Longtime Iowa State University faculty member Steve Vardeman officially retired at the conclusion of the 2020-21 school year. Vardeman first joined the Iowa State University faculty as an assistant professor of statistics in 1981. He became an associate professor in 1983 and in 1985 joined the industrial engineering (IE) department, serving appointments in both statistics …Continue reading “Vardeman to retire after nearly four decades at Iowa State University”
It took a high school internship for one industrial engineering student to realize that engineering involves more than just building roads and bridges. Sarah Longmire, senior in industrial engineering, “loved” her science and math classes growing up in Iowa City. She was a bit apprehensive about the field of engineering, admitting she thought engineers only …Continue reading “Dancing the night away…For The Kids!”
From growing up in a town of fewer than 400 people to working with companies valued in the billions, Fred Dotzler has done a lot in his career but he never forgets about the role that Iowa State University played in shaping him personally and professionally as a young man. Dotzler grew up in Defiance, …Continue reading “How a kid from Defiance, Iowa with an IE degree became a successful venture capitalist”
Robert “Bob” Walkup, an alum of Iowa State University’s industrial engineering program who had a long and successful career in various sectors, passed away on March 12th at the age of 84. Prior to his death he was diagnosed with a rare genetic form of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as reported by tucson.com. Bob was born …Continue reading “IE alum, former Tucson mayor Bob Walkup passes away”
As someone who benefited greatly from the encouragement she received to pursue studies in STEM, mechanical engineering senior Olivia Tyrrell wants other girls and women to also be inspired to go into STEM. Tyrrell grew up in Downers Grove, Ill. Though she always had an interest in science as a child, it was a visit …Continue reading “Undergraduate research experience launches ME student to NASA internship”
It took a pandemic and the inability to do on-campus visits that led one mechanical engineering student to decide he wanted to stay a little closer to home for graduate school. Antonio Alvarez-Valdivia originally wanted to leave the Midwest for graduate school when he completed his B.S. in mechanical engineering (ME) later this spring. However, …Continue reading “Pandemic impacts ME student’s graduate school selection process”
Conducting research within the field of pharmaceuticals might be the last place you’d expect to find a mechanical engineer but Michael Olsen would prove you wrong. Olsen, a professor of mechanical engineering (ME) at Iowa State University, is getting ready to begin his newest research project with his colleague Dennis Vigil, professor of chemical and …Continue reading “Applying mechanical engineering to pharmaceutical research”
It can be challenging to understand technologies that most of us don’t interact with routinely. They can be complex, arcane and hard to access in our time-constricted lives. Yet, as the recent Texas energy debacle demonstrates, it’s important. One Iowa State University alum has made a career of making an important energy technology – nuclear …Continue reading “Engineering and the art of communication”
While some high school students attend summer camp to enjoy the great outdoors, one Iowa State University alum attended a different kind of summer camp to learn about nuclear engineering and it ended up having a profound impact on her professional development. Lora Drenth grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa. As a junior …Continue reading “Summer program opened door to nuclear industry for alum”
Mechanical engineering associate professor Nicole Hashemi has been named a Fellow by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The status of Fellow is bestowed upon an ASME Member with 10 or more years of active practice and at least 10 years of active corporate membership in the organization. Of the more than 100,000 ASME …Continue reading “Hashemi elected a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers”
Researchers at Iowa State University are combining their industrial engineering and data analytics knowledge with the medical expertise of researchers at the University of Iowa for a project that could understand the progression of HIV and eventually improve treatment of the virus. Hillel Haim, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, …Continue reading “Applying data analytics to study the HIV/AIDs Virus”
When the Iowa Army National Guard was looking for ways to improve the environmental sustainability of their facilities, they called upon the expertise of mechanical engineering researchers at Iowa State University. Song-Charng Kong, mechanical engineering (ME) professor at Iowa State, led the effort. Former graduate student Benjamin Robertson, who completed his M.S. in ME in …Continue reading “MEs team up with Iowa Army National Guard to improve building resiliency”
Though much of Francis B. Francois’ career took place outside of Iowa, it seems that the general engineering graduate never forgot about his Iowa roots. Francois was born in 1934 and grew up on a farm in Barnum, Iowa. He chose to attend Iowa State College (now called Iowa State University), which was about 75 …Continue reading “Iowa roots shaped late alum’s career”
In 1954, 18-year old Robert “Bob” Bird had a difficult decision to make: play football at Iowa State College (now called Iowa State University), or play for the Cyclones’ cross-state rival – the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Ultimately, he ended up in Ames, and he considers it one of the best decisions he has ever …Continue reading “From the gridirons of the Midwest to the sunny beaches of Florida”