College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
May 5, 2017 – Special Commencement Issue
Top Stories
Innovative AST Grad Retrofits Motorcycle and Develops App for Ethanol Plants
Bringing home a brand-new Harley Davidson to modify is a little nerve-racking, but that’s what Alex Shaw did to fulfill his dream. The nerves in Shaw’s right hand were damaged during birth; since motorcycles are built with the throttle on the right, he’s never been able to ride one. Shaw searched worldwide for motorcycles with left-handed throttles and found none, so he decided to build his own. Shaw will graduate on Saturday, May 6, with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural systems technology and industrial technology. He will then begin working on a master’s degree with Matthew Darr, agricultural and Biosystems engineering. It’s a logical move, since Shaw has worked with Darr’s group for three years analyzing data surrounding delivery of feedstock to cellulosic ethanol plants. To help manage supply chain traffic, Shaw developed an app called StoverLive. More
Graduating GRS Senior Destined to Make a World of Difference
Christina Gonzalez probably inherited her spirit of adventure from her mother, who left family and friends in Mexico at 18 to seek a better future. Gonzalez will celebrate with her immigrant parents when she graduates from ISU on Saturday, May 6, with a bachelor’s degree in global resource systems and minors in anthropology and political science. She is interested in a career as a foreign service officer. As part of the global resource systems major, Gonzalez spent five months in Varanasi in northern India. She also participated in the dean’s global leadership program at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. More
Kling Speaks to Graduate Students on Importance of “Being Academic”
Catherine Kling, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Economics, was the commencement speaker for the Graduate College Ceremony held May 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. She encouraged the graduates to value their time spent in academia and emphasized that academic principles are needed now more than ever before. “Being academic means you undertake research because you want to know the answer, not because you want to confirm an answer you already believe,” said Kling. “Being academic means that when you collect data, do analysis and write up your findings, you provide as good of an answer as you can. Being academic means that you are open and honest about problems with your work, limitations of your method and data inadequacies. You recognize that your answer is only as good as the data, measurement and logic that went into your research design. Being academic means that you understand that others, using different methods and data, may generate findings that are at odds with yours. Being academic means welcoming those findings as more pieces in the puzzle of scientific advancement.” Video of the ceremony is available online. Kling’s presentation can be found at the 36:44 mark. More
Calendar
May 6: College Convocation
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences convocation will be held Saturday, May 6, 8:30 a.m. at Hilton Coliseum. Trey Forsyth, agricultural business, is the convocation speaker. Lauren Dunteman, biology, is the college’s student marshal. More
May 6: Undergraduate Commencement
The ISU undergraduate commencement ceremony will be held Saturday, May 6, 1:30 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium. The commencement speaker is Dennis Muilenburg, chairman, president and CEO of The Boeing Company. Live video is available. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Friday.