Wichita State awarded more than $880,000 by National Science Foundation

Wichita State University has been awarded more than $880,000 as part of a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will further establish Kansas as an internationally recognized leader in global climate change and renewable energy research.

The five-year award is for the Kansas NSF EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), a statewide program that includes WSU and other major Kansas research universities. It will provide a fresh integrative approach to address climate change and renewable energy challenges.

The grant is a multi-institutional, multi-sector effort that will link four universities: WSU, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Haskell Indian Nations University.

It will also include three Kansas-based companies: Abengoa Bioenergy, MGP Ingredients and Nanoscale; and two out-of-state companies: ADM (Illinois) and Netcrystals (California).

The initiative will also be supported by $4 million in matching funds from KU, K-State and Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp.

WSU faculty and staff who are involved in the research project include chemistry professor Francis D'Souza; industrial and manufacturing engineering professor Janet Twomey; chemistry professor Paul Rillema; biological sciences associate professor Mark Schneegurt; mathematics and statistics associate professor Chunsheng Ma; and electrical engineering and computer science assistant professor Bin Tang.

David McDonald

David McDonald, associate provost for research at WSU, said all the projects WSU is involved with revolve around exploring new sources of energy and investigating sustainability.

The project will focus on several critical issues in the development of solar-based renewable energy, with the overall goal to establish a critical energy research infrastructure.

Another goal is to allow Kansas to become a key leader in research that addresses global challenges, said Kristin Bowman-James, principal investigator and project director of Kansas' EPSCoR program.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the state of Kansas," she said. "With this funding, we will be able to harness the talents of researchers across the state to address two major issues of society today – climate change and renewable energy – under the umbrella of a single integrated initiative."

About 40 scientists are involved in the collaborative consortium, representing a vast array of disciplines, including agronomy, anthropology, computer science, economics, geography, mathematics, sociology, engineering, biology, chemistry and physics.

EPSCoR is a federal program that targets states that have traditionally been underfunded in the sciences and engineering. For more information on NSF EPSCoR, go to http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/.

Note to editors: News releases on the NSF EPSCoR grant are being distributed simultaneously by several of the institutions. This release has specific information regarding Wichita State.

World traveler Sarah Anderson lands at WSU

Two questions Sarah Anderson said she gets asked most frequently about living in Alaska are, "Wow really? Is it true that it's covered in snow year 'round?" and "Weren't you cold?"

Anderson, a Wichita State University senior, is one of the few students on campus, if not the only, who can say she has lived as far from Wichita as Anchorage, Alaska and Okinawa, Japan. Anderson's family moved around frequently because her father was in the Air Force.

Since being born in Riverside, Calif., Anderson has lived in two countries and seven states including Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota and now Kansas. She came to Wichita to be with her fiance, Ben Shipman, whom she plans to marry in the next few years.

Since becoming a Shocker, she has enjoyed Wichita State's campus and the people.

"There are a lot of great instructors at WSU who deserve recognition for their incredible passion in their fields," she said. "They really made class fun and full of life, and I was always looking forward to the next class period."

Anderson said a few of her favorite teachers include Ronald Matson, associate professor and chairman of the sociology department, Hussein Hamdeh, professor of physics, and Richard Spilman, associate professor of English.

Anderson is a lover of math and science, which explains her choice in a major of biology and a minor in chemistry. Beyond school work she considers herself an avid reader, and enjoys being out in nature and spending time with family, friends and her seven pets.

"I love animals. I have three cats, two gerbils, one rabbit and one chinchilla," she said. "My pets mean a great deal to me."

During the six months she spent in Alaska, she most enjoyed seeing the northern lights, being blanketed in a record winter snowfall of 111.5 inches and frequently spotting moose in her backyard.

"I love telling people about the places I've been," she said. "I'm so glad I grew up as an Air Force brat and was fortunate enough to travel."

Transitioning from place to place hasn't been too difficult for Anderson because she's done it many times, but the trip from Alaska to Kansas was possibly the most difficult move given it was her first time to travel alone.

When she arrived, she noticed two major differences: a lack of snow and a strong gust of wind.

"Kansas has some of the strangest windstorms I have ever seen, and it seems like it's always windy here," Anderson said. "I sure do miss the snowcapped mountains and trees."

Anderson is planning to complete her bachelor's degree in biology within the next year and afterward hopes to work as a veterinarian technician.

Wichita State News: Chemistry

Wichita State awarded more than $880,000 by National Science Foundation

World traveler Sarah Anderson lands at WSU