Sciences News

A concert by the WSU Wind Ensemble on March 22 will feature the premiere of two  compositions: the U.S. premiere of Francois Glorieux’s “Concerto for Euphonium,” and the world premiere of “Dark Matter: Petite Concertino for Tuba and Band” by Ben Kirby.

The concert will kickoff the 2013 Northwest Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference on the Washington State University campus. It is one of seven such regional conferences of the International Tuba Euphonium Association.

Master classes, lectures, demonstrations and live performances from Northwest teachers will advance tuba-euphonium pedagogy and literature. Students will participate in competitions, (more…)

Columbia River Near Hanford, Late Afternoon painting by Dianne Dickeman

“Particles on the Wall,” a multidisciplinary art exhibit examining how nuclear technology has affected humanity, opened today at the Washington State University Tri-Cities Art Center.

It interweaves visual art, poems and science with history and memorabilia to address issues of radioactive contamination, nuclear weapons and technology in Washington State — and the role of nuclear technology in southeastern Washington’s desert landscape.

“As a curator invested in local culture and education, I am particularly interested in the varied narratives and diverse depictions of the history of Hanford and the Columbia River nuclear era,” said Peter Christenson, assistant professor of fine arts and Art Center curator. “‘Particles on the Wall’ is truly an interdisciplinary approach to community-based education and is an impressive example of inspired artistic expression.”

Uniquely, it is a growing exhibit: it is different each time it is displayed. For the WSU Tri-Cities show, it includes nearly 50 pieces of art.

The WSU Tri-Cities Art Center is located inside the Consolidated Information Center at 2770 Crimson Way, Richland. Admission is free. Center hours are noon-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday. The exhibit ends April 4.

Learn more at particlesonthewall.org >>

Pamela Lee and Judy Meuth, both clinical associate professors in the College of Arts and Sciences, are the inaugural recipients of the annual President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Nontenure Track Faculty at Washington State University.

Pamela Lee

The new award will be among those presented at the Celebrating Excellence Recognition Banquet on March 29, part of the WSU Showcase annual celebration of faculty, staff and student achievement.

Lee, a WSU alumna in the Department of Fine Arts and the Honors College whose art is featured inexhibits and collections nationwide, says she is passionate about the “art and craft” of teaching and extends herself to keep her teaching contemporary and engaging for students.

Judy Mueth

Meuth teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies, including the popular Women’s Studies 220 (Gender, Culture and Science) since 2003. She leads workshops and mentors interns, McNair scholars and honors students on their thesis projects.

Read more at WSU News >>

Do-gooder or scoundrel – in the wake of the early February announcement that the skeleton found beneath a parking lot in central England is that of King Richard III, how much does it matter? After all, he reigned for only two years and died more than a half-millennium ago at the age of 32.

There’s also the question of how much a long-buried skeleton can tell us about the person’s actions and behaviors back in the 15th century, said Jesse Spohnholz, associate professor of European history. “While the bones confirm that he suffered wounds in battle and also resolve the puzzle of where he was buried, they are silent when it comes to telling us how he reigned.”

Read more about the debate >>

With the help of a $1.7M federal Math and Science Partnership grant, WSU professors from several disciplines will provide instructional support for teachers in selected school districts over the next three years.

“The focus is on development of middle school math and science teachers’ content knowledge and on student-centered instruction through the use of ‘design challenges,’ which are integrated, project-based learning experiences,”  said David Slavit, professor of mathematics and education at WSUVancouver.

Materials developed through the partnership program will be available for all schools across the state.

Read more at WSU News >>

C. Richard King, professor in critical culture, gender and race studies, will join other commentators, authors and sports representatives for a live broadcast from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on Thursday, Feb. 7.

The event will include a series of panel discussions on racist stereotypes and cultural appropriation in American sports. In particular, the webinar will examine collegiate retirement of Native American sports references and some recent efforts to revive them despite the NCAA’s policy against “hostile and abusive” names and symbols.

King will discuss the origin myths behind mascots as part of the first panel beginning at 7:30 a.m. PST.

The National Museum of the American Indian regularly hosts intellectual and cultural events and symposia that include a select group of scholars and advocates, King said.

For a schedule of topics, list of panel members or to register for the webcast, go to nmai.si.edu/multimedia/webcasts/.

Gregory Hooks

Building on earlier research in which they challenged the widespread belief that rural communities can create job growth by hosting state prisons, researchers at Washington State University have now found local job growth is often impeded in communities that become hosts to privately operated prisons.

“Our most recent research, which relies on a large, comprehensive national dataset, is consistent with our prior work showing that prisons really make little contribution to local economic growth,” said Gregory Hooks, professor of sociology at WSU. “Moreover, our study reveals that, in states moving quickly to turn over management of their prison systems to outside companies, the privatization of prisons often has a negative impact on employment prospects in host counties.”

Read more at WSU News >>

More about the research >>

WSU researchers have lengthened their list of environmental toxicants that can negatively affect as many as three generations of an exposed animal’s offspring.

Writing in the online journal PLOS ONE, scientists led by WSU molecular biologist Michael Skinner document reproductive disease and obesity in the descendants of rats exposed to various plastic compounds (including BPA). In a separate article in the journal Reproductive Toxicology, they report the first observation of cross-generation disease from a widely used hydrocarbon jet fuel mixture the military refers to as JP8.

Both studies are the first of their kind to see obesity stemming from the process of “epigenetic transgenerational inheritance.

Read more →

Months of onsite investigative journalism by English professor Peter Chilson into al-Qaeda’s takeover of northern Mali last spring have put him in high demand with the national and international media.

“Peter Chilson’s work in Mali is some of the finest crisis reporting we’ve seen in a long time,” said Tom Hundley, senior editor, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. “Peter’s graceful writing, his deep knowledge of the subject, his gift for storytelling and willingness to go to where the real story was unfolding – all of this has made for a very rewarding piece of journalism…that will inevitably inform policy discussions on the future of Mali.”

In his e-book, Chilson recounts how the Tuareg nationalist campaign, mounted with support from al Qaeda-affiliated jihadist groups…

Continue story →

David Leonard, associate professor and chair of the college’s Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies, will give the keynote speech at the University’s 2013 MLK Distinguished Service Awards ceremony on January 24.

“Dr. King’s Dream, Body Politics and the Continual War on Women of Color” will examine links between Martin Luther King’s legacy, the life of Henrietta Lacks (portrayed in this year’s Common Reading book), the historical experience of African-American women, and social justice.

Read more about the MLK Awards >>