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Vamsidhar Patlolla

June 9, 2025 — Shocker Composites, founded by Wichita State alum Vamsidhar Patlolla, transforms carbon fiber waste into high-performance, sustainable materials using a recycling method he developed during his graduate research. With support from Wichita State’s NIAR and Innovation Campus, the company is scaling up its impact and demonstrating how university-backed startups can drive real-world innovation and sustainability.

2025 Wallace Scholarship winners: Emilia Bustamante, Tyllor Childers, Hudson Coffman, Lexi Grimm, Connor Maul, Sean McDermott, Luke Osburn, Molly Patterson, Madison Sohm, and John Vonder Bruegge

March 5, 2025 – Wichita State University’s College of Engineering has named the latest group of high school seniors to join the Wallace Scholar program.

Grant Adler

Feb. 13, 2025 - Shocker pitcher Grant Adler, who attended Derby High School, will graduate in May with a general studies - chemistry degree while continuing to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He will intern at Spirit AeroSystems for a second summer.

Javier Martinez in his graduation regalia

Dec. 16, 2024 Javier Martinez received the Mark and Stacy Parkinson Scholarship, which, alongside Wichita State University’s closeness to home and mechanical engineering program, made it a no-brainer for Javier to attend WSU. He used the opportunities available to him as a Shocker to stay up on his studies and now joins his peers in graduating with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.

Diego Vargas-Ruiz

Dec. 10, 2024 For Diego Vargas-Ruiz, college life was trying to find a balance between academe, friends and personal health, but instead of trying to fight it, he took the challenge as an opportunity to optimize his responsibilities until he found his rhythm.

NASA SUITS student

May 20, 2024 - Wichita State is one of 10 teams which advanced to the spring semester competition in the NASA SUITS challenge. The team travels to Test Week in Houston at the Johnson Space Center this week. The list of finalists includes the University of California Berkeley, University of Colorado, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Purdue University and others.

Max Proctor poses with two Hercules beetles

April 22, 2024 — Three Wichita State University students have secured the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation — an award worth $159,000 over three years.

Graphic element of Koch scholars

Feb. 15, 2024 — 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.

Picture of all nine Koch Scholarship winners: Spencer Blaine Clayton Dudley Gannon Hall Kathryn Kuhlman Stewart McClelland Samuel Morris James Peterson Evan Rust Akasha Schlicht.

Feb. 25, 2022 — Wichita State’s Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College is proud to announce nine recipients of the Koch Scholars Program for the fall 2022 semester. These eight recipients will each be awarded $30,000 over the next four years.

Arfath Mohammad, Shocker alum

July 2, 2020 -- Shocker alum Arfath Mohammad is using artificial intelligence to help save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abel Barraza

March 12, 2020 — Abel Barraza hasn’t shied away from challenges during his time at Wichita State University. The first-generation college student from Dodge City not only undertook a rigorous curriculum that included fluid mechanics and calculus, but he also served as president of his fraternity during his demanding senior year.

Tony Ibarra

Nov. 15, 2018 -- First generation student Tony Ibarra is much more than just a mechanical engineering major.