WSU Research Highlights
November 2016
$3M for Columbia Basin food, energy, water needs
A team led by WSU will study how to better coordinate and manage the food, water and energy needs of the Columbia River basin and make the region more resilient to a changing climate. PNNL is also collaborating on the research. – WSU News
$1.4M grant to keep truck drivers safe
The results of this WSU sleep study will inform the discussion on whether truck drivers should be allowed more flexibility in how they schedule their off-duty hours. – KHQ News
Treating human speech conditions
A discovery made by WSU Vancouver researcher studying mice “love songs” could change the way doctors treat conditions that affect speech. – NPR Morning Edition
$1.5M for improving math education
The NSF grant supports measuring the effectiveness of teaching mathematical modeling in elementary school as it applies to real-world cultural and community contexts. – WSU News
Smart city partnership with Mckinstry, Itron, Avista
WSU researchers are a key part of new smart city collaboration in Spokane called Urbanova. – Next City
Reviving music from the holocaust
Spirited music by a young Jewish composer who died at Auschwitz in 1944 was performed this year for the first time thanks to the research and efforts of a WSU researcher. – WSU News
Impact of cannabis legalization on crime, law enforcement
WSU researchers are undertaking a $1 million, three-year study of how the state’s legalization of cannabis has affected law enforcement and crime. – Leafly Newsletter
Smart phone lab to detect cancer
WSU took a huge step toward improved cancer detection and research with its newly portable laboratory that takes advantage of a smartphone’s technologies. – Digital Trends
Understanding and preventing skin cancer
Mapping damage of DNA opens a new avenue in the search for how sunlight causes skin cancer and what might be done to prevent it. The study was also recently named a national institute paper of the month – WSU News
Boeing grant supports stormwater research & outreach
New grant from Boeing for Washington Stormwater Center that WSU is a part of will help businesses understand stormwater regulations. – WSU News
WSU’s stormwater research was also featured on KIRO this week.
Spurring quinoa industry in PNW
WSU professor Kevin Murphy is leading research efforts to discover and develop varieties of the quinoa plant in the Pacific Northwest. Growing the popular crop here will advance local economies and food security. Dr. Murphy recently received $2M to continue this important work. – Seattle Times
Understanding psychology behind the clown epidemic
WSU psychology expert Craig Parks sheds light on the personal and societal stresses that could explain the recent national clown craze. – Seattle Times
Honors/Awards
Engels becomes fellow of American Physical Society
Peter Engels, professor of physics and astronomy, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in recognition of his pioneering work studying Bose-Einstein condensates. Engels is also part of a team that will create Bose-Einstein condensate in the gravity-free environment of the international space station. – WSU News
Knowles one of 16 named to international advisory panel
Don Knowles, a USDA research veterinary medical officer and WSU professor was chosen as the U. S. representative to advise an executive committee of Global Strategic Alliances for the Coordination of Research on the Major Infectious Diseases of Animals and Zoonoses. – WSU News
Four deans join Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
“These four deans haven’t been with us very long, but they’re already making important contributions to the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine,” said Founding Dean John Tomkowiak. “I think they all recognize, as I do, how exciting it is to have the opportunity to build a new medical school from the ground up.” – WSU News