Buchanan Outlines Recent UW Accomplishments

Dec. 10, 2005 -- President Tom Buchanan today (Saturday) presented to UW trustees a report of recent major accomplishments at the University of Wyoming. Among them were:

The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, operated by the Department of Veterinary Sciences in the College of Agriculture, has received full accreditation from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. "The accreditation validates the quality of services provided by the laboratory; therefore, testing from this facility is recognized internationally,” says College of Agriculture Dean Frank Galey. “The accreditation assures the public that the service it is getting for its pets, domestic livestock and wildlife is top-notch."

UW Mechanical Engineering Professor Dimitri Mavriplis was a member of a research team that received the Best Technical Paper Award at SC (Super Computing) 05, an international conference for high-performance computing, networking, storage, and analysis. Their paper, "High Resolution Aerospace Applications using the NASA Columbia Supercomputer," demonstrated high-performance design capabilities of one of the world's largest supercomputers.

Farhad Jafari, UW professor of mathematics, is the recipient of a “New Directions Visiting Professorship” at the prestigious Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), which allows mid-career faculty to participate and contribute to the organization’s yearly thematic research program. Established by the National Science Foundation and affiliated with the University of Minnesota, the IMA increases the impact of mathematics by fostering interdisciplinary research, linking high-caliber mathematics with important scientific and technological problems from other disciplines and industry.

William Missouri Downs, professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, is one of four individuals selected to receive a Governor's Arts Award, recognizing exceptional contributions to the arts in Wyoming. An award-winning playwright, "his dedication and contributions to the academic and artistic life of his students has been extraordinary," according to the award citation.

A three-year, $729,000 National Institutes of Health grant will fund the university's "Enhancing Awareness and Understanding of the Biomedical Sciences in Wyoming" project. Geared toward Wyoming's rural population, the program will develop and deliver relevant and informational biomedical education units to the state's communities and specific learning modules and lesson plans to 7-9th grade science classrooms, says Don Roth, UW Graduate School dean and professor of molecular biology.

Jessica Nape, a student in UW’s Peace Corps-Masters International Program, was among 25 Americans selected to participate in the inaugural U.S./Uganda Youth Summit Jan. 2-14 for a conference on Internally Displaced Persons. At the summit, Nape will help write a white paper of recommendations for peace in northern Uganda, an area of intense civil war that has taken thousands of lives and displaced tens of thousands more. The American students will present the paper to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Franco Basile is one of eight scientists nationwide to receive a Lindberg Foundation grant "to improve the long-term quality of all life by balancing technological innovation and the preservation of the environment." The grant funds his research to provide a swifter method to detect harmful bacteria in drinking and waste water. Traditional testing by water treatment facilities takes between 24 and 48 hours to complete; Basile's method requires only 30 minutes.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has selected Professor Mark Balas, head of the UW Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, for the organization’s most prestigious honor, the IEEE fellowship. The fellowship recognizes those engineers who have “demonstrated outstanding proficiency and have achieved distinction in their profession.” The IEEE acknowledged Balas’ contributions to the advancement of engineering science and technology. He was cited for an extraordinary record of accomplishments in the control of large-scale distributed systems.

A chemical-powered car developed by UW students finished 9th among 29 entries in a national Chem-E-Car competition held during the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in Cincinnati, Ohio. The chemical engineering students earned the opportunity to compete at the national meeting by winning regional competition last spring at the Colorado School of Mines.

Representing UW at the national competition were Zach Appel, Grant, Neb; William Blair, Big Piney; and Reid Edwards, Green River.

Posted on Saturday, December 10, 2005