Autos section
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see AUTOS on PAGE 5
January 19, 2010, Volume 204 >> Number 81 >> 40 cents >> iowastatedaily.com >> An independent newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890
TUESDAY
Ames Community
MLK celebration focuses on service By Rashah McChesney Daily Staff Writer
Paxton Williams, an ISU graduate, plays George Washington Carver during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday at Ames Middle School. Photo: Karuna Ang/Iowa State Daily
For nearly 20 years the Ames community has been staging a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. It started at the public library and when the event outgrew it, moved to the Boys and Girls club, then the Ames High School and now have settled, at least for the last two years, on the Ames Middle School. This year’s focus was on service. As a part of the day’s events, nearly 200 members of the community came together under the direction of United Ames and the Volunteer Center of Story County to work on a community garden for the Ames homeless, which will be located at the Trinity Church on Ontario Street. After an afternoon of building park benches and leaving their ideas for the garden on a mural at the volunteer center, Ames community members filled the cafeteria of the Ames Middle School to enjoy cake donated by local grocery stores and the Ames High School Jazz Band. A steady stream of people trickled in between 6–6:30 p.m., and many of them sent their children over to a corner where Members of AmeZone — a community youth service project — and United Ames staffed a food donation table which was completely full by the time the program started.
Take a look:
Watch Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Ames Middle School at iowastatedaily.com. The food was slated for the MICA food pantry in Ames. Andrea Henry, executive director of the YWCA, said the celebration is funded by both the Government of the Student Body and the Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support. “Most of this is put on by volunteers, though,” she said. “We want to celebrate Martin Luther King’s life as well as encourage the elimination of racism in the community.” At about 6:30 p.m., people were let into the auditorium where they were greeted by a choir made up of K-5 students from Meeker Elementary School. “We are not alone,” they sang, “We shall overcome someday.” The auditorium bustled with activity as most of its occupants were children under the age of 5. During the choir performance and after, children ran jubilantly through the aisles laughing and giggling.
see MLK on PAGE 14
Curriculum
Transportation
Professors’ textbook use varies greatly
Youth competition involves LEGO robots
By Bethany Pint Daily Staff Writer The number of textbooks required for courses at Iowa State varies from course to course. Some instructors choose several textbooks, while others prefer to use the library’s E-Reserve system. Other courses rely on one textbook to get the points across in their courses. “Our word ‘literature’ is derived from a word meaning: capable of being read,” David Brottman, ISU English lecturer, wrote in an e-mail. Brottman wrote that his definition of a textbook may differ from other’s definitions. “I use it to mean books that must be acquired because they are required reading and the basis for writing assignments,” he wrote. “Some people use ‘textbook’ to mean a book about a subject, but I teach literature, so all literary books written by authors are considered texts.” Different levels of Brottman’s courses require more textbooks that others. “A 200-level undergrad course has two [one of which is a large anthology], a 300-level undergrad course has four [one of which is a large anthology] and a grad course has 13,” he wrote. Nancy Grudens-Schuck, associate professor of agricultural education and studies, said she doesn’t like to use only textbooks. “It’s not because textbooks in all fields are poor,” she said. “But for the subject matter I teach, I need to make the connection with and for the students to application.” Grudens-Schuck teaches advanced communications for agriculture and life sciences, and personal and professional leadership in agriculture this semester. Her communications course requires students to purchase materials for the class, but the readings are available online through Parks Library. Grudens-Schuck’s leadership course requires one book, but, like Brottman, she doesn’t consider it a textbook. “It is a book written about leadership based on a research study,” she said. She finds value is using available materials to make her points clear in the classroom.
see TEXTBOOKS on PAGE 14
By Angela Christianson Daily Staff Writer Howe Hall was bursting with aspiring engineers Saturday, when the annual FIRST LEGO League championship brought 72 teams from all over Iowa to the ISU campus. The competition was based on two components: A robot that maneuvered a course, and a research project that was presented to a board of judges. The competition’s whole program tied into issues and innovations in transportation, so its theme was labeled “Smart Move.” North Polk’s team, FLL, left the competition with an award for its track design and light sensors. FLL was made up of sixth-grade Extended Learning Program students. This was the team’s first year competing. Team member Matthew Merkley explained that there were many attachments for picking up loops on the track, guide wheels for walls and sensors to help with precision on the team’s robot. “We used ultrasonic sensors to detect how far away obstacles were,” said team member Miranda Noack. Programming was Noack’s favorite part of the competition. The team was new to LEGO Mindstorms, the program used to maneuver the robots, so it was a learning process from the very begin-
ning. Teams designed three different programs for
see LEGOS on PAGE 14
Check it out:
See the Ames-based team compete online at iowastatedaily.com.
The Biggest Loser
ISU technology featured on prime-time TV By Sarah Gonzalez Daily Staff Writer Medical technology developed by ISU researchers made its premiere on NBC prime-time Jan. 12. James Oliver, ISU professor of mechanical engineering, and Eliot Winer, associate professor of mechanical engineering, contributed to the creation of BodyViz, a program which allows MRI or CT scans to be seen and manipulated in 3-D. NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” used the program to motivate its contestants in a medical segment during the second episode of its ninth season. “They were blown away by what BodyViz could do,” Curt Carlson said. Carlson is CEO of the startup company, BodyViz, managed in the ISU Research Park. The competitors on “The Biggest Loser” spend seven weeks training, exercising and dieting to lose the highest percentage of unnecessary body fat.
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Members of the LEGO League’s Ames-based team — the Mastermind Smart Movers — prep their robot and cheer their teammates on during the competition Saturday in the Howe Hall atrium. Photo: Rashah McChesney/Iowa State Daily
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The show utilizes fitness, nutrition and medical professionals who inform and motivate the contestants. During the second episode, contestants were shown inside their body with the technology. Carlson operated the BodyViz images behind the scenes while Dr. Rob Huizenga guided contestants through their upper torso and fatty regions. “They thought it’d be a fantastic way to show body fat,” Carlson said. The 3-D images of patients can be manipulated with an Xbox controller and allows the BodyViz user to travel through a body scan on screen. Producers of “The Biggest Loser” thought the technology would motivate contestants by allowing them to see that extra fat inside their bodies, Carlson said. The appearance of BodyViz on “The Biggest Loser” may be the first of many opportunities to commercialize and market the new technology. “BodyViz is a fantastic name for branding,” Carlson said.
Participants on “The Biggest Loser” viewed the fatty parts of their bodies provided by the BodyViz program. Courtesy photo: BodyViz
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