Research

Religious studies professor says many saw Dolly Parton as a spiritual icon, too
In an essay published in The Conversation, Sarah Dees, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, says many of Parton's fans considered her a spiritual icon as well as a musical one.

August 28, 2026
LAS research thrives despite funding shortfalls
Despite an overall downward trend in federal funding for universities across the country, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences researchers continue to prioritize groundbreaking discoveries in numerous areas of study, including AI, substance abuse prevention, food insecurity, biomedical research, sustainability, and more.

August 27, 2026
LAS researchers are part of university teams that receive funding for AI-focused projects
The spring 2026 Research and Innovation Roundtable (RIR) – Leveraging AI to Advance Life Sciences and Agriculture – resulted in six projects selected for seed funding support from the Office of the President. All RIR projects are viewed as investments in the future of Iowa State University as outlined in the 2022–2031 Strategic Plan.

August 20, 2026
Book explores changes in attitudes and assumptions about crime
A new book by Professor Matt DeLisi, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, and Matt Logan, associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Texas State University, examines how changing attitudes and assumptions have influenced public thinking about crime, highlighting a gap between perception and research on chronic offending. This "criminal naïveté," they write, shapes debates on safety, accountability and criminal‑justice policy.

August 20, 2026
Classroom solution evolves into public resource for navigating AI tools
As artificial intelligence tools debut and evolve at a rapid pace, Department of Computer Science Professor Wei Le and her students are developing a public website that tracks new AI releases and helps users make sense of the fast-changing technology.

August 17, 2026
Antenna-like cell appendage linked to turtles’ sex-deciding warmth-sensing
A new study led by Professor Nicole Valenzuela in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, suggests an antenna-like cellular sensor that’s a growing focus in human health could play a central role in how turtles become male or female, which in most species is based on incubation temperature.

August 7, 2026
Digital repository preserves El Salvador’s last Indigenous language
Hugo Salgado, assistant professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University, is protecting one of the world’s most endangered languages by documenting not only how it is spoken, but also the cultural knowledge embedded within it. Through an open-access digital repository, Salgado is preserving Nawat, the only Indigenous language still spoken in El Salvador.

July 28, 2026
LAS research projects selected for U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission
Iowa State researchers, including some in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, are part of a national initiative to build the most powerful integrated science discovery platform by uniting government, industry, academia and philanthropy. The projects will accelerate breakthroughs in energy, scientific discovery and national security through a new platform that combines artificial intelligence, supercomputing, quantum systems and advanced scientific instruments.

July 22, 2026