UW in the News

July 26, 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:

The New Yorker featured the life of Lora Webb Nichols, who photographed life in Encampment from 1899 until her death in 1962. Nichols’ collection of 24,000 negatives -- documenting life in her small Wyoming town in Carbon County -- is housed in UW’s American Heritage Center.

KUNR, a public radio station in Reno, Nev., published a Mountain West News Bureau story in which UW Professor Charles Mason discussed the U.S. Energy and Employment Jobs Report that came out last week. The report shows an overall decline in energy jobs around the nation.

UW’s Arabic and Middle East Studies Program recently received a nearly $500,000 U.S. Department of Defense grant for UW and regional ROTC students to study Arabic in Jordan. The Casper Star-Tribune (CS-T) noted that Project Global Officer will pay students’ tuition and fees for a prerequisite course in the spring semester at UW and then cover the costs of a 10-week summer program in Jordan. Wyoming News Now and Laramie Live published UW’s release.

Carbon Brief published an article on a new study that found it is “very likely” that the way clouds change -- as the world warms -- would drive further temperature rise. UW Assistant Professor Daniel McCoy said, in the article, that the study’s findings are crucial and have important implications on how the planet will look in coming decades.

Members of UW Extension’s Communications and Technology team recently received several national awards during the recent virtual Association for Communication Excellence conference. Sheridan Media published UW’s release on the list of awards.

The CS-T reported that the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Education Committee will draft a bill to increase Hathaway Scholarship awards by 5 percent. The merit-based scholarship is for Wyoming high school graduates to attend UW or any of the state’s community colleges.

Jeff French, a UW atmospheric science assistant professor, was quoted in a Daily Star article about the United Arab Emirates government using drones that will give clouds “electric shocks” to encourage rainfall. Testing is taking place in the skies above Dubai. Temperatures have reached over 120 F this summer in the UAE.

Canadian Science Publishing interviewed Bethann Garramon Merkle, a UW assistant professor of practice, to discuss her work in communicating science and how researchers can be more creative with how they communicate their work. Garramon Merkle is the director of the Wyoming Science Communication Initiative at UW.

Chip Kobulnicky, a UW professor of physics and astronomy, spoke with Wyoming Public Media about the recent Teton STEM Academy for high school students that was held on the UW campus.

The CS-T noted that UW is among sponsors of next month’s WYO BIO Innovation Summit in Casper. The biosciences innovation summit will help catalyze connections between medical inventors or innovators and investors.

UW rising sophomores are invited to participate in the “Cowboy Comeback,” an event designed to recreate the excitement and anticipation of the first-time college experience. Last year’s freshmen missed a traditional college experience because of the pandemic. Sheridan Media published UW’s release on the program.

The Grand Teton Music Festival, featuring a wide array of musicians performing at the world-class event, returned earlier this month after the pandemic canceled last summer’s festival. Among the invited guests for the festival, which runs July 2-Aug. 21, was UW music Professor Michael Griffith, who was selected to give preconcert lectures at the festival. UW’s director of orchestral activities discussed the music that the audience heard during selected concerts, which included the world premiere of Melody Eötvös’ “The Deciding Machine”; the Dvořák Cello Concerto; and the Mussorgsky/Ravel piece “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

Two Sweetwater County students are among presenters for the 29th annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium today (Monday) on the UW campus. The Rocket Miner published UW’s announcement.