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777 taking off

April 26, 2022 — WERX at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research has completed the first pre-modification baseline test flight for the Kansas Modification Center’s 777-300ERCF passenger-to-freighter conversion program.

MagicHand

April 15, 2022 - MagicHand, an anthropomorphic robotic hand designed by a Wichita State University engineering team, is participating in the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program. The MagicHand is designed to achieve various dexterous object manipulations including object sorting, arranging and packaging.

Students sitting together

April 11, 2022 — The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has surpassed seven figures in annual scholarships for its students, with funds being distributed throughout the 2021-2022 season.

A rendering of Fly Your Own Wheels Suites

April 7, 2022 — A team from Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research has received international recognition for a design that would allow WC19 certified manual and power wheelchairs to be used as a seat on board commercial airlines.

Adult learning at Wichita State University

April 6, 2022 — Wichita State University has been designated an Age-Friendly University for its leadership in research, education and care for older adults. Wichita State is the first institution of higher learning in Kansas to receive this designation. Being recognized as an AFU demonstrates Wichita State’s commitment to promoting healthy and active aging through research, enhanced learning opportunities for people across generations, and innovations that address issues affecting older adults.

2022 Wallace Scholars

March 25, 2022 — Wichita State University’s College of Engineering has named the latest group of high school seniors to join the Wallace Scholar program. Ten Wallace Scholarship recipients will receive $28,500 each to attend Wichita State for four years. In addition, two students receiving other major university scholarships will be designated as Wallace Scholars.

Shirley Hazen

March 23, 2022 – The School of Nursing at Wichita State University has received a $35,000 endowed scholarship gift from retired faculty member Shirley Hazen through the Shirley E. Hazen RN-BSN Endowed Nursing Scholarship.

2022 Rudd Scholarship Winners

March 22, 2022 — The fifth class of Rudd Scholars includes 16 Kansas high school seniors who will attend Wichita State University.

Bhisham Sharma, an assistant professor in aerospace engineering, and Shuang Gu, an associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering, two recipients of John A. See Innovation Award.

March 14, 2022—Two Wichita State researchers and a student group have been awarded the John A. See Innovation Award. The award is given each year as a way to recognize novel ideas that have the potential to meet a market need and attract further funding once they have advanced through the early prototyping phase.

Wichita State's Molecular Diagnostics Lab

March 10, 2022 — Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab has been awarded the Jiggs Nelson Quality of Life 2022 award for its lifesaving and heroic work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forward Together graphic

March 10, 2022 — Wichita State University President Rick Muma has launched a new podcast, called “Forward Together,” where the president speaks with guests from throughout Shocker Nation to highlight the people and priorities that guide WSU. The podcast drops monthly, with the March edition releasing March 9. Some of the guests so far include Hollywood director Dean Hargrove, WSU basketball coach Isaac Brown and WSU research vice president Coleen Pugh.

B1B in a Wichita State parking lot

On March 9, 2022, the B-1 System Program Office (SPO), Tinker AFB, OK awarded a six-year, $100 million follow-on contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to continue the B-1’s Digital Engineering (DE) transformation. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) helped form the strategic partnership and created a flexible contract structure, which allows NIAR and the B-1 SPO to adapt requirements real-time to meet critical warfighter needs.

A heat map from the study shows where the participants’ eyes tend to look with the red indicating more gazing in that area and the blue indicating less gazing.

March 8, 2022 — Ever wonder what other people are looking at during Zoom or WebEx meetings? Dr. Akmal Mirsadikov, who specializes in deception detection and eye tracking at Wichita State University’s W. Frank Barton School of Business, recently ran an exploratory study about how people interact on Zoom.

Cohen Ayers and Grace Simon

Feb. 24, 2022 — The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has chosen two recipients to receive the 2022 Professor Fran Jabara Scholarship in Entrepreneurship. This year’s winners are Cohen Ayres from Garden Plains and Grace Simon of Wichita. They will each receive $32,700 over four years to attend WSU and major in entrepreneurship.

2022 Klose Scholars: Joel Reyes and Kelsey Mosiman

Feb. 18, 2022 — Kelsey Mosiman of Leavenworth and Joel Reyes of Wichita have been named the 2022 Doris and Ralph Klose Scholarship worth approximately $19,000. The two high school seniors competed in a scholarship competition at Corbin Education Center in November 2021, and they will begin their Wichita State education in fall 2022.