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:

Last week, 65 cadets in the UW Cowboy Battalion Senior Army ROTC Program participated in a training session with the Wyoming Army National Guard and its command aviation company, located in Cheyenne. The annual flight lab, according to a Laramie Boomerang article, exposes UW’s cadets to the aviation branch and the capabilities of the aviation branch.

Saipan Tribune, New Scientist, Earth.com and ScienceDaily published UW’s release on how tracking data indicate young white storks spend more time exploring new places, while older ones take a more direct route on their annual migrations. UW researchers -- led by Ellen Aikens, who has a joint faculty appointment with UW’s School of Computing and Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources -- had their study published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Irene Zepata-Moran, a UW doctoral student, led a study that was published in Environmental Research Communications that looked into how to balance the needs of Mexico’s blue agave farmers with the needs of bats and biodiversity. The Wildlife Society published Zepata-Moran’s study for an article titled “Can bats and tequila coexist in Mexico?”

WyoFile featured an article that focused on recent industry claims of large rare earth element deposits in Wyoming that boast of a potential new mining industry worth billions of dollars. Included in the piece was UW’s School of Energy Resources’ continued research in examining the potential for rare earth elements in coal and coal ash.

UW College of Law Professor Sam Kalen, an environmental law expert, commented on a Powell Tribune story on how a legal fight over East Coast fishing regulations could affect Wyoming. The broad case before the U.S. Supreme Court could challenge the rules issued by federal agencies -- potentially influencing everything from the management of grizzly bears and wolves to the regulations placed on oil and gas developers.

The Basin Republican Rustler and Lovell Chronicle covered “UW in Your Community” events last week in Greybull, Cowley and Lovell. A UW contingent of administrators, faculty, staff and students presented programs at three high schools in the county, then hosted a community program in Lovell to tout UW’s work in the Big Horn Basin.

A UW contingent -- led by Bart Geerts, professor of atmospheric science; Jeff French, associate professor and department head of atmospheric science; and professor emeritus Jefferson Snider -- recently studied the possible effects of cold air outbreaks on arctic ice melt. Environmental News Network published UW’s release.

The Laramie Boomerang featured UW’s “Fight the Power: Black 14 Social Justice Summer Institute Exhibit and Reception” that honored the legacy of the university's Black 14 football players. The event was part of UW’s Black History Month celebration.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough recently met with UW military veterans and emphasized that all Wyoming veterans should have access to the VA benefits that they have earned. Wyoming Public Radio covered his UW appearance.

WalletHub featured Professor Ali Nejadmalayeri, a UW College of Business accounting and finance professor, who discussed, in a column, consumer usage of credit cards without Social Security requirements.

Urszula Norton, a professor of plant sciences in UW’s College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to study soil contamination in agricultural systems. Norton will conduct research next January at Poland’s Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Alliance Grain Co., and Goshen County News Now published UW’s release.

The Courier Tribune published UW’s release on hometown student Allie Midkiff, of Liberty, Mo., who received the Lyman and Margie McDonald Research Award for Quantitative Analysis in Wildlife. Midkiff is a statistics graduate student at UW.

Tulsa, Okla., based Williams recently received a $975,000 grant to study carbon capture and storage efforts in Wyoming. The grant -- to study development of a saline CO2 storage hub near Williams’ Echo Springs gas plant at Wamsutter -- is a collaboration between Williams and UW’s School of Energy Resources, according to Oklahoma Energy Today.

The Laramie Boomerang published UW’s release reporting that Robert Macy has been selected as the university’s new director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI). The CEI is dedicated to coordinating, collaborating, promoting and strengthening entrepreneurial and innovation learning at UW.

UW graduate Gannon Guenther, of Glenrock, was sworn in last week as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka, making him among 20 volunteers in that country since 1998. Oil City News reported that Gannon will spend the next two years in Sri Lanka.