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Federal funding will help WSU professor develop technology to recover rare earth elements

Xiaofeng Guo.
Guo

Xiaofeng Guo, an assistant professor of chemistry at Washington State University, is part of a national team of scientists that recently received $39 million in funding to develop market-ready technologies to increase domestic supplies of critical elements required for the clean energy transition.

The Department of Energy-funding will support 16 projects across 12 states to develop commercially scalable technologies that will enable greater domestic supplies of copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, rare earth, and other critical elements.

The objective of Guo’s project, “Mining Red Mud Waste for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage and Critical Element Recovery,” is to use supercritical carbon dioxide to recover critical elements, especially rare earth elements, from aluminum production wastes (red mud).

The project is led by Xin Zhang, chemical engineer of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, joined by Arizona State University Professor Alexandra Navrotsky, who was Guo’s PhD advisor and donor for the Alexandra Navrotsky Institute for Experimental Thermodynamics at WSU.

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WSU Insider

Got a temperamental toddler? CUDDLE them to sleep: Scientists think it could help them be better behaved

If you have a temperamental toddler it could be worth incorporating cuddles into their bedtime routine, a new study suggests.

Researchers have discovered passive tricks to help a child fall asleep – for example cuddling, singing and reading – are positively linked to a child’s temperament.

On the other hand taking more active measures like walking, going on a drive or playing with your child appear to have a negative effect, the study suggests.

A team of international scientists asked 841 parents across 14 countries to participate, who all had toddlers aged between 17 and 40 months.

Christie Pham.
Pham

Christie Pham, a psychology graduate student and one of the authors from Washington State University, said: “Our study shows that a parent’s sleep-supporting techniques are substantially associated with their child’s temperament traits across cultures, potentially impacting their development.

“For example, countries with higher reliance on passive strategies had toddlers with higher sociability scores.

“Our results demonstrate the importance of sleep promotion and suggest that parental sleep practices could be potential targets for interventions to mitigate risk posed by challenging temperament profiles across cultures.”

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Daily Mail
MedIndia
Fatherly

 

Area legislators don’t see many changes to their roles in 2023

During discussion at WSU’s Foley Institute, Schoesler and Dye talk committee assignments, electric vehicles, climate change

Two southeastern Washington lawmakers don’t expect any major changes in committee assignments during the 2023 legislative session, which begins Jan. 9.

“Gearing up for the session, I expect the announcement will come that I’ll be the ranking Republican on the (Senate) Capital Budget Committee,” said Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “I’ll probably continue on the Labor and Commerce Committee … and I’m probably looking at adding a third committee again if it’s something that interests me.”

Schoesler, who is beginning his 30th year of legislative service, offered his take on the coming session during an hourlong meeting at Washington State University’s Foley Institute on Tuesday.

He was joined by Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy. Both lawmakers represent the 9th Legislative District.

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Lewiston Tribune

We the People: Iroquois Great Law of Peace, Mayflower Compact among works that may have influenced writing of Constitution

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.

Today’s question: Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.

Written in 1787 and ratified a year later, the U.S. Constitution established the country’s federal government and is the oldest national constitution still in effect.

The Constitution has three main parts: the Preamble, seven articles and its amendments. Overall, it creates a foundation for the country, including establishing federalism, popular sovereignty, separation of power, and checks and balances. Several documents, notably the Articles of Confederation and the Federalist Papers, shaped how it was written, but there were also two documents that might have influenced it as well.

When looking for evidence of influence, historians look for text evidence like notes or letters from among those involved in the Constitution’s drafting. In the case of the Mayflower Compact, there is no direct written evidence that it had any influence while founders were drafting the Constitution.

Steven Fountain.
Fountain

While teaching in class, Steven Fountain said it is easy to point at something that looks like democracy and say that is where the constitution came from, but that would not be true. Fountain, a history professor at Washington State University Vancouver, said his students are always shocked when they realize the Mayflower Compact was set to create a society by restricting rights rather than codifying inherent rights as the Constitution does.

The Mayflower Compact was an agreement that was based in the time it was written, Fountain said. At the time, the compact was noteworthy because it was a document agreed upon by the people rather than being imposed by the King of England.

But he said it is a stretch to say it was of any influence, especially because the pilgrims who created the compact were far gone by the time the Constitution was drafted over 150 years later.

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Spokesman-Review

New certificate program to combine engineering and humanities

From Thoreau’s cabin to Wharton’s mansions to Dreiser’s skyscrapers and Ann Petry’s streets, American literature brims with vivid depictions of built environments that strongly influence individual lives, communities, and culture.

Exploring these stories to understand ways architectural elements can shape daily life and society is at the heart of a new certificate program being developed by an interdisciplinary team of WSU faculty in architecture, engineering, and the humanities. Creation of the five-course series is funded by a recent curriculum innovation grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Donna Campbell.
Campbell

Dwelling in American Literature: An Experiential Program for Architects and Engineers “intends to bridge a significant disciplinary gap between engineering and the humanities for students and faculty at WSU and beyond,” said program co-developers Donna Campbell, professor of English, and Ayad Rahmani, professor of architecture in the School of Design and Construction.

Such transdisciplinary approaches to undergraduate education are vital to produce engineers and architects with a new level of innovation and social responsibility as well as humanists with a new appreciation for the tangible products of the world around them, the professors said.

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WSU Insider