Department News

Grad student Dhananjay Dileep is working to make the chemical recycling of plastics more commercially viable

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. Read More

November 10, 2022

Phillips 66 CEO, alumnus Mark Lashier to CBE Hall of Fame

Mark Lashier earned a B.S. in chemical engineering at Iowa State University in 1985 and a Ph.D. in 1989. In the years since he has earned respect and recognition as an engineer, business professional and industry leader. The President and Chief Executive Officer of Phillips Petroleum Co. joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) Honors and Awards Banquet where he was inducted into the department’s alumni Hall of Fame. Read More

November 9, 2022

Water work: Daria Dilparic provides vital water treatment service to the Ames community

Daria Dilparic is combining her love of chemistry, water quality and public health as a graduate student in environmental engineering – and in a position as a student operator at Ames Water and Pollution Control Department. Daria’s commitment to protecting the environment and her community inspires her to use analytical chemistry methods to solve drinking water contamination problems. Read More

November 4, 2022

Industrial engineering student, Sarah Ng, wins seed money to turn ideas into actions and solutions

With help from the donor-supported Student Innovation Fund, Sarah and her partner, Phillip Gorni, will use their seed funding to acquire the technical support to develop a “minimum viable product” – essentially, an early prototype. They’ll present their progress at next year’s challenge, which could result in more support. Read More

November 4, 2022

Helping law enforcement hunt evil

Guan serves as the Cyber Forensic Coordinator for the Center for Statistic and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE). It was through CSAFE that Guan and his team developed EviHunter. This software can analyze a smart phone’s apps for evidence relating to a crime, and it is automatic and can speed up the investigation process by shortening the time to only 20-30 minutes per device. Read More

November 1, 2022

“Groundbreaking” research in earthquake mechanisms sees publication in Nature Communications for AerE’s Levitas

Hypotheses and theory regarding what occurs during deep-focus earthquakes have been taken on by Department of Aerospace Engineering Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering and Vance Coffman Faculty Chair Valery Levitas, in his first work on geophysical problems. Read More

October 31, 2022

Keeping the lights on in rural Iowa, digital tool to support utilities in the face of extreme weather events

Alipour recently received stage one of a two-stage grant to develop a digital infrastructure tool that can support electrical infrastructure, titled “Electric Network Disaster Mitigation for Utilities in Rural Environment (ENDURE).” This grant is a part of the CIVIC Innovation Challenge, funded by National Science Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The CIVIC Innovation Challenge works to “lay the foundation for a broader and more fluid exchange of research." Read More

October 26, 2022

Using satellites to measure crop residue, enhancing conservation practices

Being able to measure residue cover from satellite imagery is a long-term challenge that’s still a work in progress, but researchers are making headway. Read More

October 24, 2022

ABE welcomes new faculty: Chad Dolphin

Once a student pursuing a master's degree in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Chad Dolphin had no idea that in a few years he would become an assistant teaching professor in ABE. But his passion for teaching was apparent to his mentors from the beginning, and never went unnoticed. Read More

October 19, 2022

Four graduate students top CBE’s Perfect Pitch research competition

The comment, “So, tell me about your research!” will be easier to field for CBE’s graduate students who took part in this year’s Perfect Pitch competition. The students once again faced a 90-second time limit (with the aid of one PowerPoint slide) in presenting an “elevator speech” of what their research is all about. Read More

October 19, 2022

Accelerating environmental equality in rural communities, Kaoru Ikuma receives $3.2 million EPA grant

Engineers at Iowa State University are starting a project to normalize and accelerate water reuse for rural communities. Water reuse is already implemented in small ways across the nation, especially in urban areas, but society still tends to turn heads at the thought of drinking what used to be “unusable” water. Read More

October 19, 2022

Structural change: Marissa Recker’s transfer keeps her on pace to civil engineering career

Marissa Recker transferred to Iowa State at the beginning of her junior year to major in civil engineering. She found a community in her classes and clubs – and that employers are eager to hire Cyclone Engineers. Read More

October 18, 2022

ABE partners with Team Neutrino’s educational show to help promote STEAM in Ames community

The Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) has partnered with Team Neutrino, a first robotics competition team for students by helping them provide classroom space to film their educational television show “Full STEAM Ahead." Read More

October 17, 2022

Chris Ellison receives Cyclone Engineering’s Professional Citation in Engineering for outstanding career accomplishments

Chris Ellison ('00 chemical engineering) is a 2022 recipient of the Professional Citation in Engineering. The PACE award recognizes alumni for significant career accomplishments. Read More

October 14, 2022

Samarjit Das named Cyclone Engineering’s 2022 Young Alumni award winner

Samarjit Das ('10 PhD electrical engineering) is the 2022 recipient of Cyclone Engineering's Young Alumni Award. Read More

October 14, 2022