Space Exploration Fueling Focus of WSU Mechanical Engineering Student's NASA Research
When mechanical engineering student Carl Bunge was 3 years old, his brother and sister convinced him he was an alien born from an egg his parents found in a field.

“I started thinking, maybe I’m different from these Earthlings around me,” he said. “I guess that started a journey of looking up at the sky.”

The Washington State University senior from Monroe, Wash., will continue studying the heavens as recipient of a highly competitive NASA Space Grant Fellowship that will provide $70,000 a year in research support. He will spend summers interning at one of NASA’s space centers.

He is the second WSU student to win the grant. Both Bunge and Ian Richardson, who received the award last year, work in the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research lab with Jake Leachman, assistant professor in the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

See article at WSU News, https://news.wsu.edu/2016/05/02/nasa-funds-student-study-fueling-space-exploration.

#engineering   #fuel   #energy   #hydrogen   #spaceexploration   #NASA   #WSU   #GoCougs   #spacestation  

PHOTO GALLERY: WSU Pullman Commencement
More than 3,000 participated in three Washington State University Pullman commencement ceremonies on May 7. View them via archived videostream at http://www.experience.wsu.edu.

Photos by Dean Hare, WSU Photo Services

#WSU   #WSUCougars   #GoCougs   #graduation   #commencement  

AgTech Accelerator, WSU partner to support agtech startups

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University will further agricultural technology innovation nationwide as a partner institution of AgTech Accelerator’s launch in North Carolina this week and closing of $11.5 million in initial financing.

“WSU’s long history in agriculture research and technology development makes it a natural partner for this endeavor that is moving the industry into the modern age,” said Anson Fatland, Associate Vice President of Economic Development at WSU.

“Businesses that serve the agriculture industry must convert increasingly complex and integrated early-stage technology into differentiated solutions and products. It is really difficult for global agribusinesses to do it all in-house and R&D timelines are compressing. This necessitates new, external innovation and collaboration models,” said John W. Dombrosky, CEO of AgTech Accelerator. “Our university partnerships and our unique model fosters a ‘new entrepreneurialism in agriculture,’ enabling new startups to fill a wide variety of important AgTech innovation gaps.”

The AgTech Accelerator is a strategic partner with Accelerator Corporation., a biotech investment group that has greatly expanded WSU’s access to seasoned investors and industry mentors who are well-versed in how to launch successful biotech and agtech startups.

As WSU continues to ramp up its commercialization efforts, technologies like those developed by faculty at the Center for Precision and Automated Agriculture Systems, have potential to become candidates for agtech startup companies.

In turn, WSU’s faculty expertise and state-of-the-art technological support facilities will become part of the shared core assets available to AgTech Accelerator companies, enhancing scientific collaboration across the region.

“The success of new technologies and companies relies heavily on the entrepreneur’s network of advisors and resources,” said Anson Fatland. “This partnership greatly expands WSU’s network, and is a new avenue for the University to support the local economy.”

The partnership with AgTech Accelerator is WSU’s second accelerator partnership. The first was a biotech venture launched in 2014 by Accelerator Corp.

AgTech Accelerator, established in 2016 in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, is a unique startup accelerator vehicle focused on discovering and developing emerging agricultural technology companies. Leveraging its experienced single management team, committed investors and academic institutional partners, AgTech Accelerator identifies, forms, finances and manages the most promising emerging agriculture companies to drive commercialization. For more information, visit www.agtechaccelerator.com.

WSU is one of seven university partners that include: Duke University; North Carolina State University; Penn State University; Purdue University; University of California, Davis; and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

See WSU News online at https://news.wsu.edu/2016/05/06/wsu-agtech-accelerator-partner-support-agtech-startups.


Contact: Alyssa Patrick, 206-219-2427, [email protected]

#agriculture   #agribusiness   #agriculturetechnology   #agtech   #WSU   #GoCougs  

WINE AND ARCHITECTURE INTERSECT - Unique, 'impossible' wine rack designed by WSU architecture students
Despite doubts, Leah Engelhardt and Jingxian Xie’s, WSU architecture graduate students, created a modular wine rack that colleagues tabbed as virtually impossible.

They were trying to create a modular wine rack in their furniture design class, and their colleagues thought the project’s intricate design and complex geometry were impossible: The team could achieve a digital version but not a physical model.

“They said it was not possible,’’ said Xie, “so we were going to make it happen.’’

The women created a unique and beautiful piece that was featured at a recent Washington State University research showcase and a Mom’s Weekend event.

The wine rack, which can hold 22 bottles, looks more like art than furniture. Taking their inspiration from cloth weaving, the students created a design that allows users to store bottles both horizontally and vertically.

The designers used 3D digital modeling tools to create a lattice structure in four separate layers ...

See https://news.wsu.edu/2016/05/04/students-challenged-create-intricate-wine-rack

Contact: Tina Hilding, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture, thilding-at-wsu.edu

#wine   #architecture   #furnituredesign   #winery   #3dprinting   #WSU   #GoCougs   #interiordecor  

MICROBIOLOGY - Bacteria use traffic-cop-like mechanism to infect gut - WSU, Harvard research shows
PULLMAN, Wash. – A study has found that a cellular syringe-like device used to invade intestinal cells also acts as a traffic cop – directing bacteria where to go and thereby enabling them to efficiently carry out infection.

The findings by researchers at Washington State University and Harvard University appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (http://www.pnas.org/content/113/17/4794.long).

The discovery is significant in that it reveals a mechanism that is critical to a pathogen’s success and increases the possibility that scientists can one day thwart the ability of intestinal germs to cause gastrointestinal disease.

See article at WSU News https://news.wsu.edu/2016/05/03/bacteria-use-traffic-cop-like-mechanism-infect-gut

#microbiology #bacteria   #bacterialinfection   #pathology   #gastrology   #digestion   #medicine   #NAS   #WSU   #Harvard  

IT'S THROWBACK THURSDAY!
With a focus on this weekend's WSU commencement, here's a peek at those activities at Washington State College, June 18, 1912. Hey, do you remember who the featured speaker was at your graduation? Photo courtesy of Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections. (click twice to enlarge)

#‎WSUGrad #WSU   #GoCougs   #TBT   #graduation   #commencement   #throwbackthrusday  

WSU HISTORIAN LANDS GUGGENHEIM AWARD
Washington State University historian and author Matthew Avery Sutton has been appointed a 2016 Guggenheim fellow “on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise.” 

Sutton’s $50,000 prize in the U.S. history category will fund work on his book, tentatively titled “FDR’s Army of Faith: Religion and Espionage in World War II,” to be published by Basic Books in 2019. Learn more at https://connect.cas.wsu.edu/october-2015/a-secret-history-of-politics-religion-espionage.

Sutton is the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor in the WSU Department of History (http://history.wsu.edu) and teaches courses at WSU Pullman in 20th century U.S. history, cultural history and religious history. He is the eighth WSU faculty member to receive a Guggenheim fellowship since 1959 and the first since 2008.

He is an expert in the relationships among religion, politics and American culture from the late 19th century to the present. His “strong record of scholarly productivity has made him an outstanding member of a small cohort of young scholars who are reshaping the field of 20th-century American religious history,” said WSU department chair Steven Kale.

Sutton’s first book, “Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America” (Harvard University Press, 2007), won the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize and served as the basis for the Public Broadcasting Service documentary “Sister Aimee.” 

His most recent book, “American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism” (Harvard University Press, 2014), was named a Choice “Outstanding Academic Title of 2015” by the American Library 

See full article at https://news.wsu.edu/2016/04/07/wsu-historian-awarded-guggenheim-prize

#history   #historian   #Guggenheim  #BasicBooks #WSU #GoCougs #Harvard #HarvardUniversityPress #FDR 

HISTORY/ARCHAEOLOGY - Pueblo civilization disappearance linked to climate changes, culture - WSU Research
The heavily studied yet largely unexplained disappearance of ancestral Pueblo people from southwest Colorado is “the most vexing and persistent question in Southwestern archaeology,” according to the New York Times.

But it’s not all that unique, say Washington State University scientists.
Writing in the journal Science Advances, they say the region saw three other cultural transitions over the preceding five centuries. The researchers also document recurring narratives in which the Pueblo people agreed on canons of ritual, behavior and belief that quickly dissolved as climate change hurt crops and precipitated social turmoil and violence.
“The process of releasing one’s self from those canons, the process of breaking that down, can occur very quickly and occurred very quickly four times in the Pueblo past,” said Kyle Bocinsky, a WSU adjunct faculty member in anthropology and director of sponsored projects for the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colo. The article grew out of work toward Bocinsky’s WSU doctorate.

Pueblo Bonito, one of the largest great houses in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. It was built after one of several cultural transformations that WSU’s Kyle Bocinsky and Tim Kohler document in their Science Advances paper. 

Funded by the National Science Foundation, Bocinsky, WSU Regents Professor Tim Kohler and colleagues analyzed data from just over 1,000 southwest archaeological sites and nearly 30,000 tree-ring dates that served as indicators of rainfall, heat and time.  See complete article at https://news.wsu.edu/2016/04/01/researchers-link-climate-changes-pueblo-social-disruption

#history #archaeology #Pueblo   #climatechange   #NSF #NewYorkTimes #WSU   #GoCougs   #Colorado

SAVING SALMON WITH RAIN GARDENS, STORMWATER MANAGEMENT - WSU Research
Salmon exposed to toxic stormwater, often coming from highways and parking lots, can die in a matter of hours. But preliminary new findings by Washington State University researchers suggest that bioretention systems, such as rain gardens, that filter out contaminants from stormwater runoff are key for preventing lethal impacts on fish.

Effective bioretention systems include sand and organic matter like compost and bark.

Washington State University aquatic toxicologist Jenifer McIntyre described new findings about how coho salmon die when exposed to urban stormwater runoff at the WSU Innovators Lecture in Seattle today. Her presentation was titled, “Stormwater detox: How natural infrastructure can help save salmon.”

“Urban stormwater runoff carries a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, some of which are toxic to the cardiovascular system of animals, into fish habitats,” McIntyre said. “We have seen that stormwater runoff can kill adult coho salmon in urban creeks, and we know that it can cause defects in the heart of developing fish.” 

See full article at WSU News https://news.wsu.edu/2016/04/12/hope-saving-salmon-lies-reducing-stormwater-pollution/

#sustainability  #environment   #pollution   #ecology #stormwater  #runoff  #engineering   #landscaping   #salmon   #fish   #highways   #water   #GoCougs  #WSU     #toxicology   #civilengineering   

WSU College of Veterinary Medicine has announced several changes in leadership.
Guy Palmer, Regents Professor of Pathology and the Jan and Jack Creighton Endowed Chair, will become WSU’s senior director of Global Health. Doug Call, a long-time faculty member, will become interim director of the Allen School. Professor Tim Baszler, a veterinary pathologist, will be executive director of the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. See more at https://news.wsu.edu/?p=139765 

#veterinarymedicine   #veterinarian   #WSU   #animals  

ENGINEERING EDUCATION: International agreement bolsters WSU graduate education
Washington State University has entered into an agreement with Shandong Chambroad Holding Co. Ltd., a private Chinese corporation, to educate WSU doctoral students to meet significant societal needs in energy and environment.

The corporation will provide up to $5 million to support five new students each year, up to a total of 20 students simultaneously, in chemical engineering, chemistry or materials science and engineering.

The privately run company started in 1991 and employs about 11,000 people in Boxing, China. Chambroad is engaged in petrochemicals, fine chemicals, culture and arts, education, agriculture and strategic investment.

A WSU team led by Vice President for Research Chris Keane and Vice President for International Programs Asif Chaudhry reached the agreement on a trip to China in January.

See article at https://news.wsu.edu/2016/02/01/international-agreement-bolsters-wsu-graduate-education/

#engineering   #chemicalengineering   #materialsscience   #chemistry   #graduateeducation   #WSU   #GoCougs  

WSU Spokane Opening: Director of Development - Health Sciences
Leadership and management for fundraising and development-related activities for the WSU Spokane campus and WSU Foundation. Screening begins June 15. See https://www.wsujobs.com/postings/25223

#development   #fundraising  #jobs #jobsearch  #WSU   #GoCougs   #healthsciences  

BREWING - Heritage inspires brewery that earns top business honors
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Bryan Shull grew up in the shadow of Great Western Malting. Both his grandfather and father made their careers there, and for a time during college he worked there as well.

Shull left Vancouver for a 25-year career in solar energy, but when he returned home in 2013, in part to ponder his second-half life goals, his family’s malting history came back to him: “What if I were to start a brewery?” he wondered.

In April, Trap Door Brewing was named the 2015 Startup of the Year by the Vancouver Business Journal.

According to the journal, Shull’s company had a 15 percent profit margin in its first two months of operation. In less than six months, the company has more than doubled its kegging capacity, from 80 kegs to 200, with more on the way this spring.

While Shull’s first step toward opening a brewery was taking classes in craft brewing and the business of beer, step two was reaching out to Buck Heidrick, a business advisor with the Washington Small Business Development Centers (SBDC).

“I was daunted by developing the list of tasks that had to be done,” he said. “There were so many things I didn’t know that I couldn’t even make a list.”

Washington SBDC is supported by Washington State University, the U.S. Small Business Administration and other institutions of higher education and economic development. SBDC advising is one-on-one, confidential and provided at no cost to the client.

See article at https://news.wsu.edu/2016/05/10/heritage-inspires-brewery-continues-family

#brewing   #brewery   #beer   #smallbusiness #entrepreneur   #SBA #SBDC   #WSU   #GoCougs

BEES AND AGRICULTURE - Growing weeds: beekeepers, farmers, WSU strive to help honeybees
Forty-two percent of America’s honeybees died in 2014. On average, beekeepers lose about 30 percent of their colonies annually. And beekeeper numbers are down 50 percent since 1940. See NWPR at http://tinyurl.com/h3xrydw

#bees   #honeybees    #agriculture   #farming   #entomology   #apiary   #beekeeping   #pollinate   #pollination   #WSU   #GoCougs   #NWPR  

The Woman Behind M3 Biotechnology
At 30 years, Leen Kawas is president and CEO of a drug startup tackling diseases of the brain that have confounded far more experienced executives.

An immigrant from Jordan, Kawas came across the research while pursuing her doctorate in molecular pharmacology at Washington State University and boldly decided to take it to market.

In conversations, she’s charming and funny yet cuts through small talk like a chainsaw, getting straight to the point. Her company, M3 Biotechnology Inc., is also chewing through obstacles. The indefatigable CEO has been traveling the country meeting with prospective investors. At a recent Philadelphia conference, she delivered a speech and granted 45 interviews ... As of mid-September, she had raised $7 million.

See http://www.seattlebusinessmag.com/article/woman-behind-m3-biotechnology

#biotechnology #womenexecutives #businesswomen #pharmaceutical #pharmacy #Seattle #Alzheimer’s #FDA #WSU #GoCougs

Wheat stripe rust epidemic anticipated by WSU researchers
Researchers at Washington State University predict the Pacific Northwest, including the Palouse, will see a stripe rust epidemic this year. See http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/apr/30/experts-anticipate-stripe-rust-epidemic

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

#agriculture  #wheat #plantpathology  #farming  #rust #WSU  #DOA  #USDA #pacificnorthwest   #agribusiness  

WSU Career Opportunity: - Museum of Art Development Director
Oversees fundraising for the WSU Museum of Art and is responsible for increasing the level of support from individuals, corporations, foundations and other sources. Closes June 6. See https://www.wsujobs.com/postings/25030

#art #museum  #fundraising   #development  #jobs #jobsearch  #WSU   #GoCougs  

BEE RESEARCH ADVANCED BY CITY VOLUNTEERS - WSU Research
City dwellers concerned about dramatic declines in bee populations are working with Elias Bloom, a WSU doctoral student, to collect data on wild, native bees in order to promote their health. 

Bloom will offer volunteer trainings in Seattle starting May 7. 

Farmers in western Washington who grow a diverse mix of fruit and vegetable crops rely on native pollinators like bumble bees to boost production. There are more than 4,000 species of bees in the United States. The widely managed, domesticated honey bee is imported.

“Native bees are critical for the sustainability of these farming systems,” said Bloom. “Diversified farms typically achieve significantly higher yields when healthy native bee communities are present.

”See WSU News at https://news.wsu.edu/2016/05/02/citizen-scientists-collect-data-urban-wild-bees


#bees #beecollapse #pollination   #agriculture   #honeybees   #WSU  #Seattle #PacificNorthwest #GoCougs   #bumblebee   #honeybees  

COMMUNITY NURSING - Nurse practitioner serves small community with help from WSU's SBDC
MONTESANO, Wash. – One day Laura Raykowski, a nurse practitioner and owner of Hometown Family Health, walked out of an exam room to see her office manager talking to an indigent patient about billing.
“How much do you have in your pocket right now?” the office manager asked. 

She then talked with the patient about how much he would need for his prescription and bus fare, charged him some amount of what was left and called the account paid in full.

The best part, Raykowski said, is the man came back the next time he needed help.

“That is so important in our community because so many people fall through the cracks,” she said. 

Before starting the clinic, Raykowski started meeting with Erik Stewart, an SBDC certified business advisor who meets with clients in Aberdeen, Wash.

The Washington SBDC (https://wsbdc.org/) is a network of more than two dozen certified business advisors working in communities across the state to help business owners and entrepreneurs start, grow or transition their businesses. The Washington SBDC is supported by Washington State University, the U.S. Small Business Administration and other institutions of economic development and higher education. SBDC advising is confidential and provided at no cost to the client.

“One of the biggest things Erik helped me do was look at why I was even doing this,” Raykowski said. Understanding her motivations and her goals was key because she had several big decisions to make right away.

One was whether to open her own stand-alone clinic or buy a franchise. Another was how to structure the business – whether to find a partner, be a corporation (or LLC) or be a sole proprietor.

See article at WSU News, https://news.wsu.edu/2016/04/11/advisor-helps-nurse-practitioner-serve-small-community

#nursing #nursepracticianer #smalltowns   #communityhealth   #sbdc   #smallbusiness #SBA #WSU   #GoCougs

WSU Wine Center a 'game changer' for industry (Photo Gallery)
RICHLAND — Fifty years in the making, WSU's wine center is “a game-changer for the Washington wine industry,” said Ted Baseler, CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. See http://tinyurl.com/qywxysy 

#wine #winery #viticulture   #enology   #WSU   #Washingtonstate   #pacificnorthwest   #WSUTriCities   #SteMichelle