The IGNITE Innovation Showcase is an opportunity to view displays, exhibitions, presentations, panels and speakers, celebrations and awards, poster sessions, and explore what innovation looks like at Iowa State!
IGNITE Week-Long Displays
Mayors’ Workshop: Civic Hydrology | College of Design
Building on the Iowa Mayors’ Design Workshop, this interdisciplinary studio (College of Design and Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering) partners with Iowa communities to reimagine flood and drainage landscapes as celebrated, vital civic spaces.
Location: Next to Room 4202
Explore the Culinary Creation Lab: Hospitality in Action | College of Health and Human Sciences
Stop by our booth outside the CCL to pick up flyers and learn about exciting courses and opportunities in Hospitality Management.
Location: Next to Room 3238
Grad Mixer Wednesday: Graduate Research and Innovation Showcase | Graduate College
Graduate students from diverse disciplines showcase their cutting-edge research through visually engaging poster presentations.
Location: Across from Room 3204
A UNESCO World Heritage Center for Santa Fe, New Mexico | College of Design
Explore student designs for a UNESCO World Heritage Center in Santa Fe, inspired by Ancestral Puebloan culture. Projects range from rehabilitating historic structures to new construction by interdisciplinary teams.
Location: Third Floor Hallways
Bio Design Challenge Exhibition | College of Design
See the Bio Design Projects tackling environmental challenges created by five interdisciplinary teams. One team will be selected to represent ISU at the 2025 MoMA Biodesign Challenge in NYC.
Location: Room 2260
Workplace of Tomorrow | College of Design
Explore an exhibition showcasing the culmination of an interdisciplinary design studio that blends well-being, technology, society, and inclusivity in the design of future technology workplaces.
Location: Room 2260
Language at Work | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
View posters showing how linguists see the amazing work that language does in conveying thoughts, connecting communities, and communicating with technology.
Location: Next to Room 2260
College of Design Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows Program | College of Design
Each fellow is leading a project aligned with two primary themes – Digital Innovation and Civic Entrepreneurship – emphasizing meaningful opportunities for student and community engagement.
Funding for this year’s I+E Faculty Fellowships is provided through generous support from Steve and Mary Jane Foutch.
Location: Across from Room 2239
Borehole Monitoring | College of Engineering
Meet the borehole monitoring team working to improve clean water access in Ullo, Ghana. Through innovative design and local partnerships, they’re helping make safe, filtered water available across the community.
Location: Next to Room 2237
Start Something LAS Academy Display | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Check out the innovative work of students in the Start Something LAS Academy! This poster display showcases the program’s first-year students and their creative businesses and projects. Come learn, get inspired, and support these student innovators!
Location: Next to Room 2231
Fabricated – Designed, Digitized, and Brought to Life | College of Health and Human Sciences
This exhibition highlights the creative process from digital concept to physical form, celebrating the future of fashion through technology-driven design.
Location: Next to Room 2222
Toying with Technologies | College of Health and Human Sciences
Teaching + tech = total chaos? Not here! Come see how our students turned coding toys into lesson-planning sidekicks. Warning: cuteness and cleverness levels are high.
Location: Next to Room 2221
Showcasing ISU Learning Communities Innovations! | Learning Communities
Learning Communities serve 6700+ students annually. The 79 ISU Learning Communities continue to innovate the curricular, co-curricular, and social experience for incoming students.
Location: Next to Room 2221
Engineers Without Borders-Iowa State Chapter | College of Engineering
View the work of EWB-ISU and their design and implementation of infrastructure addressing water insecurity, waste disposal, and healthcare access in Ullo, Ghana.
Location: Next to Room 2221
AI Workshop + Design Charrette
Using AI tools and the PAD model, students designed and refined human-centered visions for 2041, exploring how AI creativity, emotional design, and a collaborative Charrette shaped future workplaces.
Location: Across from Room 2221
Bringing Light to the Invisible | College of Design & College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
View the wonders of the microscopic world through this display of innovation and creativity, created by Scientific Illustration and Visualization students.
Location: Room 2106
Design Entrepreneurship Concept Showcase | College of Design
Our talented Design Entrepreneurship students have been hard at work crafting innovative business plans and creating stunning posters to showcase their visionary projects.
Location: Next to Room 2102
Made / Unmade in Iowa: Beyond Extraction | College of Design
Mockups of sustainable 3D-printed concrete structures to showcase student innovations using recycled materials to create low-carbon, affordable, and resilient housing solutions for rural Iowa.
Location: First Floor East Wall Interior & Exterior
Paper Palaces | College of Design
Inspired by Japanese printmaking, view “Paper Palaces”— sculptures that use print and folding techniques to explore identity, cultural exchange, and global narratives.
Location: East Multipurpose Space
IE 3480 Design/Cut/Weld | College of Engineering
See how students transformed a 2-foot piece of steel into a 3D object by designing in CAD, cutting pieces with a CNC plasma cutter, and welding their creations together.
Location: Across from Room 1202
Daily Innovations | Student Innovation Center
Experience innovative student work from across campus and all disciplines, including course-based projects, in this exhibit celebrating creativity, research, and hands-on learning.
Location: Room 1010 (First Floor North Wall)
@CAPACITY | College of Design
Explore the work of the students in this interdisciplinary studio exploring innovative audio-centric design interventions exploring the intersection of reuse, recycling, and creative technology.
Location: Room 0253
PRISUM Solar Car | College of Engineering
See a solar-powered car designed, built, and raced across the country by PRISUM Solar Car students. Learn about the process of building a solar car and what it took to compete in last summer’s race.
Location: Basement Atrium
Exosuits, Battlebots, and SnowPlows | College of Engineering
You like robots? We build exosuits, fight robots, and create robots that PLOW! Come see the exciting work we do in the Robotics Club and get involved in our innovative projects!
Location: Basement Atrium along Lecture Hall Wall
Cardinal Space Mining Club | College of Engineering
Explore space robotics with the Cardinal Space Mining Club! See our lunar mining rovers built for NASA’s Lunabotics Challenge.
Location: Basement Atrium along Lecture Hall Wall
View IGNITE Schedule
Find out what’s happening every day during IGNITE 2025 in the Student Innovation Center.