Skip to main content Skip to navigation
CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

WSU Tri‑Cities professor honored with regional excellence in teaching award

A curiosity for the world and the yearning to know how it works.

Allan Felsot.
Felsot

It is what brought Allan Felsot to the world of science and it is what inspired in him an interest and passion for teaching and academia at the college level. He brings this passion to his students, which is what has led to Felsot earning a regional teaching award.

Felsot, the academic director for the math and science sector of the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington State University Tri-Cities and professor of entomology, was recently announced as the recipient of the Pacific branch of the Entomological Society of America’s award for excellence in teaching.

The award honors educators at the university or community college level who have excelled through innovations in developing new courses, programs and teaching methods in the field of entomology and the sciences.

“If you were to ask me to name an instructor that has had one of the greatest impacts in my entire academic a career, I would answer Dr. Allan S. Felsot,” said alumna Yessica Carnley. “The dedication and commitment that he has to his students and to the proliferation of knowledge is one that is rarely encountered. One of the greatest lessons I learned in his courses was to question everything and to answer your own questions through proper research and testing, if possible.”

Find out more

WSU Insider

Precrastination: When the Early Bird Gets the Shaft

The term “precrastination” is defined as the tendency to tackle subgoals at the earliest opportunity — even at the expense of extra effort.

Lisa Fournier.
Fournier

In a study from 2018, led by Lisa Fournier, a professor of psychology at Washington State University, subjects were tasked with retrieving two buckets of balls. One was 6 to 12 feet in front of them, and the other was another 6 to 10 feet farther. Eighty percent of the subjects picked up the first bucket, carried it with them all the way to the second one, and then carried both back to the starting point.

“We tend to start with the task that can be done as soon as possible,” Dr. Fournier said.

Indeed, the longer your to-do list is, the likelier you are to precrastinate. To drive this point home, Dr. Fournier and her co-authors had some of the study participants increase their mental load by asking them to memorize a list of numbers that they would have to recall after retrieving the balls. The result: The percentage of precrastinators went up to 90.

What’s so hard about not jumping the gun?

One explanation is evolution. If you don’t grab the low-hanging fruit now, it might not be there later. You could run out of time to complete a task, or forget about it altogether. Carpe diem, right?

“I actually interrupt people a lot because otherwise I’m afraid I won’t remember what I was going to say,” Dr. Fournier said.

Find out more

New York Times

Dr. Universe: How many different types of plankton are there? Are there freshwater plankton?

We can find millions and millions of plankton in bodies of water all over the world—from oceans, rivers, and lakes to ponds and mud puddles.

That’s what I found out from my friend Julie Zimmerman, a biologist with the Aquatic Ecology Lab at Washington State University. In the lab, researchers can use powerful microscopes to get an up-close look at these tiny creatures.

When Zimmerman dips her plankton net from a research boat into Willapa Bay, she is curious to learn more about the plankton communities. Back at the lab, the team can look at what the plankton eat, how they grow, and see what species might be moving around to new places.

Zimmerman also studies plankton that live in the Columbia River and Vancouver Lake. She reminded me that the amount of plankton we find can change depending on the season or the place. When she goes out to the lake in summer, she can sometimes find a million tiny plankton in just a single teaspoon of water.

Find out more

Dr. Universe

WSU history student receives Fulbright to study in India

Washington State University history doctoral student and future professor Ryan W. Booth has received a Fulbright U.S. Student award to spend nine months in India exploring socio‑cultural characteristics attributed to indigenous soldiers during the British Raj up to a century ago.

His work adds an international element to his dissertation, and may well lead to a new global thread of research in the area of military history.

Ryan Booth.
Booth

“It’s an incredible honor for me to become a Fulbrighter,” said Booth. “I’m already experiencing that the award will open new doors for me, professionally as well as personally.”

Find out more

WSU Insider
La Conner Weekly News – click to view

Canadian company applies for permit for exploratory mining in headwaters of Skagit River

A Canadian company has applied for an exploratory mining permit in the headwaters of the Skagit River, which flows from British Columbia and through northwest Washington state to Puget Sound.

The Skagit River is one of the premier salmon-producing rivers for Puget Sound, and its waters churn through hydropower dams to bring the city of Seattle much of its electricity. Its upper waters are home to endangered bull trout.

“The City of Seattle is very concerned about the proposed actions to allow mining in the Silverdaisy area in the Upper Skagit Watershed,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a statement Thursday. “As with potential logging, mining in this area would threaten the environment, undermine our investments in salmon and bull trout recovery, and harm the integrity of a watershed that is critical to millions of people in Seattle and our region.”

The possibility of a mining spill worries some conservationists.

Jennifer McIntyre.
McIntyre

Metals, particularly copper, are toxic to salmon. Even low concentrations of dissolved copper in water can damage salmons’ sense of touch and smell, said Jen McIntyre, an assistant professor at Washington State University’s School of Environment. That can prevent them from finding food, evading predators or making their way to spawning ground.

Find out more

Seattle Times