UW in the News

January 19, 2021

State, national and international media frequently feature the University of Wyoming and members of its community in stories. Here is a summary of some of the recent coverage:

Data compiled by UW political Professor Jim King was used in a Washington Post article noting that President-elect Joe Biden’s transition is far behind schedule compared to his six immediate predecessors, as the Senate proceedings of impeachment of outgoing President Donald Trump could push it back even further.

King said Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump is not likely to go over smoothly among most Cowboy State Republican voters, according to a Bloomberg Businessweek article.

The Casper Star-Tribune (CS-T) interviewed UW economist Rob Godby, who said that earlier reductions of social services by Gov. Mark Gordon’s budget proposal would have consequences, despite a report last week indicating that a new forecast lowers revenue shortfall for the state.

Wyoming’s hopes of exporting Powder River Basin coal from a West Coast terminal were dashed when the project’s owner filed for bankruptcy and failed to find an interested buyer, according to a CS-T article published by The Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Godby said it is unlikely another buyer will be found.

High Country News quoted Godby for an article on Pinedale residents voting to build a new hospital during a time when Wyoming is seeing severe budget cuts that will affect communities.

The CS-T reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City noted that oil and gas production has rebounded “moderately” in the region, but still trails pre-pandemic levels. UW economist Chuck Mason was interviewed for the article.

More than 100 UW employees have already had a COVID-19 vaccine dose administered as of late last week. About 350 UW employees are eligible to receive a vaccine during the first phase of the Wyoming Department of Health’s priorities, according to a UW release published by Oil City News.

The CS-T reported that UW is assisting Albany County in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. UW Information Technology is developing a survey and scheduling system for county residents to gauge how many fall into varying priority groups, and then to help schedule those residents for inoculations.

UW begins its spring semester this week with COVID-19 guidelines in place for faculty, staff and students. Sheridan Media and KGAB Radio published UW’s release on the announcement.

The CS-T noted that Anne Alexander, UW’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, told the UW Board of Trustees last week that the university will need to cut $15 million to $20 million from academic programs by July.

The Science Times published UW’s release noting that research by UW Assistant Professor Corey Tarwater and her team shows nonnative birds on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, play a greater role in seed dispersal networks. Most of the seeds dispersed on the island belong to nonnative plants. United Press International published a similar article.

A UW Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center report found disproportionately higher homicide and missing person rates among Wyoming’s Indigenous populations, noted Oil City News. UW’s Native student organization, Keepers of the Fire, helped the governor initiate the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force.

360 Law interviewed UW law Professor Michael Duff for an article on a newly launched union by activists that compose a fraction of Google’s U.S. workforce. It will test a novel minority model for labor organizing that could spread as frustrated workers forego traditional structures.

A research paper led by atmospheric scientists found that models sometimes overstate the warming effect of wildfire smoke in the atmosphere. Science Magazine and Oil City News published UW’s release that featured the study by Associate Professor Shane Murphy. Wyoming Public Radio spoke with Murphy about the research.

Research led by UW Professor Cliff Riebe shows that physical weathering is far more important than previously recognized in the breakdown of rock in mountain landscapes. Wind River Radio Network, Science Daily and Environmental News Network published UW’s release.

WalletHub interviewed Sherrill Shaffer, UW’s Guthrie Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Banking and Financial Services, for an article on zero percent interest credit cards, which are cards that do not charge interest on purchases for a certain number of months after opening an account.

UW’s recent research that tested turning pulverized coal powder into nano-graphite using copper foil, a glass container and a microwave oven was featured by Wyoming Public Radio.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle noted that UW Assistant Professor Caleb Hill received a $600,000 Faculty Early Career Development Program Award from the National Science Foundation to continue his research work.

Wildlife officials have completed their second round of collaring elk in Colorado’s Routt County to trace their movements, according to The Steamboat Pilot & Today. The project is part of a study between Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and UW.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle featured Jackson photographer Lindsay Linton Buk’s “Women in Wyoming: Portraits and Interviews of Women Who Shape the West” exhibition now on display at the UW Art Museum.

UW’s Biodiversity Institute plans a series of virtual discussions that focus on the role of science in wildlife management and the importance of hunting and fishing as drivers of conservation in Wyoming. SweetwaterNOW published UW’s release on the discussions that run Feb. 10 to March 10.

Oil City News published UW’s release noting that Wyoming’s 860 lichen species are online and accessible through the species list tool of the university’s Wyoming Natural Diversity Database.

IMPACT Casper, a business development program in UW’s Business Resource Network, received $50,000 in seed funding from the university for Casper startups, reported Oil City News.

Oil City News also published UW’s release on Associate Professor TeYu Chien and his team’s research paper, titled “Small Energy Gap Revealed in CrBr3 by Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy,” that was recently published.

Milan Zlatkovic, a UW civil and architectural engineering assistant professor, was interviewed by WalletHub for an article that focused on the best states to drive in. The article noted that traffic congestion cost U.S. drivers $88 billion in 2019, as well as an average of 99 hours of their time. Wyoming was ranked 24th on the list.