“I like the fact there are a lot of different problems to solve in engineering,” Wheaton said. “There is always something to work towards, and it’s very satisfying when you find the solution. And I just really enjoy learning, and with materials engineering, it is easy to do a deep dive into a range of topics.”
“Ever since I was a kid, my dad and I were always in the garage, tinkering, tearing apart old cars,” said Jacob Eisbrenner, Ph.D. student in electrical engineering. “I used to always think about the design of all the different components and how they could be better.”
Department of electrical and computer engineering Harpole-Pentair Assistant Professor Hugo Villegas Pico has been selected for a 2023 National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award for his project “Advances to the EMT Modeling and Simulation of Restoration Processes for Future Grids.”
The Office of Naval Research has funded a new project to conduct critical fundamental research on gradient metallic materials. The project, “Design and Manufacture of Metallic Gradient Materials,” is a three-university, five-year research partnership led by Iowa State University.
Anson Marston Distinguished Professor James McCalley is working on a state funded project to provide visions for strengthening and evaluating Iowa’s power grid.
Professor Long Que has been developing a blood vessel mimicking platform with quantitative flow control, both flow rate and flow direction, quantitative control of pharmacological agents on platelets and the ability of monitoring the behaviors of platelets at a single cell level.
Associate Professor Timothy Bigelow plans to use ultrasound therapy to combat these biofilms on medical devices; and has chosen hernia mesh as a good candidate for a proof-of-concept example.
Lameness in dairy cattle is a major health and welfare concern, and perhaps one of the costliest clinical diseases for dairy operations. Timely identification of lameness is necessary to institute early treatment, reduce use of antibiotics, and improve treatment outcomes.
At the forefront of advancing a decentralized framework for reconstructing data from under sampled and noisy signals is assistant professor Shana Moothedath. Her research not only delves into the complexities of efficient data reconstruction but also prioritizes the security of this process.
“A coding bootcamp is also a great way to build relationships with like-minded people of similar coding experience, so working together is great when you get stuck. The same idea can be applied to undergrad research, as learning something new is always beneficial, as you never know when you will need to use it,” Prasanna said.
“After getting my bachelor’s in MSE, I moved into industry, getting a job at a materials testing company. Near the end of my time there, we started to get additive manufactured parts more frequently, which piqued my interest and prompted me to return to grad school. When choosing grad schools, the MSE department at Iowa State specifically really caught my interest after I did a campus visit.
Anson Marston Distinguished Professor Duane Johnson and professor Jun Cui have been working together for years, collaborating on finding solutions for real-world problems while improving materials and research processes.
“I’ve always had a goal of every Iowan understanding basic cybersecurity. But there’s only one of me and 3 million of them,” said Doug Jacobson. Soon there will be many more cyber guardians like Jacobson in Iowa as a legion of trained volunteers help their communities learn cybersecurity.
“It was nice coming from a smaller
college to a department in a larger
university that still maintains the support and communication of a smaller college.”
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering inducted two new members to the Materials Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 13 – honoring both for outstanding achievement and contributions to the discipline.