Author: bbeach

It started as a passing fascination with an insect. Andrew Hillier, chair and Wilkinson Professor of Interdisciplinary Engineering of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University, observed a brilliant purple-blue wasp on his driveway at home and wondered at its intense color. “This insect, called a steel blue cricket hunter, is … Continue reading Harnessing the Science of Light for Biosensing

The most powerful computer ever on the Iowa State University campus – a machine dubbed “Cyence” that’s capable of 183.043 trillion calculations per second with total memory of 38.4 trillion bytes – is just beginning to produce data for 17 research projects. The thinking and infrastructure behind the new machine will have much broader effects … Continue reading Iowa State Turns on ‘Cyence,’ the Most Powerful Computer Ever on Campus

Engineers know that gas turbine engines for aircraft and power plants are more efficient and burn less fuel when they run at temperatures high enough to melt metal. But how to raise temperatures and efficiencies without damaging engine parts and pieces? Iowa State University’s Hui Hu and Blake Johnson, working away in a tight corner … Continue reading Iowa State Engineers Develop New Tests to Cool Turbine Blades, Improve Engines

Photobioreactors, the production systems used to grow algae, seem to operate on a simple concept: place photosynthetic microorganisms in a liquid growth medium and add light. But Dennis Vigil, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State, and his research partner, Michael Olsen, professor of mechanical engineering, know that photobioreactors are much more … Continue reading Iowa State Photobioreactor Research Could Speed Biofuels Development

Open an engineering textbook, and you’re sure to find charts, graphs, and complex equations. Hard enough to decipher, imagine parsing that information if you were blind or visually impaired. Conveying the detailed visual information that goes hand-in-hand with disciplines in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields isn’t necessarily impossible. But, according to Cris … Continue reading Changing the way engineering feels: A project to improve the accessibility of STEM fields for the visually impaired

Dr. Laflamme’s proposed semi-active damping system works much like car brake technology. Civil, construction and environmental engineering Assistant Professor Simon Laflamme will use car brake technology to ensure the structural integrity of buildings. Thanks to a recent $200,691 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Laflamme will integrate electronic control systems to reduce building movements due to … Continue reading Iowa State Professor to Use Car Brake Technology to Protect Building Structures

Through research on drug delivery systems, Kaitlin Bratlie, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State, is working on a way to treat cancers that don’t respond well to current treatments. Her project has been underway for just a year and is several years away from clinical trials, … Continue reading Developing Polymer Drugs for Cancer Treatment

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 so goes another … Continue reading Iowa State’s MIRAGE lab mixes real and virtual to create new research opportunities

A project that started out as a side experiment to monitor bridge damages has since evolved into a revolutionary, cost-saving solution in the world of wind energy.Simon Laflamme, assistant professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering at Iowa State, began developing a damage-detecting polymer “skin” as a student at MIT.The skin, which is made into … Continue reading “Sensing Skin” for Turbines Could Reduce the Cost of Wind Energy

Ever since the Wright brothers, engineers have been working to develop bigger and better flying machines that maximize lift while minimizing drag.There has always been a need to efficiently carry more people and more cargo. And so the science and engineering of getting large aircraft off the ground is very well understood.But what about flight … Continue reading Iowa State Engineer looks to Dragonflies, Bats for Flight Lessons

An Iowa State University geotechnical engineering research duo has automated a soil strength test invented by an Iowa State civil engineering professor emeritus.Jeramy Ashlock, assistant professor and Black & Veatch Building a World of Difference Faculty Fellow, and geotechnical engineering Master’s graduate Ted Bechtum have automated the Borehole Shear Test (BST), an on-site soil strength … Continue reading Grad student, professor advance soil test technology invented by emeritus professor