Research conducted at Iowa State found that experienced firefighters take longer to make decisions than novice firefighters when under stress. But even though it may take them longer, the study found they are more likely to make good decisions when facing a crisis. Dozens of virtual reality trials with real firefighters of varying experience levels …Continue reading “Experienced firefighters more analytical under stress than novices, according to ISU study”
Elizabeth Bierman began her term as president-elect of the Society of Women Engineers this year, but her connection to the group goes back to her freshman year at Iowa State. Bierman joined SWE after her first week on campus in 1994, and her participation grew each year, extending to the professional level. Graduating from Iowa …Continue reading “President-Elect Elizabeth Bierman hopes to expand SWE globally”
With four current projects supported by the National Science Foundation, Rodney Fox—Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of Engineering and professor of chemical and biological engineering—has spent many years developing his work with multiphase flow computer simulations. Fox, an associate scientist at Ames Laboratory, and his research team create models and numerical methods for simulations. Since they …Continue reading “Rodney Fox uses NSF funding to create cost-effective computer simulations”
Donald Thompson, former director of Iowa State University’s Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) and professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, died peacefully on Tuesday, July 29, after a two-year battle with cancer. Thompson was 86 years old. Thompson was a pioneer in the field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE), moving nondestructive testing to a more …Continue reading “Former CNDE director Donald Thompson passes away”
The regional and global impact of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) can be measured in several ways. One of which is by the success of their partnership with the Federal University of Viscosa (UFV), Brazil. For years, the relationship has produced research collaborations, student exchanges, and has enriched the educational and cultural …Continue reading “Brazil trip strengthens ISU, UFV partnership”
Warren Madden has an extensive biography from his 47 years with Iowa State, going all the way back to his time as an undergraduate in industrial engineering. Currently the senior vice president for business and finance at Iowa State, Madden’s involvement ranges from campus to community events. Now he can add the title of Ames …Continue reading “Citizen of the Year: ISU’s Warren Madden”
Paul Durbin, Martin C. Jischke Professor of aerospace engineering, received three grants in the last academic year to supplement his research in turbulence and transition in fluid flows. The research grants come from the NSF, NASA and Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Engines. Durbin said the objective of his work is “for engineers to be able …Continue reading “Aerospace professor Paul Durbin uses grants to research computational fluid dynamics”
Karen Zunkel’s career has covered a lot of territory: as a professional in industry, an instructor and a higher education administrator, she has a good sense of the many obstacles females may face in STEM fields. That’s why Zunkel, director of undergraduate programs and academic quality at Iowa State, has devoted much of her career …Continue reading “WEPAN president Karen Zunkel encourages women to pursue engineering”
Drawing concentric circles around swine barns never made sense to Steve Hoff. That’s what he saw in source-based swine odor models. Like a pebble dropped in a pond, the models seemed to say the more ripples you put between a proposed facility and neighbors, the better. That’s backwards, says Hoff, a professor of agricultural and …Continue reading “Winds of change: Data-driven model directs location of swine barns”
Producers wanting to reduce soil and nutrients from leaving their fields can look to techniques developed by Iowa State researchers. These practices span the scale from in-field to watershed. There is a lot of interest in using bioreactors, trenches filled with wood chips, to intercept tile flow at the edge of fields, says Matt Helmers, …Continue reading “Reducing run-off makes impact in fields and watersheds”
Arun K. Somani, associate dean for research at Iowa State University’s College of Engineering, was awarded the 2013 IBM Faculty Award. This year’s $20,000 award represents the third-straight IBM Faculty Award for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Vikram Dalal, Thomas M. Whitney Professor, won in 2011 and 2012. “This award will be used …Continue reading “Somani receives IBM Faculty Award”
Iowa State University hosted a three-day workshop on Policy and Social Perspectives of Energy, Transportation and Water Infrastructures, July 17-19 at the Memorial Union. The workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a number of Iowa State organizations, was held to stimulate collaborative research between policy experts, social scientists, and engineers regarding sustainable …Continue reading “Iowa State hosts NSF infrastructure workshop”
The research about an innovative new way to engineer fluid stream flow done by Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and his team of researchers is currently featured on the homepage of the National Science Foundation website. The team also published an article about their research in the journal Nature Communications earlier this year. The NSF …Continue reading “ME professor’s research featured on National Science Foundation homepage”
Civil engineering alum J-D King, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State in 1984, marked his first day on the job as Page County’s engineer. He served as the county engineer of Fayette County for the last 10 years and also served as engineer in Des Moines and Ringgold counties. King said he liked …Continue reading “CCEE alum becomes Page County’s engineer”
Two companies launched by discoveries at an engineering research center based at Iowa State University have won business development grants to help them commercialize their biorenewable technologies. Both technologies would help industries produce chemicals from biorenewable sources rather than petroleum. They were developed by researchers at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable …Continue reading “Companies spin off from Center for Biorenewable Chemicals, ‘de-risk’ their technologies”
