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CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

Virtual Ecology experience opens up nature learning opportunities

Restrictions at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic weren’t fun, but some positives appeared out of that isolation. At Washington State University, one lasting benefit is the Virtual Ecology experience for students and, thanks to social media, the public.

Prior to 2020, students enrolled in WSU’s Natural Resource Ecology course made field trips to Kamiak Butte County Park, 20 minutes north of Pullman, as part of a semester-long project. As lovely as spending class time off-campus in nature is, it’s also a challenge for students who don’t drive. During the pandemic, in-person field trips became impossible.

William Schlosser.
Schlosser

Enter the Virtual Ecology project, where School of the Environment instructor William Schlosser, affectionately known as “Dr. Bill,” worked with undergraduate and graduate students as well as the Whitman County Parks & Recreation Department to set up several camera traps throughout Kamiak Butte.

“Exploring the park online simplifies everything,” Schlosser said. “Students learn better now compared to when we did only live field trips. It’s impossible for a single teacher to be with all 100 students roaming the park.”

Schlosser, along with teaching assistants and former students, goes to Kamiak regularly to collect camera trap recordings, fly drones, monitor and repair equipment, and make necessary adjustments.

For the fall 2022 semester, the SOE 300 class field trip includes virtual data collection and analysis, followed by a one-day physical park visit for groups of 20 students. This hybrid approach lets students experience the best of both worlds.

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WSU Insider

Research: The operationalization of bodycam data

Washington State University researchers are working with police departments to objectively review videos to benchmark officer performance and inform training

David Makin.
Makin

An agency’s body-worn camera video contains multiple data points that can be operationalized to benchmark officer performance and inform training. Tapping into that wealth of knowledge is the mission of David A. Makin, Ph.D., an associate professor in criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University and director of WSU’s Complex Social Interactions Lab.

Through data analytics and machine learning, Makin and his team code and catalog key variables in bodycam videos associated with a range of outcomes as specified by the agencies participating in the research. Importantly, the work undertaken in the lab captures situational and environmental factors such as the geographic location, ambient noise level, time of day, and the presence and actions taken by bystanders to better contextualize and therefore better understand interactions between police and the community.

Recently, WSU’s research team passed a significant milestone of 20,000 hours (nearly 120 weeks’ worth) of analyzed footage. I sat down with Dr. Makin to discuss how this research can contribute toward improving police-community interactions and create data-driven solutions for enhancing situational awareness, officer safety and de-escalation.

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Police1

Hydrogen production method opens up clean fuel possibilities

A new energy-efficient method developed by a team of WSU scientists to locally produce hydrogen gas from ethanol and water has the potential to make clean hydrogen fuel a more viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Louis Scudiero.
Scudiero

“Our technology produces pure hydrogen at high pressure with high efficiency and at a low energy cost while also capturing the carbon dioxide by-product,” said Louis Scudiero, professor of chemistry and co-author of a paper on the research published in the journal Applied Catalysis A.

Like electric battery-powered cars, hydrogen fuel-cell cars don’t emit harmful carbon dioxide during operation and, like traditional gasoline-powered cars, hydrogen-powered cars can be refilled in minutes.

Despite its potential, the technology’s market penetration is very low. Delivery of compressed hydrogen gas to consumers is a significant stumbling block. The economic and safety challenges involved in transporting and storing large volumes of high-pressure hydrogen gas means there is little appropriate infrastructure in the U.S.

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Parks named associate vice president of health sciences academic programs and policy

Craig Parks.
Parks

Craig Parks has been named associate vice president for health sciences academic programs and policy within Washington State University Health Sciences, effective Sept. 1. He will retain his current role as vice provost for system innovation and policy on a part-time basis until Jan. 1, 2023, as well as continue to act as the university’s accreditation liaison officer (ALO) in the Provost’s Office on a part-time basis.

“Dr. Parks is an accomplished institutional leader with a heart for the health sciences and growing academic programs,” said Daryll DeWald, vice president for WSU Health Sciences and chancellor for WSU Spokane. “His expertise is vital to our health sciences colleges’ successful accreditation processes. I look forward to working with him as we continue our collective vision for expanding WSU Health Sciences across Washington State.”

Parks arrived at WSU in 1993 as a visiting faculty member in the Department of Psychology, where he later received a permanent appointment. He joined the Office of the Provost in 2015 and has been serving as the vice provost for system innovation and policy since 2019, where he supports academic initiatives across the WSU system and oversees federal and state academic policy. In his new role, Parks will be responsible for supporting academic program development as well as the accreditation processes for the colleges of Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

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New leaders in arts and sciences bring wealth of experience to posts

Three academic units in the College of Arts and Sciences are welcoming new leadership this fall.

Allyson Beall King.
King
Clifford Berkman.
Berkman
Keri McCarthy.
McCarthy

In the School of Music, Professor Keri McCarthy succeeds Dean Luethi as director, and in the Department of Chemistry, Professor Cliff Berkman succeeds Kirk Peterson as chair.

In the School of the Environment—which is part of both CAS and the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences—Allyson Beall King, associate professor, career track, succeeds Kent Keller as director.

“Drs. McCarthy, Berkman, and King bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their new roles,” said Todd Butler, CAS dean. Their respective terms began Aug. 16.

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