News Service: Iowa State University

Iowa State University

News Service
News Service Homepage Contact us News archives RSS news, events For the media News releases Download mug shots Research tips News tips, advisories Ag tips Other news sources Campus maps For the campus Faculty, staff announcements Student announcements Arts & entertainment Research news Sports news Inside Iowa State Iowa State Daily Time of day Weather reports Contact News Service Annette Hacker, director, (515) 294-3720 Office: (515) 294-4777	News Iowa State University soil judging team wins national competition A team of ISU students finished first in the 2007 American Society of Agronomy National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest. News release. Cyclones in second round of mascot challenge The Cyclones are in the second round of the lighthearted "most dominant college mascot" tourney sponsored by CBS SportsLine.com. The Cyclones face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the latest online vote, which is under way now. Voting ends May 4. Vote here. Science Bound program is part of 'Learners to Leaders' alliance Through a new alliance with Iowa State's Science Bound program, Smithfield Foods has launched a five-year, $296,000 partnership to help disadvantaged youth prepare for science-related college degrees. The program, which will benefit students in the Denison Community School District, begins in October. News release. Musical wins grad student national honor Joe Hynek, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering, recently won second place in the National Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival playwright competition. He was recognized for the book and music he wrote for a musical about life on the farm during the '80s farm crisis. Hynek also is the inventor of the "Solarjo Power Purse," a purse that recharges the batteries in portable electronic devices. News release. ISU team receives $2.5 million NIH grant to study exercise, flu resistance in elderly The National Institutes of Health has awarded ISU Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance Marian Kohut and her research team $2.5 million over the next five years to continue their research on the role of exercise in aging and resistance to influenza infection. News release.	Iowa State University to graduate more than 3,000 in May 4-5 ceremonies This weekend, 3,005 students will graduate from Iowa State University during spring commencement events. News release. Sesquicentennial fun Iowa State's 150th birthday bash will span an entire year. 150th details \| President's "sesqui" message. In the news A child's place The Financial Times Gardens can be designed to help stimulate children physically and mentally. Cindy Haynes, ISU associate professor of horticulture offers ideas for designing a child's garden in The Financial Times. News release. With big money flowing to biofuels research, universities vie to harvest energy from crops The Chronicle of Higher Education The brown and black stalks of switch grass, miscanthus and kenaf are not much to look at, having weathered Iowa's winter snows. But Iowa State researchers see these crops as seeds of change in alternative fuels. See story.