Factor Analysis

When was the last time that you slowed down to enjoy the beauty of nature? Civil engineer Brenna Fall is out to change our hurried mindset. In fact, her contribution to engineering includes an iconic landmark and favorite spot for hikers, bikers and nature lovers ... the High Trestle Trail Bridge.

Learn about one of Iowa's favorite walkways and the history behind the bridge on this edition of Factor Analysis.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

“I used to read about Iowa. It is one of the greatest producers of corn in the world. I thought, ‘my gosh, maybe one day I’ll get to see that. One day, I’ll be America and I’ll get to see those corn rows.’"

Listen to Ugandan Moses Kalyango's experience as an undergraduate student visiting Iowa State. Tom Brumm, Mary and Charles Sukup Global Professor in Food Security and associate director of the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, is Moses' faculty mentor and also a guest on this episode of Factor Analysis.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

In 2013, the Iowa State chapter of Engineers Without Borders partnered with the community of Ullo in northwestern Ghana in an effort to help the community meet their basic human needs.

The students have made multiple trips to Ullo while planning and implementing a clean water system that allows the people of Ullo easier access to clean water within the community. This project was completed in January of 2019, and more projects are already underway.

While several Cyclone Engineers have had the chance to visit Ullo, until recently, no representative from Ullo was able to make the journey to Ames. This October, with the help of donors through the Iowa State University Foundation’s FundISU program, Zack Saeed, the eldest son of the Chief of Ullo made a visit to Ames and the Iowa State campus.

During his visit, EWB leadership member Michelle Friedmann sat down with Zack and talked about his trip, and the impact this student organization has had on the people of Ullo.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

From blue roofs to rebuilds: why communities can (or cannot) construct after catastrophes

A hurricane hits. You survive the storm, but your house doesn’t. And to complicate matters, you don’t have the documentation to prove the house was actually yours to begin with. What do you do? Construction engineering doctoral student Jess Talbot recently traveled to Puerto Rico, a country still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Maria back in 2017. Along with her mentor, Assistant Professor Cristina Poleacovschi, Jess studied how communities are … or are not … able to reconstruct after a catastrophic event.

Special acknowledgement to the research team of Cristina Poleacovschi and Jess Talbot, including:

Sara Hamideh (Stonybrook University), collaborating professor

Carlos Santos, undergraduate student

Luis Gallardo & Alison Chopel, Habitat for Humanity

And thank you to the multiple UPR students and the stakeholders and community members tho shared their stories with us.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

Digging into the Netflix Original Documentary "The Great Hack" with Iowa State University's Cyber Security expert Doug Jacobson.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

We speak with recent Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering alum Maurice Washington about legalized cannabis cultivation and the environmental effects it's having in Northern California.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center Director and Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering talks about this spring's flooding in the midwest, and the effect it will have on agriculture in the state of Iowa.

Resources mentioned in Ep E104:

https://www.extension.iastate.edu

https://www.iihr.uiowa.edu

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

Iowa State Mechanical Engineering senior Clare Lanaghan tells us about the ISU chapter of Engineers Without Borders, and the project they recently completed in Ullo, Ghana.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

Today we talk with Cassandra Rutherford, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering about Iowa's infrastructure crisis in their levee system, and how this spring's flooding will further impact our levees.

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/

Let's look back to 1978, when the first woman undergraduate from Iowa State University's Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering received her degree. Jill Fratini believes engineering teaches resilience and problem-solving. “I think that any woman who wants to pursue a STEM major must have an inherent drive,” she says. “Not to show the world, but to show herself that she can do it.”

For a full transcript of this episode, go to our website at news.engineering.iastate.edu/factoranalysis/