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Concurrent heat waves becoming more frequent

Multiple large heatwaves the size of Mongolia occurred at the same time nearly every day during the warm seasons of the 2010s across the Northern Hemisphere, according to a study led by Washington State University researchers.

“More than one heatwave occurring at the same time often has worse societal impacts than a single event,” said Cassandra Rogers, a WSU post-doctoral researcher and lead author of the study in Journal of Climate. “If certain regions are dependent on one another, for instance for agriculture or trade, and they’re both undergoing stresses at the same time, they may not be able to respond to both events.”

Deepti Singh.
Singh

“As a society, we are not currently adapted to the types of climate events we’re experiencing right now,” said co-author Deepti Singh, WSU associate professor in the School of the Environment.

In addition to Rogers and Singh, authors on the study include Kai Kornhuber of Columbia University, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick of the University of New South Wales in Australia and Paul Loikith of Portland State University. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council.

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The Washington Post

Honoring the milestones and contributions of WSU employees

Staff and faculty play a crucial part in WSU’s work and the university each year recognizes employees for their contributions, including milestones in their time at Washington State.

Michael Griswold

Griswold, Regents Professor and director of the School of Molecular Biosciences, joined the WSU faculty in 1976 as a biochemist.

He served terms as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and as dean of the College of Sciences. Griswold gave the WSU Distinguished Faculty address in 1994, received the Sahlin Award for research in 1999 and the WSU Eminent Faculty award in 2009. His research focuses on spermatogenesis with an emphasis on the function of Sertoli cells. His work provided fundamental and groundbreaking insights into Sertoli cell-germ cell interactions and the crucial role of vitamin A during spermatogenesis. The NIH has continuously funded Griswold’s research since 1977, with nearly $30 million in total funding.  One grant is currently in its 43rd year.

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Two WSU students receive State Department scholarships for study abroad

WSU students Zenna Glaser and Claudia B. Jacobo have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. A Gilman Scholarship enables American students to gain proficiency in diverse languages and cultures through study abroad so that they may gain skills critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.

Ms. Jacobo, who is from Spokane Valley, is majoring in Japanese and expects to graduate in spring 2024. She will be participating in an exchange program at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan, in the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters.

Ms. Glaser, from South Carolina, is majoring in International Business and Marketing and expects to graduate in spring 2023. She will be spending the fall 2022 semester abroad at Kansai Gaidai University, which is between Kyoto and Osaka, Japan.

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The Tech Tools Helping Tribal Nations Preserve and Share Their Heritage

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Tracy Kelley, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts, saw an unexpected opportunity for her website, Kun8seeh, which means “talk to me” in Wampanoag.

Kun8seeh (run through the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, where Kelley is now interim director) was part of Kelley’s master’s project in linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Indigenous Languages Initiative, a special program for members of communities whose languages are threatened. When in-person classes became impossible, the community realized the need to offer online language instruction.

Kimberly Christen.
Christen

For example, Murkutu is an open-source digital access platform built with and for Indigenous communities that allows them to curate materials from digital repositories, which include recorded oral histories that allow for language revitalization and preserving and sharing cultural heritage. Kimberly Christen, director of the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University, who helped build Murkutu, says, “Native languages have been threatened by colonial projects and ongoing Western systems for a very long time. With UNESCO’s upcoming Decade of Indigenous Languages, there’s really been a focus on … the technologies that can help support Indigenous efforts.”

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WSU artists paint the town in array of colors

Vivid displays of color, shape, and beauty are popping up across Pullman, thanks largely to the talents of a group of muralists at Washington State University.

Students and faculty in the fine arts department have worked in recent months with other artists in the community to create a vibrant bouquet of public art on walls of buildings at the center of town and at the Palouse Discovery Science Center on Nelson Court. Six more murals adorn the playgrounds at two local elementary schools.

Joe Hedges.
Hedges

From still life realism to geometric designs, the painted walls are more than mere eye candy—they’re also teaching and learning tools for the artists and viewers, said muralist Joe Hedges, WSU associate professor of painting/intermedia and a strong advocate for art in public places.

“Public art is vital to a community. It makes a place more interesting—more colorful in many ways—and it sparks conversations between neighbors,” he said. “Projects tend to connect business owners and community stakeholders with people and ideas they may not otherwise encounter. The value is as much in the conversations and coalition building that happens behind the scenes as it is in the final result.”

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