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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.

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.

Stephanie and Matt Clark

March 7, 2022 - Wichita State alums Matt and Stephanie Clark taught English to students from fifth grade to high school in Ukraine from 2006-08 as Peace Corps members. Their friends and their warm memories are in turmoil as the Russian invasion wears on in their adopted country. They rely on social media to hear from former students, host families and friends, as they try to sort good information from bad and bring attention to the crisis.

students in front of the RSC

March 3, 2022 — In accordance with recently updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, effective Friday, March 4, masks will no longer be required for students, employees or visitors, regardless of vaccination status, while on or in Wichita State University premises or while attending campus activities or athletic events (unless otherwise noted). This includes all indoor and outdoor campus locations.

Researchers at Wichita State University's Molecular Diagnostics Lab test a specimen.

March 1, 2022 — Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) is re-opening COVID test collections to the public starting today (March 1).

Volunteers collect litter at a Wichita park.

Feb. 22, 2022 — The Wichita Litter Study was borne from community concern about the number of single-use plastic bags floating throughout the city. The study focused on 12 small sites within Wichita municipal parks — two parks within each city council district; and the data, while concerning, was not altogether a surprise for the research team.

Darren DeFrain holding up phone with Vizling app

Jan. 20, 2022 — The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a grant of $243,922 to a Wichita State University researcher for his work on an app that will allow people who are visually impaired to read comic books, graphic novels and other digitized graphic materials on their devices.

Campus aerial

Jan. 18, 2022 — Wichita State’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) is open and continues to process thousands of COVID tests with 24-hour results. However, the lab has indefinitely suspended its COVID test collection service.

Wichita State's Molecular Diagnostics Lab

Dec. 2, 2021 — In an effort to meet community needs, Wichita State University’s Molecular Diagnostics Lab (MDL) has developed a test to detect all three viruses — RSV, influenza and COVID-19 (RIC) — from one nasal swab. The RIC test is available to all individuals and partners who test via the MDL.

Picture of Dr. Nickolas Solomey.

Nov. 4, 2021 – Reaching for the stars and beyond, a CubeSat Mission Patch contest sponsored by Wichita State University and the Ad Astra Foundation aims to highlight WSU’s science and research programs to prospective students.

Masks

Nov. 1, 2021 - Helped by six grants from Kansas Leadership Center, Wichita State University’s HEALTH Student Association is working to end the pandemic and support students with information and resources to keep them healthy. HEALTH distributed more than 6,000 free and reusable masks, some with “Shockers United” branding, some plain black and sequined masks for the inauguration of president Rick Muma. It assembled gift boxes for quarantining students with information on COVID-19 vaccines and testing and gifts such as Wichita State water bottles, stickers and lanyards.

The American Athletic Conference logo

Oct. 29, 2021 - The American Athletic Conference is investing in big cities and the state of Texas with its addition of six new members recently. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Florida Atlantic University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Texas, Rice University and University of Texas at San Antonio had their applications for membership approved last week.