Category: Alumni

Entrepreneur, ECpE alum: Bailey Steinfadt succeeds at building her own brand

March 25, 2020 • Sarah Hays

Entrepreneur, ECpE alum: Bailey Steinfadt succeeds at building her own brand Running your own remote business can be hard, but Bailey Steinfadt, a 2010 graduate in computer engineering from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECpE) at Iowa State University, is always up for a challenge. Driven and constantly learning through multiple facets, she … Continue reading Entrepreneur, ECpE alum: Bailey Steinfadt succeeds at building her own brand

Managing and engineering collide for ECpE alum Brenda McDermott

March 19, 2020 • Sarah Hays

Managing over 100 employees and two departments is no easy responsibility. But Iowa State University alum Brenda McDermott, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is driving new champions at her position as Director of Design and Construction at Xcel Energy in Minnesota, an investor-owned utility across ten states. McDermott has eight direct managers … Continue reading Managing and engineering collide for ECpE alum Brenda McDermott

AerE alum, Space Force Director Clint Crosier to Hall of Distinguished Alumni

March 16, 2020 • John Burnett-Larkins

An Iowa State alumnus responsible for planning the recently launched U.S. Space Force has been welcomed into the Department of Aerospace Engineering (AerE) Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Major General Clinton E. Crosier, who received a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Iowa State in 1987, returned to campus in connection with the recent U.S. Strategic Command … Continue reading AerE alum, Space Force Director Clint Crosier to Hall of Distinguished Alumni

Past, present, future of space exploration: ECpE alum Lewis C. Hill II of NASA

February 27, 2020 • Sarah Hays 3 Comments

As an outer space fanatic since grade school, Iowa State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering alumnus Lewis C. Hill II is living his dream as a software developer at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. In Hill’s position, he helps to enable space exploration and works on many aerospace innovations, working … Continue reading Past, present, future of space exploration: ECpE alum Lewis C. Hill II of NASA

From Nicaragua to Senegal, ME alum is helping around the world

February 17, 2020 • Nick Fetty

Helping people has always been a personal mission of Iowa State alum Patrick Ward. It was part of the reason he chose to study mechanical engineering. It was part of the reason he traveled abroad to Nicaragua as a student. And now it is part of the reason he left his full-time engineering job to … Continue reading From Nicaragua to Senegal, ME alum is helping around the world

ECpE alum Josh Hale powers equity as ISUPD Police Lieutenant and Systems Analyst

February 10, 2020 • Sarah Hays

A problem solver with a passion for justice, Police Lieutenant and Systems Analyst Josh Hale has found the place where coding and technology blend with the law at the Iowa State University Police Department (ISUPD). When first graduating from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECpE) at Iowa State University with a degree in … Continue reading ECpE alum Josh Hale powers equity as ISUPD Police Lieutenant and Systems Analyst

From math and science enthusiast to grain industry instrumentation and data scientist

February 7, 2020 • Cyclone Engineering

Nanning Cao (’13 Ph.D. ag engr) loved math and chemistry as a high schooler and it led her to a career in data-driven food production innovation. Today, she is an instrumentation and data scientist at Ardent Mills, leading predictive analysis projects that advance the grain industry.

Engineering Apple Park to “Think Different”

February 7, 2020 • Travis Ballstadt

When you are engineering a project for one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, perfection isn’t an option … it’s a requirement.

In Memory of Glenn Hillesland

January 28, 2020 • Sarah Hays

Glenn Hillesland, adjunct professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECpE) at Iowa State University, peacefully passed away on Jan. 12, 2019, in Ames. As a young student, Hillesland attended a one-room schoolhouse in Conover, Iowa. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Iowa State the following year, pursuing courses in … Continue reading In Memory of Glenn Hillesland

Naval experience paved the way for ME alum

January 28, 2020 • Nick Fetty 2 Comments

While many college students gain first-hand engineering experience through internships and co-ops, Ryan Williams was gaining this experience before he even stepped foot on campus. Williams served as an aviation structural mechanic for the U.S. Navy after high school which taught him how hydraulic systems and flight control components work together to put an aircraft … Continue reading Naval experience paved the way for ME alum

Grant will assist CBE’s Roling with computer-enhanced petroleum research

January 27, 2020 • John Burnett-Larkins

Luke Roling’s chemical engineering research laboratory does not feature the clink of glass beakers, but rather the hum of computer banks, and with them, the promise of improving the performance of chemical engineering processes. “Atomic-scale computer simulations are helping us understand how deactivation occurs in the chemical industry — and are bringing us one step … Continue reading Grant will assist CBE’s Roling with computer-enhanced petroleum research

Four Aerospace Engineering students receive TEX-REX awards

January 27, 2020 • jhamann

Two alumni and two current students from the Department of Aerospace Engineering have received Teaching Excellence (TEX) and Research Excellence (REX) awards for their work in the fall semester in the fall semester of 2019. The TEX Award is given to two students who have shown exemplary accomplishments, as graduate students, in the teaching of … Continue reading Four Aerospace Engineering students receive TEX-REX awards

From engineering consultant to doctor

January 14, 2020 • Nick Fetty

Former industrial engineering department chair Joseph Walkup used to say “engineers can do anything.” For one department alumnus, that “anything” involves practicing medicine. Michael Baker grew up on a farm in State Center, Iowa, roughly 30 miles east of Ames. Despite working around the farm as a kid, he knew that a career in agriculture … Continue reading From engineering consultant to doctor

Brewing up a hoppy career

December 20, 2019 • Kate Tindall

“Bringing people together over good beer,” is a motto for the owners of Limestone Brewers in Osage, Iowa. Hear how an one alum of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is tapping into the craft brewing industry.

Studying microbubbles to treat traumatic brain injuries

December 9, 2019 • Gillian Mohn

Alex Wrede, a postdoctoral researcher with Hashemi Laboratory, is using engineering to unravel the mystery of traumatic brain injuries – and winning awards for how he tells the story of the impact of his work.