Campus Connection: April 23, 2019

According to Solomey, this new grant will allow us to continue the work, but now instead of just doing simulations studies we will:

1. a) Build a test detector in the lab and test it with cosmic rays and sources (this lab prototype will become part of a future cube sat space test mission or maybe a short stay on ISS that would need another grant once it works well in the lab).
2. b) Do a design study for cost, time and trajectory with the Advanced Concept office at MSFC with our WSU AE part of the group working together.
3. c) A science mission study, how much data is needed to do a first attempt at enough data to do the various science goals.

This will take at least the full two years and the $500,000 of the grant. A good outcome of this grant work would be a future near earth orbit test mission.

More information.

Zimmerman’s Font comes out of the artist’s decades-long fascination with stone as a material and the forms of ancient structures familiar to us through the work of archaeologists. Font evokes ancient sacred forms from a number of cultures around the world and was most directly inspired by an ancient Egyptian altar that featured a round stone sunk into a table. In Zimmerman’s interpretation, the round stone of the original altar is replaced by a polished black granite disk over whose edge water flows hypnotically. At WSU, the piece is sited so as to encourage interaction with passersby and will provide a meditative oasis in the midst of a bustling campus. 

Elyn Zimmerman holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Fine Art from UCLA. Born in Philadelphia, she has lived in New York City since 1977. Since the late 1970s, Zimmerman has executed numerous temporary site-specific outdoor sculptural installations for major museums all over the world. Her permanent outdoor sculpture installations are marked by their use of stone and water, as well as their reference to the natural landscape.

Zimmerman’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, as well as several corporate collections.

Following is a summary of College of Engineering Dean Dennis Livesay’s introductory remarks:

“Dr. Ward Jewell joined Wichita State University in August 1987 as an assistant professor. When Ward came to WSU, we only had an undergraduate program in electrical engineering. Ward led the development of our graduate program, and he graduated his first Ph.D. student in 1992, which was also the program’s first graduate. Since then, Ward has graduated 17 Ph.D. students and 80 MS students who are employed all over the world practicing and teaching electric power and energy engineering.

Ward has brought in more than $4 million in research funding. In 2000, he joined researchers from 12 other universities to create an industry-university collaborative research center—Power System Engineering Research Center (PSERC). This was initially funded by National Science Foundation and is currently supported by 35 industrial members.

Ward’s work has been recognized by the College of Engineering Wallace Excellence in Research Award, which he has received twice.

Ward is also a caring citizen. He has been active in both his professional and local community. His professional interactions are numerous, but I will focus on his community efforts, which include: volunteer bicycle maintenance and repair instructor for Wichita Children’s Home, music instructor at Alpha Montessori School, baseball coach, and many more. Ward truly cares about people, and he does everything he can to help them.

Finally, in terms of development and industry engagement, Ward has—once again—excelled. The power program depends heavily on his efforts. His industry connections provide internship opportunities for our students and full-time jobs for our graduates. Additionally, he was instrumental in securing a $250K gift form Westar Energy to upgrade and modernize the Power Systems Teaching Laboratory, and he is currently working closely with Evergy to build an advanced power system lab with solar and wind generation facilities.

Ward is the quintessential teacher/scholar, and he will forever be the model that I hold in front of young faculty as what they should aspire to. Ward is truly deserving of this recognition. Congratulations, Ward!"

Ward Jewell's acceptance remarks

Sponsors of this year’s competition include Foulston Siefkin, High Touch Technologies, IMA Financial Group, INTRUST Bank, Lubrication Engineers, NetWork Kansas, Riverside Health Foundation, Jeff & Kelley DeGraffenreid.

This week wrapped up the judging of the 10-page business plan round. The result is the movement of 16 teams into the trade show round of the competition. Selection was based upon market viability, the likelihood to launch and financial projections.

The 16 teams advancing to the Trade Show are:

• Bionic6
• Boost Hoop
• DUO Health
• ERC
• HandiLift
• Liberty Limbs Prosthetics
• Nuria
• PARROT
• Phantom Technologies
• Safety Headphones
• Senior Design Spirit
• Shiver
• Smart Warehouse Advanced Technologies
• TableTop
• Team Ascenseur
• TechHead

The six teams with the most “investments” by the judges will advance to the final round which takes place on May 3. The final round will take place from 1-4 p.m. in 107 Devlin Hall. An awards ceremony will follow at 5 p.m. in Devlin Hall. The public is encouraged to attend the final round presentations and the award ceremony.

YMCA

With construction of the new campus YMCA well underway, we’re happy to start today’s briefing by announcing that WSU students are taking advantage of their memberships, through thousands of visits, to the Y’s nine Wichita-area locations.

In fact, the YMCA saw more than 29,000 visits from WSU students in January 2019—and roughly 25,000 visits per month since our partnership started. In addition, around 5,000 family members of WSU students use the family membership option each month.

We want to remind students that their memberships are good through the summer and to encourage them, and their families, to continue enjoying all of the fun and fitness resources this partnership provides. And as part of our commitment to community health and wellness, we look forward to welcoming the entire community to the brand-new YMCA on the Innovation Campus in January 2020.

 

SBIR Road Trip – May 21

As a catalyst for technology-based innovation, Wichita State will host the Kansas stop of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National SBIR Road Tour in Kansas City, Kan. on May 21.

The event is part of a 16-stop tour connecting entrepreneurs working on advanced technology to the country’s largest source of early stage funding – the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Also known as America’s Seed Fund, these programs focus on next generation research & development.

These programs provide over $3 billion in early stage funding to small businesses each year in technology areas such as unmanned systems, advanced materials, health, cybersecurity and defense. The programs also execute over 5,000 new awards annually, which allow innovators to advance new technologies and have contributed to the creation of thousands of jobs.\

In 2018 alone, 22 Kansas businesses received a total of more than $6 million for projects with agencies such as the National Science Foundation, NASA and Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Health and Energy.

We recognize the vital importance of this funding, and this event, and are glad to support the SBIR Road Tour for the benefit of our local, state and regional economy–and for the world-changing innovation it helps foster.

Small technology firms, innovators, scientists and researchers seeking more information on the SBIR Road Tour, including a schedule of stops and participating agencies, should visit wichita.edu/KansasSBIRroadtour.

 

Graduate dean candidates

With the Graduate School dean search underway, we’re happy to announce that the university is scheduled to host three candidates on April 24-25, April 29-30 and May 6-7. We look forward to having them on campus, and we’ll release more information when it becomes available.

Jones penned the script last year planning it for the production season. “The idea for the story had been running around in my mind for a while,” Jones said, “and it just seemed like a natural fit with our WSU Theatre film / theatre season.”

Although Jones’ background and focus is in theatre, in recent years he has turned his attention to film as another medium for his students to study. He has written and directed a 16-episode web series, “The Opposite of People,” which starred Wichita State University Theatre students, as well as other film projects, “After Midnight,” “Redux,” “Dramedy,” and last year’s “Sidekicks!”

“There is a big difference in acting on stage and in front of a camera,” Jones said. “I wanted to explore film as a possibility for students. The 21st century actor is one who performs in a multitude of mediums:  film, television, commercials, theatre, voice-overs, and the Internet. 

The theatre faculty wants to expose our students to different areas of performance to help prepare them for the profession. That’s the purpose for producing these films, educate our students.”

In addition to WSU School of Performing Arts students being involved in the project, WSU Media Arts students focusing on filmmaking provided technical support for the film. “This has been one of best filmmaking experiences we’ve had,” Jones said. “It was great to get Media Arts and Theatre students together collaborating on a film project.

“A Long Story Short” cast and crew: WSU Theatre students—Sydney Alder, Trevor Brauser, Beth Roth, TJ Wade, Madysen Baker, and Allison Miller. Producers:  Austin Steffens and Robert Thomas. Production Sound Mixer: Sydney Jordan. Director of Photography: Max Frish. Gaffer: James Marlowe. First Assistant Camera: Quinlan Roth. Grips: Michael Flores, Dylan Legleiter, and Luke Ewertz. Editor: Laban Massey. Music Composer: Devin Harbin.

Here’s what you need to do. Enroll in Summer 2019 classes.

• Complete the Summer Aid Application* in your myWSU student portal, under the myFinances tab, under Financial Aid Links.
• Find out all about summer courses at Wichita State here.

*Please allow up to three (3) weeks for processing.

Remember, we’re here to help:

finaid@wichita.edu
316-978-3430 / 1-855-WSU-1STP (24-hour support)
203 Jardine Hall
8 a.m.-6 p.m. (M-T), 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (W-F)

The WSU team’s 37-lb., 10-ft. tall, rocket is reusable and includes an active drag system for altitude control. Additionally, the rocket carries an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that autonomously orients itself for takeoff, and delivers a simulated navigation beacon to a designated location. Everything worked as the team planned in Huntsville for the competition, and included students Bryan Cline, Skylar Dean, Jonathan Bowerman, and Mike Foster.

“Just getting invited to NASA’s SLI is hard, teams from all over the U.S. vie to participate and only the best go,” said Scott Miller, chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department. “Completing all the work and meeting technical milestones is extremely challenging.”  

Since August, the team completed three NASA design reviews, seven launches, and reached almost 300 3rd-12th grade students via educational outreach events, Miller said.

The team was assisted by Steve Klausmeyer and Jonathan Mowery, both WSU aerospace engineering alumni, as well as the faculty, providing advice, help, and funding. According to Miller, the team of four accomplished more than other universities did with teams of more than 20 students.

Find out more at NASA SLI competition.

The idea for an MGC Quad was first discussed in spring 2013. The Multicultural Greek Council, Student Involvement and university entities were in support of this idea, however, it took several years to bring the quad to fruition. Over a six-year period, the quad went through several redesigns, and monies were secured to pay for the landscaping, pillars and banners incorporated into the space.

The location of the quad, at the crossroads of the Rhatigan Student Center, Clinton Hall, Neff Hall and the Geology Building, was chosen by the MGC Council and Facilities Planning. Feedback from students within the MGC Council was gathered on the landscaping, pillars and banners.  

The purpose of the quad is to provide our culturally based and National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek chapters a visible space on campus. These chapters traditionally do not have chapter facilities. Providing them a space on campus increases their visibility and affords them a gathering space.

The quad currently hosts active chapters on campus. As more culturally based and National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek chapters are brought to Wichita State, banners will be added to represent these groups.

The chapters currently on campus include, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc., Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Inc., Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority Inc., Chi Sigma Tau Fraternity Inc.

Two more chapters will be added to the quad over the next year; they include Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas Inc. and Mu Delta Alpha.

A special thanks to those who donated to the project, including Sean and Melissa Conley, WSU Student Affairs and WSU Panhellenic Council. 

For more information about this event or the MGC Quad, go to Greek Life or call 978-3022.