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.
Month: November 2022
Exploring how analytics can help farmers and policymakers achieve financial and environmental sustainability
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.
Tessonnier-led research bridges gap for more efficient conversions of lignin for cleaner and greener chemicals
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.
CBE’s Shanks named Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fellow
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.
What does community sound like? For Anna Hackbarth, it’s marching band music
“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.”
Student poster competition recognizes outstanding multiphase flow research
CoMFRE held a student poster competition at 2022 Symposium and Member Meeting in October, and four graduate and undergraduate students won top poster honors.
How big should a new foundation be? Students determine ideal foundation size in soil strength course
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.
Icing discoveries receive AIAA best paper honors
A paper published by CoMFRE affiliate Hui Hu, Martin C. Jischke Professor in Aerospace Engineering, and three of his former Ph.D. students has been selected for the 2022 AIAA Gas Turbine Engine Best Paper Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA) Gas Turbine Engines Technical Committee.
Sky high: Khushi Kapoor innovates tomorrow’s aviation technologies
For Khushi Kapoor, senior in aerospace engineering, innovating at Iowa State means reaching for new heights in aviation.
Helping policymakers make informed decisions about agriculture, $1.9 million grant for broad-scope framework
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.
Hui Hu icing research study receives AIAA best paper honors
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.
ECIC club wins first place in national construction management competition
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.
MRC fosters cutting-edge research and provides state-of-the-art equipment
Liang Dong, Vikram Dalal Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering was named the director of the Microelectronics Research Center (MRC) in 2022.
The MRC is a multi-disciplinary center focusing on the study of semiconductor materials, devices, and applications. The research conducted at the MRC includes microelectronics, photonics, compound semiconductors, nanomaterials, sensors, and microelectromechanical systems. The Center is utilized by research groups across the campus, industry specialists, and students.
“The Center provides our students with ampler opportunities for fabricating micro- and nanodevices. Our researchers have full access to a range of tools. The fabrication and characterization capacity we have is the foundation that our academic and industry communities need to innovate and scale in the micro- and nano-world,” Dong said, “The Center also provides an environment that fosters innovation and collaboration between researchers. We are working towards integrating expertise and strengths to initiate and develop new research activities and to succeed.”
One of Dong’s core research areas is in sensors. He has developed a suite of agricultural sensors to detect plant diseases, monitor their health status, and quantify water and fertilizer use efficiencies of crops.
These devices are just some examples of research that utilizes the MRC, which houses a lot of state-of-the-art equipment to use. This includes a 3D-nano-printer. This printer, worth more than half a million dollars, can print fine structures of less than one hundredth the size of human hair. This piece of equipment has a wide array of applications in low-cost sensors, micro-optics, and smart nanomaterials and devices.
Help uphold AIChE student chapter’s tradition of excellence! FundISU page is now available
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.
Powering the future with biogas: Abigail Schulte places first in annual Three Minute Thesis Competition
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.