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Grant to fund interactive, sculptural ‘art machine’

Sena Clara Creston
Sena Clara Creston

Sena Clara Creston, clinical assistant professor in digital technology and culture and fine arts at WSU Tri-Cities, has received a grant from the state nonprofit Artist Trust to construct an “art machine” entitled “The Umbrella Ship.”

“The sculpture will provide the audience with the constructed reality and physical sensation of a childlike dreamscape,” Creston said.

The interactive installation will be a three-wheeled art machine propelled by wind hitting a large umbrella. The vehicle will transition from a bed to ship to bicycle and will be constructed from repurposed materials.

Learn more about this artistic project

WSU math teacher wins MIT puzzle competition

Thomas Gazzola with the winning “Nautilodestone” coin from the MIT Mystery Hunt. Photo courtesy WSU Vancouver.
Thomas Gazzola with the winning “Nautilodestone” coin from the MIT Mystery Hunt. Photo courtesy WSU Vancouver.

A Washington State University Vancouver math instructor is celebrating his win in the “Super Bowl” of puzzle hunts.

Thomas Gazzola is part of a 40-member team of solvers who successfully deciphered the 2015 MIT Mystery Hunt, an annual puzzle competition held in Boston during the Martin Luther King Junior weekend.

The Mystery Hunt, created by an MIT graduate student in 1981, is widely regarded as one of the world’s oldest and most complex “puzzlehunts.” According to the MIT website the event draws about 1,000 people each year and has inspired similar competitions at universities, companies and in cities around the globe.

“There were about 180 puzzles in this year’s hunt,” said Gazzola, director of the WSU Vancouver math resource lab. “My crew managed to get through them all in just under 41 hours.”

Winning means his team has the dubious honor of designing the closely guarded theme and puzzles for the upcoming 2016 hunt.

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WSU Brings Classroom to Students With Online Certification in American Indian Studies

Michael Holloman
Michael Holloman

Washington State University is now offering an online program in American Indian Studies that leads to certification. This will provide an opportunity for those living away from campus to expand their education and enhance their opportunities for future employment. » More …