Research Stories

Grant Ives is discovering ways to add value to ethanol production.

The name could be from Star Trek. “Step into the Enviratron,” Mr. Spock might say, “and be transported to the environment of your choosing.”

In a way, that’s how it will work— for plants.

Crop simulation models are computerized tools that integrate agronomic knowledge and can be used to answer questions farmers have about their field: How much water is in the ground? Does the field have enough nitrogen?

Supplying astronauts with enough food to make it to Mars and back to earth is a challenging task for NASA. It’s 140 million miles away and will take at least one year to travel to and from Mars.

Iowa State University researchers are applying cutting-edge technology to unlock the potential of the yam, a crop that carries major significance across the globe.

When Pat Schnable and his colleagues finished sequencing the corn genome in 2009 it turned out to be just the start for plant geneticists.

Researchers are using remote sensing technologies to increase the health and efficiency of livestock production. One of the studies involved tracking chickens to get a sense of the basics for potential cage-free production.

Capturing Quality Data

Amy Kaleita, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, has many reasons for working with remote sensing.

A painting of a smiling young man wearing an Iowa State hoodie hangs inside the main doors of the Molecular Biology Building.

Returning a small part of Iowa farmland to prairie is bringing a huge number of benefits according to Iowa State University research.

Six generations of Bob Lynch’s family have farmed near the edge of Gilmore City in the center of Iowa’s prairie pothole region.

Cathy Kling’s passion for environmental issues has been engrained since she was a Girl Scout camping, hiking and enjoying the outdoors. But, her early exposure to economics didn’t go quite as well.

Tom Isenhart is a catalyst for getting research results to the people who need it most.

Bioreactors are water quality improvement tools gaining interest from landowners and researchers.

Adriana Murillo Williams’ lab looks over rice – and other important food crops – grown in or imported to Costa Rica before they land on people’s plates.

Inch-long zebrafish are used as a model organism by several Iowa State researchers.

Iowa farmers long have been driven to improve crop production. They joined together in the early 1900s to form organizations that sought better varieties of corn,more advanced ways to clean and select seed and improved tillage techniques.

Thomas Isenhart believes Iowa is at a turning point for water quality, a true watershed moment.

Rootworms are developing a natural resistance to Bt corn, which is genetically engineered to produce insecticidal proteins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.

Change has been a constant, personally and professionally, since Angela Shaw returned to Iowa State in 2011.