College of Engineering News

Congratulations to the fall 2022 Cyclone Engineering student marshal and outstanding seniors.

Growing up, Efraín Rodríguez-Ocasio did not foresee himself pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in a state he thought of as the “corn place.”   But after discovering the opportunity to work with Laura Jarboe, Cargill Professor of Chemical Engineering, Rodríguez-Ocasio has found Iowa State fertile ground to grow a career in bioplastics research.

The Department of Chemical Engineering’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) student chapter recently returned from the organization’s Annual Student Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Twenty ISU student members took part in the event.

In their analysis and case study for corn production, professor and C.G. “Turk” and Joyce A. Therkildsen IMSE Department Chair, Sarah Ryan, and recent PH.D. graduate, Görkem Emirhüseyinoğlu, discuss how climate uncertainties and global market volatility can impact annual farm management decisions.

Effective conversion of lignin to increase the production of bio-oil and reduce a solid by-product called “char” has been addressed in Iowa State University engineering research and published in Energy & Environmental Science.

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering faculty member Brent Shanks has been named an American Chemical Society (ACS) Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) Fellow for the Class of 2023.

“When I heard the ISU Cyclone Marching Band practicing during my first tour of campus, I just immediately fell in love. I knew I wanted to come to Iowa State and be in the band and be a part of all of it. And, lucky for me, because I always planned to major in engineering, Iowa State is a great band school and a great engineering school.”

In Civil Engineering 462/562, Site Evaluations for Civil Engineering Projects, seniors and graduate students use hands-on methods to learn various processes for testing soil in-ground. Taught by associate professor Jeramy Ashlock, the class is implementing CCEE Distinguished Professor Emeritus Richard Handy’s in-ground soil strength test, known as the Borehole Shear Test, after digging a small hole, known as a borehole, for testing.

For Khushi Kapoor, senior in aerospace engineering, innovating at Iowa State means reaching for new heights in aviation.

In the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, researchers received a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to provide a broad-scope framework presenting how FEW systems work together. Including elements like crop and animal production and ethanol generation among other things, the team is designing a series of maps that describe the food, energy and water data elements within the state of Iowa, and housing the maps in one user-friendly webpage.

A paper published by Department of Aerospace Engineering Martin C. Jischke Professor Hui Hu and three of his students has been selected to receive national recognition by the American Institute of Aeronautics and  Astronautics’ (AIAA) Gas Turbine Engines Technical Committee.

Iowa State University Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering’s (CCEE) National Electrical Contractor’s Association (NECA) club took home a $4,000, first-place award this fall at the annual Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge held during the NECA National Convention in Austin, Texas. The team placed first in the overall presentation portion of the challenge, an award determined by combining the scores of a written proposal and the oral presentation.

Twenty Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering undergraduates have made the trip to Phoenix for the AIChE Annual Student Conference. While the experience is definitely worth the trip, it is costly. Prior to departing, the chapter’s faculty advisor Dr. Stephanie Loveland estimated more than $10,000 had been spent on air and hotel reservations and conference registration fees alone. The chapter has established a FundISU page through the Iowa State University Foundation to allow contributions that will help defray some of these costs. Contributions can be made through December 9.

One of eight finalists in Iowa State University’s annual three minute thesis competition, Abigail Schulte is a concurrent student in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering versed in advocating for the environment through clear research and communication.

Born into a family of doctors in India, Dhananjay Dileep, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, grew up wanting to help fix the world. Today, Dileep is working toward this goal by making the chemical recycling of plastics more commercially viable.