“A lot of buzz” was generated for the Biology 4230L lab when the gene-editing technology, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), was introduced in 2013. The increase in course enrollment - from 10 students to now more than 60 students - can be attributed not only to the introduction of CRISPR, but to the hands-on, student-driven learning structure of the lab.
Students in AnSci 2700: Foods of Animal Origin learn how to grade beef, chicken, lamb and pork carcasses and assign value to them. Once the class has honed their meat cutting skills, the meat is packaged and frozen or further processed before being distributed to food pantries or sold at the Meats Lab sales room in Kildee Hall.
Shoki Hirano, a graduate student in animal science, has been working on a research project to gain insight into the role B vitamin supplements play in preventing illness in cattle.
For the past two years, Elnaz Ebrahimi has been improving student learning with smart rhizoboxes, transparent containers used to study plant growth.
The mystery of how plants survive freezing temperatures and rebound after winter has long fascinated scientists, including Iowa State University professor of horticulture, Rajeev Arora, an expert in the cold physiology of plants. He is particularly interested in the “fascinating phenomenon” of cold-induced “thermonasty,” characterized by the curling and drooping of leaves, which some plants use to adapt to cold temperatures. His research demonstrates that the freezing precedes thermonasty, supporting theories that it serves as a “natural thermometer.”
Eric Anderson will join the CALS Career Services office on Feb. 25, where he will continue and build upon the office’s long history of supporting students as they seek experiences to enhance their resumes and apply for internships and jobs.
AMES, Iowa — Yeasts are everywhere. These single-cell organisms, found widely on animals, plants and ripened fruit, are nature's fermenting agents.
Teaching about world food issues, forging partnerships between environmental health and safety and discovering the secrets of the marshes are among the projects selected for the 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows program.
Sam Martin, graduating senior in animal science, is the fall 2025 CALS Convocation speaker.
Emma Bastian, graduating senior in nutritional science, is the fall 2025 CALS marshal.
Michael Persia, the John W. Hancock Professor in the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech, will begin his new role on June 1, 2026. Prior to joining Virginia Tech in 2013, he spent four years as an assistant professor of animal science at Iowa State.
Each semester, seniors who have gone above and beyond while attending Iowa State University can be nominated to receive one of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council senior awards. This semester, five seniors will be honored at the Dec. 19 CALS Convocation.
Prairie strips can improve measures of soil health faster than expected, according to new research by Iowa State University scientists working in cooperation with the Soil Health Institute. Earlier studies have shown that prairie strips established in approximately 10% of a field can significantly increase biodiversity and pollinator habitat, reduce erosion and improve water quality. However, strips’ impacts on soil health have remained largely unexamined until now. Findings published recently in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation showed that prairie strips improved a number of soil health measures within 10-12 years.
It’s no coincidence that first-year students in the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology take Microbiology 1150: Phage Discovery Lab as their very first class. The department intentionally schedules it this way so that students kick off their Iowa State adventure in an exploratory lab offering real-world opportunities to build their skillset and get an early introduction to research.
Emma Alstott, senior in global resource systems and horticulture, is working to address an issue that blueberry growers in southern Iowa brought to her Science with Practice mentor, Suzanne Slack.
Rachel Becker, a senior in horticulture, used her Science with Practice involvement to dive into poinsettia tree production, all while discovering a side of research she didn’t know existed.
Caroline Strawhacker, a junior in agricultural business, agronomy and economics, used her Science with Practice involvement to help people navigate changes in the land market, drawing from her agricultural background and economic passion.
Twenty years ago, at a time when student debt was at an all-time high and the university faced stiff state and federal funding cuts, the Science with Practice program launched to provide experiential learning opportunities for students and pay them for their work. Since then, nearly 800 CALS students have enrolled in the program and course (AGEDS 3120).
Ellie Recker, Hadley Shatek and Ben Starling have tested and modified more than 100 recipes this semester that will go into a cookbook being developed by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Farm Food and Enterprise Development (FFED) unit. The students are learning valuable skills along the way and earning independent study credits.
Under the supervision of Carl Bern, emeritus university professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, Keith Urmie was tasked with quantifying how much maize weevils could eat per day under ideal growth conditions. He completed the research for his Honors program capstone project during his undergraduate studies in agricultural engineering at Iowa State University.
