Faces of Discovery

The same persistence that fueled his long-distance races now drives his quest to reinvent electronics manufacturing. Secor leads a research group at Iowa State focused on aerosol jet printing, a specialized additive manufacturing technique for electronics.

Ethan Secor, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Imagine being accused of a crime you didn’t commit. The evidence is shaky, but the prosecutor offers you a deal: plead guilty and serve 15 years in prison—or go to trial and risk 55. What would you do?

Miko Wilford, Associate Professor, Psychology

Some of the most important research helps bridge the gap between innovation and impact—engineering systems that bring sustainable technologies to life.

Mark Mba Wright, Professor, Mechanical Engineering

By measuring moisture levels across large areas with satellites, we can predict where crops might be struggling long before we see visible signs of drought damage. That means farmers can make better decisions about marketing, conservation, and planting strategies, and we can build better models to anticipate future climate challenges.

Brian Hornbuckle, Professor, Agronomy

In our society, we are so heavily driven on drugs, pharmaceuticals, and finding a cure for everything. But we have 2 million people in the U.S. living with Parkinson’s disease right now, and researchers often forget about this. Who knows if there will ever be a cure. But if there is a way to slow it down, make patients’ quality of life better, and they can do that by just singing? That is a pretty big impact on its own.

Elizabeth Stegemoller, Associate Professor, Kinesiology

Learning from the past and how people have adapted in this ecosystem . . . is invaluable in helping us adapt to the present time and the future.

Julie Courtwright, Associate Professor, History