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people working on machinery

Sept. 2, 2022 — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced today will award $51.4 million to Wichita State University to aid in the rapid development and adoption of emerging smart manufacturing technologies for South Kansas.

Airbus 321

Aug. 18, 2022 — At a media event and celebration today, Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research WERX and Erickson Precision Ventures LLC announced their first collaborative passenger to freighter conversion program of an Airbus 321.

P3 building

June 29, 2022 — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced today the establishment of its Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Excellence, located on Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus.

Technicians process COVID-19 tests at the MDL

June 28, 2022 — Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab will continue to offer free COVID-19 testing to the public through December 2022.

Image of Becca Meyer

June 13, 2022 -- Becca Meyer is currently gaining applied learning experiences as a marketing strategist for Shock Starter. Shock Starter is an applied learning agency that offers a unique community perspective.

A DHL plane gets loaded with cargo.

May 25, 2022 — The WERX program at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and Erickson Precision Ventures have reached an agreement to work cooperatively on modification, maintenance and engineering for various Boeing and Airbus aircraft.  

Image of Keegan Staats

May 25, 2022 — Keegan Staats is working at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) as an operations assistant. This applied-learning opportunity is helping prepare him prepare for a career in finance.

Maria Romero Rodriguez

May 3, 2022 — Maria Romero Rodriguez came to Wichita State University from Madrid, Spain to study and compete in the pentathlon and heptathlon for the track and field team. She will graduate in May and compete at Cessna Stadium in the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with her family in attendance.

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.

NIAR completes ground vibration testing for Kansas Modification Center’s 777-300ERCF conversion

March 14. 2022 — Things are shaking in Wichita with the Kansas Modification Center’s 777-300ERCF conversion program at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). The team at NIAR WERX completed ground vibration testing last month.

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.