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WORDS | ‘AMERICAN RAGE’

Casual observers and hardened political pros alike came away from the 2016 presidential campaign thinking it was the most nasty showdown in American history, thanks to the talk of “Lock her up!” tiny hands and JFK assassination conspiracies.

Cornell Clayton
Clayton

In reality, the harsh tone and incredible accusations thrown around by candidates are part of the country’s long, maybe not-so-proud history, according to Washington State University political science professor Cornell Clayton. He explores the good, the bad and the ugly of American politics as part of the Humanities Washington speakers bureau, and will be in Spokane on Wednesday to lecture on “American Rage: Division and Anger in U.S. Politics.”

“What I think is a bit distinctive about today’s political period,” he says, “is not only are we polarized and deeply divided over issues, but we have remained so over a long period of time. If you go back to 1968, we’ve had a long period of elections that were extremely contested.”

Close elections and divided government, both common for the past 40 or so years, leads to the inability of government to function, dismaying Americans on both sides of the aisle, says Clayton.

“The government can’t address important social, economic and political issues,” he says. “That gridlock is so frustrating for Americans that they’re willing to reach for a strongman, populist demagogue like a Donald Trump.”

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Inlander

‘Crazy’ in politics subject of museum lecture Friday

Political sound and fury, and even where politics gets a little crazy, is the subject of a lecture at 7 p.m. Friday at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, 401 S. Balsam St.

Washington State University professor Cornell Clayton will talk about “Crazy Politics: Populism, Conspiracy Theories and Paranoia in America.” Admission is free.

The lecture is sponsored by the museum and Humanities Washington.

Clayton said populism and political paranoia are two separate strands of thought, but “they are related in some ways.” Both have deep historical roots in U.S. politics.

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The Columbia Basin Herald

New physics, astronomy chair starts Feb. 1

Brian Saam

Brian Saam, an expert in experimental atomic physics, will become professor and chair of the Washington State University Department of Physics and Astronomy on Feb. 1. He has conducted research and taught introductory and advanced courses for 17 years at the University of Utah, where he was associate chair of his department and associate dean of the College of Science.

He succeeds interim chair Sukanta Bose, professor of physics, and former chair Matthew McCluskey, professor of physics, who will return to their teaching and research activities.

“My number one priority as chair will be maintaining the size and academic reach of the department while keeping a strategic eye toward areas where we can grow the breadth of our research,” he said.

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WSU News

Local scientists don’t know if EPA freeze will hamper their research

The Trump administration’s freeze on Environmental Protection Agency grants and contracts is frustrating local agencies that don’t know what to expect. For scientists at Washington State University’s Vancouver campus, it could mean a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens
Rollwagen-Bollens

Environmental science professor Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens is the head of the aquatic-biology lab. She and other scientists recently applied for a $760,000 grant to study toxic algae blooms. The research could help keep local lakes from being closed because the waters are too poisonous to play in or drink.

The scientists don’t have any idea if the freeze includes that proposal.

“If our proposal doesn’t get funded, it doesn’t mean we have to close up shop and go home, but it is a major resource to support undergrads, our graduate students, to support our technical staff,” Rollwagen-Bollens said.

The grant money pays grad and undergrad students wages for their research work.

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Chemists make major strides in organic semiconductors

Ursula Mazur

Washington State University chemists have created new materials that pave the way for the development of inexpensive solar cells. Their work has been recognized as one of the most influential studies published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry in 2016.

Professors Ursula Mazur and K.W. Hipps, postdoctoral researcher Bhaskar Chilukuri and graduate students Morteza Adinehnia and Bryan Borders grew chain-like arrangements of organic nanostructures in the laboratory and then used mathematical models to determine which arrangements were the best conductors of light and electricity.

Journal editors recognized the WSU study as an important step in the advancement of organic semiconductors that perform on par with metal- and silicon-based electronics. They included the work in a collection of 2016’s most influential research publications, or “Hot Papers.”

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WSU News