Year: 2024

The WSU Student Branch of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has organized a circuit design competition for March 1 for all undergraduate students for the very first time. The winners will be nominated to participate in the IEEE Region 5 Circuit Design Competition along with a cash prize. Students can participate as a group of two people. Only 10 groups can participate in the competition.

On the day of the event, students will be given a task to complete within a limited time. Students are allowed to refer to any materials during the competition. The expected circuit components and concepts will be communicated to all the registered teams well before the competition, so the students will have enough time to prepare. Anyone with basic electronics circuit knowledge from any engineering discipline can participate in the competition.

Only the first 10 teams to register will be selected to participate, and registration closes Feb 23.

Ten high school students from Kansas, Missouri and Texas have been awarded the Koch Scholarship at Wichita State University, starting in the fall 2024 semester.

Each scholar each will be awarded $30,000 to attend WSU over four years.

Fall 2024 Koch Scholarship:

• Alexander Baird, Campus High School, electrical engineering (Haysville, Kansas)
• Samir Barraza, Colby High School, computer science
• Carson Brewer, Andover Central High School, computer science
• Tyler Casely-Hayford, Stephen F. Austin High School (Richmond, Texas), mechanical engineering
• Mayce Cashman, Andale High School, finance
• Sophie Clarke, Eisenhower High School, computer science
• Kayla Gann, Smithville High School (Smithville, Missouri), accounting
• Jack Rue, Wichita Northwest High School, computer engineering
• Israel Torres, Wichita Northeast Magnet High School, mechanical engineering
• Erin Vance, Wichita Trinity Academy, mechanical engineering

The College of Engineering is hiring a director of scholarships and scholar programs. The director will provide leadership and strategic direction for leveraging scholarship funds and scholar programs as key drivers for recruitment, retention and student success. The role entails direct involvement with donors, mentoring students and management of the scholarship and scholar programs.

The position is open to both internal and external candidates. Applicants should have a bachelor’s degree and six years of experience in academic, student support services in higher education or a related field with two years of experience in a leadership role. Someone with knowledge of Scholarship Universe software is preferred.

The Office of Admissions is hosting Shocker Legacy Day, an event to celebrate prospective students who are children of Wichita State faculty & staff or who are children of Wichita State alumni, Saturday, March 2.

During Shocker Legacy Day, students and guests can expect to hear from a current WSU parent, meet current legacy students, tour the campus and residence halls, and attend a Shocker basketball game.

The RSVP will close Feb. 27 or when the event reaches capacity. For questions, contact Nikky Bloomquist, recruitment event specialist, at nikky.bloomquist@wichita.edu.

Interstellar Seminar will be joined by Daniel Czech, a project engineer for UC Berkeley’s Breakthrough Listen Technosignature Survey at the MeerKAT radio telescope, remotely at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 in 104 Jabara Hall.

SETI teams search for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence by listening to the cosmos, and Dr. Czech develops software to identify potential messages from alien civilizations. He will join WSU’s Dr. Mark Schneegurt in a session on planetary protection and SETI.

Attend the “Recognizing Your Limiting Beliefs” workshop hosted virtually by the Office of Online & Adult Learning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20.

At the workshop, participants will learn to identify the limiting beliefs that may be holding them back and where they come from and using that knowledge to discover the best methods to overcome them. Leave the workshop with skills and empowering beliefs to achieve your goals.

Questions can be directed to Suzanne Bentley at suzanne.bentley@wichita.edu or 316-978-8406. If you would rather explore your limiting beliefs in person and one-on-one, contact Suzanne to schedule a time that works for you.

The Department of Biological Sciences’ spring 2024 seminar series continues from 4 to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19 in 231 Hubbard Hall with Dr. Andrew George, Pittsburgh State University, with his talk, “Bird conservation in managed forests: insights from a 100-year ecological experiment.”

Seminars are open to the public and undergraduates are encouraged to attend.

On the south end of lot 2W, the parking lot west of Charles Koch Arena, 150 stalls will be closed Monday, Feb. 19 for Black & Yellow Day. Faculty, staff and students that typically park in this lot may need to park in other lots during the event.

The purpose of lot reservations is to help accommodate large groups of guests visiting campus for events or the event itself. Lot reservations are not to be used for WSU affiliates. Remember, visitors to campus can park without an ePermit up to three times each semester.

Red reserved and ADA stalls are not subject to lot closures and proper use is permitted during this time.

The spring 2024 virtual university town hall originally set for 2 to 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 has been changed to early April. More details on the April town hall will be published soon in WSU Today.

Nominations are now being accepted for two university-wide at-large seats for the Faculty Senate to serve a two-year term starting in the 2024-25 academic year. University-wide at-large senators represent the faculty of the entire university, not just a specific college or division. The Faculty Senate meets twice a month during the regular academic year from 3:30-5 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of the month.

All faculty are eligible for nominations, including current senators whose term expires this year. Submit your nominations to Lee Ann Birdwell at leeann.birdwell@wichita.edu before 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16. Self-nominations are strongly encouraged. Your participation is essential to a fair and inclusive process of shared governance