Innovation and Entrepreneurship News

With a focus on innovation and ideation, Kate Gilbert has dedicated her College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows (IEFF) project to enhance FSHN 4120 Food Product Development. The course challenges students to develop a new food product using the knowledge they have gained from prerequisite courses. 

What role does gene expression play in predicting whether someone prefers salty over sweet snacks or tends to be more of a night owl than an early riser? That is just one of the topics students explore in Jelena Kraft’s Biology 3130(L): Principles of Genetics class and lab. Kraft modified her sections thanks to funding received through participation in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows program.

Offering college students opportunities to enhance their skills in lesson planning and teaching while engaging elementary students in scientific exploration are two goals Tim Stewart has for the new Field Ecology Teaching course. Alongside Professor Jan Thompson, students in NREM 380: Field Ecology Research and Teaching now focus on getting younger students excited about wildlife animals and habitat.

Iowa State University students of all majors had the opportunity to enroll in Culinary Boot Camp, gaining valuable food safety, meal prepping and grocery shopping tips and tricks.

The new class was made possible by Erica Beirman’s involvement in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows (IEFF) program, where she proposed the creation of FSHN 4930, a two-credit course known as the Culinary Boot Camp.

What happens when you challenge people to find the intersection of art and science? Something beautiful!

Dior Kelley, assistant professor of genetics, development and cell biology, asked the Iowa State community to create works of art that reflected the theme “Crosspollinating Art and Science” as part of her Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows project.

Projects using artificial intelligence to solve agricultural problems, cultivating Iowa's wild yeast, and enhancing a food product development class are just a sampling of what faculty will be working on this coming year.

The smell of cheese and wine fills the air in the corner of the pilot plant inside the Food Sciences Building. Students cut hunks of cheddar cheese into thumb-sized pieces (cheese curds) before placing them in a large, clear plastic tub to soak in wine. The curds will be pressed in towers, sliced into wheels, then vacuum-sealed in bags. The goal is that after several weeks of aging, the wine-soaked cheese will be a delectable treat. 

Walter Suza is making plant genetics educational materials more engaging and accessible for students on campus and far away.

The Cyclone Science Innovators, otherwise known as CySI for short, is a group of multi-disciplinary students working to hone their innovation skills and make life on campus a little brighter.

Students may join the Iowa State University Bee & Wasp Squad with little background knowledge about the pollinator insects, but chances are, after spending a summer conducting field and lab work, they’ll walk away not only knowing more about bees and wasps, but more about themselves, as well.

What do you get when you combine students from life sciences and engineering majors at Iowa State University? A collection of great minds eager to tackle innovative projects in class.