Wednesday, April 30, 2014 | Volume 209 | Number 147 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
New video game combines
learning, fun
By Blake.Dowson @iowastatedaily.com A new, ISU-developed game puts players in charge of a search-and-rescue team that’s been tasked to find a group of doctors who’ve gone missing while trying to save the last remaining plant cell. Their task involves finding the lost doctors, discovering what is killing the plant cells and saving the world. Picture doing that at a microscop-
ic size, while treading the surface of a leaf, rescuing a tardigrade and dodging nematodes. Eve Wurtel, professor of genetics, development and cell biology, and her team have created the video game called Meta!Blast, which is aimed to help students better understand certain biological concepts. “[Meta!Blast] is a computer game that is designed to engage students in biology and to get students involved in biology concepts. It’s very interac-
tive, and it’s really fun. The object of the game is to rescue the doctor, but students learn along the way,” Wurtele, who is also the director of the game, said. Wurtele said that the video game has been in the development stage for over four years now, and they are continuing to develop it. They have already completed three modules. Wurtele said she hopes students learn a lot from the game, while also finding it fun to play.
“I want the students to get engaged in biology. I want them to see relationships in size scales as well,” she said. “There is a lot of physics and biology involved in the game, and I want them to understand that.” Jeff Derocher, freshman in mechanical engineering, said he really enjoyed playing the game. “I thought it was a cool and fun way to learn more,” Derocher said.
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Student loan debts can hinder job search, credit By Danielle.Ferguson @iowastatedaily.com
Brian Achenbach/Iowa State Daily
THERAPY DOGS: Students de-stress at Parks Erin Lewis, freshman in animal science, gives Ty a kiss during a comfort dog session Tuesday at Parks Library. The comfort dogs are meant to give students a break from studying to cuddle and play with dogs.
Iowa is ranked sixth in the nation when it comes to student debt, according to USA Today rankings. Iowa State students who graduate with debt graduate with the highest amount of debt among the three regent universities. The average indebtedness for a graduating Iowa State student in 2012-13 was $29,458, according to a Board of Regents April docket item. This is a slight decrease from $29,573 from the previous school year.
This is about $4,000 higher than the national average. Iowa State’s threeyear cohort default rate is also the highest among the three regent universities. A cohort default rate is the percentage of a school’s students who borrow, enter a repayment option and then default within three fiscal years. Roberta Johnson, director of student financial aid, said this is not good for students’ credit rate. “If you default a student loan, you could be
shut out of credit for anything,” Johnson said. “You want to buy a new car? Forget it.” She said students should protect their credit ratings like credit cards because student loans also get reported to credit bureaus. This lack of paying off student loans can have an effect on job searches, Johnson said. “If you’re not responsible on how you pay off [student loans], that could have a detrimental impact on you in terms of
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Engineers showcase semester projects at ME Design Expo By Colby.Siebersma @iowastatedaily.com Students in mechanical engineering displayed the work they put into their semester projects at the Mechanical Engineering Design Expo on Tuesday in Howe Hall. Design is a major component of mechanical engineering education at Iowa State, said William Morrow, assistant professor in mechanical engineering and cocreator of the expo. The projects for students in Mechanical Engineering 270, ME 415 and ME 466 were displayed by 270 students and were aimed to support economic activity in developing regions. Jovani Rubio, junior in mechanical engineering, and John Sievert, sophomore in mechanical engineering, created a product called H2O On-The-Go. “It creates a way to transport water into Dadaab, Kenya, a refugee camp. They typically walk over two and a half miles to get to a water source,” Sievert said. Sievert said this takes a great deal of Dadaab people’s time. The idea behind their product was to reduce the amount of time it takes for them to get water. Their product also scales down the amount of physical stress it takes to transport water. Sievert also said most of these people transport water by carrying fivegallon barrels on top of their heads. Their product creates an alterna-
tive way to transport water by placing a jug of water into a wheelbarrow-type mechanism. “We figured if they rolled it, the water itself would help to gain momentum while they are pushing it, while also relieving the stress off their neck and head,” Sievert said. Sievert said there are competitors that make a similar product, but at a much higher cost. “Our goal was to cut down the time it takes these people to transport water by at least 25 percent, and we met that goal,” Rubio said. “Our product also has great durability. We tested it on a treadmill for a few miles.” ME 415 projects are industry-sponsored projects that give students a handson experience with solving applied industrial problems. Brett Cowen, senior in mechanical engineering, and Tria Vang, senior in mechanical engineering, worked through Vermeer Manufacturing Company for their project. “The end goal was to get a software testing device and simulator for their horizontal directional drilling,” Cowen said. Cowen and Vang created the base structure of which the cab for the drilling device simulator will be placed on top of. They worked with another group who created other components of the simulator. The base structure also has a space available to mount the TV screens that will
Kyle Schlichting/Iowa State Daily
Lindsay Beery shows off her RollTech device “The Cyclone” at the Design Expo on Wednesday at Howe Hall. The Expo featured projects by students in various engineering majors.
show the simulated drilling. Cowen said the base is designed so that the screen will be located in the same place that the operator would be looking out of the drilling device. “This product has been fully tested and has proven to successfully be able to hold the weight of the device,” Cowen said. Cowen said he and Vang worked on this project all semester and went through
many different brainstorming and execution processes in order to come to a final product. ME 466 projects connect mechanical, electrical and aerospace engineers in the solution of a single, design problem. In previous years, some extracurricular groups participate in the ME Design Expo to showcase their work, but none are participating this year, Morrow said.
Volunteers honored for service at eighth annual awards ceremony By Robyn.Riley @iowastatedaily.com The Volunteer Center of Story County held their 8th annual Story County Youth Volunteer Awards on April 29 at the Memorial Union. The purpose of the event was to honor the youth volunteers in their communities. Richard Reynolds, director of the Memorial Union, presented the awards to the recipients. He opened his presenting presenting with a quote from the movie
inspired by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, things aren’t going to get better. They’re just not.” Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Story County Shellie Orngard said that she sent out nomination requests to schools in Story County in January 2014, asking people to nominate individuals who demonstrated excellent service to their communities and deserved recognition. After the nominations were
submitted in March, a peer review committee, made up of previous winners, selected the individuals who they thought deserved to be recognized the most. Kris Stow, senior in management, was recognized for his outstanding volunteering in Youth and Shelter Service’s GRIP program, where he has been encouraging young students for four years. “This is cool. You never expect to be rewarded for volunteering. That’s not why you do it, but it’s nice to be recognized,”
Stow said. Erin Weirup, a sophomore in event management, received an award because of her volunteering at IRIS. IRIS is a program that seeks to help students from all over the world in a traditional high school exchange program. “You would think as a college student that I do not have any time or effort to spare, but actually taking time out of my day to help someone is a stress relief. I don’t have to deal with grumpy professors or deadlines, I just enjoy my time working with
a bright, friendly office,” Weirup said. Additionally, Charles Raike, a freshman in psychology, received an award for his volunteering as a Youth and Shelter Services GRIP mentor. He was also thanked for his work recruiting others to the program and raising $750 for GRIP’s Chilly Chili Challenge. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which put on numerous projects to benefit the community this year, was
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