ISU Wonders Will Travel to the State Fair by Anne Dolan Fair goers at the state of Iowa's great get-together next month will be treated to some tried-and-tested technology coming out of Iowa State. "Iowa State Works Wonders" is the repeat theme this summer for the university's exhibit in the Varied Industries Building. More than 100,000 people pop through the building annually. The featured wonders come from the colleges of Education and Engineering. John Littrell, professor of professional studies in education, specializes in "Brief Counseling" methods that speed clients' progress by focusing on desired results rather than problems. The emphasis is on finding solutions to common concerns quickly. A visual display will explain what brief counseling is and situations for which it's most suited. A touch-screen computer will lead fair visitors through several vignettes that demonstrate the brief counseling process. Also featured will be the laser optic fiber research of Steve Martin, associate professor of materials science and engineering. Martin and Cedar Rapids surgeon Gerald Shirk developed a new fiber that improves laser surgery because it limits tissue damage, cuts costs and minimizes patient discomfort. In addition to a visual display of the new fiber, the exhibit will include interactive laser light and optic fiber stations to help visitors understand the science behind the technology. Also at the general university exhibit will be a repaired PrISUm Cynergy, Iowa State's entry in last month's nine-day Sunrayce '95. When a tire on the solar-powered car blew about 30 miles from the finish line in Golden, Colo., the car crashed into a guard rail. With penalty time for being towed in, the car still finished 19th in a starting field of 38. ISU faculty and staff volunteers will be on hand to apply non-permanent Cy tattoos -- featuring the new ISU athletic logo -- on eager Cyclone fans. Football schedule posters and cards will be handed out and visitors can register in a daily drawing for two tickets to the Iowa State-Iowa football game in Ames Sept. 16, various Iowa State Center performance tickets and T-shirts featuring the new athletic logo. In addition to the general university exhibit, Iowa State will be represented at the fair at other sites. Also in the Varied Industries Building, an exhibit by the Ames Laboratory will demonstrate a patented powder metallurgy technology developed by Iver Anderson, an Ames Lab metallurgist and adjunct professor of materials science and engineering. A working model of Anderson's high pressure gas atomizer simulates how the device produces very fine, high- quality metal powders that are ideal for molding complex shapes. Used in the production of items such as car engine parts, powder metallurgy is preferred over the traditional molten metal process because of its properties of heat and corrosion resistance, strength, conductivity and durability. The College of Agriculture's exhibit in the Ag Building highlights and previews the September opening of the Reiman Gardens. It will feature dozens of flowering plants and foliage that appeal to the five senses: sight, smell, touch, hearing or taste. No, you won't be asked to chew on leaves; the "taste" category will include candies, such as green apple or peppermint, and the plants from which their flavors come. Fair goers can register to win garden calendars and filled candy jars. The College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) will demonstrate how youth 4-H activities help 4-H'ers make choices about majors and careers. The exhibit will be in the 4-H Building and, through photographs and written comments, feature about a dozen FCS undergraduates who are former 4- H'ers. It also features FCS alumni and the careers they have chosen. ISU Extension will have a strong presence at the fair through thousands of 4-H displays, presentations and animal showings. The Iowa State Fair begins Thursday, Aug. 10, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 20. Exhibit buildings are open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. _____ contact; Anne Dolan, Internal Communications, (515) 294-7065 updated: 7-28-95