UW in the News

November 16, 2020

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:

The Irish Examiner, Irish Tech News and Galway Bay FM reported that the National University of Ireland Galway is collaborating with Patrick Johnson and Karen Wawrousek, both from the UW Department of Chemical Engineering, to develop a hand-held rapid testing device for COVID-19. The grant, from the Health Research Board of Ireland, is for the design of a laser device that will carry out the rapid detection of the virus within 15 minutes. To read UW’s release, click here.

The UW Board of Trustees approved a plan last week to cut the university’s budget by $42.3 million in the current biennium. Cowboy State Daily noted that the budget cut was mandated by a 10 percent cut in state funding. Forbes, Inside Higher Ed, Wyoming Public Radio and The Wyoming Tribune Eagle also carried similar reports.

WyoFile’s latest article on the state’s dwindling coal production focuses on Peabody Energy’s financial outlook that points to an exit from Wyoming coal. UW economist Rob Godby commented on the latest development on Peabody, the largest coal company in the Powder River Basin. The Casper Star-Tribune (CS-T) also published a similar article.

Godby also was interviewed by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch for a column, titled “With coal demand sinking fast, bankruptcy re-enters the conversation at Peabody.” Coal Zoom published a similar article.

The CS-T and The Gillette News Record were among media outlets noting that UW will move all classes online beginning today (Monday) because of soaring COVID-19 cases on campus, within the community and throughout the state. Sheridan Media and The Laramie Boomerang published UW’s release on the announcement. Inside Higher Ed published a similar article.

UW Professor Jeff Lockwood, an entomology expert, discussed people’s fears of insects for a humorous piece in Philadelphia Magazine, titled “Now That I Never Leave My House, I’m Getting to Know All About the Spiders Who Live Here With Me.”

Science Magazine noted that state and federal wildlife biologists, for the first time, have mapped the migrations of ungulates -- such as mule deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and bison -- across America’s West. Matt Kauffman, director of the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UW, was the lead author of the report. Science Daily published a similar article.

Kauffman’s research in a wide-ranging study of animal migration patterns in the lower 48 states was recently distributed, reported The Missoulian in an article on how animal movements are warning of climate change.

The Wyoming Wildlife Federation reported that the Wyoming Migration Initiative at UW recently launched “Migration Minute,” a new video series with the latest science updates on big-game migrations.

UW Associate Professor Christine Porter was interviewed by The Laramie Boomerang about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Albany County, making the area Wyoming’s hotspot.

Wyoming Public Radio interviewed UW Assistant Professor Shawn McClean about his research into how small disruptions to morning routines can make workers less productive throughout the day.

UW doctoral student Melanie LaCava’s research -- finding that Wyoming’s pronghorn exhibit little genetic variations despite landscape obstacles -- was published in Journal of Mammalogy, according to The Wildlife Society.

University of Georgia Public Radio interviewed Sarita Talusani Keller, the UW Art Museum’s Artmobile educator, and UW senior Ragha Mohan on how Hindus in Wyoming are celebrating Diwali, the “Festival of Lights,” amid the ongoing pandemic. Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

UW’s School of Energy Resources Center for Economic Geology Research officially launched Phase 3 of the CarbonSAFE project last month. UW’s release, published by Carbon Capture Journal, noted that the project’s goal is to ensure carbon storage complexes will be ready for integrated carbon capture, utilization and storage system deployment. The Gillette News Record published a similar article.

SweetwaterNOW mentioned local UW pharmacy students who volunteered to administer free flu vaccinations recently at Laramie’s Downtown Clinic. UW’s release noted that the volunteers are from the National Community Pharmacists Association student chapter at UW.

UW’s new Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation was the focus of a Wyoming Public Radio report last week. Steve Lupien, the center’s director, was interviewed for the feature.

Campus Career Center published UW’s release announcing that the Wyoming Action Coalition, managed through the Wyoming Center for Nursing and its partners at UW’s Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, is among 10 organizations that will receive a Nursing Innovations Fund award.

Brad Rettler, a UW assistant professor of philosophy, and colleagues wrote an op-ed piece for Coindesk, titled “Why Bitcoin Needs Philosophy.” The article asked the question: “How could we ever think about Bitcoin without doing philosophy?”

Native News, Laramie Live and KGAB Radio published UW’s release announcing activities in honor of National Native American Heritage Month on campus this week.

Former UW faculty member Ryan Kobbe recently received the 2020 President’s Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work with the university’s society members, The Laramie Boomerang reported.

Sheridan Media and The Cody Enterprise published UW’s release on last week’s sixth annual UW Giving Day that supports the university’s students.

UW’s Service, Leadership and Community Engagement (SLCE) office hosted a food drive for the university’s Food Share Pantry last week. KGAB Radio published UW’s announcement.

The Rawlins Times published UW’s release on the College of Health Sciences receiving the Heywood Fund Award to enhance telehealth services delivery.

The UW Art Museum is offering a virtual exhibition, titled “Dispatches from Exile,” which explores what life is like in 2020, reported The Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

The Boomerang interviewed Chad Baldwin, UW’s associate vice president for communications and marketing, about UW Libraries adjusting its hours and services during the university’s Phase 4 plan that began today (Monday).

UW Professor Ken Sims was quoted in a Sputnik International article on how scientists are researching if they can make a long-term prediction about the possibility of a devastating eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park.