Buchanan Outlines Recent UW Accomplishments

Oct. 28, 2006 -- President Tom Buchanan today (Friday) presented to University of Wyoming trustees a report of recent major accomplishments at UW. Among them were:

The university received $70 million in external contracts and grants in fiscal year 2006, breaking its own record for the 20th consecutive year. Over the past 20 years the amount of external awards has more than tripled and the amount of growth has outpaced both the inflation rate and the percentage growth of federal research and development funding.

Harvey L. Hix, a professor of English and the director of UW's masters in fine arts program in creative writing, is one of five finalists for the National Book Award in poetry. Hix was nominated for "Chromatic," three sequences of poems that explore the full range of effects caused by human desire, from ecstasy to suffering. The National Book Award winners will be announced Nov. 15, at a ceremony in New York City.

Researchers led by Qian-Quan Sun, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology, have made what they describe as a "breakthrough" in understanding how sensory experiences during early life promote the formation of fine connections in the brain, paving the way for development of interventions to treat disease and trauma. The results of the study are published in the August issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

The Society for Neuroscience selected UW research scientist Khaleel A. Razak's project, from among thousands of abstracts submitted, to be the subject of a national press release highlighting the importance and significance of neuroscience research. He is studying the neural responses of pallid bats to provide new insights into brain development, with implications for understanding how language develops.

Students in the UW chapter of Engineers Without Borders - USA are helping to relocate a Guatemalan village threatened to be destroyed by mudslides. Michael Ziemann of Cheyenne, chapter president, and Vice President Allison Hiddinga of Rochester, Minn., recently returned from a visit to the village of Panabaj, and now are leading UW's relocation efforts. The Guatemalan government considers the immediate area around Panabaj to be at a high risk for mudslides, and has ordered the relocation.

The Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC), a technology-oriented business incubator on the UW campus, was formally dedicated Oct. 21. The WTBC provides an incubator that uses UW's research capabilities to promote the success of new and growing businesses throughout the state.

American Heritage Center Archivist Carol Bowers contributed a chapter to "The Scrapbook in American Life," a collection of essays that recently was honored with the Pioneer America Society's 2006 Alan B. Noble Award for excellence as the best-edited book on North American material culture. She wrote from a scrapbook in the AHC's Toppan Rare Books Library that chronicles a woman's descent from being a happy newlywed to her 1895 death by starvation.

UW Libraries is a new member of Prospector, a unified catalog of 23 academic, public and special libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. The membership allows library users access to nearly 20 million books, journals, sound recordings, films, videotapes and other materials held in Prospector libraries.

The American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) presented its Publication of Enduring Quality Award to Jason Shogren, UW's Stroock Distinguished Professor of Natural Resource Conservation and Management, and three colleagues. Their work, "Valuing Food Safety in Experimental Auction Markets," was judged on its enduring quality and contribution to the profession.

Members of the National Athletic Academic Advisors Association selected UW's Henrietta Shingleton for their "Promoting First-Year Student Athlete Success Excellence in Instruction Award." Shingleton, a mentor/counselor with the athletics department, was cited for her innovative approach to acclimating freshmen athletes to college life and building their potential for academic success.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame selected UW freshman Chris Prosinski of Buffalo as one of five students nationwide to be named as National High School Scholar-Athletes. The award, recognizing their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens, will be presented Dec. 5 in New York City.

The Wyoming Library Association recently presented its 2006 Distinguished Service Award to Anne Marie Lane, curator of the Toppan Rare Books Library at the UW American Heritage Center. The award recognizes Lane's service and significant contributions to Wyoming libraries and the library profession.

Posted on Saturday, October 28, 2006