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WSU Tri‑Cities exhibition showcases art from faculty and staff statewide

An exhibition at Washington State University Tri‑Cities will showcase art professionally created by WSU faculty and staff from across the state now through Feb. 28 at the WSU Tri‑Cities Art Center.

A grand opening for the exhibition is scheduled for 5 p.m.–7 p.m. on Jan. 31 in the WSU Tri‑Cities Art Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will feature a range of styles of art, including interactive and electronic sculptures, ceramics, photography, painting, drawing and more. It will specifically feature works from 16 faculty and staff from the WSU Tri‑Cities, WSU Vancouver and WSU Pullman campuses.

At the grand opening on Jan. 31, attendees will have the opportunity to meet many of the artists featured, enjoy wine and light refreshments, as well as get an up‑close look at the works of art.

Remarks begin at 5:30 p.m.

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WSU Insider

WSU public policy director predicts global political division will persist

During Economic Forecast Breakfast, Cornell Clayton said divide driven by inequality, instability and cultural identity issues

One of the major effects of a global political economy that has changed rapidly in recent decades is political division, which will likely continue as the presidential election approaches.

Cornell Clayton.
Clayton

That’s according to Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy at Washington State University, who didn’t make many promises during a panel discussion Thursday at the annual 2020 Economic Forecast Breakfast at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. But Clayton confidently said that unless the challenges presented by the new economic reality — wealth inequality, employment instability and cultural identity issues — are sufficiently addressed, sharp political divisions in U.S. politics will continue.

“We are living in an unpredictable, chaotic political world,” Clayton said.

Since the end of the Cold War, the emergence of global trade organizations coupled with technological advancements has created global prosperity and investment. But Clayton said that it has also fostered inequality.

“What inequality does is it creates political instability and political anxiety, and we’ve seen that in our society and other societies around the world,” Clayton said.

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The Columbian

Data analytics expert to lead degree program

Jan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta

A highly successful educator and researcher committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and problem solving, Nairanjana “Jan” Dasgupta has been named director of the Program in Data Analytics at Washington State University.

Dasgupta is the Boeing Science/Math Education Distinguished Professor in Mathematics and Statistics at WSU and an expert and practitioner in data analytics, the science of examining large volumes of raw data to extract useful information, such as patterns, correlations and trends. She has been on faculty in mathematics and statistics at WSU since 1996 and was instrumental in establishing the interdisciplinary data analytics degree program in 2016.

She is also founding director of the WSU Center of Interdisciplinary Statistical Education and Research (CISER) and an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association.

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WSU Insider

Dr. Universe: Do babies have ways of communicating? –Jalen, 12, North Carolina

I learned a lot about how babies use emotion to communicate from my friend Masha Gartstein, a professor of psychology at Washington State University.

Masha Maria Gartstein.
Gartstein

She told me that crying is just one way babies communicate. After two or three months, babies will usually start to smile with a purpose.

“It’s an amazing thing,” Gartstein said. “That becomes another way of communicating.”

It’s also a nice relief for caregivers, or a baby’s brothers and sisters, especially after hearing lots of crying for a few months. Babies and caregivers can now both communicate joy or happiness.

At about six months old, babies can usually respond to their own names. But they still can’t talk like kids and grown-ups.

Instead, they might use gestures or point at things to communicate ideas to others. They might use their hands, fingers, or bodies to send out a message like, “I want that toy!” or “Look what I did!”

When a baby is about twelve months old, they will start to put together sounds that make up words like “mama” or “dada.” All the while, the baby’s personality is developing, too.

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Dr. Universe

 

Music faculty receive international acclaim for 2019 album “Feng”

feng cover.The Pan Pacific Ensemble’s debut album “Feng” has been listed as one of the top 10 classical recordings of 2019 by The Daffodil Perspective.

Washington State University School of Music faculty members Martin King (horn), Keri E. McCarthy (oboe), Shannon Scott (clarinet), and Sophia Tegart (flute) make up the Pan Pacific Ensemble along with bassoonist Michael Garza (Principal Bassoon, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra).

“Feng” was initially funded by a WSU New Faculty Seed Grant and was recorded in the WSU Recording Studio.

The album contains works by Asian and Asian-American composers, several of which were newly commissioned for the Pan Pacific Ensemble.

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WSU Insider