What our undergraduates are studying

By Anne Krapfl
April 04

Mechanical engineering (1,660 students) and kinesiology and health (934 students) continue to be Iowa State's most sought undergraduate degrees, as they have been for at least the last decade. Just over one in 10 undergraduates this spring is working toward a degree in one of those two programs.

On their heels and breaking into the top five for the first time are the finance and marketing degree programs. As of fall 2023, the Ivy College of Business eliminated its "pre-business" placeholder for lower-level students, who now may declare a major as incoming freshmen. The change provides a more accurate picture of student enrollment across the Business college. Like the other undergraduate colleges, Business also has an undeclared option. Finance is the second most frequent major among all Iowa State male-identifying undergraduates and marketing cracked the top five for all female-identifying students. 

Among female-identifying undergraduates, the number of psychology majors leapfrogged over elementary education and kinesiology majors -- consistently in the second and third spots the last few years -- to grab the second spot. Animal science remains the favorite undergraduate major among this group of students.

Male-identifying students are more densely concentrated in their top 10 majors than female-identifying students are in theirs. Among male students this spring, 47% landed in one of the 10 degree programs, including 11% of all undergraduate males in mechanical engineering. Female-identifying students are distributed more widely, with 37% studying in the top 10 degree programs.

Among this spring's 23,416 undergraduate students, 55% (12,928) identify as male and 45% (10,488) identify as female.

 

 Spring 2024: Top 10 undergraduate majors*

Place	All undergraduates	Identify as female	Identify as male
1	Mechanical engineering 1,660	Animal science 703	Mechanical engineering 1,449
2	Kinesiology and health 934	Psychology 562	Finance 770
3	Finance 928	Kinesiology and health 527	Aerospace engineering 714
4	Marketing 875	Elementary education 511	Computer science 686
5	Aerospace engineering 854	Marketing 469	Software engineering 525
6	Animal science 851	Biology 264	Kinesiology and health 407
7	Computer science 805	Apparel, merchandising and design 243	Marketing 406
8	Psychology 738	Event management 214	Electrical engineering 401
9	Software engineering 637	Mechanical engineering 211	Computer engineering 370
10	Elementary education 563	Interior design 194	Civil engineering 362
Totals	8,845	3,898	6,090

*Students' first major

New schedule for provost finalists' campus visits

By Megan Landolt, office of the president
April 04

 

Editor's note: This story was updated on April 5.

The schedule for campus visits has been revised for the four finalists for Iowa State's senior vice president and provost post. No candidates will visit campus the week of April 8.

The first three finalists are scheduled to visit campus on these dates:

• Candidate 1, April 15-16
• Candidate 2, April 17-18
• Candidate 3, April 22-23

Dates for the fourth candidate's visit are being finalized.

The name and curriculum vitae for each finalist will be shared on the administrative searches website the day preceding their visit.

Campus forums

Each candidate will meet with members of the university community during their two-day visit and participate in a campus forum at 3 p.m. on the first day. The forum schedule is:

• Candidate 1, April 15, Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall
• Candidate 2, April 17, Sun Room, Memorial Union
• Candidate 3, April 22, Sun Room, Memorial Union
• Candidate 4, Date and location to be determined

For those who cannot attend in person, the forums will be recorded and made available on the search page after all the finalist visits are completed.

Everyone participating in a campus forum is encouraged to complete an online candidate feedback form for that candidate.

Vice president for economic development and industry relations and dean of the Ivy College of Business David Spalding is leading the 18-member search committee, assisted by Parker Executive Search firm. Senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert announced in January plans to return to the faculty this summer in the department of mechanical engineering.

 

Related stories:

• Search begins for next senior vice president and provost, Jan. 25, 2024
• Wickert announces move to faculty this summer, Jan. 18, 2024

Defender gives ISU more security against hackers

By Jeff Budlong
April 04

Hackers try to find new ways past the online walls information technology services (ITS) puts up to keep Iowa State employees and information safe. The latest addition to Iowa State's wall is Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and the best part is employees don't need to do anything to reap its benefits.

Rich Tener, ITS director of information security, said the university upgraded its Microsoft license to include Defender, a security platform that monitors a computer's activity. If Defender detects unusual activity, it alerts ITS staff that a hacker may be present in the system.

"Every Windows and Mac OS computer has antivirus built in," Tener said, "but the new way hackers are compromising computers isn't just using a known bad app. They are finding ways into a computer that evade antivirus detection, and often just use apps and tools that are already installed to do their work."

Tener compared this to driving your car with someone in the passenger seat without the driver knowing. They can view all the information and try to cause harm while operating in the background. This is how hackers typically find information, steal it and threaten the victim they will destroy or release it unless they are paid.

Tener said a hacker running several commands in the background to gain information would trigger an alert if an employee rarely, if ever, does this in their day-to-day job. Defender uses past data to "learn" the user's patterns

"It really is just looking for patterns of activity that match a hacker," Tener said.

He stressed Defender is strictly a security measure and not designed to identify employees visiting non-work websites.

Deploying Defender

 IT professionals -- not individual employees -- are responsible for turning on the added security in every computer across campus. Defender is built into Microsoft software and an app added to Macs runs transparently in the background to provide security.

ITS is working with department IT units to turn on Defender on all computers. The process began last year and should be completed by the end of 2024, Tener said. Using ISU’s computer management tools, Defender can be rolled out to large groups of computers quickly. Currently, 25% of the computers on campus have Defender activated. One of the big advantages is that Defender monitors for hackers even when employees use university computers at home.

"In the past, we couldn't detect when you got hacked at home," Tener said. "Now, we can."

Search begins for next senior vice president for operations and finance

By Megan Landolt, office of the president
April 04

A national search is underway for Iowa State's next senior vice president for operations and finance. President Wendy Wintersteen has named a seven-member committee, assisted by the Academic Search firm, to develop a strong pool of candidates and select finalists to interview on campus.

The search timeline aims to have a new senior vice president for operations and finance in place before the start of the fall 2024 semester. Heather Paris will continue to serve as interim leader of the division until the new senior vice president is on the job. Information will be shared throughout the process on the administrative searches website.

Vice president for extension and outreach Jason Henderson is chairing the search committee. Other committee members are:

• Rachel Boenigk, senior manager, budget and finance
• Peter Dorhout, vice president for research
• Jason Follett, academic advisor, software engineering; and president-elect, Professional and Scientific Council
• Emma Mallarino Houghton, director of compensation and talent acquisition, university human resources
• Rahul Parsa, teaching professor, finance; and president-elect, Faculty Senate
• Adam Schwartz, director, Ames National Laboratory

Erica Baker, executive assistant to the vice president for extension and outreach, is providing administrative support to the search process.

 

Related story

• Paris appointed to interim role in operations and finance, Dec. 7, 2023

 

Paving the way to success

By Fred Love, news service
April 04

Editor's note: This feature is the third in news service's 2024 Innovation at Work series of stories, photos and videos that highlight economic development and the impact of Iowa State's contributions across the state. A new entry will post every Tuesday through April 23.

 

At the Iowa State University Research Park, even sidewalks are paved with innovation.

Nacu Hernandez strolls down an asphalt path just across the road from the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine. A harsh wind scours the landscape on a cold morning in late February, and the sunshine does little to warm the rugged gray surface of the path. Hernandez kneels and places his hand on the cold asphalt. To the untrained eye, it looks and feels just like the kind of pavement that covers countless square miles of roads and parking lots the world over.

In fact, that's the point.

The asphalt is durable and long-lasting, two qualities that are the material's main selling points. But the asphalt on this path contains a soybean-derived additive developed by SoyLei Innovations, a company Hernandez helped found. The additive makes the asphalt even more durable under harsh environmental conditions. But what really sets apart the soybean-treated surface is that it's made of 100% recycled material. Applying the soybean additive to old asphalt means it can be reused, cutting down on its carbon footprint and saving money through improved efficiency.

SoyLei recently moved into office and lab space at the research park, where innovative ideas like SoyLei's additive take shape and hit the market, creating jobs and generating economic waves that reach far beyond central Iowa. 

In addition to the research park's wealth of state-of-the-art office and lab space, companies set up shop there to access the university's array of expertise and equipment. Firms that lease space at the research park can also capitalize on a ready employment pool of well-educated graduates steeped in the university's culture of innovation.

The park

The ISU Research Park stretches across more than 550 acres south of the main campus. The development serves around 135 tenant companies, with more than 1 million square feet of developed building space. The park has attracted some of the world's most recognizable brands, such as John Deere and Merck Animal Health. Companies with a presence at the research park employ more than 9,700 workers across Iowa.

"The Iowa State University Research Park serves as a launchpad for innovation and provides a place for innovators to flourish, including groundbreaking workforce solutions and research and technological advancements that shape our future," said Alison Doyle, associate director of the research park. "Through our strategic partnerships and dynamic community, we spur economic growth, entrepreneurship and job creation across our state and beyond. Our commitment to customer service and collaboration fuels a thriving environment where ideas take shape and innovation transforms industries."

The research park also is home to startups like SoyLei that only recently took their first leaps off the drawing board and into the marketplace. The research park reached over 98% occupancy in fiscal year 2023 when 15 tenants leased space or added to their existing space.

"For us, it was a no brainer to locate at the research park, especially with the relationship that the research park has with Iowa State," Hernandez said.

Innovative science, economic opportunity

Hernandez, a research scientist in the department of chemical and biological engineering, founded SoyLei with a few colleagues in 2020 to find innovative uses for soybean oil. The fledgling company began developing an additive to make asphalt more resilient to wear and extreme temperatures. Most of the company's product is applied to roads and parking lots, but they're developing applications in construction processes, such as roofing shingles, to make them stronger and last longer.

Scientists modify soybean oil with an organic compound called an epoxide. The resulting product has properties that rejuvenate old asphalt. Soybean oil is an ideal carrier for the epoxide because it's relatively cheap and plentiful in Iowa, a leading U.S. soybean producer.

The additive can augment petroleum products to provide a range of environmental benefits. Paving roads with asphalt releases carbon into the atmosphere and requires heavy energy use. But mixing the SoyLei additive with virgin asphalt lowers the temperature it must reach in order to be used, making the process less energy intensive. The additive also allows for the inclusion of a higher proportion of recycled materials, leading to less carbon emissions in its production.

When Iowa State announced plans to build CYTown, a business and entertainment development at the Iowa State Center, the plan called for temporary parking lots to accommodate construction. SoyLei's additive allowed the asphalt used in the temporary lots to be reused. The technology creates the potential for significant cost and energy savings, and less waste is better for the environment.

The company, which currently employs six people, sold roughly 300,000 pounds of its additive last year, Hernandez said, and SoyLei has doubled its sales each year since its founding.

SoyLei moved into office space at the research park in the summer of 2022. The location gives the company easy access to lab space and essential equipment like compressed air, fume hoods and vacuum. Space at the office park comes "set up for research, which is exactly what we need," Hernandez said.

Strengthening Iowa companies

Janas Materials Inc. grew from the research of Shan Jiang, associate professor of materials science and engineering. The company is researching water-based coating materials that could be used as an eco-friendly alternative to organic solvent-based products, and the technology has the potential to reach far beyond Ames to expand choices for consumers across the country.

Jiang explained that water-based coatings, while environmentally friendly, don't perform as well as solvent-based products. To find the best of both worlds, his lab developed a chemical additive and approached Diamond Vogel, an Iowa-based paint company, with samples.

Diamond Vogel officials were intrigued enough to ink a research and development contract with Janas Materials to scale up production of the particle additive. The partnership with Janas Materials has strengthened Diamond Vogel's relationship with the university, said Doug Vogel, vice president of marketing and strategic relationships and an ISU alum.

"It's been energizing for our staff to interface not only with Dr. Jiang, but also with the grad students and students doing the work on the project," Vogel said.  

Diamond Vogel employs roughly 1,000 workers, including around 300 employees in Orange City, where the company was founded in 1926. Vogel said he's excited by the prospect of harnessing the additive under development by Janas to bring a new product to the water-based coatings market. He noted it's still early in the relationship between the two companies, but preliminary results look promising.

"In chemistry, they're often working at a high level that's so theoretical that it can be hard to have practical application," Vogel said. "In this project with Janas, it's getting more and more practical all the time."

Diamond Vogel asked for additional samples of the additive under development in the Janas Materials lab. Since that requires more space and equipment, Jiang decided starting a company would be the best way to accommodate the partnership.

Jiang and his colleagues turned to the research park to work out the logistics.

The research park fits alongside the ISU Startup Factory and the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship as a comprehensive suite of resources for startup businesses at Iowa State. The combination of programs makes Iowa State a fertile ground for faculty, scientists and staff to turn innovative research into successful businesses that drive economic development.

"It's truly an ecosystem. If you wanted to do it alone, you'd just have too many things you'd have to consider," Jiang said. "I think it would be impossible to translate our technology into a viable product without these resources."

Jiang's background as a scientist did not prepare him for the practical realities of creating and running a business, but the research park offered the help and answers he needed.

Research park personnel helped the budding business land the lab space it needed to scale up, from a 10-gallon reaction tank to a 200-gallon tank. The research park also helped the company comply with government safety regulations for the use of flammable chemistry components. Research park personnel didn't show Jiang just space in park buildings, but also space at the BioCentury Research Farm and other locations on campus. The company chose to move into lab space in the Food Science Building as the first step and will continue to work with the research park to identify space for future scale-up and research/development efforts as the business expands.

"You need lab space if you want to do a startup right. I had no clue how to get space and equipment. I had no clue how to establish a business and deal with finance or human resources," Jiang said. "Iowa State provides a huge range of help, from the Startup Factory to the research park, which helped me immensely as I figured these things out."

'My ISU Alerts' has moved to Workday

April 04

 

Editor's note: This information was shared April 1 in an email from senior leaders to Iowa State faculty and staff.

Effective April 1, Iowa State employees will verify or make changes to their contact information for ISU Alerts in Workday rather than AccessPlus. This is the final step in transitioning ISU Alert information to be maintained in Workday. Students started updating their ISU Alert information in Workday last month as part of their onboarding.

Faculty, staff and students with "active" status are eligible to receive alerts from the ISU department of public safety via a phone call (cell or landline), text message and email. The contact information you provide is never shared or used for anything other than the ISU Alert notification system.

The ISU Alert system quickly notifies students, faculty and staff of potentially dangerous situations. It complements other forms of emergency notification, including warning sirens, public address announcements, the university homepage, personal communication and signage. The university provides the ISU Alert service at no charge. (Users who opt in for text messages or calls to a cell phone may incur a fee, depending on their wireless provider.)

The department of public safety initiates emergency notifications, which are sent from:

• Email: ISU Alerts (isualerts@iastate.edu)
• Text: 226787 or 67283
• Phone: 515-294-4111. If the line is busy, ISU Alert will try two more times. If the call goes to voicemail, ISU Alert will leave a message.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to add the email address and phone numbers to your contacts under "ISU Alert."

Change your ISU Alert preferences

To sign up for or make changes to your ISU Alert information:

• Sign into Workday.
• Search for "ISU Alert."
• Select the "ISU Alert" custom task.
• In the pop-up window, enter or update your mobile phone and other (non-ISU) email, then click "OK" and "Done."

Emergency contacts up to date?

On a related note, it's a good idea to review your emergency contacts in Workday to confirm that information is up to date. The emergency contact information helps university officials find the right people if you are ever injured, incapacitated or missing. Your emergency contacts are available only to university emergency response staff such as ISU police.

To add or update your emergency contacts:

• Sign into Workday.
• On "Your Iowa State Profile" page, click on "Contact."
• Click on "Emergency Contacts."
• Provide contact information for up to five people. In an emergency, officials would start at the top of your list and keep trying until they reach someone.

 

Cheesesteak venue adds to the mix in food court

By Chad Bauman, campus life
April 04

A new ISU Dining sandwich venue, Zodiac Cheesesteaks, opened in the Memorial Union food court in early February, replacing the Yumburger station. The sandwich options are steak chili cheesesteak, chicken bacon ranch cheesesteak, buffalo chicken cheesesteak or build-your-own cheesesteak using any of 11 vegetable, cheese and sauce toppings. French fries may be ordered plain or "loaded" with chili, chicken or steak.

"Cheesesteaks are a beloved and iconic American comfort food, making them appealing to a wide range of diners," said chef Nolan Green, associate director of culinary development for ISU Dining. "Their hearty and satisfying nature makes them a popular choice for a quick, filling meal, perfect for busy students between classes."

Green said the availability of burgers in multiple campus locations had the dining team thinking about other concepts. They landed on Zodiac Cheesesteak, named for the MU's north vestibule, and subsequent tasting sessions at the Union Drive Marketplace helped solidify the decision.

The MU food court is open weekdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 3 p.m. on Friday.