RESEARCH & INNOVATION NEWS
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WSU Innovation Campus wins Emerging Research Park Award | |
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The Association of University Research Parks (AURP) awarded Wichita State’s Innovation Campus with the 2023 Emerging Research Park Award at its annual international conference.
Each year AURP recognizes a research park or innovation district that, within 10 years, has created an exceptional ecosystem which brings technology from inception to market, creates high-paying jobs, and contributes to the economic health of its region.
In 2012, WSU had a bold vision of what the Innovation Campus could be. And now — as the Innovation Campus nears its 10th anniversary — an underutilized area of campus has been transformed into 120 acres of state-of-the-art research facilities, collaborative partnerships and educational opportunities with more than 50 partner businesses to date.
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Wichita State partners with Rocket City to aid military readiness | |
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Two Wichita State University organizations have established a solid presence in Alabama’s largest metropolitan area.
The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and FirePoint Innovations Center recently hosted a grand opening event at the Big Spring Summit in the heart of downtown Huntsville, Alabama, showcasing 6,000 square feet of newly renovated space in the building.
Strategically located near the Redstone Arsenal, a hotbed of Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA aviation development, the satellite location allows NIAR and FirePoint to accelerate collaboration with Huntsville-based military units and their collaborators and provides the ability to conveniently hold meetings and events in downtown Huntsville, rather than obtaining clearance for visitors on base.
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Wichita State announces cybersecurity collaboration with Knowmadics | |
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Wichita State University and Knowmadics are entering into a new collaboration aimed at enhancing the security and resiliency of satellite constellations and satellite-based communications. The endeavor is intended to strengthen the security of data collection and transfer among space-based Internet of Things devices.
The work will be performed through Wichita State’s National Institute for Research and Digital Transformation, and led by Pierre Harter, the associate vice president of research operations for WSU Industry and Defense Programs. Dr. Ross Gruetzemacher, WSU assistant professor of business analytics, will serve as the technical lead. His areas of expertise include data science and artificial intelligence.
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Wichita State scientists working to improve quantum technology | |
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Quantum technology makes everyday life safer and more productive. It’s used in fields such as health care, communications, national defense and computing. Quantum materials make it possible to develop precise and accurate lasers for use in LASIK surgery. GPS systems can be made more secure and impossible to jam. These applications and advances rely on scientists to find better, more efficient ways to produce quantum technology.
“Congress enacted the National Quantum Initiative Act in 2018 to fast-track quantum research and workforce development,” Jian Wang, assistant professor of chemistry, said.
Wang and Kapildeb Ambal, assistant professor of physics, are using an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support their work in understanding and controlling decoherence in hybrid spin qubit-magnon systems. Abdelghani Laraoui, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is also involved as a research partner.
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WSU students create new handrails for Koch Arena, improving the fan experience | |
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Thatcher Luginbill-Ruder will see his work in the lab pay off for fans every time the Shockers play in Charles Koch Arena.
Two of those fans are special to Luginbill-Ruder, a senior industrial engineering major from Olathe. Grandparents Errol and Suzanne Luginbill are Wichita State University alums and loyal fans of the Shockers.
When the Luginbills attend games in Koch Arena, the walk to their seats will be safer and easier, thanks to a collaboration among Shocker Athletics, the College of Engineering’s Innovation Hub and the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization. Around 400 handrails are being installed in aisles above the entryways in the upper bowl and in the lower bowl behind the baselines.
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FirePoint awards $40K to students for military-focused adaptable software architecture | |
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Through the inaugural Student Practical Architecting Challenge (SPARC), FirePoint Innovations Center at Wichita State University awarded nearly $40,000 to two student-based teams for their novel innovations in devising future-ready, modular and adaptable software systems to support the Department of Defense's (DOD) Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) initiative.
The first-place winners Murphy Ownbey and Greg Heiman, and second place winner Aiden McGillivray, all recent graduates from Wichita State University’s College of Engineering, will be recognized during the MOSA Industry & Government Summit & Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. More than 50 teams from colleges and universities across the country participated in the SPARC competition.
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Wichita State hosts Innovation Campus mixer with College of Fine Arts | |
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Faculty from the College of Fine Arts at Wichita State University and WSU's Innovation Campus partners got together for a day of networking and connection building Oct. 25.
Featured faculty from each school in the College of Fine Arts presented an overview of their department to guests, and faculty from the entire university were invited to mingle with attendees. Over 50 faculty members joined the event.
"The College of Fine Arts was enthusiastic about the opportunity to engage with our partners at the Innovation Campus," said Marie Bukowski, dean, College of Fine Arts. "We were excited about the conversations that came from the event and look forward to collaborating through artistic innovation and creation."
The mixer was part of a series of networking opportunities facilitated by WSU to encourage knowledge sharing and establish relationships among faculty and Innovation Campus partners. The College of Applied Studies was the featured college for the spring mixer.
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Research at Wichita State | | |
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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.
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Innovation at Wichita State | | |
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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.
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Student-centered. Innovation-driven. | |
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About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the United States 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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