Presentation on UW Science Initiative Jan. 17 in Rock Springs

A leading University of Wyoming faculty member and a graduate student are scheduled to speak about UW’s Science Initiative at a Rock Springs Kiwanis Club meeting Wednesday, Jan. 17.

Danny Dale, professor in the Department Physics and Astronomy, and astronomy Ph.D. student Jessica Sutter will discuss the initiative that aims to revolutionize scientific education and discovery in Wyoming.

The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. at the Outlaw Inn.

Dale, former head of the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy who is now associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, regularly visits the state’s high schools, junior high schools and middle schools, with a focus on student recruitment by sharing various science lessons with students and explaining how UW undergraduates are involved in cutting-edge research internships.

Sutter, from Portland, Ore., is researching galaxies nearby to our own Milky Way, particularly to determine how far away these galaxies are actually located.

The Science Initiative, initiated by Gov. Matt Mead and the Legislature in 2014, is an effort to enable world-class research and education related to pillars of Wyoming’s present and future economy. Through life and data sciences research that impacts areas including mineral extraction, agriculture, tourism, resource management and high technology, the initiative will impact Wyoming’s economy and give UW students a leading-edge skill set.

The Wyoming Research Scholars Program, one of the components of the Science Initiative, provides scholarships for undergraduates to study and conduct research with top UW researchers.

Central to the Science Initiative is construction of a $100 million facility at the northwest end of the UW campus, featuring flexible laboratories for interdisciplinary science research; the Center for Advanced Scientific Imaging; state-of-the-art greenhouses for plant research; a 200-seat active-learning classroom; and student collaboration areas to foster science innovation.

Mead, who describes the facility as “a unique research and teaching environment that will transform interdisciplinary research and education,” has recommended that the 2018 Legislature release $100 million previously appropriated for the project.