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Navatek wingsuit

July 8, 2020 -- Navatek LLC, a contractor focused on technology research for U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Defense and NASA, is opening an office on the Wichita State University campus in fall 2020.

B-1 Bomber

July 8, 2020 — Wichita State’s National Institute for Aviation Research's Digital Twin program uses insights gained through the digital assembly of aging aircraft to provide valuable data to those who might work to maintain and repair similar aircraft in the future.

Two students on the WSU campus

July 7, 2020 -- Nearly 70 years after John and Colleen Wooley first met as students at the University of Wichita, they have established a legacy that will touch the lives of Wichita State University students for generations to come. The couple’s $2.2 million estate gift will provide more than $100,000 in scholarships each year for students with financial need.

FirePoint Innovations at WSU

July 2, 2020 -- Partnered with the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) and Aviation & Missile Center, Wichita State University’s FirePoint Innovation Center is building collaborations with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Breanna Boppre and her father

June 22, 2020 — Dr. Breanna Boppre, assistant professor of criminal justice, grew up while both her parents were incarcerated. She brings that experience into her classroom and focuses her research on families of those who are incarcerated.

Hand assistive device

June 16, 2020 - Carlos Gatti, a junior biomedical engineering major, is building a Wichita State University student organization that provides affordable assistive devices to people in need. The team is designing a device for a client who plays the cello and one for a client who wants help with tasks such as cooking.

Alina Keow

June 12, 2020 - Wichita State University graduate Alina Keow is one of 137 people who earned the 2019 Elijah Watt Sells Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishment on the CPA Exam. Nearly 75,000 individuals sat for the CPA Exam in 2019 with 137 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award. Keow graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2018 with a bachelor of business administration with dual majors in accounting and information technology & management information systems, and a minor in economics.

Ashley Purdum in personal protective equipment

June 11, 2020 -- Ashley Purdum, an associate clinical professor at Wichita State University, works as an acute care speech-language pathologist at Wesley Medical Center. Because of the ongoing pandemic, her work life has changed quite a bit.

Chris Wyant

June 8, 2020 -- In the recent partnership among Wichita State University, Airbus and Tango Flight, the sky is the limit. Tango Flight, a program that launched in 2016 in Georgetown, Texas, provides students the tools to build a two-seat airplane. The young learners are given applied-learning experiences before graduating high school.

Nurse with stethoscope

June 2, 2020 - In March when Ascension Via Christi needed stethoscopes, its usual supply chains had dried up. Wichita State University engineers, working as part of the newly formed Ad Astra Coalition, quickly established a new supply chain to address the urgent need.

NSF I-corps lab

June 2, 2020 -- A Kansas City biotechnology startup company is getting a boost thanks to Wichita State University’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Shocker Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program.

Wichita State student Allison Schulte

June 1, 2020 - Wichita State senior Allison Schulte, a strategic communication major, describes her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and how teachers reacted to help adjust to the new circumstances.

Lou Heldman

May 28, 2020 - Lou Heldman, 71, came to Wichita State in 2007, a time when the university’s vision expanded. He fit in with a group, most prominently former president John Bardo and current president Jay Golden, that want the university and community to think and act boldly. He retires in June.

Wichita State runner Rebekah Topham

May 22, 2020 - Wichita State runner Rebekah Topham needed help with reading when she arrived in 2015. She made great strides with the help of tutors and athletic department resources and carries a 3.89 grade-point average. She wants other struggling students to know her story.

Creators of

May 20, 2020 — Jay Price, director of the public history program at Wichita State University, decided to make a series of graphic novels to commemorate the trail."