College of Engineering

  • MSE alumnus helps next generation of materials science engineers

    Auliff always felt an affinity toward chemistry and physics, and after falling in love with the park-like atmosphere of Iowa State’s Central Campus on a visit during high school, he started evaluating different engineering departments. MSE was the ideal fit for him. Read More

  • Illustration of a ham, a cucumber, a lettuce salad, a glass of water, a beer, and a slided sweet potato on a cutting board.
    On the menu: Engineering for your next meal 

    Packaging reprocessed Xianglan Bai, associate professor of mechanical engineering, leads an interdisciplinary team developing new hybrid, plasma-based recycling technologies to convert plastic films from… Read More

  • Man having conversation with student
    Growing companies and communities

    The Center for Industrial Research and Service connects Iowa’s small and medium manufacturers with applied research, education and technical assistance to help them grow and thrive.  Read More

  • Landon Getting works on a project
    Educating future industrial engineering innovators

    "Working as an undergrad research assistant taught me to think differently, and I learned how we can design efficient systems to better conserve our resources – because I believe Cyclone Engineers have the talent and responsibility to create a better world for future generations." Read More

  • students collecting water samples from river
    Environmental Engineering: Newest major is off to a strong start

    Building on a long-standing concentration area within civil engineering, a new major in environmental engineering is an early success with 81 students now enrolled. Read More

  • Iowa State University College of Engineering, white wordmark on red background
    Interim director named for Center for Industrial Research and Service

    Assistant Director and Operations Manager Leah Barton has been appointed interim director for the Center of Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS). Following 25 years as CIRAS director, Ron Cox will step down from that role and join the College of Engineering team in the office of the dean. Barton has been serving CIRAS since 2008. She will begin her new role on January 5, 2023. A national search for a new director will begin in 2023. Read More

  • G. Paul Wilhite
    CBE alumnus, Hall of Fame member G. Paul Wilhite passes away

    Paul Wilhite, a 1959 B.S. graduate of Iowa State’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and a member of the department’s Hall of Fame, has passed away. Read More

  • BioMaP student conducting research in lab
    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

  • Zhuoyi Zhao, INFORMS Iowa State Student Chapter President and members at the Student Award Ceremony.
    Award-winning INFORMS chapter celebrates diversity through food

    When Zhuoyi Zhao, a graduate student in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, and The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Student Chapter realized that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) set out to celebrate STEM - they decided food was a great way to highlight diversity. Read More

  • Worries behind him, Rodríguez-Ocasio smiles brightly in front of a mural of Iowa crops.
    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

  • Student chapter president Hailey Bates and faculty mentor Stephanie Loveland display Outstanding Student Chapter of the Year award with AIChE president Christine Grant
    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

  • Jean-Philippe Tessonnier
    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

  • Brent Shanks
    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

  • Student observing ice accretion in Department of Aerospace Engineering Icing Research Tunnel.
    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

  • 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. Read More