Researchers work to understand blue-green algae and mitigate its threat
- A team of researchers from Wichita State University, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have been working together for more than a year to understand the blue-green algae blooms in Marion Reservoir.
- Blue-green algae is naturally occurring, but can be toxic — or even deadly — to wildlife, pets, livestock and humans.
- The large algae blooms can have a negative impact on tourism and fishing.
Pictured above: Dr. Brian Bohnsack (standing) works with a team of researchers to collect blue-green algae samples from Marion Reservoir in Kansas.
Participate in a UP/USS combined Senate listening discussion
The Unclassified Professional (UP) Senate and University Support Staff (USS) Senates invite you to attend a listening session to discuss the possibility of merging the two Senates to be a unified voice for all university staff. These conversations, which started in 2017, will provide us an opportunity to engage with staff members about the pros and cons of merging the Senates. This is the first step in a semester-long conversation that will culminate in a staff vote and decision in December.
There will be two options for attending a virtual listening session at 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28 or 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29. A Zoom link will be sent in advance to those who RSVP. If you have questions or are unable to attend and want to send feedback, please contact UP Senate Vice President/President-Elect, Gabriel Fonseca at gabriel.fonseca@wichita.edu.
Winship and Lin – Finance in the fight against COVID-19 with Sedgwick County
Learn how graduate accountancy student Yiqing Lin, and junior accounting major Rondalee Winship, partner with the Shocker Career Accelerator to help the Sedgwick County Division of Finance in the fight against COVID-19. Lin and Winship assist in managing more than $99 million in federal COVID-19 Relief Funding allocated as part of the CARES Act.
Ulrich employees get surprise help from WSU Honors Program students for annual sculpture makeover
The giant "Shockers" sculpture on the WSU campus just got its annual makeover. Employees at the Ulrich Museum of Art were busy this week switching out the old straw with new straw -- and they even got help from a group of WSU Honors Program students that happened to be walking by!
The sculpture, created by artist Tom Otterness, is one of 81 pieces in the Ulrich Museum's world-class Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection, placed throughout WSU's campus. The “Shocker” upkeep is part of the Ulrich’s annual conservation of its outdoor sculpture collection. The museum appreciates it when folks on campus let them know if they see anything that doesn’t seem right, since the collection is for everyone to enjoy and care about. If you spot anything about the sculptures that needs to be addressed, email ulrich@wichita.edu. You can learn more about the one-of-a-kind sculpture collection on the Ulrich's website.
Caption: (left) James Porter, Ulrich Exhibition Designer and Production Manager, stands atop the "Shockers" sculpture to switch out old straw with new; (right) Ulrich employees and WSU Honors Program students fill bags of straw for the sculpture's annual "makeover."
Registrar's Office will be closed for staff development
The Registrar's Office will be closed for a staff development event from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. today (Thursday, Sept. 24). The service counters for registration, transcripts and student verifications will be closed during this brief time.
Shocker Printing Solutions to work remotely
Beginning today (Thursday, Sept. 24), Shocker Printing Solutions will work remotely while work is being done to level the floors. There will be no service window hours during this time.
Shocker Printing Solutions employees will process printing jobs offsite and bring them back to campus for delivery to your offices. Please plan ahead and allow additional time to meet your printing deadlines. We expect the work to be completed by Oct. 19, and business will resume as usual.
Engineers Without Borders to meet on Sept. 28
Do you enjoy helping others? Are you interested in solving problems? Do you feel a need to give back to your community and communities around the world? Engineers Without Borders is a place where all of those can happen.
EWB is a nonprofit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide to improve their quality of life. The WSU Chapter of EWB is involved in multiple projects around the Wichita area such as Clinic In A Can, where you can help turn storage containers into portable health clinics, along with projects through Habitat for Humanity and international projects as well. EWB is not just for engineers, but all Wichita State students ready to meet new people, solve problems and make a positive impact on their community and the world.
Come check out what EWB has to offer at our meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in 123 Wallace Hall.
If you are interested in joining EWB, click here.
September's Teaching Today is now available
Teaching Today, WSU's teaching-focused newsletter, is back for the 2020-21 academic year. The September issue is packed with tips, trainings, and videos to help support all WSU instructors. This month you can learn how to create an escape room using an intuitive Blackboard tool, how to find and use streaming media from the library holdings, and even how to add live captions to PowerPoint presentations!
If you have never had a look at Teaching Today before, you should also review our "Security Issue" from this spring. It covers all things Internet security and even addresses home networks and phishing. It's a must-read for everyone who is working remotely.
Enjoy your Lunch & Learn with Women of Wichita State University!
Join Women of Wichita State University for our monthly luncheon via Zoom! From 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, we will watch the video “The Procrastination Monkey,” and then discuss what we learned during the lunch hour. The Zoom link will be sent to WWSU members via email, along with a fun recipe to go along with our topic theme.
Not a member yet? There is still time to join! Annual membership is only $12, which is used to support scholarships for Wichita State students! Go to www.wichita.edu/WWSU for more information.
ISME & EECS Departments present ‘Biometrics: Technology for Human Identification’
Dr. Ajita Rattani
Wichita State University Departments of Industrial, Systems, and Manufacturing Engineering (ISME) & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) present a talk by Dr. Ajita Rattani, assistant professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, from 11 a.m.-noon Friday, Sept. 25. The title of the lecture via Zoom is “Biometrics: Technology for Human Identification.”
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android. Meeting ID: 988 9885 1927; Password: 638536
Abstract
Biometrics is the science of recognizing individuals based on their biological or behavioral attributes such as face, fingerprints, iris, gait, voice or typing pattern. Biometrics solutions are being increasingly incorporated in validating user identity for legitimate access to resources. Despite large-scale integration of biometric technology in programs like US-VISIT and Aadhar in India, these solutions are not 100% accurate. This is because of factors such as occlusion, lighting variation, make-up and look-likes. In this talk, I will discuss my team research contributions in developing advanced deep learning, computer vision and fairness-aware techniques to the field of biometrics.
Speaker Biography
Ajita Rattani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Wichita State University since 2019. Prior to this, she was an Adjunct Graduate Faculty at University of Missouri- Kansas City. She did her Post-doctoral and PhD. studies from Michigan State University and University of Cagliari, Italy, respectively. Her field of research is Biometrics, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Image Analysis and Computer Vision.
She is the lead editor of the Springer book titled “Adaptive Biometric Systems: Recent Advances and Challenges.” She has received number of best paper awards at IEEE international conferences and is an editorial board member of IEEE Biometrics Council. Recently, she has been nominated as an IEEE Young Biometrics Researcher.
Come enjoy a Pop-Up Concert on Friday afternoon
The WSU faculty instrumental trio, the Fairmount String Trio, will perform a short Pop-Up Concert at 3 p.m. Friday Sept. 25, in the grassy, shaded area south of Wiedemann Hall between Wiedemann and Duerksen Fine Arts Center.
Music will include Tangos and Irish inspired tunes. Come relax for 20 minutes and enjoy fresh air, music, birds and squirrels (not referring to the faculty)!
Virtual Edible Book Festival combines artistic / culinary talent for prizes
This year's Edible Book Festival presented by University Libraries is a go, and those interested can participate just about anywhere!
Register now for awesome local prizes won by showing off your culinary creations inspired by literature. Registration ends today (Thursday, Sept. 24). See the full event description at Edible Book Festival.
Join us virtually for the Clash of the Colleges winner announcement today at 1 p.m.
Join us virtually and cheer on your college as we announce the Clash of the Colleges winner at 1 p.m. today (Thursday, Sept. 24). To watch the livestream, follow our Twitter handle, @newSHOCKS. Tune in to find out which college won the coveted trophy and will rule the school this year!
First-Year Programs in Student Success and Campus Recreation hosted the sixth annual Clash of the Colleges on Aug. 21. Here is a recap of the fun from all of the games! The video can also be accessed at wichita.edu/clash.
Mask Up activities set for Sept. 29
The Shocker Health Ambassadors, students in Public Health Sciences, invite the Wichita State learning community to participate in free Mask Up activities from noon-3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, on the east patio of the RSC. Join us for trivia and prizes while learning how to reduce your risk of getting COVID-19.
Shockers must work together to learn together, so please join us and follow Shocker Health Ambassadors on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for additional tips to stay healthy and keep moving forward.
* Wash your hands
* Stay at least six feet apart
* Use a mask
Call ahead orders at the Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes
Did you know the Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes offers call ahead ordering? To place your order, call 316-978-3479. View the menu online at wichita.edu/ssgl.
Garage Sale scheduled for Oct. 3
Wichita State Athletics is hosting its annual garage sale on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Fans are invited to stop by the garage sale that morning from 8 am – 12 pm inside the Aetna Multi-Purpose Gym (enter through the exterior doors on the east side of Charles Koch Arena).
Items are available on a first-come, first-served basis and include flat screen TVs, jerseys and uniforms, assorted apparel, bags and equipment. Prices listed are non-negotiable. Customers are encouraged to pay with cash, however, credit cards will also be accepted.
Safety measures that will be in place include:
- Face coverings are required
- Capacity of shoppers will be limited to 50 people at one time
- The whole practice gym will be used to help with social distancing
- Extra distance between check-out lines
- Hand sanitizer available at entrance and exit
Panhellenic Sorority on-campus advisor needed
One of our five Panhellenic sororities is searching for an on-campus advisor! Student Organization advisors assist our chapters with administrative responsibilities, share knowledge of campus resources, and provide support to the organization's 80-100 members. Advisors must be full time faculty or staff members. Alumnae membership in any Panhellenic sorority is a preferred qualification.
If you would be interested in serving as an on-campus advisor to a Panhellenic sorority or have additional questions about this opportunity, please email Randi Beggs at randi.beggs@wichita.edu.
Elements Multi-Media Art Competition exhibit submissions are now open
Elements is a juried multi-media art competition that students may submit works in the areas of painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed-media and ceramics. The panel of jurors, comprised of Wichita and surrounding community artists, select a Best of Show as well as first and second place winners in each division.
Students wishing to participate may submit up to six pieces in any of the five categories offered. Submissions close Wednesday, Oct. 14. Show Opens Monday, Nov. 9. Monetary prizes are awarded to winners in all categories including an Audience Choice Award. For more information and access to online application, visit the Elements web page.