Category: Awards and Recognitions

A technical paper authored by a group of Wichita State students, “Economic and Reliability Impacts of Combined Solar and Battery Energy Storage as a Non-Wire Alternative,” was recently recognized as the best paper in the 55th Annual North American Power Symposium. The paper was authored by two undergraduate students in the electrical and computer engineering program at WSU, Mary Peterson and Olivia O’Reilly, along with Esther Liu, who was a student at East High School at the time of authorship.

Peterson, O’Reilly and Liu were mentored by two then-doctoral students, Arun Kaarthick Manoharan and Sarangan Rajendran, faculty advisor Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan, and two industry advisors, Al Tamimi and Charles Yokley, both from Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. The symposium was hosted Oct. 15-17 by Western Carolina University in Asheville, North Carolina.

In addition to receiving recognition for authorship of the paper, Peterson was also recently awarded the IEEE PES Scholarship for the second year. The scholarship is a merit scholarship awarded to undergraduate students in electrical engineering who are pursuing careers in electrical power systems.

Corri Newman, MA-CSD (SLP) student in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, was selected as second place winner for the Kansas Speech-Hearing Association’s Margaret Byrne Sarricks Scholarship. Her award-winning virtual poster presentation was entitled, “Supported Conversation Training Outcomes for Future Healthcare Professionals: A Pilot Study.”

Her pilot study, completed with faculty mentor, Dr. Erin O’Bryan, is in preparation for a larger study they will be conducting at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center. This affiliation is part of a collaboration between the VA and the College of Health Professions.

This pilot study examined learning outcomes from six students to measure effects of a self-paced online learning module about effective communication with patients with communication disorders. The results will be used for a larger comprehensive study investigating whether future healthcare professionals can improve skills for communication with aphasic patients.

Dr. Lori Santos was named the 2023 Outstanding Higher Education Art Educator of the Year by the Kansas Art Education Association (KAEA). KAEA presented the award at its fall conference Oct. 7 at Emporia State University.

Santos, associate professor of art education in the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries, received her Ph.D. in art education, minor in art history with an emphasis in pre-Columbian, Latin American and Native American art from University of North Texas. In 2019, she attended the School of Art Leaders and began serving on the Task Force for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with the National Art Education Association. She has led several small groups of Wichita State art students to Peru and Mexico to give them a cross-cultural experience and broaden their worldview, and her work has been shared through workshops, publications and art across the U.S. and around the world.

KAEA is a statewide professional organization dedicated to the growth and development of art educators and the advancement of high quality art education.

Community Engagement Institute’s (CEI) Public Health Program specialists, Juliane Walker and Taylor Carter, won awards at this year’s annual Kansas Public Health Association (KPHA) Conference. CEI congratulates both on their awards.

Walker was awarded the Jane Addams Award, which is awarded to a social worker who exemplifies the qualities of Jane Addams. Qualities include a pioneering spirit, a trailblazer, one striving to improve the health of the poor and sanitary conditions of communities.

Carter was awarded the Emerging Leader Award, which is awarded to an individual who has exhibited public health leadership in Kansas through advocacy, community involvement and/or program innovation as a student or early career professional.

Dr. Rob Manske, professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, has been selected as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The Catherine Worthingham Fellow is one of the highest honors in the field of physical therapy.  

Manske began teaching in the PT program at Wichita State in fall 1998 and served as chair from 2013 to 2018. He has taught in PT programs for over 25 years and has been recognized for his extensive research and contributions to the profession. He is credited for approximately 70 peer-reviewed publications and has authored or edited 13 books.  

Manske will be honored at the annual APTA Celebration in July 2024 in Kansas City. 

Dr. Amy Drassen Ham, clinical professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, will receive the 2023 KPHA Virginia Lockhart Health Education Award for outstanding service in promotion of public health and environmental issues during the Kansas Public Health Annual Conference on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, in Manhattan, Kansas.

Previously, she has been recognized at Wichita State for her teaching, including the 2023 Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching Award, the 2015 Rodenberg Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award.

She has devoted her expertise to educating students as well as community partners to build the current and next generation of the public health workforce in Kansas. With more than 20 years of public health education experience in higher education, she has developed more than 40 different courses, teaching thousands of students in Kansas and building their understanding of public health related topics. Her teaching has integrated public health partners to solve real problems in the community

“Kansas English,” edited by Dr. Katie Cramer, professor of English education in the School of Education, and published in WSU’s Open Journal Systems by the Kansas Association of Teachers of English, has been named a recipient of the 2023 NCTE Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award, given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). This is the fourth year in a row that “Kansas English” has earned this distinction.

Established in 1995, the award honors outstanding affiliate journals and their editors who demonstrate excellence in these publications. The winning affiliate journal must be a magazine-type publication—print or online—and provide members with scholarly articles on issues and topics related to English language arts teaching. The journals are judged on content, organization and scholarly exploration; appeal to many different groups within the affiliate; coverage of important issues in English language arts education; and inclusion of other types of writing (e.g., poetry, affiliate news, book reviews).

The Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award winners will be announced at the 2023 NCTE Annual Convention in Columbus, OH, during the affiliate session Nov. 19.

Wichita State Esports received several awards and nominations at the 2023 National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) 2023 National Convention, held July 11-13 in Indianapolis.

• Japheth Briney, student-athlete: Super Smash Bros Ultimate, player of the year and first-team All-NACE
• Justyce Briney, coach: Super Smash Bros Ultimate, NACE coach of the year nominee
• Jake Kurtz, student-athlete: Call of Duty, second-team All-NACE
• Travis Yang, director: NACE Hero Award nominee, re-elected to the board of directors

The Service-Learning Showcase is a unique opportunity for students who participate in service-learning through applied learning opportunities to showcase their experience through a research or reflective poster about the application of their course work to current community issues.

The showcase is an open forum for students to interact with faculty, staff, community partners and other students to engage in conversation about Wichita State’s commitment to the public good.

Awards were presented in the following categories:

• Overall Service-Learning Award:
  • Panther People: Creative Education at the Service of Language Diversity
    • Community Partner: The Independent School, Wichita
    • Students: Samuel Nze, Raul Rangel, Randi McCowan, Abigail Mackey, Kelly Adams, Ann Lipsett and Kaitlyn Hemberger
    • Faculty: Dr. Mythili Menon, Department of English
• Community Impact in Service-Learning Award:
  • Open Your Eyes
    • Community Partner: Shocker Support Locker
    • Students: Bashar Alajmi, Fidias Candia Farina and Vi Pham
    • Faculty: Dr. Cindi Mason, Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering Department
  • Healthy Mind Healthy Life
    • Community Partner: Counseling and Prevention Services
    • Students: Carolina Wright
    • Faculty: Julie Henderson, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
• Innovation and Creativity in Service-Learning Award:
  • Every Kid Outdoors Outreach
    • Community Partner: Every Kid Outdoors, Hesston Elementary, Tescott Elementary Schools
    • Student: Meaghan Roths, Jordy Mosqueda, Kyndal Dorzweiler, Cole Wassenberg and Kylie Flax
    • Faculty: Dr. Chelsea Redger-Marquardt, College of Applied Studies
• Collaboration and Leadership in Service-Learning Award:
  • Organizing Archives
    • Community Partner: Kansas Aviation Museum
    • Students: Kayla Van, Natali Aguilar-Lopez and Ximena Chanez
    • Faculty: Dr. Cindi Mason

Come celebrate the accomplishments of art history students studying in the School of Art, Design & Creative Industries at the annual Art History Awards at 6 p.m. Friday, April 21 in the Beren Gallery of the Ulrich Museum of Art.

Join presentations by Anne Kraybill, director and CEO of Wichita Art Museum, and Samantha Carter, lead educator at Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. This event is open to everyone at no additional charge.