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:

Smithsonian Magazine featured two groups of tropical biologists -- the bat research team from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the bird research team led by Corey Tarwater, a UW associate professor -- that are collecting data in Panama’s Soberanía National Park. The project is a long-term census of bats designed to complement the bird census, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

Byerly Flint and Drew Bennett, from UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, were among five authors of a research paper, titled “Tradeoffs and win-wins between large landscape conservation and wildlife viewing in protected areas,” that was published in Conservation Science and Practice. The study found that the majority of visitors to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks value wildlife viewing and would support a park-related fee or tax toward habitat conservation, according to WildFile.

Alpha Galileo noted that a long period of drought in North America has been recognized by scientists for decades, but a new study links the severe climate to a change in Earth's orbit. In a new study published in Nature Communications, University of Helsinki researchers -- along with co-author Bryan Shuman, a Wyoming Excellence chair from UW -- analyzed the development and causes of the drought in eastern North America, in a broad region spanning from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.

Jeffrey Means, UW Department of History chair, commented in a History piece titled “How Sitting Bull’s Spiritual Leadership Fueled the Lakota Resistance.” The article focused on how the famous Native chief relied on his meditative visions that helped guide warriors, uplift morale and shape his strategy against his enemies in battle.

Pharmacy Times spoke with Lavinia Salama, a UW School of Pharmacy clinical assistant professor, about cardio-kidney-metabolic syndrome and how pharmacists can be at the forefront of serving patients. Salama also discussed her work in rural communities and why pharmacists are so crucial for those patients.

UW students Kellen McCoul, a business and accounting major from Casper, and Laramie’s Erin Rees, a journalism student, earned third place for their presentation on rodeo marketing at DECA’s International Career Development Conference in San Francisco, Calif. Seven of the 11 UW students made it to the finals, with four advancing to the top 10, according to The Laramie Boomerang.

The Boomerang published UW’s release noting that spring commencement ceremonies, featuring three separate events, are planned for May 17. UW is scheduled to accord degrees upon 1,267 undergraduate students, 424 graduate students, 62 College of Law students and 20 School of Pharmacy students.

Michael Barker, a UW professor of civil and architectural engineering, was among presenters for an American Iron and Steel Institute, Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance and American Galvanizers Association webinar. Barker discussed research and resources to build more resilient bridges, according to American Iron and Steel Institute.

WyoFile covered the national Next Frontier Energy Summit at UW last week that drew hundreds of energy innovation leaders to Wyoming’s annual conference to tout the state’s potential role in national energy transition. The article mentioned UW’s involvement is several projects around the state, including TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear power plant under construction near Kemmerer.

Gary Beauvais, UW Natural Diversity Database director, spoke with Bigfoot 99 Radio, in Saratoga, to caution residents and their pets about encountering rattlesnakes now that the weather is warming up in the area.

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) published UW’s release announcing that Daniel Laughlin, a UW professor in the Department of Botany, was recently selected as an ESA Fellow. Laughlin is a plant ecologist.

Max Gilbraith, UW Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium coordinator, told Cowboy State Daily that a “once-in-a-decade” fireball was visible in parts of Wyoming last week and across several states.

The Laramie Boomerang published UW’s release announcing that Ramesh Sivanpillai, an instructional professor with UW’s School of Computing/Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center, recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from AmericaView. He was recognized for his longtime work, which includes teaching and mentoring 200-plus students in remote sensing applications.

Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, UW, Tribal Fish and Game, science teachers at Fort Washakie, Arapahoe, and Wyoming Indian schools collaborated on a project this year that resulted in the raising and release of young trout into the Washakie Reservoir, according to The Riverton Ranger.

Nine students from Greybull qualified for the National History Day competition next month on the campus of the University of Maryland. The Greybull Standard used some of the information from a UW release that noted the state competition was hosted by UW’s American Heritage Center.