWS RELEASE

04-23-01

Contacts:
Robert A Leacock, Physics, (515) 292 1835
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

NEW STUDENT AWARD HONORS LATE IOWA STATE SCIENTIST

AMES, Iowa -- Three Iowa State University students have been named the first recipients of a scholarship honoring a late physics student and scientist.

The three recipients of the Mal Iles Innovation Award are Mark Bly, mechanical engineering, Valley Spring, S.D.; Nicholas Mohr, mechanical engineering, Bettendorf; and Brenton Rothchild, computer engineering, West Des Moines. Each will receive a $1,000 grant.

Iles was an Iowa State physics undergraduate and graduate student and Ames Laboratory scientist from 1973 to 1983. He died in May 1993 after suffering a severe epileptic attack. He is remembered as an innovative and inventive person in both his scientific and non-scientific activities, said Robert Leacock, professor of physics. His scientific interests included large-scale energy storage and space colonization, while his non-scientific concerns included journalism and mountain climbing.

The award is given to physical science and engineering undergraduate students who show unusual interest in innovations and inventions.

Bly is working on an implantable artificial kidney for the human body. Mohr and Rothchild play key roles in the design of the ISU solar car and collaborate on a new, ultrafast clock based on the Global Positioning System. Mohr plans a career applying engineering to medical problems, while Rothchild is considering designing systems for electric vehicles.

The Iles Awards were presented to the students at a meeting of the physics department on Monday, April 23. Iles' father will attended the presentation.

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