Growing up in Royal Oak, Michigan, near “Motor City” and being surrounded by “automobile people,” fueled Jim Bernard’s love for cars. It was also the start of his career in automobile handling, during which time he examined vehicle models using computers to predict the outcomes of various situations. Bernard—distinguished professor emeritus of mechanical engineering—earned his …Continue reading “Professor Emeritus Jim Bernard continues work after retirement”
Nik Karpinsky quickly tapped out a few computer commands until Zeus, in all his bearded and statuesque glory, appeared in the middle of a holographic glass panel mounted to an office desk. The white statue stared back at Karpinsky. Then a hand appeared and turned the full-size head to the right and to the left. …Continue reading “Iowa State, Ames Lab engineers develop real-time, 3-D teleconferencing technology”
The laboratories and centers within the College of Engineering bring together forward-thinking minds and great entrepreneurial spirits. Dreams of startup companies and innovative technologies are often born in these collaborative spaces, and sometimes they even become reality. Although they serve very different purposes, WebFilings and Mechdyne, two Iowa companies, share many commonalities in their histories—starting …Continue reading “Merging engineering and business: Companies start and thrive with Iowa State alumni leading the way”
Two armed soldiers stand behind a barrier, guarding a checkpoint in the road, watching for trouble. A white truck turns toward them. “See what he wants, guys,” says one of the guards. “Sir, we have a military-aged male jumping out of the truck. He’s going behind that van.” “Is he armed?” “No visuals, sir.” And …Continue reading “Iowa State’s MIRAGE lab mixes real and virtual to create new research opportunities”
Christina Bloebaum, who will be joining the aerospace engineering department this fall, has recently received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award for 2012 (AIAA MDO Award). The award was established in 1993 to recognize individuals for outstanding contributions to the development and application of techniques in multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) …Continue reading “New AerE hire wins prestigious award”
Stephen Gilbert’s fascination with technology and cognitive science has led him to his current role as assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE), associate director of the Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC), and a member of Iowa State’s Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research group. Gilbert started his college career at Princeton …Continue reading “Gilbert combines interests in cognitive science and emerging technologies”
Written by Marco Santana Appeared originally in the Des Moines Register. When students and visitors walk into Iowa State University’s Howe Hall, they are greeted with a towering, almost futuristic-looking fixture. Inside, some of the world’s most sophisticated virtual reality software is on the cutting edge of research projects for high-profile customers like the U.S. …Continue reading “Iowa State University’s virtual reality lab greets visionary who set stage for cutting-edge research”
Iowa State alumna Daniela Faas has had an enthralling journey that began with a move from Germany to the US as a teen, beginning what she calls her own version of the “American Dream.” That dream has included excellent education and research opportunities that have taken her places she never envisioned, and ultimately landed her …Continue reading “Faas finds her fit at MIT”
While the 3-D imaging technology created by Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Song Zhang has caught the attention of the entertainment industry, Zhang is working to spread the technology’s application to the medical field and beyond. Read The Scientist story here.
William Lohry took a seat before a projector-camera combination and offered his best smile. And there, on a nearby computer monitor, was a perfect, but colorless, 3-D image of every line, contour and movement on the face of the senior chemical engineering major from Sioux City. It was like a moving mask, digitally and exactly …Continue reading “Rock stars, Hollywood look at engineering researcher’s unique 3-D technology”
The global Ignite movement does all it can to live up to its motto: “Enlighten us, but make it quick.” And so speakers at Ignite networking events around the world have to work with 20 PowerPoint slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. That means speakers have exactly five minutes to share an idea, a …Continue reading “Wanted for Ignite Ames: Computer pros, entrepreneurs or ‘just big geeks (like us)’”
Eliot Winer, Brandon Newendorp, and Tyler Streeter were recently featured in a KCCI news report on the ever-increasing number of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Winer, an associate professor in mechanical engineering (ME), spoke to the convenience of using different applications on the phone, as well as the dependency users can develop. Newendorp, a …Continue reading “Engineering faculty, students featured in iPhone app report”
‘Disruptive technology’ erupts on the scene at Iowa State as a small start-up moves into the medical marketplace—and beyond
James Oliver picked up an Xbox game controller, looked up to a video screen and used the device’s buttons and joystick to fly through a patient’s chest cavity for an up-close look at the bottom of the heart. And there was a sight doctors had never seen before: an accurate, 3-D view inside a patient’s …Continue reading “Iowa State engineers develop 3-D software to give doctors, students a view inside the body”
BodyViz, an Ames virtual reality company developed by Jim Oliver, director of Iowa States Virtual Reality Applications Center and professor of mechanical engineering, and Eliot Winer, associate director of the center and associate professor of mechanical engineering, has taken the top prize of $25,000 in the fourth annual John Pappajohn Iowa Business Plan Competition.
