UW in the News

January 4, 2021

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:

UW economist Rob Godby discussed with The Casper Star-Tribune (CS-T) what it means for the Powder River Basin now that Peabody Energy is refinancing its debt. Godby says the refinancing package helps Peabody Energy avoid financial catastrophe. In a related article published in The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Godby discussed Wyoming’s coal future.

The CS-T reported that UW faculty members Tara Righetti and Kris Koski recently published a comparative study on carbon dioxide use and storage technologies across the country. They collaborated with West Virginia University researchers and the United States Energy Association to prepare the study for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Jane Crayton, UW Coe Library makerspace coordinator, discussed with The Wyoming Tribune Eagle MakeHER, a Wyoming Afterschool Alliance-sponsored program that engages girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. UW Trustee Michelle Sullivan, the alliance’s director, also was interviewed for the article.

The Deseret News cited a UW GPS study as one side effect of how the pandemic has seen the rise of the number of residents heading to the backcountry. Over three winters, UW’s study implied that the more backcountry skiers enter high-alpine bighorn sheep habitat, the more bighorn sheep keep moving, taxing their precious winter reserves.

Growing Resilience, a community-based research project led by UW Associate Professor Christine Porter, studies how food insecurity is affecting the health of Native people on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Wyoming Public Radio featured the program.

“The Modern West,” a Wyoming Public Media podcast, also interviewed Porter for a similar piece in which she discussed food shortage in the United States. She said people do not generally starve for lack of food, but they will suffer from malnutrition or undernutrition, and live under chronic stress of being unsure if they will have enough or enough of the right kinds of food.

UW Senior Lecturer Nikki Baldwin is hosting a new educational podcast, titled “Voices from the Village.” Sheridan Media published UW’s release on the podcast sponsored by the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative.

Wyoming Public Media spoke with UW Associate Professor Shane Murphy about his team’s research into wildfires and how the fires affect the climate.

UW graduate student Brittany Brito discussed with The CS-T her research into the pocket gopher, the only mammal that can only be found in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle featured Wyoming’s recent laws that have paved the way to bring the nation’s first digital asset bank to Wyoming. Steve Lupien, the director of UW’s new Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation, was interviewed for the article.

UW Extension’s nutrition and food safety team and ACRES Student Farm collaborated on a project to offer a food preservation video series, The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reported.

Sheridan Media published UW’s release noting that UW Assistant Professor Michael Taylor received a Faculty Early Career Development Program Award from the National Science Foundation to study biology through organic chemistry.

The Sheridan County Commission granted UW’s School of Energy Resources an application for a carbon ore, rare earth element and critical minerals project in the Powder River Basin, reported Sheridan Media.

Oil City News published UW’s release announcing that the university recently purchased the Mountain View Medical Park building and property for $8.4 million. The Laramie medical facility will be used to administer COVID-19 vaccines and house UW medical programs.