
Summer 2008 IPRT Iowa Power Fund Proposals Move Ahead Two proposals from IPRT centers to the Iowa Power Fund have received preliminary approvals, while a company assisted by IPRT has had its proposal approved by the fund. The Power Fund was created by the State of Iowa to promote the goals of Iowa energy independence. It is administered by the State's new Office of Energy Independence. One project is a joint effort of IPRT’s Center for Catalysis and Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies. The proposed research has three parts. The first will be to develop methods for designing clean and efficient burners for low-BTU producer gas and medium-BTU syngas. The second is to develop catalysts and flow reactors to produce ethanol from medium-BTU synthesis gas. The project also proposes to upgrade the gasifier system located at the Iowa Energy Center’s Biomass Energy Conversion Facility, known as BECON, in Nevada, Iowa, to enable medium-BTU syngas production and greatly enhance capabilities for detailed gas analysis. The proposal notes that the project would enable the grain ethanol industry to reduce its natural gas demand and ultimately transition to cellulosic ethanol production. The project involves engineering and cost-share contributions from Frontline BioEnergy, Ames, Iowa, and Hawkeye Renewables, Iowa Falls, Iowa. Song-Charng Kong, professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University, is the principal investigator. In another project, a proposal for advanced solar energy conversion from scientists at IPRT's Microelectronics Research Center and a group of faculty members and scientists has been selected for negotiations for funding by Power Fund. In this project led by Vikram Dalal, MRC director, the group will work on thin-film solar cell materials and devices with a focus on increasing the efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity while using processes that keep manufacturing costs low. In addition to the two IPRT center projects, IPRT Company Assistance has worked with an Ames-based startup that has been approved for funding from the Iowa Power Fund. Cellencor, Inc. develops transformative technology for ethanol and other cellulosic energy providers. Its Power Fund proposal calls for a pilot demonstration using microwaves to remove moisture from wet distiller grains, to take place at an Iowa ethanol producer. The company believes microwave drying will be a more efficient way of drying the grains from an energy perspective and will provide environmental and nutritional advantages. IPRT Company Assistance helped manage and fund an earlier preliminary study at the BECON facility looking at the feasibility of using a mechanical moisture reduction step as a precursor to microwave drying. The research was done by Douglas Stokke, a scientist in Iowa State University's Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management and the Center for Crops Utilization Research. Brian Muff, a technology commercialization associate with IPRT Company Assistance, worked on the project. Bruce Wicking, CEO of Cellencor, says the project was a very positive experience. “Brian was very helpful, and came out to visit us several times to increase his understanding of the project.” IPRT The Power of Materials Groschopp Inc. of Sioux Center, Iowa, engineers and manufactures custom, high-reliability fractional horsepower electric motors and gear motors for some of the world’s most demanding “Original Equipment Manufacturers.” On several occasions, the company has turned to IPRT Company Assistance to help it maintain its reputation for products of the highest quality. Broken shafts in a gearbox assembly made by Groschopp could result in a failure of automated doors, golf ball washers, fluid pumps and many other applications. One project involved a critical spring in a small electric motor. The stainless steel spring was breaking during operation. Based on preliminary analysis, Loren Kamstra, an engineer at Groschopp, suspected that the cause was chlorine used in a lubricant by the spring supplier. He came to Paul Berge, a metallurgist in IPRT Company Assistance, to confirm the analysis and find a solution. Berge enlisted the assistance of Warren Straszheim of the Materials Analysis and Research Laboratory, part of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Iowa State University. Staszheim’s analysis confirmed that the springs did indeed show signs of chloride residue. The team analyzed a number of other samples to see if Groschopp could do anything to reduce the chlorine since its supplier was unwilling to do so. The samples all showed signs of chlorine, so Berge worked with Kamstra to specify an alloy material more resistant to chloride cracking. Although the new alloy was more expensive, this solution ensured that the springs would not break. “For the spring investigation alone, we saved around $5,000 per reported breakage,” says Kamstra. Groschopp was impressed with how quickly IPRT was able to turn the project around. “Our customer was also very appreciative of all the work IPRT did. They’re in the automotive industry, so to impress them says a lot,” Kamstra says. Berge and Rick Lopez, another IPRT scientist, also visited the company to share general advice on materials selection and nondestructive evaluation technologies. “We learned a lot from the IPRT scientists, which has led us to change the material on a lot of the shafts we heat treat,” Kamstra says. IPRT Science Bowls Attract Students from Around Iowa The Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Middle School Science Bowl in April marked the end of another successful season. IPRT is a major sponsor of both the high school and middle school science bowls. Several IPRT employees also volunteer at these events, including George Kraus, Bruce Thompson, Stan Bajic and Lynne Mumm. A middle school student prepares to race a hydrogen fuel-cell car as part of the Ames Laboratory/ISU Middle School Science Bowl in April. Sixteen teams competed in the middle school event. On the first day, students raced model hydrogen fuel-cell cars they built priot to the event. The next day they participated in a quiz bowl, testing their knowledge of science and math. Ogden won the car race. Evans Middle School from Ottumwa won the quiz bowl. The Evans team will compete in the U.S. Dept. of Energy National Middle School Science Bowl in Golden, Colo., this June. The high school competition took place in January with 48 teams. The winning team of home-schooled students from Cedar Rapids-Marion went to Washington, D.C,. to compete in the U.S. Dept. of Energy National High School Science Bowl. There, they finished fourth in their division of eight teams. IPRT Dividends from Company Assistance Project Continue Van Beek Natural Science, LLC, of Orange City, Iowa, is working with Iowa State University to investigate new, natural anti-bacterial products for animals. Lynne Mumm, program manager for the Technology Commercialization Group in IPRT Company Assistance, helped develop and fund research projects with the company and Byron Brehm-Stecher, a professor in Iowa State’s food science and human nutrition department.	NASA Selects Spacecraft Leak Detection Proposal A Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposal from Invocon, Inc. for a Spacecraft Leak Detection System was recently selected by NASA, which is funding the project for $600,000. IPRT's Center for Nondestructive Evaluation is the company's partner in the project. The CNDE work is led by Dale Chimenti, CNDE sicentist and professor of aerospace engineering at Iowa State. The team’s proposal is to monitor spacecraft structures for leaks using ultrasound. The system features a modular electronics package with integrated surface sensors, data acquisition electronics and radio communication capabilities. See the news release from Inovocon (PDF). IPRT Key in Ethanol Project IPRT researchers are an essential part of an Iowa State team developing technologies to produce ethanol from plant biomass. The effort recently garnered a $944,899 grant from the USDA and U.S. Dept. of Energy. Victor Lin, director of IPRT's Center for Catalysis and a professor of chemistry, will lead the project. It includes Robert C. Brown, the Iowa Farm Bureau Director of the Bioeconomy Institute and director of IPRT's Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies; George Kraus, IPRT director; and Justinus Satrio, a project manager at CSET. See Iowa State release. IPRT Exhibits at Economic Development Conference, Other Events IPRT Company Assistance reached economic developers, company representatives and government officials with its display at the Smart conference, held May 8 at the Polk County Convention Center. Over 400 attendees from around Iowa and the nation gathered to learn more about building Iowa's economy. IPRT's display featured company assistance success stories. The event was attended by Lynne Mumm, program manger, technology commercialization group, and Robert Mills, public affairs. IPRT displayed at a number of other events as well throughout the spring. IPRT, IPRT Company Assistance and Science Bound were featured in a display at the Iowa State Capitol during Iowa State University's 150th Anniversary celebration. IPRT's historical timeline was also included in the IPRT/Ames Laboratory tent at VEISHEA. And, IPRT's Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Virtual Reality Applications Center and Center for Catalysis all had posters featuring their research at the ISU Faculty Spring Conference in April. IPRT in the News • IPRT's Virtual Reality Applications Center was featured in the article, The Virtual Becomes Reality at Iowa State University, in Embedded Technology magazine. The publication is sent to 71,000 embedded product buyers. • IPRT’s Center for Nondestructive Evaluation was featured in a four-page article in the April 2008 issue of Inspection Trends magazine. With a circulation of 18,000, the magazine is published by the American Welding Society for certified welding inspectors. Advisory Board Guides IPRT The IPRT Industrial Advisory Board held is semi-annual meeting in March 2008. It learned more about IPRT Science Bound's program and about the Ames Laboratory/ISU Science Bowls, of which IPRT is a sponsor. The board also met with representatives from the Virtual Reality Applications Center and the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation. IPRT Industrial Advisory Board members include (front row, from left): Nan Mattai, Rockwell Collins, Inc.; Jack F. McGuire, Boeing Co. (retired); John A. Harris, Jr., United Technologies (retired); (back row, from left): Karl J. Sanford, Genencor; James White, Dow Corning Corp.; James Seaba, ConocoPhillips Co; Klaus Hoehn, Deere and Co.; and Christopher E. Borroni-Bird, General Motors Co.
The goal is to screen the anti-microbial activities of essential oils against food-related pathogenic bacteria. The first part of the project was successful as several oils were identified as candidates for product development, which is now underway in a second project. Emily Brehm-Stecher, an eighth grader at Ames Middle School, does digital microscopy for her science fair project. Her work was based in part on a project her father, Byron Brehm-Stecher, did with Van Beek Natural Science and IPRT Company Assistance. Brehm-Stecher reports that the project has other benefits as well. For starters, his daughter Emily used some of the leftover oils for her State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa presentation, “Antifungal Effects of Redistilled Clove Oil on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s Yeast).” Her poster placed sixth in the Eighth grade Biological Science division out of 40 posters. “She had a great time with this, her first science fair entry. She’s already looking forward to entering again next year,” says her father. Brehm-Stecher also introduced a new experiment to his "Food Microbiology Lab" class based on the Van Beek project. The experiment is on natural antimicrobials. In this lab, students used their choice of Van Beek oils against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus and compared disk diffusion results from the oils with an antibiotic control (gentamycin). “I think the students enjoyed this one, not only because of its relevance to today’s food science research, but also because it was the best smelling lab we’ve ever done,” says Brehm-Stecher. IPRT Science Bound: Making a World of Difference Science Bound, the pre-college educational program managed by IPRT, held its annual banquet in April to honor graduating participants from Des Moines Public Schools and Iowa State University. The program's goal is to increase the number of diverse young Iowans who pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This year, seven students graduated from high school, while four students earned their bachelor's degrees from Iowa State. Another former SB student, Tanasha Taylor, earned a master's degrees in Human Computer Interaction, a program of IPRT's Virtual Reality Applications Center. The event was held in Des Moines and featured distinguished speakers and special guests, including students from the new Science Bound program in the Denison (Iowa) Community School District. The keynote speaker was C. Larry Pope, CEO of Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer and sponsor of Science Bound’s expansion into Denison. “I believe education is a secret formula for success,” Pope said. IPRT Luis Mata-Perez, a graduating senior from Des Moines East, was among the Science Bound students honored at the program's annual Honors Banquet.
About IPRT News The Institute for Physical Research and Technology is a network of scientific research centers at Iowa State University. In addition to performing world-class scientific research, IPRT provides technical assistance and contract research services to Iowa companies and offers education programs for students from middle through graduate school. This monthly email newsletter is produced by IPRT Public Affairs for IPRT employees and all interested parties. • To subscribe and contribute news, contact: Robert Mills, IPRT Public Affairs, rmills@iastate.edu, 515-294-1113. • Viiew a Web version here. Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

Summer 2008

IPRT Iowa Power Fund Proposals Move Ahead

Two proposals from IPRT centers to the Iowa Power Fund have received preliminary approvals, while a company assisted by IPRT has had its proposal approved by the fund. The Power Fund was created by the State of Iowa to promote the goals of Iowa energy independence. It is administered by the State's new Office of Energy Independence.

One project is a joint effort of IPRT’s Center for Catalysis and Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies. The proposed research has three parts. The first will be to develop methods for designing clean and efficient burners for low-BTU producer gas and medium-BTU syngas. The second is to develop catalysts and flow reactors to produce ethanol from medium-BTU synthesis gas. The project also proposes to upgrade the gasifier system located at the Iowa Energy Center’s Biomass Energy Conversion Facility, known as BECON, in Nevada, Iowa, to enable medium-BTU syngas production and greatly enhance capabilities for detailed gas analysis.

The proposal notes that the project would enable the grain ethanol industry to reduce its natural gas demand and ultimately transition to cellulosic ethanol production. The project involves engineering and cost-share contributions from Frontline BioEnergy, Ames, Iowa, and Hawkeye Renewables, Iowa Falls, Iowa. Song-Charng Kong, professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University, is the principal investigator.

In another project, a proposal for advanced solar energy conversion from scientists at IPRT's Microelectronics Research Center and a group of faculty members and scientists has been selected for negotiations for funding by Power Fund. In this project led by Vikram Dalal, MRC director, the group will work on thin-film solar cell materials and devices with a focus on increasing the efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity while using processes that keep manufacturing costs low.

In addition to the two IPRT center projects, IPRT Company Assistance has worked with an Ames-based startup that has been approved for funding from the Iowa Power Fund. Cellencor, Inc. develops transformative technology for ethanol and other cellulosic energy providers. Its Power Fund proposal calls for a pilot demonstration using microwaves to remove moisture from wet distiller grains, to take place at an Iowa ethanol producer. The company believes microwave drying will be a more efficient way of drying the grains from an energy perspective and will provide environmental and nutritional advantages.

IPRT Company Assistance helped manage and fund an earlier preliminary study at the BECON facility looking at the feasibility of using a mechanical moisture reduction step as a precursor to microwave drying. The research was done by Douglas Stokke, a scientist in Iowa State University's Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management and the Center for Crops Utilization Research. Brian Muff, a technology commercialization associate with IPRT Company Assistance, worked on the project. Bruce Wicking, CEO of Cellencor, says the project was a very positive experience. “Brian was very helpful, and came out to visit us several times to increase his understanding of the project.” IPRT

The Power of Materials

Groschopp Inc. of Sioux Center, Iowa, engineers and manufactures custom, high-reliability fractional horsepower electric motors and gear motors for some of the world’s most demanding “Original Equipment Manufacturers.” On several occasions, the company has turned to IPRT Company Assistance to help it maintain its reputation for products of the highest quality.

[PHOTO] Groschopp, Inc. gearbox assembly Broken shafts in a gearbox assembly made by Groschopp could result in a failure of automated doors, golf ball washers, fluid pumps and many other applications.

One project involved a critical spring in a small electric motor. The stainless steel spring was breaking during operation. Based on preliminary analysis, Loren Kamstra, an engineer at Groschopp, suspected that the cause was chlorine used in a lubricant by the spring supplier. He came to Paul Berge, a metallurgist in IPRT Company Assistance, to confirm the analysis and find a solution. Berge enlisted the assistance of Warren Straszheim of the Materials Analysis and Research Laboratory, part of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Iowa State University. Staszheim’s analysis confirmed that the springs did indeed show signs of chloride residue.

The team analyzed a number of other samples to see if Groschopp could do anything to reduce the chlorine since its supplier was unwilling to do so. The samples all showed signs of chlorine, so Berge worked with Kamstra to specify an alloy material more resistant to chloride cracking. Although the new alloy was more expensive, this solution ensured that the springs would not break.

“For the spring investigation alone, we saved around $5,000 per reported breakage,” says Kamstra. Groschopp was impressed with how quickly IPRT was able to turn the project around. “Our customer was also very appreciative of all the work IPRT did. They’re in the automotive industry, so to impress them says a lot,” Kamstra says.

Berge and Rick Lopez, another IPRT scientist, also visited the company to share general advice on materials selection and nondestructive evaluation technologies. “We learned a lot from the IPRT scientists, which has led us to change the material on a lot of the shafts we heat treat,” Kamstra says. IPRT

Science Bowls Attract Students from Around Iowa

[PHOTO: Middle School Science Bound Student]

The Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Middle School Science Bowl in April marked the end of another successful season. IPRT is a major sponsor of both the high school and middle school science bowls. Several IPRT employees also volunteer at these events, including George Kraus, Bruce Thompson, Stan Bajic and Lynne Mumm.

A middle school student prepares to race a hydrogen fuel-cell car as part of the Ames Laboratory/ISU Middle School Science Bowl in April.

Sixteen teams competed in the middle school event. On the first day, students raced model hydrogen fuel-cell cars they built priot to the event. The next day they participated in a quiz bowl, testing their knowledge of science and math. Ogden won the car race. Evans Middle School from Ottumwa won the quiz bowl. The Evans team will compete in the U.S. Dept. of Energy National Middle School Science Bowl in Golden, Colo., this June.

The high school competition took place in January with 48 teams. The winning team of home-schooled students from Cedar Rapids-Marion went to Washington, D.C,. to compete in the U.S. Dept. of Energy National High School Science Bowl. There, they finished fourth in their division of eight teams. IPRT

Dividends from Company Assistance Project Continue

Van Beek Natural Science, LLC, of Orange City, Iowa, is working with Iowa State University to investigate new, natural anti-bacterial products for animals. Lynne Mumm, program manager for the Technology Commercialization Group in IPRT Company Assistance, helped develop and fund research projects with the company and Byron Brehm-Stecher, a professor in Iowa State’s food science and human nutrition department.

NASA Selects Spacecraft Leak Detection Proposal

A Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposal from Invocon, Inc. for a Spacecraft Leak Detection System was recently selected by NASA, which is funding the project for $600,000. IPRT's Center for Nondestructive Evaluation is the company's partner in the project. The CNDE work is led by Dale Chimenti, CNDE sicentist and professor of aerospace engineering at Iowa State.

The team’s proposal is to monitor spacecraft structures for leaks using ultrasound. The system features a modular electronics package with integrated surface sensors, data acquisition electronics and radio communication capabilities. See the news release from Inovocon (PDF).

IPRT Key in Ethanol Project

IPRT researchers are an essential part of an Iowa State team developing technologies to produce ethanol from plant biomass. The effort recently garnered a $944,899 grant from the USDA and U.S. Dept. of Energy. Victor Lin, director of IPRT's Center for Catalysis and a professor of chemistry, will lead the project. It includes Robert C. Brown, the Iowa Farm Bureau Director of the Bioeconomy Institute and director of IPRT's Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies; George Kraus, IPRT director; and Justinus Satrio, a project manager at CSET. See Iowa State release.

IPRT Exhibits at Economic Development Conference, Other Events

IPRT Company Assistance reached economic developers, company representatives and government officials with its display at the Smart conference, held May 8 at the Polk County Convention Center.

Over 400 attendees from around Iowa and the nation gathered to learn more about building Iowa's economy. IPRT's display featured company assistance success stories. The event was attended by Lynne Mumm, program manger, technology commercialization group, and Robert Mills, public affairs.

IPRT displayed at a number of other events as well throughout the spring. IPRT, IPRT Company Assistance and Science Bound were featured in a display at the Iowa State Capitol during Iowa State University's 150th Anniversary celebration. IPRT's historical timeline was also included in the IPRT/Ames Laboratory tent at VEISHEA. And, IPRT's Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Virtual Reality Applications Center and Center for Catalysis all had posters featuring their research at the ISU Faculty Spring Conference in April.

IPRT in the News

• IPRT's Virtual Reality Applications Center was featured in the article, The Virtual Becomes Reality at Iowa State University, in Embedded Technology magazine. The publication is sent to 71,000 embedded product buyers.

• IPRT’s Center for Nondestructive Evaluation was featured in a four-page article in the April 2008 issue of Inspection Trends magazine. With a circulation of 18,000, the magazine is published by the American Welding Society for certified welding inspectors.

Advisory Board Guides IPRT

The IPRT Industrial Advisory Board held is semi-annual meeting in March 2008. It learned more about IPRT Science Bound's program and about the Ames Laboratory/ISU Science Bowls, of which IPRT is a sponsor. The board also met with representatives from the Virtual Reality Applications Center and the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation.

IPRT Industrial Advisory Board members include (front row, from left): Nan Mattai, Rockwell Collins, Inc.; Jack F. McGuire, Boeing Co. (retired); John A. Harris, Jr., United Technologies (retired); (back row, from left): Karl J. Sanford, Genencor; James White, Dow Corning Corp.; James Seaba, ConocoPhillips Co; Klaus Hoehn, Deere and Co.; and Christopher E. Borroni-Bird, General Motors Co.

The goal is to screen the anti-microbial activities of essential oils against food-related pathogenic bacteria. The first part of the project was successful as several oils were identified as candidates for product development, which is now underway in a second project.

[PHOTO: Emily Brehm-Stecher] Emily Brehm-Stecher, an eighth grader at Ames Middle School, does digital microscopy for her science fair project. Her work was based in part on a project her father, Byron Brehm-Stecher, did with Van Beek Natural Science and IPRT Company Assistance.

Brehm-Stecher reports that the project has other benefits as well. For starters, his daughter Emily used some of the leftover oils for her State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa presentation, “Antifungal Effects of Redistilled Clove Oil on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s Yeast).” Her poster placed sixth in the Eighth grade Biological Science division out of 40 posters. “She had a great time with this, her first science fair entry. She’s already looking forward to entering again next year,” says her father.

Brehm-Stecher also introduced a new experiment to his "Food Microbiology Lab" class based on the Van Beek project. The experiment is on natural antimicrobials. In this lab, students used their choice of Van Beek oils against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus and compared disk diffusion results from the oils with an antibiotic control (gentamycin). “I think the students enjoyed this one, not only because of its relevance to today’s food science research, but also because it was the best smelling lab we’ve ever done,” says Brehm-Stecher. IPRT

Science Bound: Making a World of Difference

Science Bound, the pre-college educational program managed by IPRT, held its annual banquet in April to honor graduating participants from Des Moines Public Schools and Iowa State University. The program's goal is to increase the number of diverse young Iowans who pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This year, seven students graduated from high school, while four students earned their bachelor's degrees from Iowa State. Another former SB student, Tanasha Taylor, earned a master's degrees in Human Computer Interaction, a program of IPRT's Virtual Reality Applications Center.

The event was held in Des Moines and featured distinguished speakers and special guests, including students from the new Science Bound program in the Denison (Iowa) Community School District. The keynote speaker was C. Larry Pope, CEO of Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer and sponsor of Science Bound’s expansion into Denison. “I believe education is a secret formula for success,” Pope said. IPRT

Luis Mata-Perez, a graduating senior from Des Moines East, was among the Science Bound students honored at the program's annual Honors Banquet.

About IPRT News

The Institute for Physical Research and Technology is a network of scientific research centers at Iowa State University. In addition to performing world-class scientific research, IPRT provides technical assistance and contract research services to Iowa companies and offers education programs for students from middle through graduate school.

This monthly email newsletter is produced by IPRT Public Affairs for IPRT employees and all interested parties.
• To subscribe and contribute news, contact: Robert Mills, IPRT Public Affairs, rmills@iastate.edu, 515-294-1113.
• Viiew a Web version here.

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.