K-STATE RESEARCHERS MAKE 2010 A YEAR OF INTRIGUING DISCOVERIES

2010 was a busy year of discoveries for Kansas State University researchers. Here is a sampling of some intriguing and fun faculty and student research projects from the past year.

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PLAUDITS

K-STATE PROFESSOR IS STATE SOCIAL WORKER OF THE YEAR

Jacque Gibbons has been named the social worker of the year in Kansas.

Gibbons, an associate professor of social work, was selected for the honor by the Kansas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. The chapter cited Gibbons' commitment to the values and ethics of the profession; his volunteer service, particularly with the American Red Cross as a certified mental health responder; and his work training future social workers. Read more

SMITH, CAI EARN HONORS FROM COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Two College of Business Administration faculty members received teaching and research awards at the college's Dec. 11 commencement ceremony.

Fred Smith, instructor in accounting, is the fall 2010 recipient of the Kansas State Bank Teaching Excellence Award. Gangshu "George" Cai, assistant professor of management, received the 2010 College of Business Administration Outstanding Contributions in Research Award. Read more

WILLIAMSON EARNS PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSE

Matthew Williamson, instructor of construction engineering technology at K-State Salina, has earned his professional engineer license in civil engineering-geotechnical.

The licensure allows Williamson to seal his own designs, plans and documents as being approved by a professional engineer. Read more

 

OH, BY THE WAY

WEB EDITORS MEETING SCHEDULED FOR FEB. 1

The Web Services team invites all departmental Web editors to join them for an open monthly meeting 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in the Leadership Studies Building, Room 201. The meeting will address what's happening online at K-State. The possibilities are growing through a new content management system, evolving Web templates and expanding Web 2.0 technologies. Seating is limited, so people interested in attending should register at http://www.k-state.edu/webservices/meeting or send an email to wherndon@k-state.edu.

K-STATE'S WEB ACCESSIBILITY BETTER THAN ANALYSIS SUGGESTS

On Dec. 12, 2010, the Chronicle of Higher Education released some statistics on the "Best and Worst College Websites for Blind Students" based on data compiled by Jon Gunderson from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. K-State was ranked 106 out of 183 institutions analyzed with a total average score of 51.9 percent.

However, in analyzing the data, it seems that K-State's website may not be as inaccessible as the article's data suggests. Read more

PRESIDENT KIRK SCHULZ ANNOUNCES NEW CONTRACT FOR ATHLETICS DIRECTOR JOHN CURRIE

President Kirk Schulz announced Monday that John Currie, K-State athletics director, has accepted a new contract, a move that recognizes Currie for his outstanding leadership and allows K-State Athletics to continue the stability and momentum provided since his appointment 18 months ago. Read more

PARTNERSHIP WITH ARGENTINEAN UNIVERSITY KICKS OFF

Two K-State professors recently traveled to Argentina to kick off an international institutional cooperation between K-State and the University of Lanus, or UNLa, in Buenos Aires.

The institutional agreement was developed last summer after Gabriela Diaz de Sabates, instructor of women's studies, and Marcelo Sabates, associate professor and head of the philosophy department, presented the idea to authorities at the University of Lanus. Their trip was supported by a grant from K-State's office of international programs. Read more

K-STATE PROJECT PUTTING IPADS IN LOCAL MATH CLASSROOMS

The department of curriculum and instruction is using a $70,000 grant enhancement to purchase iPads for mathematics teachers in local school districts.

The iPads will be used as a technological resource to enhance math lessons and instruction in the classroom. Read more

RESEARCH LOOKS AT PATHOGENIC ATTACKS ON HOST PLANTS

Two K-State researchers focusing on rice genetics are providing a better understanding of how pathogens take over a plant's nutrients.

Their research provides insight into ways of reducing crop losses or developing new avenues for medicinal research. Read more

PROFESSORS USING USDA GRANT FOR VETERINARY EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT PROJECT

Three faculty members from the College of Veterinary Medicine have received a grant for developing a new method of teaching veterinarians involved with food safety.

David Anderson, Robert Larson and Brad White, all from the department of clinical sciences, are receiving part of a Higher Education Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their project, "Food Systems Veterinary Medicine for the 21st Century." Read more

DODDS CONTRIBUTES TO NEW NATIONAL STUDY ON NITROGEN WATER POLLUTION

Walter Dodds, university distinguished professor of biology, is part of a national research team that discovered that streams and rivers produce three times more greenhouse gas emissions than estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Through his work on the Konza Prairie Biological Station and other local streams, Dodds helped demonstrate that nitrous oxide emissions from rivers and streams make up at least 10 percent of human-caused nitrous oxide emissions -- three times greater than current estimates by the climate change panel. Read more

PROFESSOR EDITS NEW BOOK ABOUT SOVIET UNION IN WORLD WAR II

David Stone, the Pickett Professor of Military History and director of the Institute for Military History and 20th Century Studies, is editor of the new volume "The Soviet Union at War 1941-1945."

The book is published by British publishing company Pen and Sword Books; Casemate Publishing will distribute it in the U.S. Read more

DRAMA THERAPIST'S NEW BOOK PROMOTES BARRIER-FREE THEATER

Sally Bailey, associate professor and director of the drama therapy, had her third book, "Barrier-Free Theatre," published by Idyll Arbor.

In the book Bailey shares her ideas, tips and anecdotes about making theater accessible to children and adults with disabilities. Read more

THE ECOSYSTEM ENGINEER: RESEARCH LOOKS AT BEAVERS' ROLE IN RIVER RESTORATION

When engineers restore rivers, one K-State professor hopes they'll keep a smaller engineer in mind: the North American beaver.

Beavers are often called ecosystem engineers because they can radically alter stream or valley bottom ecosystems, said Melinda Daniels, an associate professor of geography who recently studied the connection between beavers and river restoration. Beaver dams create diverse river landscapes, she said, and can turn a single-thread channel stream into a meadow, pond or multichannel, free-flowing stream. Read more

STUDY LOOKS AT ENHANCING THE FOOD SAFETY CULTURE TO REDUCE FOODBORNE ILLNESS

If providing safe food is a priority, why do large outbreaks of foodborne illness keep happening?

Incidents like 2010's salmonella-in-eggs outbreak sickened more than 1,900 across the U.S. and led to the recall of 500 million eggs. Read more

POP ART, COMMUNITY INTERSECT AT BEACH MUSEUM'S OPEN HOUSE FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

The Beach Museum will celebrate two world-changers with its Martin Luther King Day Open House.

The free Day-On Open House is 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 17. The event, funded by a Community Giving Program Grant from Target, celebrates the holiday as a day on, not a day off. Read more

HIGHLIGHTS FROM DECEMBER FACULTY SENATE MEETING

Faculty Senate minutes for the Nov. 9 meeting have been posted at http://www.k-state.edu/facsen/facsenate/2011/minutes.htm. Read more

K-STATE ALREADY ON THE MOVE IN 2011: PROVOST MASON VISITS CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE

On Jan. 5, Provost April Mason and Wei Wu, Chinese program director and special assistant on China affairs, visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Kansas Edwards campus. The visit was a further step in the investigation process to evaluate if a Confucius Institute could be established at K-State. The idea was proposed by the Chinese program and the East Asian Studies program as a way to strengthen Chinese language and culture teaching at K-State. As the first step of the investigation process, Mason and Wu visited the headquarters of the Confucius Institute in Beijing in July 2010. Read more

 

Michael Wesch, associate professor in cultural anthropology and expert in the effects of new media on society and culture, discusses leadership and social media at the Coffman Institute Retreat, Jan. 5. The next Coffman Leadership Institute will be in 2012, with nominations opening in January that year. More information about the institute, visit http://www.k-state.edu/leadership
/coffmanLeadershipInstitute.html?section=na&selected=na

 

 

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