WSU Today: June 24, 2020

 

 

FEATURED STORIES

SPSS now available for remote work by faculty and students

Wichita State has long provided access to IBM SPSS (and Amos) to staff/faculty/students; that access will continue in the future. But as we learned this spring, the traditional method of access (via WSU desktop or lab) does not work for those who are working remotely and could not access their WSU desktop, or students who could not access a lab.

Thankfully IBM provided free online access for a temporarily basis. For fall (actually starting July 1), we had IBM adjust our contract to include the online access option for those who cannot access the software from their WSU desktop or lab. ITS will be working on instructions for how staff/faculty/students can get online access in the near future.

During the transition period, users may see a warning displayed saying that the license will or has expired. This can be ignored as our grace period covers the transition to the new contract.


Chemical Clean-Out Week announced

Old, expired or unwanted chemicals being stored in your department can create potential hazards for employees and students and can be an environmental and regulatory liability.

During the week of July 6-10, the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Department will pick up any university-related waste chemicals or other hazardous items. This event is an opportunity for all departments to clean out these items in a safe and compliant manner. Items will be picked up in your department by the EHS staff. Items include paints, solvents, lab chemicals, acids, oils, light bulbs, batteries, etc. 

If you have items for pick up, please submit a Facilities Services work order before Friday, July 10.

Safety note:  If any of your chemical containers have crystals or powder build-up on the container, do not attempt to move them. Some crystals on old chemical containers can be shock-sensitive and can explode.

If you discover a chemical container with crystals or powder build-up, contact Mike Strickland at 978-3347 or Andrew Clem at 978-7904 immediately. 

NEWS

Summer registration outage

In support of the activities to close out fiscal year 2020, registration for summer 2020 will be closed from 11:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, June 24, through 6 p.m. Thursday, June 25). This will NOT impact registration for fall 2020 – registration/drop/add for fall will be as normal.

If you have any questions or problems during this summer registration outage, please contact the Registrar’s office at 978-3090. 


Financial Operations closed Thursday

Financial Operations will be closed Thursday, June 25, for year-end processing. Final date for deposits is Wednesday, June 24.


Clinic in a Can

Clinic in a Can fills health care gaps across the globe

  • Michael Wawrzewski, a 1995 physicians assistant grad, has spent his career putting clinics in remote areas.
  • Clinic in a Can, a Wichita-based company, builds custom medical modules in 8-by-20 shipping containers. 
  • Wawrzewski's clinics have found homes across the globe and are helping in the battle against COVID-19. 
  • Pictured above: Clinic in a Can modules include primary care rooms, pharmacies, trauma units, maternal-infant care, radiology, laboratories, isolation units, and even morgues.Read complete story.

Virtual support by librarians

Virtual support offered by university subject librarians

University Librarians are here (virtually) to support instruction.

As Wichita State faculty plan summer and fall classes, remember librarians can help you every step of the way. Let your subject librarian:

  • Make custom research guides for your classes
  • Help you redesign research assignments to better fit the hybrid learning environment
  • Locate electronic course materials (e-books, articles, or streaming audio and video) and embed them directly into your Blackboard course shell
  • Support your students as an embedded librarian in Blackboard by answering questions, participating in discussions, providing point of need announcements, linking to electronic resources, and providing feedback on research assignments
  • Provide synchronous or asynchronous virtual instruction for your classes (at least two weeks advance notice is preferred)

Contact subject librarians at libraries.wichita.edu/subjectlibrarians.


RESEARCH

Artificial intelligence tool

A free, time-saving artificial intelligence tool for researchers to use in the fight against COVID-19 is available

Streamlyne is the maker of Streamlyne Research eRA cloud-based software. In order to contribute to the fight against COVID-19, we recently embarked on a parallel track by leveraging our existing machine-learning algorithms to create a completely free artificial intelligence (AI) tool for researchers. Find this tool here: https://c19priority.ai/.

Streamlyne’s intelligent natural language processing tool enables researchers to locate articles on SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses quickly and efficiently within the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19) (https://www.semanticscholar.org/cord19) created by the Allen Institute for AI, in partnership with several tech companies and the OSTP. The dataset is linked to the World Health Organization (WHO) database of publications on coronavirus disease and other resources. The website also provides a sample list of some of the most promising COVID-19 research efforts at universities and independent research institutions.

UNIVERSITY LIFE

RSC is open

The RSC is open!

If you’re on campus, be sure to swing by the Rhatigan Student Center because we are open to serve you! Dining options open are Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks and Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes. Also open are the Shocker Store, Shocker Card Center and more. For hours of operation, visit wichita.edu/rschours.