March 2023

WSU researchers contribute to an expansive and diverse portfolio of knowledge

Wichita State is emerging as a regional and national leader in research, and the recent National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey put us (among all U.S. universities) in the top three in aerospace engineering and the top 20 in engineering research and development expenditures overall. This is in large part due to our outstanding faculty, staff innovation partners, and the exceptional work being done at our National Institute for Aerospace Research (NIAR). 

Research is a cornerstone of Wichita State, and we emphasize interdisciplinary research that works to fill the needs and solve the problems of our community and state.

Our dominance in the aerospace field sometimes overshadows some of the other truly groundbreaking research happening here, and I wanted to take a moment and highlight some of the non-aerospace research and innovations happening at Wichita State.

• Researchers from the fields of mechanical engineering and biology are working to revolutionize burn-wound care with a scaffolding system that prevents infection and promotes healing.

• The National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator Track awarded a Wichita State-led team a $750,000 grant to create a wayfinding system to help people with disabilities navigate through buildings, helping them find elevators, emergency exits and accessible entrances.

• An interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from engineering and public affairs are working to mitigate the environmental impact of road salt by creating an eco-friendly deicing agent.

• The Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learners (CETARL) is working on two initiatives: The first, Education for All, is to build a game-based learning platform to give millions of displaced refugee children access to age-appropriate lessons. Cybersecurity for All targets adult refugees, teaching them what red flags to watch for to avoid phishing and scams.

March podcast: Stephen Laaper from Deloitte's Smart Factory @ Wichita

Join President Muma for a conversation with Stephen Laaper, a principal at Deloitte Consulting, as they talk about the Deloitte Smart Factory @ Wichita, a groundbreaking, immersive learning environment on WSU's Innovation Campus for business leaders to experience smart manufacturing solutions.

Click above to watch a video of the podcast. Listen at wsu.news/ftpodcast or on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts and Apple Podcasts (iTunes).

Cody Keenan, former White House speechwriter, will be the speaker for the 2023 Craig W. Barton Speaker Series event at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 30 in Wiedemann Hall. Seat reservations are required, and the event is free and open to the public.

Keenan rose from a campaign intern to become chief speechwriter at the White House and Former President Barack Obama’s post-presidential collaborator. Together, Keenan and Obama’s efforts resulted in what have been called some of the most unforgettable addresses of our time.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual Wichita State event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage critical thinking and conversation.

Braeburn Square on Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus is transforming the dining and shopping scene in Wichita. With four new tenants — Sesame Mediterranean Kitchen, Jersey Mike’s, Two Hands Corn Dogs and Pedego Wichita — the shopping center is fully occupied and fast becoming a hub for all Wichitans to gather, feast and shop.

The four new tenants will join Braeburn Square’s current tenants: Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, Meritrust Credit Union, the Shocker Store, Social Tap Drinkery, Starbucks, Wheatly's Burgers and Sungrano Pizza.

On Tuesday, March 7, Wichita State’s women’s basketball made history in the AAC Tournament with a 65-53 win over top-seeded USF. The eighth-seeded Shockers are the first team in AAC history to beat the top seed. Jane Asinde scored 20 points for the Shockers, who improved to 18-12 entering Wednesday’s semifinal game.

• Wichita State’s softball team moved into the national rankings after a seven-game win streak and stayed there after winning four more at Wilkins Stadium. The Shockers, No. 22 in the Softball America rankings, are off to a strong start with a challenging schedule remaining. They played No. 7 Stanford (Thursday, March 9), and No. 23 Nebraska visits Wichita this weekend (starting Friday, March 10). Still to come are home games against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 8 Arkansas. An American Athletic Conference weekend series against USF should play a role in the top of the conference standings. Shortstop Sydney McKinney, who won the NCAA batting title with a .522 average last season, is hitting .629 entering the weekend to lead the nation.
• Baseball: Sophomore Payton Tolle is the big story at Eck Stadium after a 17-5 win over Oakland. On March 3, his performance evoked memories of past Shocker greats, such as Darren Dreifort and Travis Wyckoff. Tolle struck out a career-high 10 hitters and held Oakland to two hits and one run over six innings. He went five for five at the plate with a home run and double, driving in a career-high six runs.
• Brady Palen will compete in the high jump on Saturday, March 11 in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Palen, a sophomore from Beloit, is seeded seventh with a height of 7 feet, 3¼ inches.
• Adria Navajon won his third American Athletic Conference multi-event by scoring 5,641 points in the heptathlon at the indoor meet in Birmingham, Alabama. Navajon, a sophomore from Barcelona, Spain, repeated as heptathlon champion and won the decathlon in the outdoor conference meet last spring.
• Wichita State’s women’s tennis team defeated Kansas State 4-3 in Manhattan on March 3. Jessica Anzo grabbed the victory by defeating K-State's Rosanna Maffei, 6-2, 7-6 (5) at No. 3 singles.

Keep in touch.