Inside Iowa State for faculty and staff
Oct. 28, 2021
Inside news
The annual opportunity for employees to change their benefits choices runs for three weeks, Nov. 1-19.   

Winter session compresses the time instructors and students have to complete a course, but many of the things that make a course successful during the fall or spring semesters -- such as communication and organization -- still apply. 

In lieu of rent from Alliant Energy, Iowa State would receive electricity from the company's solar farm near university teaching and research farms south of Ames. Also on the state Board of Regents Nov. 3-4 agenda: Faculty professional development requests for next year and athletics' expanded parking proposal.

As days grow shorter, options around campus can help employees and students deal with issues such as walking to your car after dark or locating a shovel to clear snow.

An initiative to recycle discarded textiles from apparel studios in LeBaron Hall follows the lead of a pilot project in 2019 that shredded cardboard collected across campus for use as bedding in university cattle stalls. 

The ISU Creamery's second foray into cheese production is chunks of aged cheddar cheese cut in cyclone shapes. The next release is scheduled for mid-November.
Announcements
The following announcements were added this week:
  • COVID-19: By the numbers
  • Grad student 'Three-Minute Thesis' finals are set for Oct. 28
  • Greek trick-or-treat for families is Oct. 31 in the Memorial Union
  • Landscape club offers personalized design sessions Nov. 7
  • 'Daniel Tiger Live' tickets go on sale Oct. 29
  • Through Nov. 30: Thank ISU's community builders
  • Guidelines outline considerations for third-party COVID-19 requirements
  • Help install lights for Reiman Gardens' winter show
Around campus
More than 70 faculty and staff, recipients of the university's most prestigious awards for members of the campus community, were honored during an Oct. 25 ceremony at the Memorial Union.

Grant proposals that engage reviewers and communicate with brevity and clarity will have an edge over the competition. Using the Grants Hub's graphic design services starts with submitting an online request early in your proposal preparation. 

An interdisciplinary team aims to 3D print super-soft materials to create sensors that can better monitor health conditions ranging from cardiovascular diseases to COVID-19.

Iowa State physicists are contributing their expertise and sending nearly 20,000 pounds of Ames-manufactured hardware to the sPHENIX particle detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York state. The next experiment is scheduled to launch in 2023.

​​Alumnus Steven King and Susan Boren King gave a $1.5 million gift to establish an excellence fund in the landscape architecture department. It will help faculty develop new experiences for students, increase place-based learning opportunities and expand the college's semester-long Traveling Savanna studio.
Retirements
Next week
  • Steve Gilliland, facilities, Ames Laboratory, Nov. 1

Upcoming
  • Reception, Paul Gallagher, economics (May 2020 retirement), Nov. 16 (2:30-4 p.m., 368A Heady)
Seminars and conferences
  • Flagship Friday, "Surprise, Pivot, Scale," Laura Rowley, SitusAMC, New York City, Oct. 29 (noon-1 p.m., pizza served at 11:45 a.m., stepatorium, Student Innovation Center or via Zoom), register
  • Conversation about Carbon series, "Renewable Natural Gas as a Carbon Solution: Separating Facts from Myth," Tom Richard, Penn State University, Nov. 2 (10-10:45 a.m., via Zoom)
  • Webinar series, Family Interaction Training, for education, medical and social services professionals who support families of young children with disruptive behaviors, with co-presenter Ashley Scudder, human development and family studies, Nov. 2, 9 and 16 (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. daily), register
  • Flagship Friday, "Energy Matters," Michael Van Parys, Van Parys Architecture + Design, Los Angeles, Nov. 5, (noon-1 p.m., pizza served at 11:45 a.m., stepatorium, Student Innovation Center or via Zoom), register 
  • Leadership conference, Women in Agriculture, ISU Extension and Outreach, Nov. 29-30, Gateway Conference Center, register
Arts and events
Iowa State's hockey club, which competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, will face off against the University of Iowa Friday, Oct. 29 (7:30 p.m., Ames/ISU Ice Arena). Tickets are $10 (students $5).

The ISU Symphony Orchestra presents an Oct. 31 concert for the whole family, playfully bringing together Halloween spirit and popular movie soundtracks. It starts at 7:30 p.m. in Stephens Auditorium; tickets are $10 (students $5).
Learning opportunities
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) programming

Writing and Media Center programming
  • Virtual panel, "Linguistic Justice In and Beyond the Classroom: Language, Gender and Sexuality Scholars on Language Advocacy," with Allyson Jule, Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia; Lal Zimman, University of California, Santa Barbara; and Joyhanna Garza, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Nov. 4 (4 p.m., via Zoom), register
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Inside Update is published Thursday mornings by Strategic Relations and Communications. Questions may be directed to 515-294-7065.