RESEARCH & INNOVATION NEWS
Wichita State University
August 2023
August 2023
Latest News
NIAR secures $100 million contract for digital transformation and technologies to support USAF operational readiness
The office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Logistics and Product Support has sponsored a contract through the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) to award Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) a five-year $100 million cooperative agreement for digital engineering and technologies to support sustainment of legacy U.S. Air Force platforms.

This cooperative agreement provides for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period of time. Initially, it will be used to develop digital engineering solutions to support the sustainment and modifications of the B-52 Stratofortress and the C-130 Hercules aircraft; as well as complete the development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and B-1 Lancer digital twins.
Wichita State and WSU Tech impact on Kansas economy: $1.3 billion
Wichita State University and WSU Tech are key drivers of economic growth, fueling job creation, fostering industry partnerships, and supporting local businesses — and the numbers prove it. According to the 2022 Economic Impact Study, WSU and WSU Tech’s total economic impact in Kansas in 2021 was $1.3 billion.

The study, published recently by WSU’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research, used best practices laid out by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and Association of American Universities.
WSU engineering professor leads $2 million grant toward curbing nitrous oxide emissions
Bolstered by a $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, a group of Wichita State University researchers is hoping to create a paradigm shift from the use of harmful nitrous oxide-based fertilizers to more eco-friendly nitrogen fertilizers that would reduce greenhouse gases.

The project to curb nitrous oxide is a collaboration between researchers at WSU and Iowa State University, led by WSU’s Dr. Shuang Gu, associate professor in the College of Engineering, and Dr. Wenzhen Li, a professor in the College of Engineering at Iowa State. The ISU researchers also received $2 million from the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
Location for WSU/KU Wichita Biomedical Campus approved
The Wichita City Council approved a plan Aug. 1 that will move forward a project between Wichita State University and the University of Kansas to build a 471,000-square-foot health sciences center in the heart of downtown Wichita.

Council members agreed to sell or lease two tracts of land – at 214 S. Topeka (where the Wichita Transit Center, set to move to Delano, is currently located) and a parking lot at the southeast corner of Broadway and William.

With $205 million of the necessary $300 million raised for the project, construction on the Wichita Biomedical Campus is expected to start in early 2024 and be completed some time in 2026.
WSU’s Engineers without Borders building much-needed bridge for Ecuadorian village
Several Wichita State University engineering students are bringing Shocker innovation to a tiny village in Ecuador.

Through the WSU chapter of Engineers without Borders, three students recently began the process of working with the rural community of Mercedes de Agua Sucia in Manabi, Ecuador, to build a pedestrian bridge that will give residents safe passage to the main road and nearby cities to sell the goods and products from their farms, shop in nearby El Carmen, and for children to attend school.

Three students — Julian Vasquez, a sophomore in electrical engineering from Wylie, Texas; Austin Rempel, a junior in product design and manufacturing from Hillsboro, Kansas; and Nicolas Reyes, a senior in computer engineering from Oklahoma City — traveled to Ecuador over the summer to begin assessing the community’s needs.
Wichita State works with Airbus to prepare employees for using French during travels
Hannah Bui is now prepared to work with French-speaking colleagues at Airbus, thanks to “Business French for Beginners” taught by Wichita State University lecturer Rachelle Swilley.

Bui, a static stress engineer at Airbus, was one of about 15 employees who took the six-week course, taught for two hours each Friday, this summer at Airbus on WSU’s Innovation Campus.

Airbus, headquartered in France, also has nine locations in seven Canadian cities, most notably Mirabel in French-speaking Quebec. The course focuses on phrases and vocabulary that will help Airbus employees with travel and basic work interactions.
Wichita State University earns finalist honor for APLU Innovation & Economic Prosperity University Awards
As Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus approaches its 10th anniversary, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is recognizing the Innovation Campus’ role in cultivating research and innovation.

The APLU named Wichita State University on July 20 as one of five finalists for its 11th annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University Awards.

“On behalf of Shocker Nation, we are honored that the APLU has chosen Wichita State University as a finalist for the Innovation & Economic Prosperity University Awards,” said Dr. Rick Muma, president of Wichita State. “Our Innovation Campus is expanding, adding internships and hands-on learning opportunities for our students, creating jobs for our community, diversifying the Kansas economy, and helping us achieve our vision to be a premier urban public research university.”
WSU’s College of Engineering updates program in response to industry and alumni feedback
Wichita State University’s College of Engineering has updated one of its programs to create a more strategic career pathway for its graduates and meet the needs of business and industry. Effective fall 2023, the new applied engineering program — formerly engineering technology — has been adapted based on feedback from employers and alumni.

Applied engineering will be classified by the accreditation authority, ABET, in the general engineering category and move to the new 14.0103 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code, making graduates eligible to pursue their Professional Engineer (PE) licenses in Kansas and elsewhere.
In the News
Research at Wichita State
With yearly funding topping $270 million, research at Wichita State ranges from bioscience, chemistry and engineering to mathematics, physics and ancient civilization. 
 
Learn more at wichita.edu/research.
Innovation at Wichita State
Innovation is more than just talk at WSU. It permeates everything we do, all we aspire to become and reaches far beyond our campus boundaries.
 
Learn more at wichita.edu/innovation.
Student-centered. Innovation-driven.
About Wichita State University

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling almost 22,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing more than 120 acres, and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
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