Author: Cheryl Miller

For the past two years, Krista Ward, Wichita State alumna and researcher, has conducted research at the privately owned Youngmeyer Ranch in Elk County, located about an hour from Wichita. 

Youngmeyer Ranch is owned by the Youngmeyer Trust, which has granted Wichita State research and educational access to the property. The research facility cost approximately $2 million to build and was paid for entirely by donors. Hutton designed and constructed the building.

The 3,400-square-foot building also includes a large garage and storage space where researchers can park vehicles and stow equipment. This feature permits a considerable amount of time and effort to be redirected to research work.  

Dr. David Guo has been named Wichita State’s Regents Distinguished Professor of Public Finance by the Kansas Board of Regents.  

The purpose of the Regents Distinguished Professor program is to attract and retain established scholars in Kansas whose research projects augment the state’s economic and industrial development.  

“I am enthusiastic about this opportunity to help Kansas families, support Kansas businesses and advance economic prosperity,” said Guo. “I pledge to be a good steward of the prestigious position to bridge academics and practice and make a meaningful impact in the real world.” 

Guo previously held an associate professor position at Florida International University, where he researched and taught courses on public budgeting and finance. He joined the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs in August. 

“I am extremely pleased that Dr. Guo has been named Regents Professor,” Dr. Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said. “As an expert in public finance, an experienced community connector, and a champion of applied learning and applied research, he will have a significant impact on the region, the state and beyond.” 

Interdisciplinary Research Projects leaders will present their highlights beginning at 10 a.m. Sept. 16 at the John Bardo Center lobby.

“These projects intentionally assembled expertise from a range of disciplines to solve problems that are highly challenging, extremely interesting, and whose solution is high impact,” said Andrew Hippisley, dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “These are the very problems that a single discipline is not equipped to solve. It will be exciting to hear the highlights and results to date from each of the projects.”

During the vent, lead researchers for Wichita State’s Interdisciplinary Research Projects will provide updates on their efforts to address pressing societal issues with a goal to improve the growth and diversity of Kansas’s economy.

“What has been most rewarding about this initiative was the opportunity for so many researchers from different disciplines across campus to discuss their research and find common interests,” said Coleen Pugh, dean of the graduate school and vice provost for research. “That alone was a success.”

Each project was initially funded in 2020 by a $300,000 grant from the university, distributed over three years. Project groups also have applied for additional external funding.

The projects include:

• The Smart Fusion Material Research Institute has a goal to develop novel computational, material and digital manufacturing approaches to unlock the complex interactions among material, microstructure, processing and mechanical properties involved in additive manufacturing. Lead researcher and presenter will be Gisuk Hwang, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
• The Disaster Resilience Analytics Center has a goal to leverage the university’s expertise in artificial intelligence, deep learning and multiple modes of big data to better predict natural and human- made disasters, and to improve preparedness by creating a new generation of digital platforms and support services. Lead researcher and presenter will be Atri Dutta, associate professor of aerospace engineering.
• The Institute for Health Disparities has a goal to generate new methods to reduce obesity among vulnerable populations and improve health literacy as a mechanism among health care providers for behavior change. Lead researcher and presenter will be Twyla Hill, professor of sociology.
• The Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learners has a goal to design innovative solutions to meet the educational needs of the children of the more than 70 million forcibly displaced refugees worldwide. As a result, it will also create innovative pathways and software for educational access to those in our state and nation. Lead researcher and presenter will be Mythili Menon, assistant professor of linguistics.

The research and creative works of faculty in Fairmount College’s 18 departments will be featured at an open house 1-3 p.m. today, April 22 at Ablah Library.

“Research is one of the strengths of our college,” Andrew Hippisley, Fairmount College dean, said. “Last year all 18 departments participated in external grant proposals, and our publication output is high. The showcase provides an opportunity to tell our story and engage with the campus community and beyond.”

Visitors may come and go during the event, which is set up next to the Circulation Desk at the Ablah Library. Poster presentations will include information about research and creative activity, grant procurement, awards and publications. Representatives from each area will answer questions about their department.

For more information, contact David Eichhorn, associate dean for faculty research and development at 316-978-7367 or david.eichhorn@wichita.edu.

More than 780 Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students earned a spot on the fall 2021 Dean’s Honor Roll. The students who completed at least 12 graded credit hours with a 3.500 grade point average were recognized at special ceremony April 15.

“We are extremely proud of our honorees, and are delighted to be able to celebrate them and encourage them to continue to pursue excellence in their program of study,” Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmont College of Liberal Arts and Sciences said. “They exemplify persistence and dedication, and we support them in their academic journey to become more.”

Dr. Netta Engelhardt will be presenting “The Black Hole Information Paradox: A Resolution on the Horizon?” at 2 p.m., April 7 via Zoom. Use the Zoom Meeting ID: 4179547349  and Password: Physics.

Dr. Engelhardt is the Biedenharn Career Development assistant professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She works on quantum gravity, primarily within the framework of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamics of black holes in quantum gravity, leveraging insights from the interplay between gravity and quantum information via holography. Her current primary interests revolve around the black hole information paradox, the thermodynamic behavior of black holes, and the cosmic censorship hypothesis (which conjectures that singularities are always hidden behind event horizons).

The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation. This grant is now provided through the Watkins fund, a part of the Wichita State University Foundation’s endowment. For more information about this lecture series, contact Dr. David Eichhorn at (316) 978-6659.

The Department of Women’s, Ethnicity, and Intersectional Studies, formerly the women’s studies department, has reorganized and expanded its curriculum to reflect growing nationwide interest in gender issues and ethnicity.

“We are excited about the new name and the programmatic changes it brings in placing women, gender, and ethnicity at the center of studies, especially in their intersection with race, class, sexuality, disability, and other hierarchies of power and relations of power,” said Chinyere Okafor, professor and chair of women’s, ethnicity, and intersectional studies, said.

Dr. Guy A. Caldwell, university distinguished research professor at the University of Alabama (UA), will present a public lecture, “Some Worm Saved My Life Tonight: Invertebrate-Driven Personalized Medicine,” at 3:30 p.m., today, March 2 at Hubbard Hall (Room 209).

Caldwell is visiting as part of the Watkins Visiting Professorship. The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation. This grant is now provided through the Watkins fund, a part of the Wichita State University Foundation’s endowment.

His lab, The Worm Shack, studies C. elegans, a roundworm that lives in soil, and possesses genes that have functional counterparts in humans. Worms of this species are used as models for human disorders and illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, kidney disease and congenital heart disease.

In the hot, humid mugginess of east Texas in August 2021, Crystal Dozier and a group of students made two exciting discoveries at the Box Springs archaeological site. Dozier, WSU assistant professor of anthropology, used magnetometry and ground penetrating radar to discover the precise location of an assumed mound.

Dr. Jenny Pearson, Wichita State professor of sociology, has been elected president of the Midwest Sociological Society. The society is a nonprofit, regional, professional society dedicated to building community among sociologists and to advancing sociological knowledge, teaching and practice for social scientific purposes and social betterment. A number of Wichita State University faculty and students attend the conference and present their research each year.

Pearson will serve a four-year term in April as president elect-elect; followed by president-elect and program chair; president; and immediate past president. She previously served as the Kansas state director and the co-founder and chair of the MSS LGBTQ+ Task Force, collaboratively working toward making the organization and annual conference more inclusive for LGBTQ+ members.