We are so excited to bring back our Capture Your Research art competition! For this competition, students, faculty, and staff can submit one image that sums up their research. In the past we have had entries that were traditional photography, microscopic photography, digital art, drawing, and more!
Get inspired by past submissions here and see full rules and submit your own artwork here! There are four categories for judging: undergraduate, graduate students, faculty/researcher, and people’s choice.
This competition is open to all students, faculty, and staff of the University of Iowa, not just those in the College of Engineering! We would love to see art from all over our campus. Submissions are due by October 8th. Submit your entry today!
Below are a few entries from our 2020 competition to inspire your own entries.
This summer we added a new category of tools to our tool library: Study Aids. These tools aim to reduce stress, manage time, and help with your study habits. They are available from the Engineering Library service desk for one-week checkout. If you have any needs or ideas for an additional study aid tool, let us know!
Light Box
Light Therapy Box with 10,000 Lux Brightness, UV-Free Light. 3 levels of brightness, countdown timer, and detachable stand. Light boxes are designed to deliver a therapeutic dose of bright light. Can be helpful in treating depression (especially seasonal effective disorder), and reestablishing a healthy sleep schedule.
Reader Pen
Scan full sentences or single words of printed text and listen to it being read out automatically via AI-based text recognition. The reader pen can define & read aloud the meaning of any word using built in dictionaries. No external app or internet access is required. 3.5mm headphone jack for use with ear buds or headphones. Helpful for people with dyslexia or who learn better by hearing.
Productivity Timer
This hexagonal timer helps you break up your work into 5, 15, 30, 45, or 60 minute intervals and can be used silently or with an alarm. Simply turn the timer so your desired interval is on top and get to work! Can be helpful for people with ADHD, time-blindness or lots of projects to manage at once.
Weighted Lap Pad
A lap pad is a sensory tool used to improve attention, focus, and ability to relax by applying pressure on a user’s legs. This 5 pound lap pad can be helpful for people with ADHD, anxiety, or trouble focusing.
Wobble Cushion
Wobble cushion can assist with focus and attention as it provides sensory input which increases body awareness. Each side has a different texture for additional sensory input. It can be used on a chair or on the ground.
Disclaimer: The Lichtenberger Engineering Library is not a legal entity and no one on staff is a lawyer. This guide is purely for helping you learn about and search for patents. If you need legal assistance, please consult a licensed lawyer.
Have you ever taken a close look at an item and found “Patent Pending” on the bottom? You’ve just found an item with a provisional patent! When a provisional patent is filed it provides one year of protection for the inventor and their intellectual property.
This HappyLight is protected by a pending patent and can be found in the Engineering Library’s Tool Collection
In the United States rights are granted to the first to file, not the first to invent. A provisional patent establishes the filer’s intellectual property as their own and allows the inventor 12 months to refine their invention, work on their permanent patent, or meet with investors. When the 12 month period is over the filer must file a patent in order to continue to have protection of their intellectual property.
A provisional patent is not a patent and does not provide intellectual property protection but it can be helpful in communicating to competitors that you intend to patent your work and infringing may lead to a court case. Provisional patents are not examined like full patents are, so when a full patent is filed it may still be rejected for not being novel.
A provisional patent does not always directly lead to a permanent patent. Flowchart from a USPTO presentation “Filing a Provisional Application.”
Are you interested in what a provisional patent could do for your and your ideas? Learn more at our upcoming workshop “Filing a Provisional Patent Application,” Thursday, September 14th, 2023 from 4:30-5:30 presented by LegalCORPS. Join us here in the Engineering Library Creative Space (2001C SC) or online. Register today at this link.
You may have heard there are a couple of big movies coming to theaters this weekend: Barbie and Oppenheimer. Read up more on these two world-changers before you see the movies!
Barbie
Barbara Millicent Roberts (Barbie) was released in 1959 and invented by Ruth Handler. You can read about Handler in Patently Female: from AZT to TV dinners.(Check out our Untold Stories in STEM collection for more inventions by women, people of color, and other historically underrepresented groups in STEM).
One of the most strongest parts of the Barbie brand is Mattel’s management of their intellectual property. Learn about patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property in our Patents LibGuide. The Lichtenberger Engineering Library is a Patent and Trademark Resource Center! Keep an eye out on our social media channels so you know when our next intellectual property workshop is coming up.
Back to the technical side of things, Barbies are created using a process called rotational molding. If you want to read about that and other plastics, check out Plastics: materials and processing.
If you’d like to look at some pretty Barbie dresses (who doesn’t?) you can check out Barbie: what a doll!from our friends over at the Art Library. We can even have it brought over to the Engineering Library for you to pick up using Interlibrary Loan.
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer the film primarily focuses on his time working on the Manhattan Project, also known as the project to build the atomic bomb. The Manhattan Project gives the reader an inside look at the project, using writings from the people who worked on it.
The discoveries of the Atomic Age also had a far-reaching cultural impact. Read more in The Age of Radiance.
Kari receiving her award. Bernhardt Award recipients get to wear a groovy hat, then add a pin from their institution and hand it on to the next awardee.
Last week we attended the annual conference of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) where Lichtenberger Engineering Library Director Kari Kozak was awarded with the Homer I. Bernhardt Distinguished Service Award by the Engineering Libraries Division (ELD).
From the Association Society of Engineers – Engineering Libraries Division:
The ASEE ELD 2023 Homer I. Bernhardt Distinguished Service Award goes to Kari Kozak of the University of Iowa. The Committee received an impressive nomination package for Ms. Kozak detailing her accomplishments and contributions and we unanimously agreed that she is this year’s recipient.
The Homer I. Bernhardt Distinguished Service Award recognizes contributions to the advancement and development of excellence in engineering libraries. As the nominating letter stated, “Kari’s contributions [to ELD] would dwarf what most…members strive for. “This announcement, therefore, will only be able to cover a sampling of Ms. Kozak’s achievements and contributions, but be assured, it goes well beyond what follows. Another letter detailed the seventeen (17!) intellectual contributions Kari has made to ASEE annual conferences in the past ten years. These include papers, posters, lightning talks, and moderating sessions. She also won the Best Poster Award in 2019 for her poster, “The Great Coffee Hunt: An Augmented Reality Scavenger Hunt.”
Beyond intellectual contributions, Kari has been a dedicated leader in the division, recently wrapping up the four-year officer track (secretary/treasurer, program chair, division chair, past chair/nominating committee chair). If that doesn’t paint the picture for you of her commitment and enthusiasm, just take last year at the ASEE 2022 Annual Conference in Minneapolis where Ms. Kozak “was division chair, she presented a paper at a technical session, presented a lightning talk, moderated a session, and led the annual business meeting. All in one conference!”
When discussing Ms. Kozak’s nomination, the committee recalled the overwhelming task of switching the 2021 Annual Conference to an online setting. While we had met virtually in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ASEE had initially intended the 2021conference to be back in person. However, due to various circumstances, the 2021 conference also was held virtually. The conference planning committee did a fantastic job of it overall, and we fondly remembered the wonderful details that Kari employed to keep the spirit of the ELD group. She worked with Hema Ramachandran (an awards committee member and Long Beach, California area resident) to identify and purchase a local treat that could be sent to ELD attendees (as the 2021 conference was set to take place in Long Beach that year). Kari worked tirelessly to create the typical atmosphere the ELD group experiences at the Annual Conference but in a virtual setting. And she absolutely succeeded! This is just yet another example of her amazing devotion to ELD.
However, as one letter pointed out, the “Bernhardt Award criteria aren’t focused solely on contributions to ASEE/ELD” and “Kari’s contributions to engineering librarianship go well beyond her ELD-related work.” Therefore it should come as no surprise that Ms. Kozak has had a tremendous impact as a librarian at the University of Iowa and beyond. She has been the Director of the Lichtenberger Engineering Library since 2012. In addition, she has been a leader in TRAIL (Technical Report Archive and Library), STELLA(Science, Technology, and Engineering Library Leaders in Action), and Atmospheric Science Librarians International. She has been on advisory boards for ASME, IEEE, ASTM, and Engineering Village. Multiple letters of support from University of Iowa faculty members were provided as part of the nomination package. They touch upon her teaching, as well as her commitment to innovative spaces and programs for engineering students. To name a few, she created the Engineering Tools Library, the Creative Space Room, and the Kick-Start Fund. Her letters of support from colleagues at Iowa use words and phrases like “amazed,” “blown away,” “devoted,” and “an invaluable resource,” to name a few. The Committee agrees wholeheartedly with these descriptions of Kari and her work. Kari, as the nominating letter concludes, is truly “an exceptional and outstanding librarian.”
Congratulations, Kari, for demonstrating the epitome of what “distinguished service” to ELD and beyond looks like!
We’re at that time of the year again and its time to wish our graduating student workers happy trails. This semester we have only one graduate: Jide Babawale.
Hometown: Hazel Crest, IL
Major: Chemical Engineering
How long have you worked at the Engineering Library? Since the beginning of my Junior year, so for about four semesters.
What are your plans after graduation? Work as a reliability engineer for Abbott in Columbus, OH
Do you have any advice for new students? Get involved early and step out of your comfort zone.
What’s a fun fact about yourself? I’ve read the whole Harry Potter series six separate times.
Good luck Jide and thank you for all your hard work!
The weather has been beautiful this week, so we’re all looking for things to do outside. How about plan your garden this year? We can help! Yes, we have gardening books. Here are a few to get you started:
Feeling ready to dig-in? If you use our resources to create your own garden come in and show us! We would love to hear about how you are changing and improving the world around you.
We were honored earlier this year to be named a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). During the month of April we’re highlighting that designation with workshops and a celebration. Check out the list of events and workshops below to get involved and explore intellectual property!
Tuesday, April 11, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm:Protecting Your Ideas: Introduction to Patents, Trademarks & Intellectual Property – Explore the hidden world of patents and trademarks. This workshop will feature a basic introduction to what a patents and trademarks are, the various types of patents in existence, and how to complete patents searches to begin the process. In addition to providing inventor exclusive rights to products, patents also give great detailed information on certain products and methods that can help you in the designing the development stages. Taught by Kari Kozak, Director, Lichtenberger Engineering Library. Note: The presenter is not lawyer. This session is for helping you learn the basics about intellectual property and search for patents and trademarks, legal advice will not be provided. This is part of our Business Building Blocks series. To explore all of the workshops in the series visit here.
Thursday, April 13, 3:30 pm – 4:20 pm: Turning Inventions into Profit – Join us for a discussion on how to build strong IP portfolios and commercialize innovations. We will talk about diligence requirements and strategies to bring a product to market. Mihaela Bojin is an Associate Director at the University of Iowa Research Foundation (UIRF). UIRF protects and commercializes technologies developed at the University of Iowa. Mihaela holds a PhD in Chemistry from Cornell University, is a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), and a registered patent agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Friday, April 21 , 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm:Patent and Trademark Resource Center Designation Celebration – Everyone is invited to an open house celebrating the Lichtenberger Engineering Library’s designation as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC). The library is now part of a select group of higher education institutions and public libraries across the country – and only one of two in Iowa – to have the ability to access valuable resources offered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Engineering Research Open House is coming up! For those of you who are presenting, here are a few tips to ensure your poster makes a good impression:
Think about your audience: Think about who is present at the event you are at and who you want to come talk to you. While a picture of your cute cat might get people to look at your poster but unless your cat was a central part of your research that’s not what you want to talk to people about.
Less Is More: Think of your poster as a business card for your research, not a full article. Find a balance between visual interest and big points to pull people in.
Find a balance between negative and positive space: Design your poster to look full but not cluttered. This is a difficult and important balance to hit. Too much negative space and your poster will look incomplete but if your poster is too full it will look busy and cluttered.
Templates are your friend: Using a template is a great way to make poster making much easier. Templates for the University of Iowa can be found here, but if you’re presenting at a conference make sure to check their poster rules to make sure your poster is the correct size.
Want more information on making an effective poster? Come to our upcoming workshop: Creating a Research Poster on Thursday, March 30 at 3:30 in the Engineering Creative Space. The workshop is FREE but you need to visit this page to register. This workshop will help you make your poster presentation more effective. Learn to think about the prospective audience, poster content, and design considerations in a poster layout. Presented by Dr. Michelle Scherer. University of Iowa Distinguished Chair and professor of civil and environmental engineering, & Director of the Hanson Center for Communication (HCC).
Sources
“Research Guides: How to Create a Research Poster: Poster Basics,” n.d. https://guides.nyu.edu/posters.
Stuckey, Matthew, and Tammy Hoyer. “How to Make an Effective Poster.” University of California Davis, n.d. https://urc.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk3561/files/local_resources/documents/pdf_documents/How_To_Make_an_Effective_Poster2.pdf.
