Breath test to detect pot is being developed at WSU
A team at Washington State University is working to develop a breath test that could quickly determine whether a driver is under the influence of marijuana. » More …
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Sociologist, psychologist named first WSU Honors College distinguished professors
A professor of sociology and a professor of psychology are the first distinguished professors of the Honors College at Washington State University.
Sociologist Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson and psychologist Raymond Quock were selected based on their demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and outreach service, said Daryll DeWald, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences which partnered with Honors to create the new professorships.
“Both Monica and Raymond are outstanding teachers and researchers in their respective fields,” DeWald said. “Formalizing this partnership between the two colleges enables our outstanding professors to enrich the Honors environment in a dedicated manner while strengthening both programs overall.”
WSU geneticist helps solve mystery of Arctic peoples
With help from a Washington State University population geneticist, Danish researchers have concluded that North America and the Arctic were settled in at least three pulses of migration from Siberia. First came the ancestors of today’s Native Americans, then Paleo-Eskimos – the first to settle in the Arctic – followed by the ancestors of today’s Inuit.
The research, published in the journal Science, settles nearly a century of debate over Arctic settlement and whether today’s Inuit are related to Paleo-Eskimos, who disappeared 700 years ago. That’s about the time the technologically superior Inuit reached Greenland, but the researchers could not tie the disappearance of the Paleo-Eskimos to the Inuit’s arrival.
Nov. 20: Symphonic band, winds present concert
Students will participate as guest conductor and soloists during a free Symphonic Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in Bryan Hall at WSU Pullman.
Graduate student Christopher Nelson will guest conduct David Holsinger’s “Havendance.” “A Movement for Rosa” by Mark Camphouse, honoring the memory of Rosa Parks, and “Dance of the Jesters” by Peter Tchaikovsky will follow.
The evening will close with David Gillingham’s “Concertino for Four Percussion and Wind Ensemble.” It will feature four student soloists.
Jazz fest draws high school students
Area schools, musicians hold day of music, learning
Rich golden notes and glints of similarly colored instruments lit up Bryan Hall Theatre at WSU Pullman on Wednesday during the School of Music’s Jazz Festival Gala Concert.
The day-long music festival has taken place each autumn for at least the past 22 years, according to Greg Yasinitsky, director of both the WSU school of Music and WSU Jazz Big Band.
Yasinitsky, who founded the festival and has been with WSU for nearly 35 years, said it has changed a lot since its inception.
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