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:

WyoFile reported that Matt Kauffman, unit leader of the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UW, recently received the Aldo Leopold Award for his ungulate research and conservation efforts. The award is given annually by the American Association of Mammalogists to recognize people who have made lasting contributions to mammal conservation.

Stefan Rahimi-Esfarjani, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Atmospheric Science, was a co-author of a research paper that examines how warmer temperatures and changing atmospheric circulation will likely produce unprecedented changes in western U.S. snowfall, with impacts on the timing, amount and spatial patterns of snowpack. The paper was published in Communications Earth & Environment.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported that the Wyoming Innovation Partnership recently held a training conference at UW on integrating immersive technologies in the classroom. Gov. Mark Gordon and UW President Ed Seidel spoke during the three-day event. The state of Wyoming is leading the way in virtual reality in higher education, according to the article.

Legal writings by incoming UW College of Law Dean Julie Hill and Professor George Mocsary were cited extensively in a Client Update issued by the Financial Institutions practice of the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. The update was in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo holding that the National Rifle Association (NRA) plausibly alleged that Maria Vullo, former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, violated the NRA’s First Amendment rights.

Two UW faculty members and a graduate student had their work published by PubMed, part of the National Library of Medicine. UW psychology Assistant Professor Erin Harrington is one of three researchers on a paper titled “Self-reported strategy use and prospective memory: The roles of cue focality and task importance.” Qian-Quan Sun, a professor in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology, and Yihan Wang, a UW neuroscience graduate student, published “A prefrontal motor circuit initiates persistent movement.”

The Powell Tribune published a column written by Rachel Watson, director of the UW Science Initiative’s Learning Actively Mentoring Program, on the importance of UW’s collaboration with Northwest College on a student success program relating to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

Brent Ewers, director of UW’s Biodiversity Institute and principal investigator of WyACT: Wyoming Anticipating Climate Transitions, will discuss WyACT Aug. 12 as part of “Tap Into Science,” a free public presentation series this summer in Jackson. Buckrail published an article that noted four water-related presentations will be part of the series.

County 10 and The Wyoming Tribune Eagle published UW’s release noting that campers at UW’s Teton STEM Academy recently built heat shields that protected their eggs -- face-painted and substituting for astronauts mimicking reentry into Earth’s atmosphere after a space mission. To be deemed successful, the heat shields had to withstand high temperatures from a nearby constant flame emanating from a blowtorch for two minutes.

The Greybull Standard published UW’s release noting that Scott Schell, UW Extension entomologist, developed a new software application that can be used to identify Wyoming plant diseases and pests. The mobile app -- Wyoming Crop Pests -- is available for both Android and Apple devices and can be found in app stores by searching “Wyoming Crop Pests.”

Schell also provided comments for a university media release announcing that UW Extension has released a free digital publication on how to identify and treat black grass bug infestations. Especially in eastern Wyoming, black grass bugs can cause significant damage to cool season grasses. The Star-Herald in Scottsbluff, Neb., published the release.