Author: Enrique Navarro

The 22nd annual Graduate Research and Scholarly Project (GRASP) Symposium was on April 24 in Woolsey Hall. 90 graduate students presented their research to faculty and staff in conjunction with URCAF. Congratulations to all GRASP presenters and thank you to all judges, volunteers and faculty mentors.

This year’s awardees were as follows:

Oral presentations:

Winner: Marawan Rohayem, mechanical engineering master’s student advised by Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu, for the presentation entitled “Low-Speed Impact Damage Sensing in Aircraft Radomes via Gold Nanofilm-Integrated Nomex Honeycomb Core Sandwich Composites”

People’s Choice winner: Rahmat Safdar, biomedical engineering doctoral student advised by Dr. Nils Hakansson, for the presentation entitled “Developing A Novel Contact Modeling Framework for Dynamic Human Rolling Simulations”

Poster presentations:

• First place: Brooks Hartsock, doctoral student in applied mathematics – physics track, advised by Dr. Nick Solomey, for the poster entitled “Determining Simulation Correction Factors for Tungsten-Doped 3D Printed Radiation Shields”
• Second place: Kiora Joseph, aerospace engineering doctoral student, advised by Dr. Nadia Kianvashrad, for the poster entitled “Frequency and Heated Region Shape Effects on the Physics of Mach 2 Flow Over a Hemisphere Cylinder”
• Third place and People’s Choice winner: Timmerie Henke, Alex Meyer and Christina Wilk, anthropology master’s students, advised by Dr. Crystal Dozier, for their poster “Archaeological Analysis of Burnt Animal Bone: A Case Study on Faunal Remains for Fuel Use and Cooking Techniques at Etzanoa”

At this year’s joint URCAF+GRASP Conference is keynote speaker Carl Bowden, MBA, who will be speaking from 1:15 to 2 p.m. Friday, April 24 in 110 Woolsey Hall, Frank A. Boettger Auditorium. Carl is a consultant at Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, one of the largest Certified Public Accountant (CPA) advisory firms in Kansas, and will discuss uncertainty and career building. Carl Bowden was recently featured on President Rick Muma’s “Forward Together” podcast.

His presentation, “From Exploration to Focus: Making Sense of Your Career Journey,” explores how career paths rarely unfold exactly as planned — and why that’s a good thing. Drawing from his experiences across diverse roles, global travel and graduate school at the Barton School of Business, Carl reflects on how experimentation, observation and meaningful relationships can bring clarity over time.

The URCAF+GRASP oral presentations will begin at 8 a.m. and poster presentations will begin at 11 a.m.

Through his journey into consulting at AGH, Carl illustrates how treating experiences like data points can reveal patterns, refine purpose and guide better decisions. This talk challenges graduate students to embrace uncertainty, stay curious and take intentional steps toward building a career that is both impactful and authentic.

For any questions, email undergraduateresearch@wichita.edu or gs3@wichita.edu.

Every spring, WSU hosts two campus-wide research competitions: the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum (URCAF) and the Graduate Research and Scholarly Project (GRASP) symposium. Under the mentorship of a WSU faculty member, students from all disciplines share their research and creative projects through poster or oral presentations.

This year, URCAF and GRASP will come together for a joint celebration from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 24 at Woolsey Hall. The event is free is open to the public. Judges are needed for both events. Oral presentations are from 8:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. (two sessions with concurrent panels). Poster presentations are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

No previous judging experience or specific expertise is required.

• Sign up to judge the undergraduate presentations
• Sign up to judge the graduate presentations

The Capitol Graduate Research Summit took place Tuesday, March 24 in Topeka. Over 40 graduate students from various Kansas public universities presented their research and how it contributes to the economic development of the state.

Two Wichita State students were awarded at the summit: doctoral student Kaytie Brozek (educational psychology, advised by Dr. Beata Latavietz) and master’s student Elmiraalsadat Tabatabaei (biomedical engineering, advised by Dr. David Long). Kaytie’s poster was entitled “’What Do You Want to Talk About Today?’: A Case Study of Inquiry, Identity, and Developmental Advising” and Elmira’s was entitled “Electrospun Nanofiber Therapeutics for Localized Post-Surgical Breast Cancer Treatment.”

Nine WSU graduate students presented their research at the capitol this year, including:

• Adetayo S. Afolayan (chemistry)
• Saleh Ateiwi (industrial engineering)
• John Hammond (education and behavioral studies)
• Touseef Hasan (computer science)
• Md Zawad Hossain (electrical and computer engineering)
• Ana Lucia Jara Valenzuela (Spanish)
• Muhammad Faraz Shoaib (computer science)

The Graduate School recognizes the following students, nominated by faculty, for their achievements.

Dora Wallace Hodgson Graduate Outstanding Student Award (master’s and doctoral) recipients:

• Adrian Arustei (aerospace engineering, doctoral award)
• Thomas Babcock (communication, master’s award)
• Touseef Hasan (electrical engineering and computer science, doctoral award)
• Md Zawad Hossain (electrical and computer science, doctoral award)
• Varsha Jakkula (exercise science, master’s award)
• Seyedsahameddin Razavi (biomedical engineering, doctoral award)
• Kaitlyn Reis (anthropology, master’s award)
• Saurabh Singh (industrial engineering, doctoral award)

Delano Maggard Jr Research Scholarship awardee:

• Elizabeth Eckrote (English)

Tilford Scholarship recipients:

• Jami Ecklund (anthropology)
• Ana Jara Valenzuela (Spanish)

The Graduate School recognizes the following students, nominated by faculty, for their achievements: Adrian Arustei, Thomas Babcock, Touseef Hasan, Md Zawad Hossain, Varsha Jakkula, Seyedsahameddin Razavi, Kaitlyn Reis, Saurabh Singh, Elizabeth Eckrote, Jami Ecklund, Ana Jara Valenzuela.

Learn how to craft a winning application and secure funding for your graduate studies in areas such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, materials research, mathematics, physics, psychology (excluding clinical/counseling), social sciences and STEM education and learning research.

This is a fellowship for domestic first-year graduate students and undergraduate seniors in STEM. Join a workshop from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 in 261 Rhatigan Student Center, Olive Room.

Help your students secure funding for their graduate studies in areas such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, materials research, mathematics, physics, psychology (excluding clinical/counseling), social sciences and STEM education and learning research.

This is a fellowship for domestic STEM students (first-year graduate students and undergraduate seniors). The workshop will be offered from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 at 261 Rhatigan Student Center, Olive Room.

Graduate students who plan to complete all degree requirements this semester must file an application for degree and pay the $25 filing fee. This needs to be done no later than Monday, Sept. 15. Submit your application for degree even if you have a plan of study pending to be approved or have not submitted a plan of study.

To submit your application for degree, log into the myWSU portal and click on the myClasses tab. On the right hand side, you will find a section called “Graduation Links,” with the appropriate links to proceed. The $25 fee must be paid using a credit or debit card.

For questions, email the Graduate School at wsugradschool@wichita.edu.

The Graduate School is looking for a graduate student success specialist to join its team. The ideal candidate will have a passion for the success of students. In the role, you will assist with developing, implementing and executing all programs, events and services for students.

The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) supports outstanding seniors and graduate students. Dr. Coleen Pugh, dean of the Graduate School, will offer a workshop covering the application process from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 in 264 Rhatigan Student Center, Spencer Room.

Invite students to attend the workshop. Eligibility for the grant includes:

• U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident
• Enrolled or intend to enroll full-time in a research-based graduate degree in a STEM field or STEM education
• Completed no more than one year of graduate school
• Never earned a doctoral, master’s or professional degree in any field
• High GPAs (>3.73)

The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend for the school and a cost of education allowance for the institution.