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We have our winners!
Students in the Bacteriophage Discovery and Genomics course went head-to-head in a friendly competition known as the Phage Olympics, where they presented their best case as to why the phage they found and named deserved to have its genome sequenced. Since the sequencing costs money, only four from the class could be sequenced, and the winners were:
Bobburn - Mara Clement
Ceridwen - Itallie Jensen
Shroomer - Tayzley Neal
JayTee - Noah Thompson
Students were judged on the creativity of the name, the phage’s collection story, the phage’s shape and structure, and how fun the presentation was.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. If students have discovered a new phage, its complete genome will be submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information databases used by the medical and research communities. All of the students in the class are part of the Bridges to Research Careers program, which provides up to $7,000 in scholarships over four years and other support.
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New Faculty Spotlight: Tao Huang
Tao is an assistant professor in water resources engineering of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Huang received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Hydraulic and Hydrologic Engineering) from Purdue University in 2023 and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Hydraulic and Hydropower Engineering from Tsinghua University. Before joining Idaho State University, he worked as a postdoc in Earth Systems Data Science at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research interests include hydrologic and hydraulic modeling (physics-based and data-driven), uncertainty quantification in the numerical modeling process, and environmental impacts of hydropower systems.
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CoSE students, Md Ashrafuzzaman and Tirtha Karmaker, lent a hand at the College of Education’s STEM Night with the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Idaho at Syringa Elementary. They helped the kids build traffic lights using advanced construction kits.
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Join us for Coffee and Donuts on Dec. 9 and 10
The Dean's Office will have free coffee and donuts for students, faculty, and staff on Tuesday, December 9, and Wednesday, December 10. You'll find the warm beverages and breakfast items at:
Tuesday, December 9 | 10 a.m. to noon
Physical Science Complex, Room 204
Physical Science Complex, Chemistry Atrium
Wednesday, December 10 | 10 a.m. to noon
Gale Life Sciences Building, 1st floor lobby
Lillibridge Engineering Building, 1st floor lobby
The coffee and donuts are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and quantities are limited. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Graduate School to Collect Food for Benny's Pantry
The Graduate School is collecting a variety of food items to donate to Benny's Pantry for the holidays. Priority items include:
- Protein-enriched pasta
- Lentils and dry beans
- Canned meat/fish
- Chickpeas
- Powdered milk
- Peanut butter
- Whole grains
You can donate at the following locations:
- Graduate School Office
- Administration Building
- Eames Complex
- Roy F. Christensen Building
- Leonard Hall Pharmacy Building
- Beckley Nursing Building
- College of Science and Engineering Dean's Office
- Gale Life Sciences Building
- Business Administration Building
- Pond Student Union Building near the Copy Center
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Outstanding Student Achievement Award Noms Due Nov. 26
Each year, the ISU Alumni Association recognizes the incredible contributions made by Idaho State University students. They honor these individuals by presenting them with the Outstanding Student Achievement Awards.
The Outstanding Student Achievement Awards recognize student leaders' hard work, discipline, and academic excellence. The recipients are graduating students who have excelled academically, demonstrated outstanding career-related experiences, and made significant contributions through their involvement in extracurricular activities.
Nominations are due November 26. If you have any questions about the nomination process, contact the Alumni Office at alumni@isu.edu or (208) 282-3755.
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Bengal Bridge Benefit Slated for Dec. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Bengal Bridge will be hosting a fundraiser at Jim Dandy Brewing on Wednesday, December 3 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Jim Dandy will be donating 10 percent of the day's sales to the program, and the event will include a raffle and silent auction for tickets to Idaho State Civic Symphony performances, ISU athletic events, and more.
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Entries Sought for Molecular Research Core Facility's 2nd Annual Microscopy Competition
ISU's Molecular Research Core Facility is looking for entries for its student microscopy competition.
ISU students can enter up to three images from their research projects or as hobby microscopists.
The winning image will be selected based on its creativity/originality of the image, image description, and/or impact on research, as well as its artistic and visual characteristics.
The winner will receive a certificate of achievement, and the MRCF will feature the image. Entries are due December 1 at midnight.
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Rupert Elementary Seeking Booth Hosts for 9th Annual Science Night
Rupert Elementary would like to invite you to be a part of our 9th annual Science Night on Thursday, February 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Rupert Elementary Science Night is a free, high-paced, and interactive event designed for families to get their hands on science, technology, engineering, and math. The event drew nearly 1,000 visitors in a 2-hour time slot last year.
Booths can be set up for participants to "make-and-take", or to interact with before moving on to the next booth. To reserve your spot, contact Stacy Shaw, science night coordinator, at 360-536-7507.
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Internal Idaho NSF EPSCoR Seed Funding Opportunity
This Seed Funding program is part of Idaho’s multi-year (2023-2028) statewide National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Track-1 Research Infrastructure Improvement award, “Idaho Community-engaged Resilience for Energy-Water (E-W) Systems (I-CREWS).”
I-CREWS Seed projects must address topics at the intersections of Energy-Water systems. Here, the term Energy-Water (E-W) systems refers to the intersection between the systems, consisting of the physical infrastructure, data/information/knowledge, the people, laws and policy, as well as the fuel and water that flows or is in reserve. This may include, for example, interdependent power and water systems tied to the physical infrastructure for generation, transmission, distribution, and use of power and water, along with governance and management practices, knowledge flows, and effects on end users.
Proposals are due January 8.
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Nominations Open for Distinguished Faculty
Celebrate the exceptional work of Idaho State University faculty by submitting nominations for the 2026 Distinguished Faculty Awards. This is your opportunity to recognize colleagues who inspire students, contribute to the advancement of their fields, and make a meaningful impact on our community.
Award recipients will be honored at a special reception in April and recognized during the 2026 Commencement ceremony. Nominations for Distinguished Teacher, Service, and Researcher are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 16.
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The College of Science and Engineering Dean's Excellence Fund is intended to support students in their journey through ISU. The Dean's Office is particularly interested in providing financial assistance to students who might not be able to enroll in or complete the semester because of short-term financial hardships. Students seeking such support should be in good academic standing.
If you know of a student who is in need of short-term support, please have them complete this form.
| | | | Graduate School Dean Finalists Announced | |
After a competitive national search, five finalists have been named in the Dean of the Graduate School search. The finalists are:
Karen Appleby
Andrae Marak
Dain LaRoche
Darin Hoskisson
Tracy Collum
Each candidate will take part in an open forum in person on the Pocatello campus. All are welcome to meet the candidates and ask questions. Feedback opportunities will be available online after each forum.
| | Employee Headshot Session December 2 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. | The University provides free headshots for all faculty and staff. Headshots are taken in the ISU Photo Studio, Administration Building Room 138. All headshots can be downloaded for free from the University’s photo archives. | | Staff Council to Sponsor Free Holiday Ornament Making | |
Take a break, bring your colleagues, and enjoy creating your own holiday ornaments with Staff Council on Thursday, December 11, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the Pond Student Union Building's second floor lobby.
This free event is open to all staff and supplies will be provided for the first 250 participants.
| | | December 8 | Late 8-week and full semester course grading opens | | December 15 | Final Examinations | | December 19 | Fall classes end | | December 20 | Commencement (August and December 2025 graduates) | | December 22 | Late 8-week and full semester course grading closes at 5:00pm | | January 12 | Spring classes begin | | January 19 | Martin Luther King Jr./Human Rights holiday (no classes) | | | Upcoming Events in the College of Science and Engineering | | |
Department/Program
Chemistry
Event
Faculty Candidate Seminar: Topic TBD
Zach Schiffman
University of California-Irvine
Details
Mon Dec 1
1 pm
PSC 144
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Department/Program
Biological Sciences
Event
Sean Hopewell
Deepwater Conservation Initiative
Details
Thu Dec 4
4 - 5 pm
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Department/Program
Biological Sciences
Event
Jesse Wheeler
ISU Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Details
Thu Dec 11
4 - 5 pm
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Help Us Share Your Accomplishments!
Our College’s outstanding faculty, staff, and students achieve many notable research and professional accomplishments. In addition, our departments regularly have newsworthy advancements. We want to make sure those stories are shared publicly. Here are a few ways you can provide a news tip to help get the word out:
Use this Story Submission Form to send your news tip to the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Send an email to Logan McDougall (loganmcdougall@isu.edu) with a brief description of the news to be shared.
You are always welcome to create a draft story, submit it via the Story Submission Form, or send it to Logan. The Office of Marketing and Communications and Logan will coordinate to get the story finalized and distributed to the media outlets/platforms that best tell the story.
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