The Office of Research recently released the FY2023 Research Annual Report featuring outstanding research conducted at Washington State University.
For more than 130 years, research, scholarship, and creative activity at WSU has enriched the lives of the communities we serve, from Washington to the world. Our research addresses the challenges of today to create a better future.
WSU continues to expand its research portfolio through highly competitive funding from the federal government, augmented by strong state and industrial portfolios. WSU received $309 million across 1,571 awards. The top funding agencies included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense. This funding enables WSU’s researchers to explore significant problems and develop new solutions through collaborative science and innovative engineering technology.
Commercialization at WSU remains strong. During FY2023, WSU brought in $11.4 million in licensing revenue. Researchers submitted 64 patent applications and 72 patent disclosures.
We are excited to share some of the outstanding research conducted by our faculty in this report. Our research spans a broad range of topics, including food security and sustainable agriculture; community and public health; biomedical, life sciences, and biotechnology; environmental sciences and energy futures; next generation materials and advanced manufacturing; and AI/ML and robotics.
Examples of research highlighted in this report include:
- Plants can distinguish when touch starts and stops;
- Study identifies mental health disparities in rural schools;
- Liquid nitrogen spray could clean up stubborn moon dust;
- New genetic target for male contraception identified;
- Nano-sized islands open possibilities for application of single-atom catalysts;
- Home sensors can detect opioid withdrawal signs at night.
The report also highlights six emerging researchers to watch. Their work is already making an impact in the early stage of their careers. These researchers are studying a variety of areas, including:
- How to provide health services to people experiencing extreme heat, power outages and wildfire smoke;
- Design, optimization and application of wearable Internet of Things (IoT) devices, heterogenous mobile devices, flexible hybrid electronics, and health monitoring;
- Risk-Informed decision making, infrastructure and community resilience, risk assessment and management of infrastructure and supply chain systems, natural hazards modeling and simulation, applications of statistics and probability in civil engineering, and wildfire risk assessment, management, and evacuation modeling;
- Engineering new therapeutics against bacterial gastrointestinal pathogens;
- Indigenous child wellbeing and the disparity fueled by Alaska Native children in foster care in Alaska.
WSU faculty continue to be recognized nationally and internationally for their achievements and milestones. Their outstanding work has been honored by the National Academy of Inventors, United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing 50, the American Physical Society, Entomological Society of America, the American Bandmasters Association, and many more organizations.
To learn more about the life-changing research, scholarship, and creative activity unfolding at WSU, please read on – and stay up to date on all WSU research and services offered by the Office of Research by visiting research.wsu.edu.