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:

A UW delegation recently signed four separate memoranda of understanding with the universities of Tunis, Sfax and Jendouba, and the National Institute of Agronomic Studies of Tunisia and the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia. According to the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia and a UW media release, the collaboration is to facilitate sharing knowledge and expertise, conducting joint research, increasing student and faculty exchanges, and building academic and cultural ties between Tunisia and UW.

WyoFile included comments from UW economist Rob Godby in an article titled “Supreme Court keeps pressure on utilities burning Wyoming coal.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s majority opinion declined to halt EPA rules mandating drastic carbon dioxide emission reductions, likely resulting in coal plant closures, which will affect Wyoming’s production. Godby also is quoted in a Coal News story about the coal industry’s declining political influence.

UW is among regional partners that will split $3 million in the latest Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine funding round, according to BizWest. The four projects UW researchers will be involved with are soil carbon capture data and analytics; water security/extreme weather prediction; wildfire risk and prediction; and complex earth sensing/soil carbon capture data and analytics. The partnership was designated a regional innovation engine this year by the National Science Foundation, making the collaborative effort eligible for as much as $160 million in federal funding over the next 10 years. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle published a related article.

Meridith Joyce, a UW School of Computing assistant professor, was among researchers on a paper noting that Betelgeuse, the 10th-brightest star in the night sky, might not be on the verge of exploding as a supernova. Instead, recent research suggests that the pulsing of Betelgeuse’s starlight is likely due to the presence of an unseen companion star orbiting it. Manchester Evening News, Cosmos Magazine and Space Daily were among media outlets publishing the news.

UW Associate Professor Jeff French, head of the Department of Atmospheric Science, explained why cloud seeding will likely never be effective in fighting wildfires in a Cowboy State Daily article.

Robert Aylward will retire as UW’s chief information officer and vice president for information technology, effective Nov. 15. The Casper Star-Tribune published UW’s announcement that noted Jen Chavez, currently the deputy chief information officer in the Division of Information Technology, will be the interim vice president for IT.

Sheridan Media picked up UW’s release about the upcoming Wyoming-AI Experts Panel on Applications and Ethics Wednesday, Nov. 13. The event will explore the diverse uses of artificial intelligence across disciplines at UW, emphasizing the ethical considerations that arise from its adoption in various fields.

The Denver Gazette featured former UW football player John Griffin, a member of the Black 14 who was dismissed from the Cowboys football program for wanting to protest the university’s game against Brigham Young University in 1969. The Black 14, today, are collaborating with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distribute food nationwide to charity organizations. Recently, 40,000 pounds of food was distributed in the Denver metro area, where Griffin lives.

Now in its third year, UW’s Lamb-a-Year program saw 126 lambs donated by 23 different producers -- up 19 lambs from last year with nine new consignors added to the list of producers, according to Northern Ag Network. Producers donate lambs to UW for students to collect performance and meat quality information, and give that information back to producers.

Sheridan Media published UW’s releasing announcing that submissions are now being accepted for the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources’ fourth annual Wild and Working Lands Film Festival, which will be held in Laramie next March. The deadline to submit films is Monday, Jan. 20.

UW economist Anne Alexander and others spoke with Wyoming News Now about the state’s economic forecast heading into next week’s general election.

K2 Radio reported that UW Extension will host its biennial Southeast Wyoming Beef Symposium and Trade Show Tuesday, Nov. 19, in Torrington, which is free and open to the public.