In early 2025 the University of Wyoming achieved Research Level 1 (R1) status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing Wyoming's only four-year university in the rarefied air of the top research universities in the United States. This prestigious designation recognizes our commitment to groundbreaking research, academic excellence, and impactful discoveries that benefit Wyoming and the world. The Research and Economic Development Division (REDD) at UW serves as a catalyst to advance the university's knowledge enterprise through research, service, and innovation. Providing rich experiential learning opportunities, REDD enriches the experience of UW students and supports innovation and economic growth across Wyoming. Our commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and innovation remains a foundation for progress and prosperity throughout the state.
UW Students were trained by LAMP-trained educators in active learning classes in FY24
Total FY24 research expenditures
On NAI's annual list of patent production by U.S. universities
For decades a population of grouse in south-central Wyoming and northwest Colorado has been identified as Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, the same subspecies that can be found in far western Wyoming near Jackson along with Idaho, northern Utah and parts of the Pacific Northwest.
But new research led by University of Wyoming scientists has found that the 8,000-10,000 sharp-tailed grouse found in the shrublands and high deserts of southern Carbon County and northwest Colorado are not Columbian sharp-tailed grouse. The study suggests the birds are a distinct subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse that has been isolated from other populations of the bird for many years.
“Our results may potentially change the current understanding of sharp-tailed grouse subspecies in western North America, which can impact how to manage them,” wrote the researchers, led by recent UW Ph.D. graduate Jonathan Lautenbach and Professor Jeff Beck, of UW’s Department of Ecosystem Science and Management.
For the full story, visit UW News.
The Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) at the University of Wyoming has launched the Wyoming LiDAR (light detection and ranging) Data Portal, providing unprecedented public access to high-resolution elevation and contour data across the state.
The portal was unveiled last week at the Wyoming Geospatial Organization spring 2025 conference in Casper by WyGISC, a unit of UW’s School of Computing.
Available at https://lidar.wygisc.org/, the portal is a free, public resource designed to make advanced geospatial data easily accessible to communities, agencies, researchers and everyday users across Wyoming.
“This is a major step forward in public access to high-resolution elevation data for the state of Wyoming,” says Shawn Lanning, a geospatial specialist with WyGISC, who helped develop the portal alongside project leader Jeff Hamerlinck and colleague Shannon Albeke. “With just a few clicks, users can now explore and download elevation and contour data for any area of the state.”
Visit the UW News page to learn more details about the Wyoming LiDAR Data Portal.
University of Wyoming Division of Kinesiology and Health graduate student Ashlyn Brown, from Castle Pines, Colo., is the recipient of the Thomas McKenzie Research Award from the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America.
Brown recently received the prestigious national honor at the SHAPE America convention in Baltimore, Md. Along with the monetary portion of the award, which will support completion of her master’s thesis, the highly competitive recognition will have a significant national impact on the field of physical education.
Brown’s thesis involves a secondary analysis of data from the U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy (US-PEPAP) Interactive Dashboard, a national project led by Ben Kern, Brown’s educational adviser and an associate professor in kinesiology and health, and the US-PEPAP research team.
For the full story, visit UW News.
