WSU News - All Stories

Aug. 28, 2025 — Wichita State University is pleased to announce the naming of the Ascension Via Christi Wichita State University School of Nursing, reflecting a decades-long partnership between the university and one of the state’s leading health care providers. 

Aug. 27, 2025 — Several groundbreaking manufacturing research programs from Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) have been named finalists for the industry’s top honors by the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) and the American Composites Manufacturers Association’s (ACMA) Awards for Composites Excellence (ACE).

July 31, 2025 — Wichita State and Groover Labs received a state grant to boost student innovation and help bring Kansas ideas to market. The funding expands hands-on learning, prototyping and outreach across the state.

July 31, 2025 — Wichita State University is one of the recipients of a renewed $20 million grant as part of the AI Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning (IFML), of which WSU is a founding member.

July 14, 2025 — Wichita State University has been named a partner in the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps Great Plains Hub — a $14 million initiative that equips researchers, students and entrepreneurs with the tools to move ideas from the lab to the marketplace. The first WSU-led cohort begins Sept. 15 and will further strengthen the university’s innovation ecosystem.

June 18, 2025 — Hexcel Corp., a global leader in advanced composites technology, is expanding its long-standing partnership with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research by establishing a Hexcel Application Center inside NIAR’s Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems.

June 12, 2025 — Wichita State’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has received a patent for VISION, an AI-powered composite inspection robot designed to detect and repair damage on aircraft parts autonomously. Developed at NIAR’s Automation Research Center and recently installed at a U.S. Army facility, the system uses machine learning to analyze inspection images and speed up aircraft maintenance.

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.

May 21, 2025 — Wichita State University and Dassault Systèmes have opened the Manufacturing Innovation Center, a cutting-edge research and design facility on WSU’s Innovation Campus. Developed in partnership with WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), the center is now available to industry collaborators seeking to explore virtual twin technology, 3D design solutions and advanced automation in real-world environments.

May 8, 2025 — Natasha Seneviratne found her place at Wichita State through family ties, supportive scholarships and hands-on experiences that helped her grow into a confident engineer.

May 8, 2025 — Yumi Kikuchi first came to Wichita State University as part of an exchange program and decided she wanted to pursue her graduate studies at the College of Innovation and Design. Her advice to other students? “Take chances. Life is an experiment, and college is the perfect time to explore, get involved and discover what truly excites you.”

May 8, 2025 — Wichita State University, WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) and Wichita Public Schools (WPS) have announced a new partnership designed to strengthen the region’s teacher workforce through the launch of the Future Teacher Academy and a 2+2 pathway program.

May 2, 2025 — Arland Wallace sat down with The Active Age to discuss his time at Wichita State University. After his first semester at WSU back in 1970 didn’t go well, he returned over 50 years later to get his bachelor’s degree in anthropology, with plans to move on to his master’s. “I just made the decision that cancer was not going to define me.”

April 30, 2025 — Abigail Smith, a music education and trumpet performance major, transferred from Coffeyville Community College to Wichita State, where she found a supportive community and hands-on experience in local classrooms. After graduation, she’ll attend the Aspen Music Festival and School before beginning her career as an elementary music teacher in the Wichita area.

April 30, 2025 — Madelyn Stilwell has built an impressive foundation in research and leadership through hands-on experiences at Wichita State and beyond, including co-authoring a scientific publication and presenting her work at national conferences. She’ll intern at Likarda this summer before continuing her studies in WSU’s biomedical engineering master’s program.