WSU News - All Stories

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 27, 2025 — High schoolers don’t often get to see what real science is being done every day by researchers. Worst case scenario is that they are dealing with abstract numbers that don’t have any real-world parallels. But with the help of Dr. Thomas Luhring, assistant professor of biological sciences at Wichita State University, students will not only get to work with active data acquired by a real scientist, but the data also will have implications in their neighborhoods.

May 15, 2025 - Wichita State University students who work behind-the-scenes in the School of Performing Arts now earn money for their time and expertise, thanks to State of Kansas Applied Learning Funds. Twenty-three students work at jobs such as social media, costumes, fund-raising, lighting and scenes.

May 9, 2025 — Lisa Oldham, a proud two-time Wichita State grad, has dedicated her academic and professional journey to advocating for healing and justice in underserved communities. Fueled by resilience and a deep connection to Indigenous culture, she aims to serve others through work in corrections, mental health and substance use recovery.

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 5, 2025 — Hannah Copeland found her calling through years of involvement in WSU’s orchestra programs and youth music clinics. Her most rewarding experience has been student teaching in Wichita Public Schools, and she’s thrilled to continue that journey as the new orchestra teacher at Curtis Middle School.

May 2, 2025 - Wichita State University outfielder Lauren Lucas started college planning to work on the business side of professional sports. Five years later, she plans to coach softball in college. She changed course in part due to a shoulder injury that took her off the field and into the dugout as a coach.

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.

April 30, 2025 — Luke Parrett, a filmmaking major from Oklahoma, chose Wichita State for its proximity to home and the hands-on learning offered at Shocker Studios. His time at WSU has been shaped by applied learning in nearly every class, preparing him to pursue gig work across the Midwest and build a career in the film industry.

April 30, 2025 — Colby Hutson came to Wichita State for engineering but found his true calling in music performance, thanks to small class sizes and supportive relationships with professors. After graduation, he’s headed to Colorado State University to pursue a master’s degree in French horn performance.

April 30, 2025 — Bryonna Hawk is passionate about helping others through speech-language pathology and will continue her studies in Wichita State's graduate program. She credits her success to strong time-management strategies and hands-on experiences at the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.

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 29, 2025 — Sayed Mohib Hassan came to Wichita State University thanks to the W. Frank Barton School of Business and its business analytics program. While at WSU, Sayed made sure to make the most of his time by engaging in extracurriculars, participating in clubs and working for the Graduate School and recommends his peers do the same.