May 2025 Newsletter

April 28, 2025

2025 Iowa NSF EPSCoR Symposium

The Iowa NSF EPSCoR 2025 Chemurgy 2.0 Symposium will be held on July 24, 2025, at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Schindler Education Center (SEC), 2300 Indiana St., Cedar Falls, IA 50614. Symposium check in starts at 8:15 a.m. and goes until 8:40 a.m. Please find the registration link and agenda below. Instructions for poster submissions will be provided as the symposium date approaches.

Register by the end of the day on June 6, 2025.

Registration link

Agenda

8:15 AM – Check-in
8:45 AM – Welcome, Announcements, Focused Networking Activity I
9:00 AM – Keynote Presentation: Jeff DeGrange, Chief Commercial Officer, Impossible Objects Inc.
10:00 AM – External Evaluators
10:30 AM – Focal Area Breakout Meeting
11:25 AM – Group Photo
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Lunch
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM – Poster Session 1 (presenters at their posters)
12:15 PM – 12:45 PM – Open Networking Time
12:45 PM – 1:30 PM – Poster Session 2 (presenters at their posters)
1:35 PM – 1:50 PM – Year 3: Vision and Planning
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Concurrent Session 1
2:40 PM – 3:10 PM – Concurrent Session 2
3:20 PM – 3:50 PM – Focused Networking Activity II
3:55 PM – 4:15 PM – Poster & Networking Awards. Closing Remarks

*Note: agenda is subject to change

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Seed Funding Opportunity

The Education & Workforce Development (EWD) Seed Program aims to support pilot and starter outreach and education initiatives. If you know of someone who might be interested, please share the EWD seed funding call with them.
Round 2 proposals will open on or before July 1, 2025.

News

Summer 2025 Mentored Research Projects

We are thrilled to announce the Summer 2025 EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Projects! The initiative offers students at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) the chance to engage in cutting-edge bioscience and advanced manufacturing research.

This year's program features four exciting projects:

Molecular Simulations of Protein Interactions

Location: Dordt University, Sioux Center, IA
Mentor: Dr. Manuela Ayee-Leong
Focus: Computational modeling of proteins for diagnostics and therapeutics

Analyzing Polymerization Kinetics in Nucleoprotein Macromolecules

Location: University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
Mentor: Dr. Ali Tabei
Focus: Developing computational codes using hidden Markov models and nonlinear fitting techniques

Synthesis of Isatins through DMSO-Mediated Oxidation of Indigo

Location: Central College, Pella, IA
Mentor: Dr. James Shriver
Focus: Low-cost synthesis of indirubins for potential pharmaceutical applications

Synthesis of Superabsorbent Polymers from Renewable Sources

Location: Central College, Pella, IA
Mentor: Dr. Jay Wackerly
Focus: Developing novel polymeric products from corn-derived molecules

Please join us for a webinar, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 12th at 11am CST to learn more about these projects from these mentor/student teams. More info and Zoom link to come.

Promotions and Awards

We are proud to celebrate the recent promotions and awards within our community.

Dr. Monica Lamm, Associate Director for Education, Workforce Development, and Broadening Participation, has been promoted to Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University, recognizing her outstanding leadership and commitment to STEM education.

Congratulations to Jodi McGill, recipient of the Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research, and to Linda Shenk, our SciComm@ISU partner, honored with the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. Their achievements are part of a broader celebration recognizing more than 75 exceptional faculty and staff members this year.

Read the full list of honorees here.

New Faculty Spotlight: Jessica Anderson

Join us in welcoming Assistant Professor of Practice Jessica Anderson to the ISU Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering! Focusing on industry partnerships, Jess is bringing real-world applications to enhance student engagement in program coursework. Here’s Jess in her own words:

I am a homegrown Iowan, and went to high school eight miles north of Ames at Gilbert. I went to the University of Iowa and received a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering. After graduation I worked for a small medical device company in Johnston, Iowa, focusing on wireless medical monitors for military use. I spent five years there focusing on research and development and the transition process to full-scale production. Following that, I made a pivot to the agriculture industry and went to work for ALMACO in Nevada, Iowa. I spent four years focusing on new product development for seed research farm equipment as an innovation engineer, focusing on design and testing.

As an Assistant Professor of Practice, I am focusing on workforce development, specifically within the biological and biomanufacturing systems technology option in the industrial technology program. This is the first full academic year that the program has been offered, and part of my role is getting students interested in this career path with outreach opportunities as well as seeking industry input on skills and competencies for students to better prepare them to enter the industry. I will also be teaching some of the technology systems management courses starting in the fall.

Events

NSF Division of Chemistry Early-Career Investigator Workshop (Virtual)

Friday, June 6, 2025, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT
Advance registration is required to attend.

Complete Zoom webinar registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the meeting and an optional questionnaire for planning purposes.

Representatives from the U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry (NSF CHE) will hold an outreach and networking workshop for early-career faculty, with a focus on proposal development for the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program. This workshop will also include an overview of the NSF merit review process, mock panel review, an introduction to various NSF CHE programs and priorities, Q&A sessions, and opportunities to interact online with program officers and peers.

NSF EPSCoR promotional image

2025 Iowa NSF EPSCoR Symposium
The second annual Iowa NSF EPSCoR Symposium will be held on July 24, 2025, at Schindler Education Center (SEC), 2300 Indiana St., Cedar Falls, IA 50614, at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.