Research

How much vehicle weight can highways withstand? Yongsung Koh receives award for highway resilience research

How much pressure can a road withstand? Of all the roads and highways we drive on - when will they crack? That's what Yongsung Koh, a doctoral student in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, is working hard to figure out. Read More

January 20, 2023

Unlocking cell communication using biotronics

The Department of Defense has recently awarded Cyclone Engineers Reza Montazami and Nicole Hashemi a project exploring a novel approach to investigate cells’ bioelectric activities. Read More

January 17, 2023

From forest to farm: Using woodchips from crowded forests in sustainable water quality practices

By working together, the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and the Department of Natural Resource Ecology Management are studying the process behind weeding out certain species of trees in forests to help other trees grow, and using those weeded-out trees for water quality practices. The underutilized trees will be chopped into woodchips, a common media for water quality improvements. Read More

January 5, 2023

Apply now for CBE’s 2023 BioMaP undergrad research program

The application period for the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering’s 2023 BioMaP REU program is now open. The program will be held from May 30 – August 4. Read More

December 14, 2022

Efraín Rodríguez-Ocasio is growing a research career in the “corn place”

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. Read More

December 1, 2022

CBE’s AIChE student chapter proudly represents ISU at national conference in Phoenix

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. Read More

November 30, 2022

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. Read More

November 21, 2022

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. Read More

November 21, 2022

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. Read More

November 16, 2022

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. Read More

November 15, 2022

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. Read More

November 10, 2022

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

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

“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