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Tribal connection inspires efforts to save salmon

Studying toxic runoff to help save iconic salmon species, Washington State University scholar Stephanie Blair draws on science as well as the knowledge and connections of her Native American community.

Stephanie Blair.
Blair

A doctoral student in WSU’s School of the Environment, Blair researches the toxicology underlying urban runoff mortality syndrome—a condition that kills coho salmon when they return to urban creeks to spawn. Based at the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Blair and colleagues are racing to understand the syndrome and develop green infrastructure that can protect fish from toxic chemicals.

“We’re taught to think seven generations ahead, about people we won’t see in our lifetime,” Blair said. “Having experienced what happened to my family when salmon are gone, I want my daughter to be able to continue the traditions of her family.”

November is Native American Heritage Month. Blair urges others to take time during the month to consider the legacy of colonialism.

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WSU Insider

2 Military Veterans Help Other Vets Transition To Purposeful Civilian Life

Career transitions are hard for everyone, but the shift from military to civilian life can be particularly challenging.

Alair MacLean.
MacLean

Soldiers coming back from the Vietnam War were too often treated as damaged goods by employers, according to research by Alair MacLean, sociology professor at Washington State University, it remains to be seen how welcoming employers will be to service members returning from the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — especially those in the second half of life.

Veterans, generally speaking, bring many skills to their future employers, including an ability to work in multigenerational teams. Many vets are worldly, having been exposed to different cultures and parts of the world during tours of duty. That said, some veterans with combat experience can’t deal with loud noises; others may find it difficult to be surrounded by too many people in a crowded office.

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Forbes

Through the camas plant, archaeologist bridges the past, present, and future

Molly Carney.
Carney

Molly Carney is both a pioneering scientist and a bridge builder.

In her current research, the environmental archaeologist and postdoctoral researcher in the WSU Department of Anthropology reconstructs the cultural history and plant food uses by Northwest Native communities. Specifically, her projects focus on use and cultivation strategies of camas (Camassia quamash), a bulb plant. For thousands of years, camas has been a valuable plant food for tribal communities.

“Native people managed and harvested camas bulbs for more than 4,000 years,” said Carney, who earned her PhD in archaeology this spring. “When harvesting, Native Americans selected only mature camas bulbs. and considered the long term for the plant itself. This approach was calculated with enduring sustainability in mind.”

Respect for this cultural legacy has been frequently disregarded by scientists, Carney noted. Many initiate relationships with Native people to conduct research on their lands. But, once the work is complete, they depart and leave those connections in the dust.

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WSU Insider
NWPB

WSU and PNNL to host joint seminar series to foster research collaboration

Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will kick off the Discuss, Discourse, Disseminate with Data (D4) joint seminar series at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 1 via Teams.

Jan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta

Chris Keane, vice president for research and vice chancellor for research at WSU, and Mike Wolcott, associate vice president for National Laboratory Partnerships, will introduce the session along with Nairanjana (Jan) Dasgupta, director of Data Analytics and Data Science Fellow. She will briefly share some highlights about the field of data science.

Bala Krishnamoorthy.
Krishnamoorthy
Daryl DeFord.
DeFord

The series will continue through the spring 2022 semester on the second and fourth Wednesday every month at noon, ending in mid-June with a WSU-hosted Data Science Day. The series will feature Bala Krishnamoorthy, professor in the WSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Sutanay Choudhury, computer scientist at PNNL, Assefaw Gebremedhin, associate professor in the WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Chris Oehmen, computer science in the Biological Sciences Division at PNNL, Daryl Deford assistant professor of data analytics in the WSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics and Statistics at WSU, William Cannon, multiscale modeling and UQ computational scientist at PNNL, Xiongzhi Chen, assistant professor in the WSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Eric Lofgren, assistant professor in the WSU Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health

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Mirage news
WSU Insider

 

Ask Dr. Universe: How did the sun form?

Our sun may be one of the billions of stars in the galaxy, but it’s the only star right here in our solar system. It keeps us warm and gives us light, which is important for all kinds of living things on our planet.

Jose Vazquez.
Vazquez

To find out more about how stars like our sun form, I talked to my friend Jose Vazquez, an astronomer at Washington State University.

“It’s kind of like when you make bread, tortillas or cookies,” Vazquez said. “Even though they are all different products, they often require the same basic ingredients and a good mix.”

When the protostar reaches just the right temperature, a reaction called nuclear fusion begins in its core. The fusion of certain gases, such as hydrogen, can release a lot of energy which powers the heat and light of the star for a long time.

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Ask Dr. Universe