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CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

Study supports stronger conservation efforts in Appalachians and the Gulf Coast, US

During the last ice age, glaciers covered vast portions of North America. But some regions, including areas of the southern Appalachians and the Gulf Coast, had more temperate climates in which plants and animals survived and thrived. From those regions, called glacial refugia, those populations spread northward as the glaciers receded.

Jeremiah Busch.
Busch

New research by Clemson University scientist Matthew Koski and colleagues, including WSU professor of biological sciences Jeremiah Busch, supports strengthening conservation efforts in glacial refugia because of their high genetic diversity.

“These regions are the source of genetic diversity for the rest of the species ranges to the north of us,” said Koski. “Conservation of these habitats in the Southeast is vital and has implications for other areas of the country.”

If forced migrations of species — the planting populations beyond their current range edges — is necessary, being able to sample from regions with high genetic diversity is important.

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Science News

WSU women to attend national leadership conference this summer

Seven women who hold teaching, research, and administrative roles at WSU will receive nationally recognized leadership training and development under a new effort launched by the university.

Kimberly Christen.
Christen
Christine Horne.
Horne

From the College of Arts and Sciences, Christine Horne, a professor in the Department of Sociology; and Kim Christen, a professor and director of the Digital Technology and Culture Program, were selected to participate in the program.

Nominations were made by WSU System President Kirk Schulz, WSU Pullman Chancellor, Provost and Executive Vice President Elizabeth Chilton, Todd Butler, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Kate McAteer, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at WSU Tri‑Cities. Chilton is an alumnae of HERS’ Leadership Institute and has served as a faculty fellow for the program.

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WSU Insider

Women of Distinction Awards presented

Two CAS women are among six Washington State University women who were honored for their professional accomplishments and contributions to their communities at the Women* of Distinction Awards in April.

Jan Dasgupta.
Dasgupta

Boeing Distinguished Professor of Math and Sciences Nairanjana (Jan) Dasgupta was named Woman of the Year for her tireless work in advancing statistics and increasing opportunities for women in the field. Dasgupta has an impressive professional record: she is a fellow in the American Statistical Association, has co-authored more than 60 papers, organized WSU’s Center for Interdisciplinary Statistical Education and Research (CISER), serves as the director of WSU’s multidisciplinary and multi-campus Data Analytics program, and has advised more than 70 graduate students in her career – more than half of whom are women.

Amanda Westbrook.
Westbrook

As a WSU Global Campus student, Undergraduate Woman of Distinction Amanda Westbrook balances school, work, and a host of extracurricular activities aimed at enhancing the student experience. Westbrook is an anthropology student who maintains a 4.0 GPA while working full-time in the travel industry and serving as the ASWSUG director of communications and compliance. In that role, she creates content for the weekly Global Campus student newsletters, keeping students informed about campus issues and activities.

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WSU Insider

Ask Dr. Universe: ‘How do trees give us air to breathe?’

In recognition of Earth Day, the WSU Insider dug into the Ask Dr. Universe archives for a 2021 piece answering a question from a curious 11-year-old about how trees give us air to breathe.

Balasaheb Sonawane.
Sonawane

The fictional feline Dr. Universe sat down with her friend Balasaheb Sonawane, a WSU biologist, to learn about how plants use energy from the sun to make oxygen via a process called photosynthesis.

Sonawane explained that plants don’t have a nose or mouth like humans but rather use tiny microscopic organs on their leaves called stomata to move gasses in and out. Another key difference between humans and plants is that while humans breathe oxygen gas, plants take in carbon dioxide gas using the stomata on their leaves.

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WSU Insider

Service workers’ volatile shifts linked to high‑cost debt

Time, more than money, appears to influence whether service sector employees end up turning to so-called predatory lenders.

A study by Washington State University and Harvard University researchers found service employees’ unpredictable work schedules played more of a role in their reliance on high-cost debt than their income. Service employees work in industries such as retail, food service, grocery and hospitality as well as delivery and fulfillment – with many in the study sample working for the nation’s largest retail employers, Amazon and Walmart.

Mariana Amorim.
Amorim

“The experience of schedule volatility is pretty common among service sector workers,” said Mariana Amorim, WSU sociologist and lead author on the study in the journal Sociological Science. “We found that the more schedule volatility people experienced, the more likely they were to take out expensive loans, such as those from pawn shops and auto-title lenders—or they use credit cards in ways that are problematic.”

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WSU Insider
Phys.org