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For the media
For the campus
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News
Researcher controls erosion to save the
African Sahel
An Iowa State agronomy professor is using erosion control
methods to restore the Sahel and Niger River in West Africa, where land
degradation threatens the region's economic stability. He will present his
findings next week in Seattle at the 2004 international annual meetings of
the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil
Science Society of America in Seattle.
News release.
ISU faculty Partha Sarkar and ABC News correspondent Mike
Von Fremd watch the simulator.
Tornado team on network TV Thursday
ABC's "Good Morning America" will feature Iowa State's tornado
simulator at approximately 7:40 am. Thursday, Oct. 28. The simulator
is a collaboration of ISU faculty Partha Sarkar, Bill Gallus and Fred
Haan.
Background
on tornado simulator.
2004 Inventor of the Year
Edward Yeung Distinguished Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences and
professor of chemistry has been named 2004 Inventor of the Year by the Iowa
Intellectual Property Law Association. He was honored for his development of
a DNA sequencer that combines laser microfluorescence with capillary
electrophoresis, two analytical chemistry methods for determining the minute
components of a substance. The sequencer can detect, monitor and quantify
materials 24 times faster than earlier DNA sequencers.
News release.
Celebrities campaign on campus
- Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and rocker Jon Bon Jovi will
visit Iowa State Thursday to campaign for Presidential candidate John Kerry
and Paul Johnson, Democratic candidate for Iowa's fourth congressional
district.
The stars were invited to appear by the ISU Democrats' student
organization. The rally is set for 10 a.m. Thursday in the College of
Design atrium. It's open to the public.
- On Thursday evening at 7, actor Brendan Fraser will introduce a free
screening and discussion of the documentary, "Going Upriver: The Long
War of John Kerry." That event will be held in the Memorial Union Sun
Room. Fraser will introduce documentarian George
Butler, and following the 87-minute film, Butler and former Republican
Congressman Pete McCloskey will lead a discussion.
- Conservative commentator and legal affairs correspondent Ann Coulter
will speak at ISU's Stephens Auditorium on Friday at 8 p.m. Her
lecture, "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)," is free and
open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Coulter's lecture is part of the Institute on National Affairs series
on politics and humor in America, and is cosponsored by the Committee
on Lectures (funded by the Government of the Student Body) and the
Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, a conservative, Washington,
D.C.-based institute.
New x-ray imaging device demonstrated
The College of Engineering will demonstrate a new
x-ray imaging device used to study part of the paper recycling process
during an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, in the Transport
Processes Laboratory, 1121 Black Engineering Building. Mechanical
engineering professor Ted Heindel required the specialized industrial imaging device to study the
interaction of multiphase flows (gas, liquids and solids) in a contained
area. The device has potential uses for everything from food to fuel to
pharmaceuticals. The device was funded with $640,000 in grants from the
National Science Foundation and Iowa State.
News release.
How can GM and organic crops coexist?
That's the subject of a Nov. 6 symposium at ISU. Hosted by the Bioethics
Program, the symposium will information and discussion about the coexistence
of organic agriculture and genetically modified (GM) crops. The event will
be from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the Gallery of the Memorial Union. It is free and
open to the public.
News
release.
National political parties' influence topic of study
An Iowa State University political scientist has received a $90,000
National Science Foundation grant to study the influence of national
political parties on local, state and national elections. Robert Lowry,
associate professor of political science, said the study, "National Party
Committees, Competitive Elections, and State Autonomy Before and After the
Bipartisan Campaign," focuses on how national committees and their
distribution of large sums of money nationwide affect the competitiveness of
elections.
News release.
Iowa League of Cities honors two
Two Iowa State University faculty members were inducted into the Iowa
League of Cities Hall of Fame recently for their service to local
governments. The league is a municipal advocacy and training organization
based in Des Moines. Jack Whitmer, emeritus associate professor of political
science, and Paul Coates, associate professor of political science, were
honored for their roles with the Iowa Municipal Clerks' Institute and Iowa
Municipal Clerks' Academy.
News release.
Open forum Oct. 28 on latest strategic plan draft
The second draft of Iowa State University's strategic plan for 2005-2010
will be discussed during an open forum Thursday, Oct. 28. The forum will be
from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in 101 College of Design.
News release.
Political commentator Ann Coulter to speak Oct. 29
Ann Coulter, syndicated columnist for Universal Press Syndicate,
attorney, conservative commentator and legal affairs correspondent, will
speak at Iowa State University's Stephens Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 29, at
8 p.m.
News release.
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Boo!
"Tara Cotta" (above), by the ISU Horticulture Club, is among the scarecrows
entered in a contest at Reiman Gardens. The scarecrows will be on display
through Oct. 31.
On the election

Hamm
"Many American voters are beginning to wonder if the 2004 presidential
election will be clean and fair, or if it will turn out to look more
like the electoral processes held in Latin American, Asian, Africa,
and other countries run by authoritarian governments," says ISU
political scientist Patricia Hamm. "Will their vote be counted? Will
the electoral outcome be manipulated? Are voters being intimidated to
vote in a certain way? Will the "dead" turn out to vote and the
"living" be prevented from voting? Most importantly, they are asking
themselves what can they do to ensure that the 2004 electoral campaign
and election be viewed in retrospective as an example of democratic
practices."

Baum
"The challenge for George W. Bush and the Republican Party is to
convince voters that their emphasis on faith is not meant to divide or
exclude people," says ISU associate professor of philosophy and
religious studies Robert Baum, "or to remove the separation of church
and state
that has guided this country since the time of Jefferson."

Dimitrova
"The Internet has become vital to the 2004 campaign giving both
parties access to information and ideas not provided by the big
national media," says ISU journalism professor Daniela Dimitrova. "For
instance, the Internet is an important source of information on the
Iraq War. Americans holding negative views toward the war have been
particularly motivated to go online and seek alternative views. Blog
sites such as 'Where is Raed' is a good example."
ISU political experts on election year issues.

Schmidt
"The 2004 election is one of the most important in U.S. history
because it may be the defining moment for the Democrats who have been
losing power at the local, county, state and national level for the
past decade," says ISU political scientist Steffen Schmidt. "The real
question is, 'Will the Democrats go the way of the Tory party in England
or will it find its new identity in 2004?'"
ISU political experts on election year issues.

McCormick
"States like Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio
are crucial to the selection of the next president," says ISU
political scientist James McCormick. "As the Midwest
goes, so goes the presidency."
ISU political experts on election year issues.

Lowry
"Given the difficulties of polling in the age of cell phones and the
numbers of new voters that both parties claim to have registered, it's
extremely difficult to predict the popular vote for president," says
ISU political scientist Robert Lowry. "If the polls indicate a strong
last-minute trend in battleground states, that will probably be an
indicator of the outcome, but otherwise, we will just have to wait and see."
ISU political experts on election year issues.

Conger
"Voter registration is breaking records in almost every state," says
ISU political scientist Kimberly Conger. "Since about 85 percent of people
who are registered actually vote in national
elections, we could see record voter turnout, as well. High turnout
usually favors Democrats, but as we saw in 2000, in what state those
Democrats vote could have the biggest impact of all."
ISU political experts on election year issues.

Dearin
"Since Richard Nixon in 1960, it has been customary for nomination
accepters in both parties to include in their speeches 'personal
vision statements' of the American dream," says ISU political
scientist Ray Dearin. "Republicans have stressed the pioneer,
individual liberty, and 'opportunity society'; Democrats have leaned
toward the immigrant, 'huddled masses,' and communitarian
version. Expect this trend to continue in New York."
ISU political experts on election year issues.

Bystrom
"The Bush/Cheney campaign is doing more than it did four years ago to
try to win the women's vote," says ISU political scientist Dianne
Bystrom. "This includes a greater reliance on the president's wife to
campaign. For example, she is featured in an ad on the Bush campaign's
Web site devoted to women, talking about the administration's record
on education."
ISU political experts on election year issues.
ISU in the news
Election Early Birds
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Iowa, like several states, is allowing early voting in addition to
absentee ballots in the 2004 election. Both major political parties are
aggressively working to "get the vote out" because Iowa's seven electoral
votes could be crucial this year, says Dianne Bystrom, director of Carrie
Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State. Bystrom said early
voting is good for young people and single parents. "There are no excuses
for not voting," she said.
See article.
High-maintenance lotus
The New York Times
Folklore says fuzzy caterpillars can predict the weather. Can they?
Iowa State University Extension entomologist Donald Lewis fields a few
hundred questions about this every year, and explains the subtle differences
between woolly bear caterpillars and other fuzzy species in the same
family.
See article.
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