in brief

Continued Collaboration in Taiwan

In the years since Utah State University and Taiwan’s National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) began exploring ways to work together— beginning in 2011 and formalizing an agreement in 2018—faculty and students at the two universities have developed collaborations and friendships.

Leaders from NCHU, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, and USU met in March to extend the collaboration and explore more opportunities for students and faculty at both universities. Collaborative research and student activities thus far have focused on plant, soil, environmental, and climate sciences. NCHU Vice President Chun-Liang Lin represented the university at the signing and noted that both universities began with agricultural sciences and work on understanding and solving similar problems in different parts of the world.

Printing the Future in Price

What began as a career pathway in Carbon and Emery counties and new economic opportunities in Eastern Utah has become a successful business and education partnership with USU Eastern’s Price campus and Merit 3D. The program trains people in additive manufacturing, aka 3D printing, and now offers hands-on training and certification that is completed in one semester. Industry partner Merit 3D provides lab space, and students get hands-on experience from the start of the course. Blake Merrell, one of the company’s founders, said additive manufacturing is at the “bleeding edge” of industry, allowing manufacturers to bypass overseas suppliers, and it can be used to produce everything from a simple phone case to medical equipment.

Aviation Maintenance Team

Braden Kunzler, Ryan Ritchie, Josh Carling, Frank Mattiaccio, and Trace Hadley, students in USU’s aviation maintenance program, competed in the 2022 Aerospace Maintenance Competition in Dallas, TX. The team, coached by Professional Practice Assistant Professor Chris Bracken placed second in the electrical wiring and antenna troubleshooting events. Ritchie was honored with the Charles E. Taylor Professional AMT Award. Named for the Wright Brothers’ first aircraft mechanic, the award recognizes a student for professionalism demonstrated in the competition’s 26 events.

Up to the Challenge, Again

For the second straight year, a team combining the skills of students from Utah State University and the University of Utah won the Utah Real Estate Challenge with the first place $20,000 prize. The annual contest invites teams of students at Utah universities to blend creative architectural and landscape design with real estate development business skills and build a proposal for a potential project. This year’s challenge was a 20-acre mixed-use plan to accommodate a biomedical research facility, affordable housing, and retail development on 300 South in Salt Lake City near Rio Grande Station.

This year’s winning team was comprised of USU landscape architecture and environmental planning students Cooper Parson and Bailey Johnson, USU interior design student Kenley Roberts, and U of U business students Luke Littlefield and Austin Taylor �