text: Due to the weather, Gloria Ladson-Billings' lecture "The World is Neither Flat Nor Round," has been postponed until Feb. 12.
  News release.
  Iowa State University researcher works to modify, increase corn starch
  An Iowa State University researcher has developed technology that allows corn plants to produce more starch and also modified starch.
  News release.
  Iowa State professors studying more effective method to monitor physical activity
  Kinesiology professor Gregory Welk is leading a team of Iowa State researchers on a four-year project to provide a more precise way for people to determine their physical activity level. The project is funded by a $616,430 grant from the National Institutes of Health and conducted in partnership with Iowa State's Center for Survey Science and Methodology.
  News release.
  Ethanol profitability calculator developed by Iowa State University researcher
  David Peters, an assistant professor of sociology in Iowa State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has developed a tool to determine what market conditions are needed for ethanol producers to make a profit.
  News release.
  'Science Cafe' to explore the human nature of chimps with Jill Pruetz on Jan. 21
  Associate Professor of Anthropology Jill Pruetz will present "Chimps: They're More Human Than You Think," at ISU's "Science Cafe" on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. at Legends American Grill in Ames. The event is free and open to the public.
  News release.
  Iowa State earns National Model Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program Award
  Iowa State University was honored with the National Model Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program Award at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 10. ISU management professor Howard Van Auken was also named a USASBE Fellow at the conference.
  News release.
  Iowa State students called to duty for Obama inauguration
  Staff Sgt. Justin Niichel of Osage and Spc. Sunjo Chang of Westfield, both Iowa State pre-business students, will be among the 1,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen on duty during the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.
  News release.
  Iowa State University to honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events
  Iowa State University will join the nation in honoring Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner who was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration 2009 will pay tribute to King with a series of events between Jan. 14 and Jan. 29. All events are free and open to the public.
  News release.
  Iowa State University researchers discover structure of key Ebola protein
  An ISU research team led by Gaya Amarasinghe, ISU biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, is a step closer to finding a way to counter the Ebola virus after recently solving the structure from a key part of the Ebola protein known as VP35.
  News release.
  Iowa Small Business Development Centers aiding businesses indirectly damaged by disasters
  Businesses that were indirectly damaged economically by last summer's weather disasters across the state are encouraged to contact the Iowa Small Business Development Centers to receive free counseling assistance.
  News release.
  Quisenberry named ISU vice president for research and economic development
  Sharron Quisenberry, professor of entomology and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, is Iowa State University's new vice president for research and economic development. Quisenberry will join ISU on April 1, 2009.
  News release.
  Iowa State astrophysicist helps map the Milky Way's four spiral arms
  Martin Pohl, an Iowa State University associate professor of physics and astronomy, is part of a research team that developed the first complete map of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms. The map shows two prominent, symmetric spiral arms in the inner part of the galaxy. The arms extend into the outer galaxy where they branch into four spiral arms.
  News release.
  Geoffroy provides plan for handling budget cuts
  In a Dec. 31 letter, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy updated faculty and staff on plans for handling the latest mid-year reversion in state funds to the university.
  Geoffroy's letter.
  National association honors ISU architecture professor for creative achievement
  The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture awarded a 2008-09 Creative Achievement Award to Mitchell Squire, associate professor of architecture. He was honored for his "positive and stimulating influence" upon students at Iowa State through the semester-long course he created, Craft and Crafty Action: On the Relationship between Creativity and Mischief.
  News release.
  Students explore climate science in state FIRST LEGO League championship
  The eighth annual FIRST LEGO League Iowa Championship will bring 72 teams from across the state to Iowa State University's College of Engineering. The contest for teams of 9-to 14-year-olds will be 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Howe Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
  News release.
  In the news
  Postcard from San Francisco
  Time magazine
  It's Saturday night at the American Economics Association's conference, and Iowa State University economics professor Peter Orazem has just taken the podium in an overcrowded ballroom at the San Francisco Hilton for The Economics Humor Session.
  See story.
  The Milky Way: bigger, faster, better understood
  Time.com
  A flurry of recent findings have provided a clearer understanding of the Milky Way than ever before. Martin Pohl, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University, has revealed the most detailed map to date of the galaxy's spiral arms.
  See Story.
  Economic humor: no longer an oxymoron
  The New York Times
  On Saturday night, the American Economic Association held its very first humor session. One of the presenters was Peter Orazem from Iowa State University, who presented a more standard stand-up routine, though one loosely based on economic humor (and airline jokes, etc.).
  See story.
  Depression may underlie "transmission" of poverty
  Reuters
  Children from poor families are more likely than their peers to be depressed as teenagers, with effects that can ultimately make it harder to climb out from poverty, a new Iowa State University study suggests.
  See story.
  Some protect the ego by working on their excuses early
  The New York Times
  Every ugly exam score, blown deadline and failed project provides the opportunity to try out new excuses. But the tactic doesnt fool many people. In a recent study, James C. McElroy of Iowa State University and J. Michael Crant of Notre Dame had 246 adults evaluate the behavior of characters in several workplace anecdotes. The participants' impressions of a character began to sour after the second time the person cited a handicap.