UW in the News

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:

According to a U.S. Department of Energy media release, UW is among nine entities selected for Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) Phase II: Storage Complex Feasibility funding. The selected projects will perform technical, economic and community assessments for potential CO₂ storage complexes, particularly in regions that currently lack these facilities. UW will conduct a feasibility study to develop a saline CO₂ storage hub for industries in the Echo Springs area of south-central Wyoming. County 17 and Oil City News published UW’s release on the announcement.

The Petroleum Association of Wyoming has launched the Wyoming Carbon Innovation Network to support the growth of the state’s carbon management industry while ensuring that the existing oil and natural gas industry continues to flourish. Erik Holt, Frontier Carbon Solutions’ general counsel and vice president of land, and Julie Martinez, Oil Mountain Energy president, will co-chair the network. County 17 noted that UW’s School of Energy Resources (SER) and Frontier are partnering on the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub project in southwest Wyoming.

The Washington Post interviewed UW economist Rob Godby for an article titled “A fading coal town hitches its hopes to Bill Gates’s clean-energy dream.”

Wyo4News noted the dates, times and locations of four interactive public workshops on the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan that took place last week. UW’s Ruckelshaus Institute, College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, and SER, along with the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, organized the meetings. WyoFile posted a related article.

UW’s prize-winning entry in the annual global Solar Decathlon was featured on the Nov. 17 installment of “Wyoming Chronicle” on Wyoming PBS. WyoToday Media reported that, using the UW students’ design, Fremont County contractor Timshel Construction agreed to build the solar-powered house in exchange for being allowed to sell it on the market once it was completed.

The Black 14 Philanthropy recently delivered 40,000 pounds of food to Laramie. The Laramie Boomerang noted that the food was divided between the UW Food Share Pantry and Cathedral Home.

As war rages in Ukraine, UW student Anastasiia Pereverten has been hard at work half a world away, doing what she can to help her homeland from the United States, according to Wyoming Public Radio.

Ellen Currano, a UW botany professor, discussed the discovery of a petrified Metasequoia tree this summer on a Buffalo couple’s property. In the article, published in The Northern Wyoming News, Currano said Metasequoia trees currently only grow naturally in China, and they are planted in places with a lot of moisture.

Rumi Awards, a website that produces materials related to award presentations, published UW’s release noting that “My Wild Land” -- a three-part film series focusing on three Wyoming ranches -- was selected by Two Percent for Conservation as the first-place winner of its 2023 Conservation Media Awards for film and photography. The film series is a production of the Wyoming Migration Initiative at UW and presented by the Muley Fanatic Foundation with support from Maven. WyoToday Media also published UW’s release.

Wyo BEE, a program to enhance blockchain, finance and digital literacy learning for Wyoming high school students, will soon be available. Sheridan Media published UW’s release, noting that Wyo BEE stands for Wyoming Blockchain Education for Everyone.

The “Firearms and Mental Health: Fostering Understanding, Safety and Support” conference was held last week on the UW campus and in the Laramie community. UW’s Firearms Research Center, housed in the College of Law, organized the event. Wyoming Public Radio interviewed Ashley Hlebinsky, executive director of the center, for a preview piece.

Gillette’s Energy Capital Economic Development and IMPACT 307 recently announced the finalists for the inaugural Energy Capital Start-Up Challenge entrepreneur competition, according to County 17. IMPACT 307 is Wyoming’s business incubator network, based at UW.

The inaugural Cowboy Sandbox event -- featuring the latest in immersive technology -- took place last week on campus. Theultramods, a technology website, published UW’s release.

Part two of a UW Wyoming Center on Aging (WyCOA) program that focuses on challenges in communicating with a person living with dementia and how caregivers can learn to make the journey easier will be available Nov. 22. WyoToday Media and Sheridan Media published UW’s release that noted the program can be found on Wyoming Dementia Together’s (WDT) YouTube channel. WDT is a statewide, nonprofit caregiver network operating through WyCOA.

Western Ag Reporter published UW Extension’s release on UW’s rangeland ecology and watershed management degree program.