Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy research facility operated for the federal government by Iowa State University. It is a mission-oriented research and development laboratory with a strong background in the physical and analytical sciences. In addition, Ames Laboratory has a rich history of exploring alternative energy sources, such as solar energy and biorenewable resources, and developing environmentally friendly technologies. Ames Laboratory has served as DOE’s lead laboratory in managing the environmental assessment of processes related to energy recovery from agricultural wastes and biomass. Its researchers have also developed new techniques to enhance the fermentation and distillation processes associated with ethanol production. The scientists in its Biorenewable Resources Consortium also work closely with their counterparts in ISU’s Center for Sustainable Energy Technologies. Ames Laboratory and the center are both members of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, a network of 10 research and development centers on the ISU campus.

Iowa State University is a broad-based university of international stature with more than 27,000 students from all 50 states and approximately 115 other nations. As Iowa’s land-grant university, ISU carries out a three-part mission for the state’s citizens: learning, discovery and engagement. ISU has embarked on a campaign to be recognized as the best land-grant university in the nation. The university is widely recognized for its programs in agronomy, seed science, molecular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and statistics. As evidence of that strength, ISU is home to two world-class research programs:

The Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station is a U.S. Department of Agriculture research program focused on biological, physical and social sciences that supports major programs in agriculture, natural resources and family and consumer sciences at ISU. Scientists work in 19 centers, services and institutes, in on-campus laboratories, at 12 outlying research farms, and in the fields and business places of partners throughout the state. Additionally, the organization administers ISU’s Seed Science Center and Center for Crops Utilization. These facilities provide state-of-the-art pilot plants where new technology can be tested before being transferred to industry.

The Plant Sciences Institute is a research and development enterprise for making plants much more valuable in feeding the world's population, in production of farm animals and in providing biobased fuels, products and industrial feedstocks. The goal of the Institute is to use the expertise at Iowa State to develop new products, new jobs and new companies by using plants to replace petroleum as the material basis of our economy. The Institute serves as an umbrella organization for a group of six centers, each focused on specific areas of the plant sciences, and utilizes the expertise of faculty and staff members in some 25 ISU departments. Other partners include the Seed Science Center and Center for Crops Utilization Research, and the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition, which is administered by the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.