November 2024

Many of you may have the tradition of reflecting around the Thanksgiving dinner table on what you are grateful for over the past year. I always try to prepare ahead of time for this tradition; otherwise, I run the risk of saying something routine or, worse, foolish! As I approached this holiday week, I took some time to reflect on the past year and one term that came to mind was “change.” This word seems fitting for many situations lately, but it particularly resonates within our community at WSU. Whether it pertains to the PAC-12, budgets, or the numerous leaders who, like me, have “interim” in their titles, we cannot ignore the significant changes occurring within our institution. While this change can feel unsettling to many of us, it also presents a tremendous opportunity to evolve and move our institution forward.

Applications are open now for all Washington State University undergraduates wanting to share their mentored research at the Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) 2025 on March 24 at WSU Pullman. Applications will close Feb. 18, 2025.

Washington State University graduate student in the College of Veterinary Medicine was honored at a national STEM conference for research excellence, highlighting WSU’s contributions to veterinary science and interdisciplinary scientific leadership.

A new interactive data tool has some answers. Researchers from Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine have developed a tool that enables industry groups, health organizations, and policymakers to gain insights from the nation’s largest and most authoritative survey about Americans’ diet, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

A new program at Washington State University is giving undergraduate students, regardless of their grade point averages or levels of experience, the unique opportunity to gain valuable experience in some of the university’s most advanced research labs.

Unlike kids in the United States, hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin have often learned how to hunt, identify edible plants and care for babies by the tender age of six or seven.

Whether cooking one side dish or carefully crafting a cornucopia fit for a full house, it’s important to keep in mind the principals of safe food preparation, said Stephanie Smith, a statewide consumer food safety specialist and associate professor with WSU’s School of Food Science.

A speed record has been broken using nanoscience, which could lead to a host of new advances, including improved battery charging, biosensing, soft robotics and neuromorphic computing.

Washington State University researchers developed a deep learning AI model that detects disease signs in animal and human tissue images faster and often more accurately than human analysis, potentially accelerating disease research and improving diagnostic speed and accuracy.

A new catalytic process was shown to break down polyester plastic waste into its basic, useful ingredients in an hour at moderate temperatures. If scaled up, the advance could someday allow for easier plastics recycling and help address concerns over plastics pollution.

Washington State University researchers will play a pivotal role in a newly established consortium dedicated to better understanding biological responses to conditions found beyond Earth’s orbit.

A “deep learning” artificial intelligence model developed at Washington State University can identify pathology, or signs of disease, in images of animal and human tissue much faster, and often more accurately, than people.

While spending Veterans Day in my home state of Vermont, I found myself reflecting on my parents. Both were children of the Great Depression, born into families of limited means. Like many of his generation, my father volunteered to serve in World War II right after high school. He went on to have a nearly 30-year career in the military, teaching mountain climbing and skiing skills for the 10th Mountain Division and Army Rangers. My mother went to nursing school in Massachusetts. After graduation, she supported the war effort by training nurses that were desperately needed.

This Faculty in Focus highlights the research and creative work of associate professor, Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience.

Washington State University researchers analyzed real-world data showing inhaled cannabis use is associated with substantial reductions in headache and migraine severity, suggesting potential therapeutic value for migraine relief and guiding future clinical pain management research.

Washington State University is leading a research initiative to advance veterinary vaccine development aimed at improving animal health and food security, supporting livestock resilience and reducing disease-related losses across agricultural systems.

Washington State University veterinary surgeon Dr. Boel Fransson fixed her eyes on a monitor screen displayed above her anesthetized patient, a shepherd-lab mix named Wolfie diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening condition.

An epidemiological study found that 56% of a large breeding colony of Caspian terns died from a 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at Rat Island in Washington state. Since then, no birds have successfully bred on the island, raising concerns that the outbreak may have had a significant impact on an already declining Pacific-coast population.

Washington State University researchers have received a three-year National Science Foundation grant to develop new networking technologies to improve the resilience of safety-critical networks that are used in aircraft, cars, and power grids.

The inaugural Washington State University Energy Summit, hosted by the WSU Tri-Cities Institute for Northwest Energy Futures (INEF), was held on the Richland campus last month. It included representatives from nearly all of the 26 energy-related entities within the WSU system. Attendees represented centers, labs, institutes, schools, departments, and programs system-wide. The event was the first time they had all gathered together in 20 years.