03/27/19
K-State Current - March 27, 2019
K-State Current is a weekly news update for the Kansas Board of Regents to apprise the Regents on a few of the many successes and achievements made by K-State faculty, staff and students.
K-State News
Excellence recognized: Kansas State University No. 2 on list of best public universities
Academics, career placement and more are earning Kansas State University recognition as one of the best public universities in the nation.
Learn.org, a highly visited website that has been helping millions of students find degree options, scholarships and more, rates the university as No. 2 in the nation on its 2019 list of best public schools. Kansas State University is the highest-rated school in the Big 12 Conference and the state of Kansas on the list.
To compile its list, Learn.org considered hundreds of public universities across the country and selected Kansas State University based on academic and career resources, the quality of education, faculty and more.
In its write-up for Kansas State University's high placement, Learn.org cited the number of degree options offered by the university, calling it an "the impressive array of programs." The university offers more than 250 undergraduate options and more than 150 graduate degrees and certificates. Learn.org also highlighted the university's reputation for graduating students ready to hit the workforce, as evidenced by the high percentage — now at 96 percent — of Kansas State University students who are employed or continuing their education six months after graduating.
"Degree options and high placement rates are just a few of the many reasons why Kansas State University is indeed one of the nation's best public universities," said Pat Bosco, vice president for student life and dean of students. "Other national publications have cited K-State for the high average starting salaries our graduates earn and for being one of the top educational values around. K-State also is a leader in providing the services that keep students prepared and focused on learning, such as career guidance and placement, undergraduate research and education abroad opportunities, first-year student success programs and much more."
Financial assistance also is a priority at Kansas State University, Bosco said, noting that the university awards more than $248 million in financial assistance annually, including $38 million in scholarships.
And when it comes to faculty and staff dedicated to helping students achieve, Bosco said Kansas State University is second to none.
"This high ranking by Learn.org is a tribute to our professors, academic advisers and student life staff who work tirelessly to ensure every student we serve has a chance to succeed — and it shows," Bosco said.
University center recognized for continued excellence in computer security research
The Center for Information and Systems Assurance at Kansas State University has once again been redesignated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
"Kansas State University received its initial designation in 2010," said Eugene Vasserman, director of the center and associate professor in computer science and Michele Munson-Serban Simu Keystone research scholar. "It was redesignated in 2014 and now again in 2019 through 2024."
The mission of Center for Information and Systems Assurance is to conduct fundamental and applied research in information and computer security and high-assurance systems, as well as advance the knowledge of students in many disciplines within and beyond engineering.
"Systems and information assurance is a cross-cutting area of computer science as well as many other disciplines," Vasserman said. "It is the theory and practice behind the design and operation of safe, secure and reliable systems across a broad spectrum of applications including hardware, networking and information storage.
"The center also engages the professional community in collaborative efforts that support the understanding, operation and development of secure software systems that pervade our society."
Vasserman headed up the redesignation effort and emphasized the benefit it brings to the university.
"We are doing cutting-edge research that is important and valuable," he said. "This designation certifies that K-State continues to operate a highly regarded center for cybersecurity research — we are a place that knows security.
"Potential students pay attention to this designation — we often get questions asking us to confirm that, yes, you can come to K-State where you will be able to contribute to these research efforts."
K-State Faculty Highlights
Novel data sharing agreement accelerates translational research
1Data, a unique collaboration by researchers at Kansas State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has signed a first-of-its-kind data sharing agreement with a local animal health company.
Aratana Therapeutics, a Leawood-based company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for dogs and cats, is the first company to share historic data from its clinical studies in dogs and cats.
1Data will use this data to continue populating its clearinghouse platform, which is already populated with data from human and animal health. The 1Data platform is designed to be a resource for “big data” researchers around the world to rapidly develop and test new therapeutics, drugs and medical technologies for people and companion animals.
"With the 1Data platform, researchers have access to a more diverse dataset to aid them in their pursuit of medical advances," said Gerald Wyckoff, director of 1Data and professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Kansas State University's Olathe campus.
"We are very excited and anticipate many positive outcomes from this collaboration by academia and industry," he continued. "1Data not only establishes a template for data sharing, but we believe it's an example of ways academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies can partner to achieve their common goal to advance medicine."
The 1Data team is in the final stages of completing its technology platform to aid researchers who are working to prevent, treat and cure human or animal diseases.
Once finalized, researchers can request data from 1Data’s secure, open-source database to mine specific information from a vast amount of standardized, pre-clinical, genomic and proteomic human and animal health data.
Search results can be filtered by various criteria. This enables researchers to analyze and compare data across animal species or even look at how the genetic information from a specific animal compares to that of a human. This could help scientists easily identify congruences in diseases that affect people, pets or both hosts, such as cancers, chronic mitral valve disease, possible links between asthma and bovine respiratory disorder, and other illnesses.
Data also can be plugged into computational modules that simulate humans, food animals or companion animals. This makes it possible for researchers to see which drugs are likely to fail during clinical testing and at what phase — thereby saving pharmaceutical companies both time and money. Additionally, the robust selection of computational models will save animal lives because it reduces the number of animals needed during testing — thereby saving pharmaceutical companies both time and money.
The 1Data team consists of Wyckoff, Majid Jaberi-Douraki , assistant professor of mathematics at the Institute of Computational Comparative Medicine; Jim Riviere , professor emeritus with the College of Veterinary Medicine; Hossein Amini , doctoral student in industrial engineering; Reza Mazloom , research assistant; Heman Shakeri , postdoctoral fellow in electrical and computer engineering; Josh Staley, master's student in veterinary biomedical sciences— all at Kansas State University; and Jessica Kawakami, postdoctoral fellow in Wyckoff's lab at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
About the novel data sharing agreement
1Data's data sharing agreement allows companies to contribute the data they choose to the 1Data platform. Companies submitting data can access the data sharing platform to plug data into the computational models and tap into the terabytes of genomic and proteomic human, companion and food animal information from major genomic databases across the world.
With the ongoing scientific exchange by 1Data investigators and pharmaceutical companies, there is a greater likelihood that new therapies can be developed and commercialized.
All developments resulting from the data sharing platform remain confidential until the time of publication and the company originating the data retains its rights to non-exclusive patents.
1Data encourages other companies to participate in the data sharing agreement.
K-State Student News
K-State Landscape Contracting Team places 12th at National Collegiate Landscape Competition
Forty K-State horticulture students participated in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition, March 20-23, at Colorado State University. The K-State Landscape Contracting Team placed 12th out of 64 schools and more than 800 students at the competition.
The competition is an annual landscape industry-sponsored, three-day competition and networking event for horticulture students enrolled at two- and four-year colleges and universities. Each year, a different school hosts the conference, which provides students opportunities to see other horticulture programs nationwide.
The conference brings together every sector of the green industry in a collaboration like no other. Students who attend and compete at National Collegiate Landscape Competition rate the event as one of the highlights of their college careers. The tough competition and interaction with so many facets of the industry help to frame possibilities for future careers.
The competitions also hosts the largest industry career fair in the country where students have their pick of internships and career positions from across the country. Six K-State team members also received national scholarships, and the K-State team brought home a check for $500 by winning the Career Development Series. Generous support from local, regional and national landscape firms help the K-State team offset expenses of the trip through financial contributions.
During the conference, students compete in 29 individual and team competitions, including leadership skills, arboricultural techniques, hardscape installation, plant identification, sales presentation, exterior/interior landscape design, irrigation troubleshooting, landscape construction and maintenance estimating, skid steer, employee development, business management and other related industry activities.
This year, several members of the K-State team placed in the Top 10 of their events: Dalton Dunn, woody ornamental plant identification; Tyler Clements, mini track loader operation; Jordan Robinson and Sofia Adinolfi, employee management; Katy Doll, sales presentation; Landon Forche, tractor loader backhoe operation; Cait Carlson, Claudia Giacone and Kinzie Ratliff, landscape plant installation; Kristin Vaughn, interior plant identification; and Renata Goossen, annual and perennial identification.
The team coaches are Greg Davis and Cathie Lavis. K-State has taken a team consistently for 18 years. In 2012, Davis and Lavis led the horticulture and natural resources department in hosting more than 800 students and several hundred industry leaders to the K-State campus for the event.
Airport management student at K-State Polytechnic wins Airports Council International scholarship
An airport management student on the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus is being recognized for his academic accomplishments and dedication to his field with an award from his industry.
, junior, Morris Plains, New Jersey, has been selected to receive the Airports Council International-North America, or ACI-NA, 2019 Commissioners' Committee Scholarship. The award was created more than 25 years ago to financially assist students with the specialized education that is necessary to work in airport management or airport operations. ACI-NA says to effectively run modern aviation facilities, students must possess high levels of management, operational and accounting skills coupled with aviation experience. To be considered for the scholarship, Li was required to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and demonstrate academic excellence, leadership and a desire to positively impact the airport industry.
"I am honored to have been chosen for the ACI-NA Commissioners' Committee Scholarship and I am happy to see that my personal and academic achievements are being recognized," Li said. "This scholarship will help reduce the financial burden and let me continue to focus on serving the K-State Polytechnic student body and campus community through my current leadership roles."
Li has enriched his education by acting as vice president of the campus's student chapter of American Association of Airport Executives and interning with the Salina Airport Authority and the Morristown Airport in New Jersey. This summer, he will return to the Morristown Airport for a full operations internship. Li also is a student ambassador, the diversity affairs director for the Student Governing Association, and a resident assistant. He is slated to graduate in May 2020.
The ACI-NA is the largest of five worldwide regions of Airports Council International. The organization's goal is to be the voice of airports, advocating policies and providing services to help strengthen commercial airports' ability to serve passengers and customers as well as operate more safely and efficiently.