THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
Volume 22, Number 2, Winter 2021
On the Cover
Senior Academic Professional Lecturer Tawfik Elshehabi, who oversees the Drilling and Completions Simulation Laboratory in the Engineering Education and Research Building, works with mechanical engineering student Nicholas Shields.
Features
16 / Blockchain Helps Diversify Wyoming’s Economy
UW’s new Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation aims to prepare students and create industry partnerships.
22 / Health Care Goes Virtual
Telehealth brings a variety of health-related services to people across the state.
26 / High-Tech Teachers
The College of Education embraces technology for the benefit of students and educators.
30 / Powering the Future
From state-of-the-art drilling simulators to wind energy, UW remains at the cutting edge of energy research and application.
34 / See in 3D
The Shell 3D Visualization Center uses tech to bring research and teaching to life.
36 / Building Better Science
The new Science Initiative Building will house state-of-the-art equipment to improve science across the state.
40 / Harnessing Tech for Humanity
From exoskeletons to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, UW researchers are bringing the future home to improve lives.
Departments
/ President’s Letter
Winter 2021
Volume 22 Number 2
UWYO.EDU/UWYO
The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of the University of Wyoming
University President: Edward Seidel
Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing: Chad Baldwin
University of Wyoming Department 3226 1000 East University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071-2000
Voice: (307) 766-2379
Fax: (307) 766-6729
Email: uwyomag@uwyo.edu
The University is committed to equal opportunity for all persons in all facets of the University’s operations. All qualified applicants for employment and educational programs, benefits, and services will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, creed, ancestry, political belief or any other applicable category protected by law and University policy.
The net benefit of aggressive social distancing policies as researched by UW’s Linda Thunström and David Finno .
The number of camera-trap images UW’s Mikey Tabak and colleagues used to create computer models and advance artificial intelligence technology to identify wild animals.
The amount David Fay’s lab which studies certain genes implicated in cancer, genetic diseases and birth defects—recently was awarded from the National Institutes of Health.
The amount UW’s Bledar Bisha and Sarah Collins received from the Wyoming Department of Health to test e uent from Wyoming communities for SARS-CoV-2.
The amount UW’s Bart Geerts was awarded from the U.S. Department of Energy grant to improve the power of Earth system models to predict weather and climate.
A gift from Dr. Tom and Debbe Spicer to support the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.
The highest number of horn flies on a cow counted by Ph.D. student Craig Calkins , who is helping UW’s Derek Scasta unravel the mystery of a pestilence that costs the livestock industry billions of dollars.
The number of plant species that have apparently gone extinct in the continental United States and Canada since European settlement, according to a paper co-written by UW’s Bonnie Heidel.
The number of BLM herd management areas where fecal samples were taken to study the gut microbiome in free-roaming horses by master’s student Courtney Buchanan.
The number of federal grants UW’s Haibo Zhai was recently awarded to research carbon capture/storage and water savings at natural gas-fired power plants.
WYOMING, THE BEST OUTDOOR CLASSROOM YOU COULD ASK FOR.
In my first months as the University of Wyoming’s 28th president, I have been so impressed with the strong support we receive from our alumni, Wyoming people and other constituents; the dedication of our faculty and staff; and the grit and determination of our students. The COVID-19 pandemic has tested all of us in ways we couldn’t have imagined, but the Cowboy spirit has allowed us to move forward in fulfilling our mission of providing outstanding education, cutting-edge research and valuable service to the people of Wyoming and beyond.
As I write this, the pandemic is still raging across the nation and our state, but there is great reason for optimism as I look ahead. Vaccines are being rolled out to front-line workers; adherence to prevention measures appears to be on the increase in the state; and the university is deploying a rigorous, in-house testing program that we expect will help us have a
successful spring semester. And I think it is very important to note that our coming victory over this virus and the devastation it has caused our state and world will be a major triumph of science, for which UW is an important home.
While much of my time as president has been devoted to addressing COVID-19 and related budget challenges, they have not deterred us from looking to the future. We are taking steps toward a bold new vision for the university, with a strategic planning process built upon four primary objectives or pillars: becoming more digital, more entrepreneurial, more interdisciplinary and more inclusive. While the state’s budget crisis will limit our ability to move as quickly as we would like to build new programs—and yes, will require us to cut some things we might cherish—we are moving swiftly to develop new plans to pivot the university, and to consider additional sources of revenue to achieve them. Ultimately, we aim to become a best-in-class 21st-century land-grant university true to its Wyoming roots.
It’s appropriate that my first president’s message in UWyo Magazine be part of an issue devoted to highlighting the university’s activities related to technology and innovation. While there is much in place about which to be excited, we are already moving aggressively to build on this foundation. UW’s future—and, to a great extent, the future of Wyoming— depend upon our success in innovation, including new investments in programs in computing, data, artificial intelligence and their applications across the university, and training of
the next-generation workforce with an entrepreneurial mindset. We look forward to sharing the details of our progress in coming months.
To successfully pursue this course as a university, we must work in an interdisciplinary fashion, breaking down any internal silos. We also must collaborate with our Wyoming community college partners, other universities, national laboratories, private foundations and businesses. Laying the groundwork for these partnerships has been a major focus of my efforts as president so far, and I’m excited about the opportunities in front of us.
Inclusivity, the fourth pillar, is at the heart of our land-grant, flagship mission. We want to make high-quality education accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, income or background. I so appreciate the welcome I have received at UW and in Wyoming, and I’m committed to making sure all students, faculty, staff and others feel the same way when they arrive here.
This state and its university have been through difficult times before; there’s every reason to believe we will navigate this time and come out stronger with a clear vision toward being a cutting-edge, 21st-century land-grant institution. Please know of my deep commitment to build on this proud history and help guide UW to new levels of excellence, as we count on the support and contributions of all of us who call ourselves UW Cowboys and Cowgirls.
NEW BLACK STUDIES CENTER
UW’s new Black Studies Center (UWBSC) opened this fall, focusing on advancing the accurate histories of Black people. The center is housed in Ross Hall. Fredrick Douglass Dixon, the center’s first director and an assistant professor in the School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice, will head its initiatives and programs. The center will use culturally responsive teaching, rural community-focused engagement and evidencebased research to attract high-quality students to UW, who will actively contribute to the development of Black studies, Dixon says.
RESEARCHERS
RECEIVE GRANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING
Associate Professor Patrick Johnson and Assistant Professor Karen Wawrousek, both from the UW Department of Chemical Engineering, along with Professor Gerard Wall in the Department of Microbiology at the National University of Ireland Galway recently received a Health Research Board of Ireland grant to develop a diagnostic assay for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. They also will test for antibodies to the virus in human samples.
EXCEPTIONAL ALUMNUS SUPPORTS STUDENTS
From his service as a fighter pilot in World War II to his financial career at RBC Wealth Management (formerly Dain Rauscher Inc.) to his support of and service to UW, John Clay’s contributions have been remarkable. Clay has included UW in his estate plans with a charitable gift to establish the John and Esther Clay Honors College Excellence Fund. The purpose of the fund is to foster excellence and to provide financial support to the Honors College.
STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO OPERATE DRONES
To meet the growing demand for unmanned aerial systems, in June the UW Board of Trustees approved the launch of geospatial information science and technology (GIST) programs. New programs, which began this fall, are offered in the areas of geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing
and unmanned aerial systems (UAS), better known as drones. An online graduate certificate program course took place earlier this fall taught by Christopher Leatherman, owner and chief remote pilot for Aerial Solutions of Wyoming, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company in Gillette.
NEW MAJOR AND REDESIGNED MINOR IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The College of Business launched a new major in entrepreneurship as part of the Bachelor of Science in business and a redesigned business minor in entrepreneurship this fall. These two entrepreneurship programs offer a variety of rich developmental experiences that include applied learning, case analysis, research projects, teambased active-learning projects and guest speakers, in addition to traditional classroom lectures and discussions designed to develop and encourage the entrepreneurial mindset.
John Clay with UW Honors College Dean Peter Parolin
‘UNIVERSAL 2-PLUS-2’ AGREEMENTS
For the past five years, students in many popular degree programs at Wyoming community colleges have been able to seamlessly transfer to UW as a result of dozens of “2-plus-2” articulation agreements among the academic departments of UW and these institutions. That collaboration is taking another step forward, as UW and the state’s seven community colleges have announced plans for a “universal 2-plus-2” partnership, setting the stage for UW agreements with each college, rather than the department-by-department approach.
BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE LAUNCHES GLOBAL VEGETATION PROJECT
The Biodiversity Institute’s new Global Vegetation Project aims to inspire and empower people of all ages to learn about the diversity of vegetation on Earth and to provide educators with a resource for teaching online. The goal is to bring the field into the classroom in a way that was previously impossible, enabling visual and interactive experiences that link vegetation and climate at the global scale.
William Kentridge (South African, b. 1955), Six Birds, 2012, From Universal Archive series, linocut printed on non-archival pages from Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 28 1/2 x 31 inches, courtesy of Gund Gallery, Kenyon College and David Krut Projects, Johannesburg/New York
William Kentridge: Universal Archive is organized for tour by the Gund Gallery at Kenyon College and is made possible, in part, by contributions from Alva Greenberg ’74, the Gund Gallery Board of Directors and Ohio Arts Council
WILLIAM KENTRIDGE UNIVERSAL ARCHIVE
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA MAZA
RESEARCH UNDER WAY
Name that research
New Analysis Finds Opportunities for Carbon Capture, Storage
Two Faculty Members Receive DOE Grants to Research Alloys, Quantum Computer Materials
Details, please
To read more about these research projects and many others, visit uwyo.edu/news.
The Great Plains Institute and UW’s Jeffrey Brown explore the planning of carbon dioxide transportation networks on a regional scale in a new analysis. The white paper also looks at the economic and environmental benefits that can be achieved through economies of scale to meet the United States’s midcentury decarbonization goals.
NSF Grant to Study Connections Among Bedrock, Water and Life at Earth’s Surface
Professor Receives $8 Million Federal Grant to Monitor Snowpack, Soil Moisture in Upper Missouri River Basin
Cheadle Part of Group That Discovered Volcano on Indian Ocean Seafloor
Dilpuneet Singh Aidhy is studying high entropy alloys that are potential materials for large structural applications, while Jifa Tian is researching a solution to create materials and understand the fundamental physics for future quantum computers that can process problems classic computers cannot. Their projects are two of 31 for which the U.S. Department of Energy granted $21 million in total Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) funding.
Thanks to a $5.33 million National Science Foundation grant, researchers from UW—including principal investigator Cliff Riebe—and eight other universities will focus on connections among rock, water and life at Earth’s surface. Specifically, the five-year grant will help researchers define the “critical zone,” which refers to the Earth’s near-surface layer from treetop to bedrock.
UW—and Wyoming principal investigator Ginger Paige, a professor of water resources in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management—has received a five-year, $8 million grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish a network of stations to monitor snowpack and soil moisture throughout the plains areas of the Upper Missouri River Basin. The goal is to help predict and prevent future flooding in these areas.
Michael Cheadle, a professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, was part of a research expedition that explored the seafloor of the Indian Ocean. The March expedition mapped nearly 6,000 square miles of the seafloor. They discovered a large volcano, which was 18 miles long and 1 mile high, and were able to view and study various faults, individual lava flows and volcanic eruption cones in detail.
COWGIRLS RODEO COMPLETES SEASON SWEEP
A perfect fall season turned in by the women’s rodeo team solidified the Cowgirls as the team to beat when the spring schedule rolls around next March. The Cowgirls went 4-for-4 in the fall season with a second-straight dominating performance to end competition in the Central Rocky Mountain Region. Meanwhile, the men’s team, despite finishing second, widened its overall regional lead after the completion of the fall schedule.
IMPACT 307 LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
UW’s IMPACT 307 has launched its new website— impact307.org —as a culmination of the organization’s recent rebrand from the Wyoming Technology Business Center to IMPACT 307 earlier this summer. The site highlights entrepreneurfocused programs, business resources, FAQs and insights, plus client success stories.
RESEARCH PHOTO CREDITS (TOP TO BOTTOM): UW PHOTO (2); CLIFF RIEBE; MAP BY RUBEN BEHNKE, SOUTH DAKOTA MESONET; MARUM, UNIVERSITAT BREMEN
INNOVATION WYRKSHOP GROWS MAKERSPACES
The College of Engineering and Applied Science’s Innovation Wyrkshop will be building five new makerspaces across Wyoming aimed at high school students and young adults with disabilities, thanks
to a $175,000 grant from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The aim is to lower barriers to access and increase tech literacies and marketable skills. Each new makerspace will be equipped with a variety of tools and technology. Visit wyrkshop.org to learn more.
BOOKS IN STORE
The University Store (uwyostore.com) is home to a large selection of books by Wyoming authors and about Wyoming. Titles include: Ghost Towns of Wyoming by Bruce A. Raisch, which features a historical and physical biography of 74 sites, with their history dating back to 1812; Roadside Geology of Wyoming by David R. Lageson and Darwin R. Spearing, which explores the story of Wyoming’s geology and history based on clues left in the state’s rocks; Rancher Archaeologist: A Career in Two Different Worlds by George Frison—a memoir looking back on Frison’s atypical journey from rancher to professor and archaeologist; and Wyoming — Perspectives on a ‘Small Town with Long Streets’ by Dennis Davis , which takes a look at Wyoming people and places during a time of transition in the energy industry.
Snapshots
MANUFACTURING IN THE SPACE AGE
By Caitlyn Spradley
As humans push further into space exploration, a need arises to develop flexible electronics and in-space manufacturing. Patrick Johnson, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is one of three University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science professors awarded a $750,000 NASA grant to lead a team of researchers in developing machine learning materials and manufacturing methods for space.
In addition to Johnson, the UW team includes Assistant Professor Lars Kotthoff, computer science, and Assistant Professor Dilpuneet Aidhy, mechanical and energy systems engineering.
The three-year grant for their project, titled “Artificially Intelligent Manufacturing of Flexible Electronics,” was funded through NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
“The limitations to the kind of objects that can be made in space with additive manufacturing techniques are an important and vexing problem, and NASA has put a high priority on identifying solutions to this challenge,” Johnson says.
According to Johnson, game-changing developments from NASA partner Made In Space will allow the manufacturing of parts required for space exploration. These developments include VULCAN, a 3D printer that will be able to use metals and polymers for additive manufacturing, and Archinaut, a system to manufacture large-scale parts that cannot be transported into space—including heat shields and antennae in space during a mission.
However, while both methods hold a lot of promise, they come with a number of drawbacks, the researchers say.
“Made In Space’s approach cannot manufacture electronics from scratch but only integrate existing components,” Johnson says. “Inkjet printing relies on different materials, namely different inks and the substrates, to be available. The size of the manufactured circuit is limited to the size of the inkjet
UW professor Patrick Johnson and colleagues lead a NASA grant for machine learning materials and manufacturing methods for space.
printer. Both techniques require relatively large amounts of power over relatively long periods of time to operate.”
Johnson’s team in the Artificially Intelligent Manufacturing (AIM) center in the UW College of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a complementary technique that does not suffer from these drawbacks.
“Our team is researching thin films of a single material that can be treated with a low-power laser to manufacture circuits and replace or upgrade devices,” he says. “This technique can be used to create submicron-scale conductive lines in carbon materials of arbitrary dimensions and consumes less power than 3D and inkjet printing techniques.”
The researchers’ efforts look to merge synergistic expertise in materials development and computer science for the development of powerful methods to design and model
the behavior of advanced materials and the manufacture of advanced devices.
Johnson says that the grant will continue to foster interdisciplinary research among chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science, giving UW undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to apply machine learning to advance laser manufacturing and computational materials science research.
“The grant enables the production of advanced materials and training of machine learning scientists in advanced manufacturing processes, which is especially important in the current economic climate,” he adds. “This grant will help facilitate Wyoming’s transition to a high-tech state and attract investment beyond its traditional industries.”
Cameron Wright, interim dean of the College of
Engineering and Applied Science, praises Johnson and his colleagues for securing the NASA grant.
“This project will have direct applicability to the future of NASA’s space exploration and will support both our educational mission and economic development in Wyoming. It’s really a win-win,” Wright says.
Johnson holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Lehigh University, an M.E. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Columbia University. He specializes in biointerfaces, nanomaterials, biosensors and biomaterials.
The team of collaborators for NASA project includes Meyya Meyyappan, chief scientist for exploration technology, and Jessica Koehne, a scientist in the Center for Nanotechnology, both at the NASA Ames Research Center.
Associate Professor Patrick Johnson and team are researching thin films of single material that can be treated with a low-power laser to manufacture, replace and upgrade devices in space.
A NEW CHAPTER IN LIBRARY TECH
Derrick Mason takes the reins as UW’s first innovative media and learning spaces librarian.
By Micaela Myers
Whether it’s bringing in the latest technology or finding ways to make each space in the libraries more engaging, Derrick Mason, the university’s first innovative media and learning spaces librarian, is ready to use his creativity and makerspace background to take UW Libraries to the next level.
Mason earned his master’s degree in library and information science from Kent State University and brings 15 years of library experience with a focus on tech-related trends in the profession.
UW’s Coe Library already offers One Button Studio, where students, faculty and staff can record videos or podcasts in just one easy step. It also houses the multimedia lab Studio Coe, home to a variety of software.
“I plan to see how we can further expand the offerings at Studio Coe and One Button Studio,” says Mason, who started his position in late July. “I could see us trying to expand One Button to other libraries and community organizations.”
Community engagement is one of Mason’s goals. But first he’s taking stock of where the libraries are and where they can go.
“I started off gauging what kind of tech we have and what new emerging tech we can integrate into that space,” he says.
This includes the next evolution in virtual reality: mixed reality, which combines virtual reality with the real world.
“Tech is becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives,” Mason says. “We can make it more user-friendly with the extended realities. I could see these as a way to introduce the students and faculty to that tech. They can use their creativity to apply the tech to their assignments or projects.”
The second part of his title, learning spaces, will involve looking at how he can repurpose some of the spaces in the libraries to be more engaging, such as a touch technology wall with data and infographics or an interactive art exhibit.
“The whole purpose is to have people come in and see all we offer and come check it out,” Mason says. “I like that I’m given a lot of autonomy to brainstorm these ideas and get creative.”
Being more computational, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial are some of the goals President Ed Seidel has set for UW, and Mason looks forward to the library being part of that vision.
He says, “A library is always about providing access to information, so I’d like these spaces to be the access point to emerging technology.”
COURTESY PHOTO
By Micaela Myers
Thanks to Laramie’s new 4,000-acre-plus Pilot Hill Recreation Area on the northeast end of town, University of Wyoming researchers from the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources can further study recreational impacts on wildlife.
Assistant Professor in Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management Abby Sisneros-Kidd and fellow Haub School professors Drew Bennett and Joe Holbrook have placed 22 cameras each in high-recreation, low-recreation and no-recreation areas in the Pilot Hill area to understand the influence that recreation development has on wildlife habitat occupancy.
“Once trails are built and recreation begins on the property, we will also add trail counters to estimate visitor use of trails and GPS-based tracking and surveying of recreationists using the trails,” Sisneros-Kidd says. “We also have the ability to pair the GPS spatial data and surveys, so we can understand how things like visitor motivations can impact people’s spatial patterns and choices on a landscape.”
The first cameras were placed in January 2020 and show the presence of mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, elk, mule deer and other wildlife.
SHARING THE LAND
Motion-sensor cameras help UW professors study recreational impact on wildlife.
“The hope is that the data on wildlife occupancy and paired data on recreationist spatial behavior and motivations and preferences can help inform management of the Pilot Hill property to both protect wildlife that call the property home while also facilitating a recreation experience that people highly value,” Sisneros-Kidd says.
The study is unique in that, more often, researchers are called on to help once a problem such as erosion is already underway. Here, UW researchers have the opportunity to collect data that will help design and develop recreation in a way that is sustainable and that minimizes conflict while maximizing the utility of the land for a variety of purposes.
Sisneros-Kidd earned her bachelor’s in environmental science from Carthage College, her master’s in teaching and learning from DePaul University, and her Ph.D. in environment and society from Utah State University. In addition to her research, she teaches and conducts outreach.
“My favorite part of my job is when these parts of my job intersect and allow me to involve students in research that aids in informing sustainable recreation management in Wyoming communities,” she says. “I love the connections that I am able to make with the work that I do—connecting with students, with community stakeholders and with the land itself.”
SUPERCOMPUTING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY SUPERCOMPUTING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY SUPERCOMPUTING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
By Micaela Myers
At the University of Wyoming, students, faculty and staff have access to unprecedented supercomputing capacity via the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Wyoming Supercomputing Center—or NWSC—located in Cheyenne and UW’s own Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC).
NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center
NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center
“The availability of NWSC helps UW to attract world-class faculty and students,” says George J. Nicholson Professor and UW University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/NWSC Liaison Suresh Muknahallipatna. “NWSC is a world-class petascale supercomputer resource available to UW faculty and students researching atmospheric, geologic earth systems science and related science domains. More than 75 UW faculty have been using NWSC to model, simulate and visualize the behavior of complex systems. Due to the Wyoming Legislature’s investment in the NWSC, a 20 percent allocation of the NWSC core hours is available to UW faculty and students. The guaranteed core hours provide a considerable advantage in attracting external grants to UW faculty in the areas of the earth and geosciences.”
1.2 Billion Core Hours
NWSC’s Cheyenne supercomputer has a capacity of 1.2 billion core hours a year, with 160 million core hours a year available for UW.
ARCC offers the following resources:
Teton (HPC cluster), Teton Storage (cluster storage), the petaLibrary (research storage), and Pathfinder (cloud-like storage platform). It also provides support and training for a wide array of computational research-related areas.
Upgrade
An upgrade to NWSC-2 is being planned to host graphic processor clusters, which may allow UW researchers in the area of visualization and machine learning to request new allocations.
UW’s Advanced Research Computing Center
The ARCC’s primary mission is to facilitate the research of UW faculty, staff and students by integrating compute resources (software and hardware), networking, data storage, information management and personnel, the ARCC’s most valuable resource.
#1
Among universities in fiscal year 2020, UW ranks No. 1 in total allocations, No. 1 in total high-performance computing charges, No. 3 in active projects and No. 1 in total users.
Workforce Development
UW is receiving $192,000 per year for five years (through 2023) from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research for student internship and computing workforce development.
Supercomputer Supercomputer
Teton is a high-performance compute cluster—a supercomputer—that’s free for campus researchers to use and considered very large compared to those at other similar-sized universities. It is an aggregate of high-performance servers that can execute a wide variety of long-running jobs on a single platform. For example, a researcher’s computational workload could take years on a desktop but may take only days on a high-performance computing cluster. In 2020, 2,759,400,000 central processing unit (CPU) hours were available on Teton. This is about 315,000 CPU years that can be performed in a single year.
Stats
129 projects; 526 compute nodes; 50+ support servers; 6,111,581 total jobs
Pathfinder
This cloud-like storage platform is used for research data transfers, publications and backups. It offers a capacity of 1.2 petabytes and is capable of transferring 100 gigabits per second.
petaLibrary
This high-capacity storage system is designed to house non-computational research data, or data that is not actively being computed against. Researchers may store the results from computation here. It has a capacity of 1.8 petabytes and is capable of 40 gigabits per second.
UW’S NEW CENTER FOR BLOCKCHAIN AND DIGITAL INNOVATION AIMS TO PREPARE STUDENTS AND CREATE INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS.
By Micaela Myers
In the near future, you’ll likely be paying for your dinner out not with cash or credit but with cryptocurrency.
“Blockchain technology is going to fundamentally change the way businesses and consumers operate in the future, very much like the internet did,” says Steven Lupien, director of the University of Wyoming’s new Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation.
Wyoming Leads the Way
Wyoming is a pioneer state known for firsts. In recent years, the state passed groundbreaking legislation to create a regulatory environment to foster blockchain application growth and diversify the economy. To aid this effort and train the upcoming workforce, this summer UW launched the Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation.
Simply put, blockchain is a digital record of transactions, where each transaction added to the chain is validated by multiple computers. Blockchain technology enables cryptocurrencies and digital assets
but also has many other uses, such as supply chain management and payment systems. Many large companies already use the technology, but blockchain and cryptocurrencies will become much more ubiquitous in everyday life.
Wyoming’s road to innovation in this sector began when accomplished alumna Caitlin Long wanted to endow a scholarship for women in STEM— science, technology, engineering and math—using cryptocurrency. With Wyoming’s antiquated money transmitter laws, she found out she couldn’t, so she volunteered to help fix the regulations. Long earned her bachelor’s degree from UW in 1990 in political economy and went on to earn her master’s and law degrees from Harvard University. She chairs the highly successful WyoHackathon at UW (see page 20) and served as cofounder of the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition and as a gubernatorial appointee on the Wyoming Blockchain Taskforce.
exemptions. We were the first state to recognize utility tokens as opposed to security-based tokens. That drew a lot of national and international attention. Other states looked to us for leadership. Congress looked to us on how we defined it.”
The leadership continued with provisions and statutes for conducting business electronically, limited liability companies, exempting virtual currencies from property taxation and more— 20 laws in all.
“Our objective all along has been to create a governance framework that enables business, industry and individuals to be innovative in this space,” Rothfuss says.
and another leader in Wyoming’s groundbreaking blockchain laws, says: “Wyoming led the nation in granting women the right to vote and creating the LLC form of business entity. Wyoming is doing it again with digital assets now. Wyoming needs to diversify its economy, and financial services is a good way to do that. There is precedent for this—South Dakota amended its laws in the early 1980s to attract the credit card industry, and it is now home to two of the largest U.S. banks. Safely integrating digital assets into the U.S. banking system is all about providing a new path for Wyoming’s future.”
Long gives credit to state Rep. Tyler Lindholm as one of the leading drivers in Wyoming’s legislative changes.
“The legislators saw there was an economic development opportunity,” she says. “It’s always been about jobs and bringing in outside capital to the state. Now, we’ll have employers looking for UW graduates.”
The effort to change the regulatory environment brought together both sides of the political aisle.
“In 2018, we passed HB 19, Wyoming Money Transmitter ActVirtual Currency Exemption, that provided clarification that addressed that first problem that had been identified, but we took it further than that,” says state Wyoming Senate Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss. “We passed legislation that related to open blockchain token
Part of the state’s innovative legislation allows for a new type of bank that can custody digital assets. These banks are known as special purpose depository institutions (SPDI), and on Sept. 16, 2020, the Wyoming Banking Division approved Kraken’s application to create the world’s first SPDI. A second SPDI application, this one submitted by Avanti Bank & Trust, was approved Oct. 28—a bank founded by Long, who serves as CEO.
In September, Gov. Mark Gordon stated: “Today, Wyoming became the first U.S. state to approve a banking charter for digital assets. Wyoming’s new charter will allow those using digital assets, like cryptocurrency, to access reliable financial services, protect consumers, and allow businesses a way to hold digital assets safely. … I am proud that our state is leading the way and built the framework for this historic announcement. … Wyoming is taking its rightful place globally as a fintech leader.”
Chris Land, general counsel for the Wyoming Division of Banking
Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation
The Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation features an interdisciplinary approach among UW colleges— including the College of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the College of Law—as well as the state’s community colleges. The center will focus on fostering innovation, applied research and education, technology development, economic development and job growth and corporate engagement.
“This new center supports three of the four pillars we’ve established to guide the university: being more computational, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “We truly appreciate the support of our external partners that has helped UW be at the vanguard of this exciting technology. The university is committed to helping drive future economic development in Wyoming, and this center has incredible potential to do so.”
As director of the center, Lupien brings with him a wealth of industry
Steven Lupien, director of the new Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation.
COURTESY PHOTO
experience, including service as president and CEO of BeefChain, a Wyoming rancher-centric supply chain company using blockchain technology to recapture the value now realized by third-party feedlots and processors; founder and adviser of the Digital Asset Trade Association; vice president of sales, engineering and customer service for Five Star Products; and director of sales and marketing for Walker Systems Support.
“UW recognizes that for the state to be successful, we need public-private partnerships to help attract companies and work with them on developing their products,” he says. “But, more importantly, those companies are going to be the ones hiring our graduates. This is an opportunity for me to use my background and experience to help UW and our students prepare themselves for what I believe will be a quickly growing industry in the state.”
College of Business Dean Dave Sprott says: “One of the big things is to train our students to be prepared for this new era that will be coming to our state. So our first step is to start a minor at the undergraduate level that will be open to any major by fall 2021.”
From there, they will work to develop technical graduate certificates and a joint law and business master’s degree.
Last February, UW received a $500,000 gift in Ada cryptocurrency from IOHK (Input Output, iohk.io), a leading international technology company, which was doubled to $1 million by state matching. The donation, among the largest cryptocurrency gifts to a public university, helped to establish a blockchain lab in the College of Engineering and Applied Science that will work in cooperation with corporate partners.
“The IOHK lab is focused on the security of blockchain technologies,” says Mike Borowczak, the Loy and Edith Harris Assistant Professor of computer science. He is also director of the Cybersecurity Education And Research (CEDAR) Center and Lab and codirector of the Wyoming Advanced Blockchain Lab, both a part of the Secure Systems Collaborative. “The idea is leveraging UW students and researchers to develop mechanisms to increase the security of this relatively young technology.”
Land says, “The UW Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation will hopefully equip students with the high-paying skills they need to find a great job here in Wyoming. The center will also conduct interdisciplinary research into blockchain and digital asset issues, setting the foundation for the university to be a global leader in shaping the future economy.”
There are only a handful of universities nationwide with blockchain centers such as UW’s, including Arizona State University, the University of Arkansas, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, the University of Michigan, MIT, Stanford University and University of Texas at Austin.
“UW is in rarefied air,” Long says.
“We’re working with some of the top scientific universities in the country.”
Few universities with blockchain centers are land-grant universities, which made a partnership with the University of Arkansas a perfect match.
“The partnership between the blockchain centers of excellence at the University of Arkansas and the University of Wyoming is a natural fit,” says Mary C. Lacity, the Walton Professor of Information Systems and director of the University of Arkansas Blockchain Center of Excellence.
“We are both public institutions with missions to create and disseminate knowledge about blockchain-enabled solutions that deliver business and social value. Industry partners and students from both campuses will benefit by having access to a broader network of thought leaders, resources and events.”
Both universities have a practical— as opposed to technical—focus to their blockchain work. The University of Arkansas focuses on supply chain, and UW has a unique opportunity with the state’s SPDI banks.
“Through a partnership with the University of Arkansas, we can lead with each of our strengths to help teach other,” Lupien says. “We have a very similar mindset of how blockchain is not only a technology but an opportunity for businesses to solve problems.”
This past fall, the third annual WyoHackathon took place, this time virtually. It included six free events covering the blockchain themes of sources, impact and implementation to unite worldwide leaders, participants, legislators and changemakers.
The Sandcastle Invitational, a startup qualifier competition, sought the best and most promising blockchain, artificial intelligence and other technology startups to compete in Laramie and then Dubai for the finale. The Stampede Law Conference aimed to educate, leverage and frame the benefits of what Wyoming’s 20 new laws have to offer and the issues still to be tackled. A Stampede Developers Conference featured technical speakers and workshops to help attendees prepare for the WyoHackathon challenges and to introduce new technologies, concepts and emerging standards. A monthlong virtual WyoHackathon welcomed software developers. Lastly, the Stampede Business
Conference featured speakers and workshops helping attendees understand the Wyoming legislative environment, the business opportunities presented by digital technologies such as blockchain and how these technologies will impact Wyoming and the worldwide economy.
“The conference itself was a smashing success,” says WyoHackathon Chair Caitlin Long. “We had at least three billionaires in Laramie for it, including Tim Draper, a very well-known, successful Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He made the trip even though the conference was virtual. We had more than 2.5 times the number of participants. We had more than 1,000 unique visitors to the website each day for the contest. We brought in people from all over the world, which has been the case for all of these hackathons.”
Now falling under UW’s new Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation, the hackathon is projected to continue to grow in future years.
WyoHackathon participants. PHOTOS COURTESY OF WYOHACKATHON
WyoHackathon Chair Caitlin Long (center) at the hackathon with two students from Shoshoni High School.
Discover the di erence at the University of Wyoming’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Health Care Goes Virtual
TELEHEALTH BRINGS A VARIETY OF HEALTH-RELATED SERVICES TO PEOPLE ACROSS THE STATE.
By Micaela Myers
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was a vital service in the state—allowing a wide variety of health services to be delivered remotely. In the spring, telehealth numbers soared (see sidebar on page 26).
The University of Wyoming plays a vital role in the Wyoming Telehealth Network, a collaboration among the Wyoming Department of Health, Office of Rural Health, Medicaid, Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) and the College of Health Sciences.
“The intent is to increase the capacity of statewide providers and systems to implement telehealth as an evidence-based practice to increase access to high-quality and specialty care around the state,” says Wyoming Telehealth Network Director Canyon Hardesty.
Service to the State
The Wyoming Telehealth Consortium was created by the Wyoming Legislature in 2009 to promote telehealth in Wyoming. The Wyoming Telehealth Network emerged from that initiative, connecting everyone with an interest in telehealth and providing technical and procedural support to providers, patients and other stakeholders.
“We are the core contractor to deliver professional development, community education and training to providers, health centers and hospitals so they are aware of the best practices needed to implement telehealth,” Hardesty says.
The network provides webinars, Zoom meetings and hundreds of technical assistance encounters to more than 2,000 providers. This includes
procedures for delivery of specialty services. For example, delivery of telepsychiatry is far different than nutrition or genetics screenings. More than 50 specialties—including mental health counseling, family practice, physical therapy, speech-language, education, clinical psychology, internal medicine, occupational therapy, public health, nursing, orthopedics and psychiatry—are represented among member providers.
“We help to provide the infrastructure for education, technical assistance and building community capacity throughout the state,” Hardesty says.
While telehealth services surged throughout the world during the pandemic, they are especially vital for rural areas regardless of COVID-19. Telehealth allows people to receive services from specialists who are not located in their towns, preventing long drives and allowing access to those without transportation.
“Continuity of care is critically important,” Hardesty says.
For example, those receiving chronic disease management care can do so from their homes.
“It bridges the distance gap and bridges the access gap,” she says. “But most importantly, it allows the patient to be in charge of their services.
Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Telehealth is not the only service that the University of Wyoming employs to assist rural residents in the state. Point-of-care ultrasound is another emerging technology.
“In line with its mission to train doctors for practice and limited resources areas, the UW Family Medicine Residency Program in Casper has started a pointof-care ultrasound training curriculum,” says Family Medicine Residency Clinical Professor Dr. Michael Miller. “This curriculum utilizes state-of-the-art ultrasound training software, which uses a training probe to teach case-based use of ultrasound in the clinical setting. The program also purchased a state-of-the-art digital probe that can be plugged into an iPad or iPhone and used at the patient’s bedside to answer clinical questions. Pointof-care ultrasound can be used in rural or underserved settings as part of the physical exam to improve diagnostic capabilities.”
“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” says Wyoming Telehealth Network Director Canyon Hardesty. “We now have the tools to deliver care outside of a clinical facility. It is critical that we capitalize on this momentum and innovate tools and strategies to use telehealth to deliver high-quality comprehensive care at home.”
465 total providers enrolled in the WyTN over the lifetime of the program for education, Zoom accounts and listing in the provider directory
377 technical assistance encounters provided by WyTN
34 webinars and 741 participants
354 telehealth providers delivering telehealth via WyTN Zoom accounts in 41 different specialties
Totals represent numbers from 2016-17 on.
For some services, like mental health in particular, patients are reporting they feel more comfortable doing that from their home.”
One of the consortium’s goals was to help address the shortage of mental health providers in the state.
Hardesty says that many providers who began offering telehealth during the pandemic indicate they will continue to offer the modality.
Telehealth at UW UW clinics such as the Speech and Hearing Clinic, the Psychology Center and the University Counseling Center utilize telehealth, as does the Family Medicine Residency Program.
APRIL 2020
27,896 clinical/direct service encounter
5,489 administrative meetings
3,974 tele-education meetings
2,218 total providers enrolled in the WyTN over the lifetime of the program for education, Zoom accounts and listing in the provider directory
807 technical assistance encounters provided by WyTN
37 webinars and 1,069 participants
1,494 telehealth providers delivering telehealth via WyTN Zoom accounts in 52 different specialties
For example, psychology Professor Matt Gray has been providing telehealth counseling and therapy services to domestic violence and sexual assault survivors throughout the state for about a decade.
“Part of our role is to integrate education about telehealth service delivery and best practices within the college,” Hardesty says. “UW is really involved in pre-service education.”
The university also conducts telehealth-related research, including on mental health provisions in telehealth and related business impacts of COVID-19.
Students Autumn Ostlund and Elaine Romenesko demonstrate telehealth speechlanguage therapy via video conferencing.
THE UW SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
OFFERS AN ONLINE MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HEALTH SERVICE ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM THAT IS DESIGNED FOR WORKING PROFESSIONALS AND IT REQUIRES TWO YEARS OF PART-TIME STUDY.
Previous UW graduates with various education backgrounds have completed the program or are current students. In addition, you work with classmates from across the US gaining insights from others with diverse backgrounds and careers.
HEALTH INSTITUTION LEADERSHIP
HEALTHCARE QUALITY AND IMPROVEMENT
HEALTH ECONOMICS AND OUTCOMES
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
WORKING TOGETHER, UW CAN GIVE YOU THE CREDENTIALS AND SKILLS YOU NEED to either advance in your current employment or move up into a new and exciting career path in the healthcare arena. WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION AND YOUR TIES WITH UW. WE OFFER BOTH SPRING AND FALL ADMISSIONS.
The College of Education embraces technology for the benefit of students and educators.
HIGH-TECH TEACHERS
PHOTO BY ANDREA BURROWS
PHOTO BY JACQUELINE LEONARD
By Micaela Myers
Emerging technologies reach every college on campus, including the College of Education, which uses technology to prepare future educators, encourage children to pursue careers in STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—teach computer science, conduct professional development and more.
Virtual Classrooms
Future teachers need as much time in front of students as possible, and the College of Education’s Trustees Education Initiative enables 21st-century technology to help get the job done with Mursion virtual reality classroom simulations.
“It’s a middle school classroom with five students who sit around a table,” explains School of Teacher Education Assistant Lecturer Lindsey Freeman, who teaches agriculture education. “We can practice whatever we want in terms of teaching content. It’s very interactive. It’s as real as it gets without being in an actual classroom. The students all have their own personalities. They have their own things they’re interested in or don’t like. It’s fun to see my students interact with middle schoolers who have real personalities.”
Freeman has used Mursion in a variety of ways. For example, she had her students teach a lesson on how to safely use power
Clockwise from left: A student at the 2019 Casper GenCyber Camp uses a Micro:Bit to learn coding; Shannon Ragan teaches student avatars how to safely use an acetylene torch during a Mursion simulation in the agricultural education lab; ITEST Pennsylvania students make a launch pad and payload for a drone flight test.
tools. “It was a chance for them to get in front of students and teach them how to use tools before they have the pressure of getting into a real shop and teaching real students,” she says.
Freeman also has used the software to simulate parent-teacher conferences. In both instances, the students were shocked by how realistic the experience was.
Encouraging STEM
To encourage interest in STEM and STEM careers, especially among underrepresented groups, School of Teacher Education Professor Jacqueline Leonard serves as principal researcher on the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant. Called “The Bessie Coleman Project: Using Computer Modeling and Flight Simulation to Create STEM Pathways,” the project provides unique learning opportunities for underrepresented students in the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. by focusing on learning experiences involving emerging technologies, culturally responsive instructional and curricular practices, and using STEM role models to motivate students.
“Initially, we started out working with kids on 3D modeling and drone technology,” Leonard says. “The drone part really resonated with the kids. They actually got to learn how to operate drones.”
Students in Wyoming, Denver and Philadelphia have all been part of the project. In Colorado, speakers included Ron Oliversen from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, astronaut and sculptor Ed Dwight and Capt. Willie Daniels from United Airlines.
“That same summer, we also went to the Wind River Reservation, and we had a geologist working with kids out in an area on the reservation where they were able to fly drones and get pictures of a buffalo jump in Beaver Rim, so it was connected to their culture.”
PHOTO BY JASON HARPER
Wyoming outreach has also included summer camps and after-school programs in Laramie, Cheyenne, Evanston and Riverton.
This past year, students in Aurora, Colo., and Philadelphia used drones to think about rescue, such as using a drone to carry rescue baskets to hurricane victims.
When COVID-19 precluded in-person lessons, the project team began working on online modules. Leonard hopes to return to in-person instruction this summer, with plans to include Memphis and Indianapolis. So far, the program has reached more than 300 students nationwide.
The experiences can improve students’ computational thinking skills, which are related to being able to solve problems systematically. “Kids have been doing computational thinking through coding as well as problem solving in terms of how they might put things together to get the drone to lift off with a payload and that type of thing,” Leonard says. “Based on the data so far, we can tell that the kids have been pretty excited about engineering. Some kids have said they want to do computer science or aviation or they’ve never thought of being a drone pilot, but now they are.”
Teaching Computer Science
In 2018, the Wyoming Department of Education announced the launch of Boot Up Wyoming 2022, an initiative to implement computer science in all Wyoming schools. UW’s College of Education and Department of Computer Science stepped up to help the state reach this goal.
of Education delivers the teaching methods course.
Right: Assistant Professor Mike Borowczak helps a student with coding during the 2018 Laramie GenCyber camp. Below: Sam Hansen teaches a Mursion lesson during Assistant Lecturer Lindsey Freeman’s class. PHOTOS BY
Associate Dean and Professor Andrea Burrows is also spearheading efforts that would permit Wyoming educators to earn micro-credentials—a form of certification that shows a person has mastered a specific set of skills by attending professional learning experiences.
“UW’s College of Education is dedicated to offering as many options as possible to support our K–12 teachers in their critical work,” Burrows says. “The computer science microcredential program would allow educators to learn on their own time and utilize their classrooms to showcase their work.”
Initiated by College of Education Associate Professor Linda Hutchison and Computer Science Lecturer Allyson Anderson, a computer science minor and endorsement program were developed to help alleviate the inevitable shortage of qualified computer science teachers. Current UW students can take the minor program as undergraduates, and teachers already practicing in the state are able to join the endorsement program. The program was developed in collaboration with Wyoming’s community colleges, which offer the 1000- and 2000-level computer science courses face to face to students in their areas or at a distance via online tools. Those taking advantage of this offering complete the upper-level coursework at UW, either on campus or at a distance. The computer science courses are offered by the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the College
Burrows partners with Mike Borowczak on a number of projects, including WySLICE, UWyo Code.org and GenCyber Wyoming. Borowczak is the Loy and Edith Harris Assistant Professor of computer science, as well as director of the Cybersecurity Education And Research (CEDAR) Center and Lab and co-director of the Wyoming Advanced Blockchain Lab, both a part of the Secure Systems Collaborative.
“We’ve offered professional development and summer camps for K–12 teachers and students,” Borowczak says. “We try to address what a teacher or district needs in a way that’s valuing of their existing resources, knowledge and what they want to do for their students.”
WySLICE, which stands for Wyoming’s Schools and Libraries Integration Computer Science in Education,
JASON HARPER
prepares 150 K–8 teachers and state librarians from all disciplines to integrate computer science into their teaching. The project, primarily funded by a National Science Foundation CS for All grant with co-funding from its Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), aims to reach nearly half of all K–8 students in Wyoming. WySLICE is led by Borowczak and Burrows, with co-investigators Adam Myers in astronomy and physics and Lars Kotthoff in computer science.
“We’ve also partnered with Code.org, which is Microsoftbased philanthropy,” Borowczak says.
Code.org offers prepackaged curriculum that can be a good fit for some teachers and districts.
The third project, GenCyber, is National Security Agency funded and focuses more on the cybersecurity aspect of computer science.
“We combine cybersecurity, computer science and a teacher’s core domain area,” Borowczak says. “We alternate years between summer camps for students and professional development for teachers.”
Burrows and Borowczak also run the Computer Science Hub (uwyo.edu/wycs), which showcases computer science opportunities for Wyoming K–12 teachers and students.
Pandemic Prompts Podcast
When COVID-19 struck, the College of Education stepped up to provide a plethora of resources to the state’s educators, including a new Cowboy ED podcast series housed in the Wyoming School–University Partnership hosted by Johnson Junior High School computer science teacher James Kapptie, UW Assistant Professor of Learning, Design and Technology Mia Kim Williams and Assistant Professional Lecturer of Educational Psychology Joe Schroer. The inaugural season explored creating connected and engaging classrooms with a focus on virtual classrooms, open education resources, socialemotional learning, equity and access.
The second season launched this past fall and was dedicated to pre-service and practicing K–12 educators discussing classroom best practices, current trends to support teachers’ professional development and developing insights on the frontier of 21st century teaching and learning.
Williams says, “We will continue to talk with innovative educators throughout the state and are adding some episodes that explore technology best practices and trends in educational research—three different types of episodes.”
Powering the Future
From state-of-the-art drilling simulators to wind energy, UW remains at the cutting edge of energy research and application.
By Micaela Myers
Who would imagine that in a landlocked state like Wyoming, students could learn the intricacies of offshore oil rig drilling? That’s exactly the case, thanks to the university’s state-of-the art Drilling and Completions Simulation Laboratory.
“We’re proud to offer our students not only onshore drilling, which is typical in Wyoming, but also offshore drilling that’s typical in places like the Gulf of Mexico and internationally,” says Senior Academic Professional Lecturer Tawfik Elshehabi, who oversees the lab.
Recent petroleum engineering alumnus Mike Gardner
of Vernal, Utah, graduated this past spring and immediately went to work for Vine Oil & Gas as an associate drilling engineer in Louisiana.
“It was helpful in combining what you learned in the classroom into the actual operational standpoint in the field,” Gardner says, adding that his work in the simulator lab was a great addition to his resume.
“I think it’s one of the key aspects that helped me get the job,” he says. “I used the simulators in my senior design to compare a dual-derrick drillship to a single derrick semisubmersible. We drilled a well in real time on the simulator.”
Drilling Simulators
Located in the new Engineering Education and Research Building, the lab was created in partnership with Drilling Systems, manufacturer of advanced simulation technology for the oil and gas industry, and creates North America’s largest, most technologically advanced center.
“The drilling simulators are a state-of-the-art facility that’s available to us with the intention of having students not have to travel into the field to learn series of knobs, dials and valves,” says Department of Mechanical Engineering Department Head Dennis Coon. “They can do all of that in a simulated laboratory environment, which means they can do it more often and safely.”
The center features the dual cyber chair DrillSIM 6000 and conventional brake handle DrillSIM 5000. It also includes the CTS 5000 coiled tubing and WL5000 wireline simulators for well intervention and completion activities, along with a workspace that can hold large, active-learning classes. In addition, there’s a virtual reality drilling rig with VR headsets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elshehabi has set up the lab so that students can still access it remotely.
Coon says, “Elshehabi has taken a facility in Laramie and turned it into something that can reach far and wide to impact the lives of petroleum engineers and companies.”
While the primary audience for the lab is petroleum engineering students, it also brings in other disciplines, such as mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, as well as offering training to industry professionals.
“A lot of engineering graduates, particularly those who have an interest in working in Wyoming, will be affiliated in some fashion with the petroleum and natural gas industries,” Coon says. “This gives them a great way to integrate their skills and have a lot more marketability in those industries.”
Elshehabi says, “What is unique about this facility is that you have the drilling side, and you have the completions side—two big areas of petroleum engineering. We are the only university that has all of these simulators in the same location.”
The lab is a great recruiting tool for future students and also a wonderful outreach tool, as K–12 groups often come through during non-pandemic semesters.
Wind Energy
UW’S Wind Energy Research Center (WERC) launched in 2008 with a $2 million gift from BP, a multinational energy company. Since then, roughly 20 faculty members have worked on various issues related to wind energy, such as aerodynamics, operation, control and modeling, increasingly obtaining external grants for their research.
A recent six-year grant focused on modeling wind turbine farms and electricity distribution, as well as the economic aspects of both such as the impact of transmitting wind power over long distances.
“It’s going to cost some money to modernize the grid, but the offset seems to be that the prices of electricity itself are dropping,” says WERC Director Jonathan Naughton.
As wind farms grow in size, WERC is studying how turbines impact one another.
“The pinnacle example is the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project near Rawlins, where they’re talking about up to 3,000 megawatts of installed capacity,” Naughton says. “When you have 1,000 turbines, how does the location of one turbine and its interaction with the wind impact the production and lifetime of another turbine? That’s another area where our modeling has really contributed.”
WERC is also helping model wind resources across the
Left: Senior Academic Professional Lecturer Tawfik Elshehabi oversees the Drilling and Completions Simulation Laboratory. The center serves students in petroleum, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering as well as industry professionals.
Mechanical engineering student Nicholas Shields uses advanced simulation technology from Drilling Systems.
U.S. for a 20-year period. The resulting wind database will be used across the country for applications ranging from economic modeling to evaluating the feasibility of small wind energy installations.
The modeling work is computationally demanding, beginning with modeling winds on a continental scale all the way down to local winds at a particular site.
“If the performance of a group of wind turbines is modeled using these winds, capturing the flow next to the blade is necessary for the best models,” Naughton says. “The modeled scales thus range from hundreds of kilometers down to millimeters, an extremely challenging problem. It takes a lot of high-performance computing. One of the assets we make regular use of is the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center.”
To assess whether the models are working well or not, they must be compared to experimental data. WERC works to develop better instrumentation and measurement tools and applies them to laboratory and field experiments.
The Department of Energy declared a goal of 20 percent wind energy by 2030. To address the many aspects of wind energy research, expertise is required from across campus.
Electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor John O’Brien recently investigated single-input two-output control designs incorporating real-time feedback exchange between channels to maximize performance despite limited available bandwidth.
“My interest in wind turbines is principally in improving their lifespan,” he says. “Wind turbines are not lasting, on
average, as long as they should. As these turbines become larger and larger, they become more inflexible.”
O’Brien studies the application of feedback on systems that are naturally resistant to it.
“What I wanted to do was see what feedback can do to try to mitigate some of these problems,” he says.
Their strategies proved successful in modeling, and O’Brien moved on to looking at grid-level stability and control.
“What I’m pursuing now is a marriage of grid stability problems and fire,” he says. “Obviously, wildfires are a big problem. The idea here is ‘Can we come up with modeling that will marry fire modeling with what the grid will look like in a five- to 10-year period? What are the effects of these fires going to be in the future on power delivery?’ ”
O’Brien and his team are pursuing funding to study these issues.
UW’s High Bay Research Facility contains 90,000 square feet of traditional and high-bay research laboratories, offices and meeting areas. The facility houses the Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media, which conducts critical research in oil and gas. You can read more about the center at coifpm.com, and read more about the High Bay facility in the previous fall 2017 issue of UWyo Magazine.
High Bay Research Facility
Director of the UW Wind Energy Research Center, Jonathan Naughton.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE ENERGY
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
PROFESSIONAL LAND MANAGEMENT
ENERGY LAND AND WATER
CAREER PROSPECTS
MINERAL/SURFACE LANDMAN
LEGAL & REGULATORY POLICY
REAL ESTATE
UTILITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
NATURAL RESOURCE ANALYST
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST AND MANY MORE!
SEE IN 3D
SEE IN 3D
The Shell 3D Visualization Center uses tech to bring research and teaching to life.
CHECK OUT A 360° VIDEO MADE IN OUR 3D VISUALIZATION CENTER
In the Shell
student
3D Visualization Center,
Jake Claytor looks at a 3D model of a molecule.
A SoilSim 360-degree data capture session at Medicine Bow Peak; the project was developed for Assistant Professor Karen Vaughan by Kyle Summerfield and Phil Black of the 3D Viz Center. COURTESY PHOTO
By Micaela Myers
Whether it’s showing students the differences in soil around the world, bringing an art exhibition in 3D online for the Art Museum, or visualizing the movement of fluid through porous rock for petroleum engineering, the University of Wyoming Energy Innovation Center’s Shell 3D Visualization Center (Viz Center) offers truly interdisciplinary technology—enabling communication through visualization while raising achievement in teaching and research.
The Viz Center houses the only four-walled 3D CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) in Wyoming, along with a suite of complementary technology and software. The center recently expanded its capabilities with the new SimSuite laboratory.
“The goal of the simulation suite is to provide an additional workspace to do virtual and augmented reality,” says Shell 3D Visualization Manager Emma-Jane Alexander.
The SimSuite offers digital badges for students and short courses and performs additional research projects.
Altogether, the Viz Center employs five full-time staff members and a team of student interns known as technology program associates . In addition to working with UW faculty, staff and students on a wide range of projects, they conduct community outreach. To show the breadth of the center’s interdisciplinary work, we highlight a few recent projects.
Soil Sim
In collaboration with the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Soil Sim project supports the teaching of soil concepts with Assistant Professor Karen Vaughan. Students can view a global map and choose different biomes to explore.
“The goal is to create 360-degree immersive ecosystems that can really transport the user from reading something in a book to being immersed inside the data set,” Alexander says. “It’s going to be available on a desktop and phone and in virtual reality. Having these different ways to explore the same content is very important. It’s really about immersing and engaging the students, as well as raising their intellectual understanding of the academic content.”
The project is under development by Creative VR Lead Kyle Summerfield and 3D Digital Asset Developer Phil Black.
Fluid Through Porous Rock
As part of his Ph.D. defense, petroleum engineering student Samuel Fagbemi worked with center staff to create a threeminute video visualizing fluid moving through porous media.
Fagbemi worked with Black to create the video’s visuals that bring his science and mathematics to life. You can view the video on the Shell 3D Visualization Center’s YouTube site.
Humanely Counting Insects
Alumnus Michael Curran recently completed his doctorate in ecosystem science and management and worked with the center on a method to humanely count insects at gas well pad reclamation sites. As sites are reclaimed, the goal is for plant, insect and animal life to return. To study insect health at these sites, previously a sweep would be conducted, where insects are literally swept up and taken back to the lab to count. Unfortunately, the process killed the insects, including endangered pollinators.
Curran worked with the center to use a 360-degree camera to capture insect data without harming the insects.
“When you capture the 3- to 10-minute piece, you can take the data into the lab, put on a virtual reality display, and then you can stand there as if you’re standing in the flowers and count the bees without harming them,” Curran says. “Ethically, it appears a humane way to successfully count, plus you have the added benefit that you can repeat it.”
The research—“Use of 3-Dimensional Videography as a Non-Lethal Way to Improve Visual Insect Sampling”—was recently published in the journal Land.
Re(Evolution) Art Exhibition
With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UW Art Museum looked for more ways to engage audiences online. The Viz Center had completed a 360-degree capture of the Re(Evolution) art exhibition with visiting artists Enrique Gomez de Molina and Troy Abbot last winter and worked with the museum to make the exhibition available on phones or desktops this fall.
The experience allows users to explore a 360-degree perspective of the exhibition, getting up close to the amazing sculpture exhibits.
Museum Director Nicole Crawford says, “We’ve not only preserved the exhibition in a digital form, but we’ve allowed repeat access and a wider access of an audience.”
Access for All
The Viz Center offers a host of services to the UW and wider community, including software and app development, grant support and collaboration, open houses and individual consultations, training, 3D content creation, virtual reality support and outreach (including mobile headsets), data and motion capture, and show and tell for K–12. Learn more at uwyo.edu/ser/visualization-center.
Building Better Science Building Better Science
The new Science Initiative Building will house state-ofthe-art equipment to improve science across the state.
By Micaela Myers
Studying things too small to see with the naked eye—such as fundamental interactions among atoms, molecules and cells that underlie next-generation technology—requires specialized equipment. The University of Wyoming’s state-ofthe-art new Science Initiative Building, scheduled to open fall 2021 at the corner of Ninth and Lewis streets, will house two new research centers—the Center for Advanced Scientific Instrumentation (CASI) and the Center for Integrative Biological Research (CIBR). These will form an innovation nexus to stimulate external funding and research productivity and to train future science scholars, teachers and researchers.
Designed to be interdisciplinary, the centers bring together the science disciplines for collaborative research activities that will transform the way UW investigates and teaches science.
The Center for Advanced Scientific Instrumentation
CASI will co-locate UW’s elite imaging scientists, their research teams and unique instrumentation in a staffed laboratory, allowing them to achieve unprecedented insights spanning the levels of individual biomolecules all the way up to that of whole organisms. Aiming to rank among the world’s
best, CASI can attract faculty and students from across the globe as it spotlights Wyoming’s commitment to the sciences that serve state and national needs.
“In order to make science successful on this campus, we need cutting-edge equipment,” says physics and astronomy Professor Chip Kobulnicky. “That equipment has to be supported by trained staff—maintained and effective in training students. One of the pillars of the Science Initiative is to prepare students for next-generation jobs in science and technology—things that will make Wyoming and our students competitive in many different industries.”
A shared center not only fosters collaboration but also saves money by reducing redundancies. The team toured centers at top universities and also heard proposals from across the sciences.
One example of the equipment that will be housed in CASI is the micro-CT scanner—a type of X-ray machine that can make 3D images of hard- and soft-tissue samples, artifacts and organisms, letting scientists investigate them non-destructively.
“The micro-CT scanner cuts across so many different research fields, it’s amazing,” Kobulnicky says.
Another piece of equipment that would be shared by many different departments and researchers is the focused ion beam with scanning electron microscope that lets scientists
image atomic-scale structure and to mill and manufacture nano structures. Life sciences, agriculture, biology, earth sciences, engineering and other sciences would benefit.
“It’s also of interest in energy research because of its ability to slice through samples that are potential materials for batteries and solar cells,” Kobulnicky says. “It can create images of rock and mineral deposits and things that would be used in mining reclamation and coal ash. It’s a very powerful microscope. It doesn’t just image; it can peel away materials layer by layer and study them in great detail.”
Meanwhile, a high-throughput plant phenotyping system could make fast automated measurements of plants in different wavelengths of light that help scientists understand how different traits make them resistant or susceptible to diseases, drought or stress to help growers understand which will be most suitable for planting.
Other equipment on the priority list includes a variety of imaging equipment, specialty microscopes and spectrometers. While a few pieces of equipment already exist on campus and will be relocated to the center, most still need to be purchased through partnerships or fundraising. Once CASI is equipped and staffed, Wyoming community colleges, other front range universities and industry could all partner with UW to use the resource.
Some of the equipment is highly sensitive to vibration and requires special infrastructure.
“The bulk of the instruments that are sensitive to vibrations
will be in the basement or the lowest floor of the building,” says molecular biology Associate Professor Jay Gatlin. “We have a suite for the electron microscopes, which are incredibly sensitive to vibration, so you have to pour a special foundation that will isolate it from the rest of the building.”
The building has been designed to transmit the large amount of digital data the instrumentation will produce. The third floor will house a CASI showcase where some instrumentation will be viewable via glass windows and others can be viewed on digital monitors to allow the public a look into the cutting-edge research.
The Center for Integrative Biological Research
Also housed in the new building, CIBR brings together UW’s world-recognized biologists into a collaborative space to foster innovation to address some of Wyoming’s most pressing environmental and health-related challenges. Organized around high-tech plant growth and laboratory animal research facilities, CIBR is specially designed for studies using model and transgenic organisms.
“The roof will house state-of-the-art greenhouses where scientists can control every variable such as temperature, light and moisture for controlled experiments,” says botany Senior Lecturer and Science Initiative Director Mark Lyford.
A rendering of the new Science Initiative Building, scheduled to open fall 2021.
Science Initiative
“The Science Initiative is not just a building—it’s a series of programs,” Kobulnicky says.
These include the Wyoming Research Scholars Program, which provides funding for students to pair with faculty for undergraduate research, and the Learning Actively Mentoring Program, a mentoring and professional development program to promote active learning.
To expand undergraduate research, the Science Initiative is creating a course that will allow more students access.
“To help facilitate that, we’ve developed a student, collaborative, outreach learning laboratory that would provide instrumentation for the students in these courses,” Lyford says, adding that the team is working to fund this laboratory in the new building.
“Another signature piece of the building is the activelearning classrooms,” he says. “We will probably have the largest, most sophisticated active-learning classroom in the nation in this building with 200-plus seats.”
Active learning creates better outcomes for students, including higher attendance and better pass rates.
Kobulnicky says, “To all of us, the Science Initiative is about student success, and the active-learning classrooms and new teaching strategies envisioned across the science curriculum are a big part of that.”
“We will probably have the largest, most sophisticated active-learning classroom in the nation in this building with 200-plus seats.”
- Mark Lyford -
An example of a research lab in the new Science Initiative Building.
An artist’s rendering of the 200plus seat active learning classroom.
Sociology Major
Discovering People and Society
Sociology is the systematic study of the development, interaction, and behavior of organized human groups. Sociological concepts, theory and methods provide powerful processes that shape our lives, the problems we face, and the possibilities we can envision in contemporary society. This degree prepares students for a broad range of career opportunities including: State and Federal Government Departments and Centers · Research Analysts · Public Health Graduate Studies and PhD Programs
Criminal Justice is a social science that critically examines the causes and control of criminal behavior. Criminology, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, and many other disciplines contribute to the Criminal Justice field.
This degree prepares students for a variety of professions, including: Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement · Court Administration · Law School · Victim Services Probation and Parole Corrections · the Military · Homeland Security · Private Security
307-766-2988 | crmj@uwyo.edu | uwyo.edu/cj
THE WYOMING INSTITUTE FOR HUMANITIES RESEARCH
The Humanities Research Institute strives to be an engine for producing interdisciplinary research in the humanities; a community for faculty, students, and the public; and a model of democratic education fit for our land-grant university. Please join us!
For an exciting list of activities and programming, visit our Website: uwyo.edu/humanities and our facebook page: Facebook.com/UWYOWIHR
Harnessing Tech for Humanity
From exoskeletons to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, UW researchers are bringing the future home to improve lives.
By Micaela Myers
We’ve all seen futuristic inventions in science fiction movies—making lives easier in ways we couldn’t imagine. Now, that future is not so far away. Researchers at the University of Wyoming are working on a wide range of formerly futuristic ideas. For example, Associate Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Domen Novak, along with students and colleagues, are fine-tuning an exoskeleton that can help those with back problems by providing support. They’re also examining ways artificial intelligence, machine learning and affective computing could help with
everything from driver alertness to video game development. In addition, Novak is using virtual reality to improve at-home physical therapy.
Exoskeletons
Right now, millions of Americans are experiencing back pain. Novak together
with kinesiology Associate Professor Boyi Dai and their respective teams are studying the use of exoskeletons— mechanical spines a person wears. Paired with sensors and artificial intelligence, the exoskeleton can use machine learning to detect when a person is doing certain activities such as bending down to pick something up and apply the appropriate support.
“We started on this project a couple years back,” Novak says. “We showed it could affect the human body. It changes posture, and it changes muscle load. It does that differently depending on what you’re doing.”
Now, with National Science Foundation (NSF) funding, they’re refining optimal configurations for each situation. In Dai’s lab, subjects are tracked and measured with electrodes and cameras.
They’re also comparing the exoskeleton to an exosuit—a softer version made of fabric and bands.
In the future, exoskeletons could be used for rehabilitation, for people with long-term injuries or for those needing occupational support such as luggage handlers.
Affective Computing
Affective computing uses computers to recognize how humans feel subjectively—something Novak has been working on for the past 12 years.
“We put sensors on people, and we try to detect if they are stressed out, bored, distracted or feeling great,” Novak explains.
The sensors are similar to those on a lie detector test and measure things including sweat, pupil dilation, heart rate and brain waves. Results are run through machine learning to try to detect patterns based on previous examples.
Novak first used affective computing in rehabilitation and robotics. For example, a robot used for physical therapy could note if the patient was stressed out so that exercises could be made simpler or, if a patient was bored, more challenging.
Then, they moved on to driving studies with civil engineering Associate Professor Mohamed Ahmed, who serves as director of the driving simulator. Using the simulator, they analyzed if people are distracted or tired in order to create warning systems.
Novak also studies affective computing in video games.
Funded by the NSF, the research focused on improving machine learning overall so that it can better detect the mental state of the user. A new project began Oct. 1 in partnership with Associate Professor of Psychology Joshua Clapp. The new project focuses on how subjects feel when the machine misjudges their state of mind.
Novak says that there are many possible applications for affective
computing from the things they’ve looked at, as well as to other areas such as education.
Virtual Reality
Physical therapy can be boring— repeating the same exercises over and over. Novak and students are using virtual reality to make it more fun.
A screen makes the workout into a game that can be played between the patient and a physical therapy robot, between two patients or between a patient and a loved one.
“People have started putting them in commercial rehabilitation systems,” Novak says of the technology.
They’ve also looked at applications for cognitive training, such as memory games on tablets. These applications are easy to deploy and for people to use at home.
The possibilities for artificial intelligence, machine learning, affective computing and virtual reality are endless, with many UW researchers leading the way.
Associate Professor Domen Novak and assistant Maja Gorsic fit an exoskeleton to Carolanne Walls. The device may one day help those with longterm injuries and occupations requiring repetitive bending and lifting.
Left: A ssociate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Domen Novak holding his team’s exoskeleton prototype.
UW COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT CELEBRATES ITS
Anniversary50TH
In 1971, a small group of UW professors was forming the foundation of one of the first computer science departments in the country, blazing the trail in a field that would significantly impact so many areas of science, industry and government. “We are excited to celebrate the history of computer science at UW, but we are also looking to the future with machine learning, cybersecurity, computer graphics, and computational science and engineering,” says Ruben Gamboa, department head and professor of computer science at the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Computer terminal in a bull pen for the state fair. (1973)
Artificial Intelligence Lab, Mike Magee’s Robot Arm. (1982)
Computer Center, New Philco 2000 (1965)
IBM Unit (1961)
Individual meetings with professional sta at least twice a semester for academic, personal, and social support
ACADEMIC TUTORING: weekly meeting with trained peer tutors to support students to achieve their academic goals
COURSE PLANNING AND SELECTION for each semester
FAFSA COMPLETION AND SCHOLARSHIP search assistance
CAREER AND GRADUATE SCHOOL PREPARATION: from determining the right major, to information and assistance with resumes, interviews, and the GRE, students receive guidance as they prepare for life after graduation
CULTURAL EVENTS, SERVICE, AND CELEBRATIONS: our diverse community of students comes together to learn about di erent cultures, serve our community, and celebrate with one another throughout the year
PRIORITY REGISTRATION register for classes on the first day of registration
Live Performances
Music Performance major Dionte George mixes, records and edits his saxophone performance in one of the Buchanan Center’s many practice rooms.
Live On
By Micaela Myers
PERFORMING ARTS GO VIRTUAL AND GET CREATIVE AMID PANDEMIC.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country last spring, sending University of Wyoming classes online, the departments of Music and Theatre and Dance used creativity and technical know-how to keep the live performances coming.
Music
The music department pursued innovative recording projects over the spring and fall semesters.
“Students learned how to record, edit and distribute their music through multiple media outlets,” says Department Head and Professor Scott Turpen.
Ensembles recorded parts individually that were then edited together.
“It’s something we haven’t traditionally done in our curriculum, and we’re really excited about how students will be able to participate in these recordings,” he said in early fall. “We’ve purchased microphones and audio interface systems so students can go into a practice room or be at home to make their own recordings in their own spaces. They’ll learn how to set up these recording devices, set their own levels, do their own editing and combine video and audio files.”
The technical skills students learn will benefit their careers as musicians and teachers.
The virtually distributed music also can reach a broader audience.
“I’m learning crucial mixing and editing skills that would be handy for any musician to know—basic mic setup and placement to achieve the best possible sound and quick and useful editing tools that could really go hand in hand with editing videos for, let’s say, a marketing gig,” says Larry Shaw, a master’s student in music performance from Gillette, Wyo.
“Now I have professionally produced recordings and videos to share with family friends and potential venues when they open back up,”
he says. “Playing, recording and then listening back really opens your eyes to what worked well in a musical context but what also didn’t work. It really forces you to become better.”
The new 12-credit certificate in audio technology was a timely rollout this fall.
“We’re working to modernize our curriculum for the 21st century,” Turpen says. “Students will learn how to record and manipulate recorded sounds as well as provide sound reinforcement for live concerts or events.”
Recent master’s graduate and longtime audio technician Will Flagg is heading up the certificate program.
“I am very excited to be able to offer music students workplace skills they can take with them,” he says.
These skills apply not only to typical musician careers, but also pursuits such as corporate audio-visual. All slots for the new certificate were filled this fall, showing that there is a great deal of interest in the new program.
Theatre and Dance
Before the pandemic, two plays were scheduled for the summer. When COVID-19 hit, the department acquired digital rights to one of them, God of Carnage, and went about determining the best way to take the play virtual and live in June.
“We decided to embrace the challenge of producing the show digitally and streamed live performances for five nights,” says Professor Margaret Wilson. “Using cameras in the actors’ homes in remote locations and two different states, we edited and combined the video with mixing software in the Buchanan Center, effectively bringing the four actors onto one screen.”
They had seen Zoom performances but wanted to up the quality of their production.
“We were looking at two options: Do we film and edit it and do a recorded version, or do we do a live stream?” says artistic director and Assistant Professor Scott Tedmon-Jones.
“We ended up trying to keep it live as much as possible. We delivered everything to the actors and set it up virtually.”
Student Ben Boyd was hired as a virtual programmer, operator and stage manager.
“Ben and I explored how we could combine individual cameras to create a sense of a live space,” says Assistant Lecturer Jason Banks. “With a little research, we found a way to connect our cameras directly with the production software.”
While going virtual came with many challenges, it allowed audience members to tune in from all over the world.
“The play is written so that there are two couples in the same room,” Banks says. “We wanted to give the impression of a unified room that they’re all sitting in as if they’re at the same
dancers to campus. This year, with funding the Wyoming Arts Council and the Colonel Rogers University of Wyoming Excellence Fund, the festival was free and online, with four days of virtual classes with esteemed national professionals.
“We were able to bring in students from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Idaho and Florida,” Wilson says. “We had really fabulous faculty who have adapted to teaching over Zoom.”
As fall semester kicked off, the play Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life took on a similar virtual approach to God of Carnage.
“Compositionally, it’s different; performatively it’s completely different; but the technology approach is very much informed from our experiences over the summer,” Banks says.
Like the summer production, the play was streamed over Vimeo free to students and $5 for others.
The second fall production, a musical with dancers and singers—29—was made into a film released in early January, with documentaries about its making distributed throughout the fall.
table. There were visual tricks that really helped reinforce that unified space.”
For example, actors appeared to pass items to one another.
The play was well received and a great learning experience for all involved. Students gained technical skills to use in their future careers.
Summer also brought the 25th annual Snowy Range Summer Dance Festival, which usually welcomes hundreds of young
“For the spring semester, we have three performances scheduled,” Wilson says. “The first one is a play that has been adapted to online delivery called She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms. Our goal is to produce A Midsummer Night’s Dream ballet on stage. Shakespeare’s As You Like It will round out the season. Our commitment is to provide students the opportunity to practice their craft and have outreach to the community, the state and beyond.”
Clockwise from top left: Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life tech setup with Hazel Homer-Wambeam (photo by H. Homer-Wambeam); God of Carnage tech setup; Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life rehearsal screenshot with Kat Tyler and Seth Palmquist; God of Carnage dress rehearsal sreenshot with Lauren Asher, Andrew Thornton, Mary Dyson and Justen Glover (photos by Scott Tedmon-Jones).
78 DEGREE PROGRAMS
18 DEPARTMENTS
2 SCHOOLS
3,524 STUDENTS (29% OF UW) OVER 153,000 CREDIT HOURS TAUGHT
147 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
SecretGenerosity
By Sunnie Lew
The University of Wyoming has received a transformational estate gift from the late geology and geophysics
Professor Donald Boyd. Boyd passed away in April, at the age of 92.
Few knew of Boyd’s incredible generosity during his tenure at UW. He and his wife gave privately and anonymously with no desire for acknowledgement. Today, the substantial total of their giving remains undisclosed.
Boyd joined the Department of Geology and Geophysics in January 1956. In the summer of that same year, a Colorado native named Margaret Sitzman became a professor in the Department of Home Economics (later changed to Family and Consumer Sciences). The two attended a UW event for new faculty where they met for the first time. He would later describe himself as being smitten. They were married one year later.
Don and Margaret built a partnership that was focused on facilitating and empowering others. Individually, they pursued remarkable careers. Together, they impacted the university in a way that is unparalleled.
Boyd was an active researcher, and much of his paleontological work was published by the American Museum of Natural History. His research led him to pursue fieldwork on six continents. He mentored 52 graduate students and taught courses in historical geology,
Don and Margaret Boyd gave generously— and often anonymously—to UW.
invertebrate paleontology and various aspects of sedimentary geology.
Margaret taught in food and nutrition and served as coordinator of the Dietetics Program. She co-wrote the book Baking and Cooking at High Altitude, which was published by the UW Agriculture Experiment Station in 1961. The publication furthered food science, examining ingredient reactions on a cellular level. She eventually became the head of the home economics department.
The couple is responsible for advancements across campus. Boyd was essential to the creation of the UW Honors College. In 1988, he was appointed as the program’s director. Throughout his career, he helped elevate the UW Department of Geology and Geophysics into the academic powerhouse it is today. The couple also provided years of support to the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Scholarship opportunities were a focal point for the Boyds. In 2001, they established the Geology Excellence Fund and the Department of Family of Consumer Sciences Endowment.
In 2012, Margaret passed away after a battle with cancer. To honor his wife, Boyd continued the efforts he and Margaret had lead during their time together. Those who had the privilege of knowing the Boyds have felt a tremendous loss in his passing.
“Don and Margaret derived genuine pleasure from helping others,” says Family and Consumer Sciences Office Associate Senior and close friend Mona Gupton. “I will miss them for the rest of my life.”
Don and Margaret’s generosity extended beyond their monetary support, which was evident through their community engagement. The magnitude of their impact may never be truly known, but it is certainly felt by those whose lives were touched by the Boyds’ immense love for UW.
UWAA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR from the
Greetings, alumni and friends. Welcome to a new year! The University of Wyoming Alumni Association (UWAA) and our board members and staff send best wishes to you and your family for 2021 and hope you are well and safe. Your brown and gold alma mater has just wrapped up probably the most unique and unfamiliar academic semester ever, but I could not be prouder of the university’s determination and efforts to maintain an exceptional level of education and experience for students. Thanks to the steady leadership of President Ed Seidel and the diligence and commitment from faculty, staff and students to keep a healthy and safe campus, the university was able to complete the fall 2020 semester with the majority of classes being held in person.
In looking back at 2020, a familiar activity that stood out was welcoming over 700 December 2020 grads to the UW alumni family of 130,000+. As students, they received a top-notch education, and we look forward to witnessing the impact that they, as graduates, will have in their respective communities. We continued our tradition for our December graduates by providing a complimentary 2021 Alumni Association membership along with the Steamboat lapel pin, gestures that are the foundation of building a lasting bond with new graduates.
As we launch our engagement work for the spring, we reflect on one of President Seidel’s key goals, which is to build the “Best of Breed” 21st century land-grant university true to its Wyoming roots that is inclusive, accessible, affordable and success-oriented for our students. We are pleased the UWAA offers programming that aligns with this goal and are proud to be a significant part in accomplishing this. A few of these premier programs include our scholarship offerings, the admitted student alumni writing initiative, and our career services and professional resources carried out under the banner, “When Cowboys Call, We Answer” (WCCWA).
With President Seidel’s charge and the generous support from many donors to the Heritage Circle, which fuels our alumni engagement programming, the WCCWA has accelerated our alumni career support and expanded the resources available to our 2020 graduates as well as alumni impacted by the current economic climate. Our WCCWA call to action for alumni and friends is to share your industry-specific employment opportunities or professional resources. The UWAA, through our strong network of UW alumni and friends, can direct these shared career opportunities and resources to our newly minted graduates and alumni. For additional details, visit the association’s career webpage, uwyo.edu/alumni/career.
A key to achieving President Seidel’s vision and priorities will be growing our partners across the state and throughout the country. The UWAA’s role is to draw upon the talents and passion of our alumni and inspire them to participate in these initiatives to increase student enrollment, to provide scholarships and to be advocates for UW graduates seeking rewarding career opportunities. All of the opportunities to join this work can be found on our website, uwyo.edu/alumni.
I appreciate your commitment to the university and the UW community, as well as your support and dedication to our students, alumni and friends. Stay connected with us in 2021 as we continue to lead, inspire and engage our alumni and friends and be the relationship engagement engine and valued partner with UW.
My best in Brown and Gold,
Keener Fry, Executive Director
JAN. 21:
UWAA and School of Energy Resources Virtual Town Hall, via Zoom 5:30 PM MST
JAN. 28:
Cowboy Alumni Pre-Game Pep Talk: WY vs. SDSU Men’s Basketball (Pre-recorded Video)
JAN. 28:
Cowboy Alumni Pre-Game Pep Talk: WY vs. SDSU Women’s Basketball (Pre-recorded Video)
FEB. 4:
Cowboy Alumni Pre-Game Pep Talk:
WY vs. CSU Men’s Basketball (Pre-recorded Video)
FEB. 17:
Cowboy Alumni Pre-Game Pep Talk: WY vs. New Mexico Women’s Basketball (Pre-recorded Video)
APRIL 14:
“The World Needs More Cowboys” Community Celebration, Bu alo, Wyo.
APRIL 15:
“The World Needs More Cowboys” Community Celebration, Sheridan, Wyo.
APRIL 16:
UW Alumni Association Spring Board of Directors Meeting
MAY 13:
“The World Needs More Cowboys” Community Celebration, Wheatland, Wyo.
uwyo.edu/alumni
RETROGRAMS
In 1983, the College of Engineering and Applied Science purchased a Prime Computer Graphics System. The system produced animation graphics and had the capability to change colors. The Prime System allowed for new courses to be developed—such as a freshman graphics class.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING 1984 WYO. HEBARD LD6268.W86 V.66 1984 PG. 163. UW LIBRARIES EMMETT CHISUM SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.
Many people may recall the 1984 television commercial that introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer that aired nationally during Super Bowl XVIII. The same time period found students at UW in a computer craze. At the time, students who went into the computer science program were required to take five math courses, starting with calculus, and graduates could expect starting salaries averaging between $23,000 to $24,000 per year.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING 1984 WYO. HEBARD LD6268. W86 V.66 1984 PG. 145. UW LIBRARIES EMMETT CHISUM SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.
KUWR 91.9 FM was founded in 1966. In 1975, the role of the station was, according Marc Gross, the news director at the time, “to keep people informed and to give a different type of entertainment than other local stations.” This included programs such as radio dramas, progressive jazz and blues, documentaries and an art of music program. Seen in this image is radio DJ Jim Belcher, flipping over a vinyl record on the studio’s turntable. KUWR still broadcasts in Laramie and is better known today as the statewide public radio network Wyoming Public Radio (WPR).
THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING 1975 WYO. HEBARD LD6268. W86 V.61 1975 PG. 308. UW LIBRARIES EMMETT CHISUM SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.
UW STUDENTS PAY HOMAGE TO MENTOR
In April, news of the untimely passing of Julian Abas, coordinator of Associated Students Technical Services (ASTEC) and co-founder of Studio WYO, devastated the community. In response, friends and family have established the Julian Isaias Abas Music Production Excellence Fund.
Abas was known for being a worldclass audio engineer, paving the way for young technicians in the area. He was a firm believer in students being the drivers of the university, which was evident through the respect and love he had for each person who learned from him.
“Julian was in a class all of his own,” says former ASTEC Coordinator Andrew Hays. “He didn’t commit to norms, and he sacrificed so much for his students.”
Running on a shoestring budget, Studio WYO managed to give something the UW community was starved for—organic social experiences sustained by public coalition and passion. Studio WYO created a bridge between the university and Laramie’s rich and diverse music scene, featuring locally based performers including the Whiskey Slaps, Sorry No Sympathy and Moral Panic.
The program was the brainchild of Abas and Hays, who wanted to provide an inclusive space where creativity, collaboration and experiential learning could thrive. With severely limited funding, Studio WYO produced over 32 events a year, and ASTEC supported over 500—creating one of the most compelling programs at UW.
Abas’ focus was always to propel and empower students by helping them create roots that extended beyond
college. Under his guidance, technicians were recognized and gained confidence.
“He was much more than just a boss,” says former Student Technician Donatellia Austin. “He was also a friend and mentor to many. We often called him ‘Uncle Jules.’ He encouraged us, always, to pursue our dreams and our goals first.”
An unconventional mentor, Abas had an honest perspective and dark humor that students gravitated toward.
“He could make me laugh anytime he wanted,” says former Student Technician Chase Austin. “Julian was met consistently with obstacles, but throughout it all he still kept students first.”
He shared his knowledge candidly with those eager to learn, in hopes that they could grow beyond his own scope of experience. A patient listener and quiet observer, he modeled leadership to his students unlike anyone else.
“He was kind, modest, hardworking, able to push through the noise and
see what’s important, able to put aside differences and grievances when it needed to be done,” says former Student Technician Riley Shogren. “He set an example of what a good person is and ought to be.”
Over the years, ASTEC fostered a dynamic learning environment. For Abas, protecting the heart of the program was central to everything he accomplished.
In honor of Abas, friends and family have established the Julian Isaias Abas Music Production Excellence Fund. It is designated for students working in music production and other audio and visual services. Through this fund, Abas continues to support the young technicians he cared for during his time with them.
“Julian was fiercely loyal to his students,” says former ASUW Program Coordinator Aaron Lozano. “He was not only a master at tech but a master at supporting and developing fine humans. He always—ALWAYS—did what was right for his students. He was a wonderful man, a wonderful and dedicated employee. More importantly, he kept the mission of serving students at his heart. He is terribly missed.”
School of Pharmacy Graduate Continues to Innovate
Adaptability is a valuable asset in a rapidly changing world, especially the uncertain world of 2020. It’s a skill Julia Chisholm honed at the University of Wyoming and one she uses every day as the ambulatory pharmacy operations manager at the University of Missouri.
“Responding to COVID, you never know what’s coming, and you never know what’s next,” she says. “When we started, we didn’t know if it was a sprint or a marathon, and I think we’re somewhere in between.”
A Missouri native, Chisholm came to UW seeking new experiences. She found plenty of those between swimming and diving team freshman year and the Tri-Delta sorority, and it didn’t take Chisholm long to dig into her true passion: health care.
“The field of health care has always fascinated me,” she says. “My first job was actually as a pharmacy clerk. My friend’s mom was a pharmacist, so I was able to help in high school as a cashier. I fell in love with the way you have interactions with patients. You’re able to provide education in a more consumer-facing environment, and I’ve really just loved pharmacy ever since.”
By her sophomore year at UW, Chisholm had enrolled in the School of Pharmacy. Three years later, Chisholm, like other fourth-year pharmacy students, started doing rotations—leaving the classroom to gain hands-on experience in the wider world.
“What I really liked about UW was you are able to build out a custom program to match your interests—as long as you meet all your requirements,” she says. “So I was able to set up a rotation in another place that didn’t already exist. I really liked the flexibility. It was the first time I was really encouraged to think outside the box.”
Chisholm’s rotations brought her many places, including Phoenix, Ariz.
“While at UW, I spent my summers in Phoenix while on an internship, so I was what they call a reverse snowbird—in Phoenix for the summer and Laramie for the winter,” she says. “I knew that I loved the warmth, so after I graduated, I moved to Phoenix and started practicing in a retail pharmacy setting with a focus in HIV and infectious diseases.”
Chisholm spent seven years in Arizona before making the big move back to her home state of Missouri. The move also represented a change in her role as a health care professional.
“Now I’m in more of a leadership role, so I get to grow my team of people that helps front-line patients,” Chisholm says. “I really like the transition I made about eight years ago into leadership, especially as a woman in an academic medical center, being able to think outside the box and bring new innovative ideas to solve problems in rural and suburban health care.”
Navigating the challenges of rural health care was one of many skills Chisholm picked up at UW.
“Wyoming was really a good place to learn that,” she says. “With more cows than people in the state, you have to think about different ways to deliver health care wherever patients are.”
That entails a number of creative ideas—from delivering prescriptions in unconventional ways to patient instruction via teleconference. And all of these challenges and considerations have become more pressing in the face of the coronavirus.
“Patient care doesn’t take a break for a pandemic—it actually steps up,” Chisholm says. “We were thinking about different ways to reach those patients who maybe were not able to have the same public transportation that they used to, not able to have visitors accompany them to medical appointments or to pick up their medications from the pharmacy.”
Chisholm has demonstrated an ability to innovate in other ways, returning to school in 2018 to earn an MBA from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. Chisholm says the new degree is helping her advocate more effectively for her patients.
“I was really passionate about the patient care side, and I know what it’s like to be a clinician,” she says. “The next step for me was to understand not just the language of health care but the language of business.”
Throughout it all, Chisholm says she stays in touch with her fellow School of Pharmacy alumni.
“The network of pharmacy is small, so there are several of us sprinkled across the county who really unite because we all went to UW and have some similar experiences,” she says. “I really enjoy, at national meetings, getting to go back and see the faculty who are still there, as well as learn about some of the other graduates. We stay in touch with fellow alumni through the profession of pharmacy.”
WYOGRAMS
Alumni, we want to hear what you’ve been doing. Mail career, wedding, birth and obituary news to: WyoGrams, UW Alumni Association, 222 S. 22nd St., Laramie, WY 82070; complete our online submission form at uwyo.edu/alumni/wyograms, or email us @ uwalumni@uwyo.edu; or fax (307) 766-6824. Photos may be sent to uwalumni@uwyo.edu for consideration. WyoGrams written by Annika Belser.
1930
➊ Dorothy West Holloway, B.A. ’38, history, M.A. ’58, English, celebrated her 104th birthday on 8/4/2020. She was born in Medicine Bow, Wyo., where her father owned the livery business and, at one time, was also the sheriff in Carbon County. Her mother was a ranch country school teacher and later postmaster in Medicine Bow. West Holloway attended many dances with her parents at the Virginian Hotel, which was across the street from her house at the time. She taught school for 40 years in Wyoming and Nebraska. At an early age, she was astride a horse, and she enjoyed riding well into her 90s. Dorothy can name most of the horses she has ridden and owned in her lifetime and says, “The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a human being.”
1940
37 years in Cheyenne, Wyo., and contributes to other community organizations.
John Gilbert, B.S. ’61, chemistry, published Women Winemakers: Personal Odysseys. This book captures the passion, courage and talent of women winemakers throughout California and from France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.
1970
John Winterholler, B.A. ’40, history, was featured posthumously in the book Wheels of Courage by David Davis for becoming a star player on the Rolling Devils, a wheelchair basketball team. 1960
William Dubois III, M.A. ’63, history, was designated as Cheyenne’s official history laureate by the Cheyenne City Council and mayor in conjunction with the city’s 150th anniversary in 2019. Dubois taught history for
Randy Adams, B.A. ’70, social studies education, has served as the mayor of Torrington, Wyo., since November 2018. He also served as an elected city councilor for Torrington for 20 years.
1980
Kenny Harmer, B.S. ’84, business management, was inducted into the 2020 Roughrider Hall of Fame for his baseball career with the Gillette Roughriders from 1973–75. Bill Mai, B.S. ’87, range management, MBA ’89, longtime administrator in Wyoming state government and at UW, has been
named the university’s acting vice president for governmental relations. He serves as the university’s chief liaison to the state Legislature and other units of local, county, state and federal government.
Priscilla Young Romkema, M.S. ’85, business education, M.S. ’86, vocational education, Ph.D. ’87, education, became the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Black Hills State University in June 2020.
1990
Chuck Bomar, Ph.D. ’93, entomology, retired as dean of the College of Science Technology Engineering, Mathematics and Management after 26 years at the University of Wisconsin – Stout.
➋ Alan Buss, Ph.D. ’98, curriculum and instruction, received the 2020 John P. Ellbogen Lifetime Teaching Award for his career as a UW educator.
WyoGrams continues on page 57
GHANIAN ALUMNUS PLANS TO GIVE BACK
Hailing from Accra, Ghana, Anthony Boaten came to the United States more than a decade ago, enrolling first at Western Wyoming Community College and later at the University of Wyoming.
In college and ever since, Boaten has been acquiring the skills and financial foundation that will let him return to Africa and give back to his community.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” he says. “That is the goal—to go back to Ghana and become a teacher. I just want to do that closer to my later years, a bit closer to retirement. If they can’t afford to pay me, I plan to do it for free, so I want to set myself up a little bit more first.”
Having learned about oil and gas production at Western Wyoming, Boaten arrived at UW looking to complement his technical knowledge with business acumen. So he jumped into the organizational leadership program in the College of Business, earning a bachelor of applied science two years later.
“I think it was a superb program, especially for students not quite certain about what path in business they want to take,” Boaten says. “It helped me get a good handle on leadership principles and organizational management. It was very collaborative and fruitful, and it helped me to get to where I am now.”
Since graduating from UW, Boaten has completed an MBA at the University of South Dakota and started working on a Ph.D. at Colorado State University, for which he is specializing in organizational learning, performance and change management. But he is more than just a student.
As Boaten began working his way through graduate school, he also began climbing the corporate ladder at Union Pacific, before starting a job with Amazon three months ago.
He is now an operations manager for Amazon’s warehouse and fulfillment center in Denver.
Boaten’s experiences at UW—from the practical knowledge he gained to the connections he made— have helped him through all of this.
“I’m still very much in touch with most of my mates from UW,” he says. “There was this African community that I was part of, and we’re all still in touch. We reach out to each other for career advice and more. I have a couple of friends from Ethiopia who are engineers, so when I have engineering questions, I know exactly who to call.”
In fact, the support Boaten received as an international student was one of the highlights of his tenure at UW, he says.
“UW, at least during the time I was there, had a really good support system for international students,” Boaten says. “I know that’s just a matter of job responsibility for some people, but for the people on the receiving end, it means the world to them. I know it’s helped me and helped a lot of my friends. A lot of the guys who went back home also have great stories to tell about their experience.”
Boaten also tries to give back to his Ghanian community now, developing an IT network with some friends back home, even as he works and lives thousands of miles away.
“Take Meals on Wheels here in the U.S —it’s just like that, except with computers,” he says.“ We go to remote areas of Ghana to train people on basic computing and IT skills.”
It might seem a circuitous path for someone from Ghana to travel and work so far from home in order to serve his community, but Boaten said gaining experience in the corporate world—and in the wider world more generally—will complement the more traditional book-learning he has done.
“Nothing against any professional students, but I found most of my teachers who had work experience outside of school were able to drive the point home a lot clearer in my situation,” he says. “I know that my experience from working in the U.S. is going to be very valuable and help me to be the teacher that I want to be, so I’m giving it my all.”
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. That is the goal—to go back to Ghana and become a teacher. — Anthony Boaten
WYOGRAMS
David Finnoff, B.S. ’94, economics, Ph.D. ’01, economics, received a McMurry Summer Research Fellowship in recognition of his outstanding research on the COVID-19 health crisis.
2000
David Bodily, B.S. ’05, nursing, M.S. ’11, nursing, received the 2020 Wyoming Nurses Association’s Inspiring Our Future Nurses Award.
Rob Sanford, M.A. ’03, Spanish, J.D. ’07, law, became the judge for the circuit court in Albany County in July 2020.
Punit Soni, M.S. ’00, electrical engineering, appeared on The Voicebot Podcast in June 2020.
He discussed his company, Suki, an artificial intelligence-powered, voice-enabled digital assistant for doctors.
➌ Reinette (Curry) Tendore, B.A. ’09, elementary education, M.S. ’17, social work, became the program director of UW’s Native American Education, Research and Cultural Center (NAERCC) in fall 2020.
2010
David Graf, B.A. ’19, journalism, created The Pioneer League Podcast, which explores the Pioneer League from the viewpoint of former players and media members.
2020
Megan Scott, B.S. ’20, nursing, graduated from Officer Development School on 10/1/2020 with the U.S. Navy. She will serve as a commissioned officer in the Navy Nurse Corp in Virginia Beach, Va.
Weddings
➍ Anders Hoglund B.S. ’20, chemical engineering, and Megan Scott, B.S. ’20, nursing, wed on 7/4/2020.
Travis Lanka, B.S. ’08, biology, and Rebecca Butterfield, Exp. ’20, natural science education, wed on 9/26/2020 in Sheridan, Wyo.
➎ Robert Reece, M.S. ’11, natural science education, and Stephanie (Kirby) Reece, B.S. ’11, physical education, M.S. ’13, kinesiology and health, wed on the beautiful Ivinson Mansion grounds outside
the Laramie Plains Museum on 8/29/2020. Distance was not a factor for their beloved family and friends who traveled near and far to share in the celebration of their special day.
➏ Kayla (Bradshaw) Shockley, B.A. ’09, anthropology and German, and Kevin Shockley were married on 9/4/2020 at Lake Adrian in Estes Park, Colo. With love and family in mind, the bride chose to swap out a traditional wedding cake for her
WyoGrams continues on page 59
PHOTO BY JENNIFER BOHLIG/BLUE SAGE PHOTOGRAPHY
AWARD NOMINATIONS
THE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI (DA) AWARD
recognizes alumni who are distinguished in their business, profession, or life's work; are persons of integrity, stature, and demonstrated ability; and reflect upon and realize the importance of their UW education.
THE MEDALLION SERVICE AWARD (MSA)
recognizes alumni or friends of the university who have given unselfishly of their time, talent, or support to the university, and are a person of integrity and stature. This award may not be given annually, but nominations are accepted each year, and MSA nominees need not be UW alumni to be eligible.
Nominations must be received by the Alumni Office by Feb 28, 2022 to be considered. Nomination applications can be found at: uwyo.edu/alumni > About the UWAA > Distinguished Alumni/Medallion Service Award. Nomination applications need to be completed in full in order to be accepted by the deadline. Certain restrictions apply to those who may be nominated. until fall 2021. New honorees will not be selected and awardees chosen in the spring of 2022 fall of 2022
ALUMNI AWARDS
The UW Alumni Association proudly recognizes achievements of alumni and friends by presenting awards each year. These honorees include individuals who support the state of Wyoming and its communities, exhibit exceptional professional achievements, and display leadership and volunteerism. They are engaged in supporting the University of Wyoming Alumni Association and the University of Wyoming. The nominee must be able to participate in person at the Awards Recognition Ceremony (no posthumous nominations).
MAKING A BETTER WYOMING AWARD:
Recognizes alumni of the University of Wyoming who make a di erence in the lives of people in Wyoming and is a source of UW strength and pride.
NETWORK/CHAPTER LEADER AWARD:
Recognizes alumni of the University of Wyoming who are active members of the UWAA and have been leaders and actively engaged in a UWAA network or chapter.
RISING ALUMNI AWARD:
Recognizes alumni of the University of Wyoming who have graduated in the last ten years and distinguished themselves through a high level of professional accomplishment in their career.
LIFE MEMBER SERVICE AWARD:
Recognizes a UWAA Life Member who has shown outstanding and exemplary service primarily on behalf of or for the UWAA and the UWAA community.
DETAILS & NOMINATIONS:
• Full descriptions and applications can be found at: uwyo.edu/alumni > About the UWAA > Alumni Awards.
• Nominations open November 1, 2020 through February 28, 2022. Nomination applications need to be completed in full in order to be accepted by the deadline.
AWARDS RECOGNITION CEREMONY & RECEPTION
Held annually in September.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Awards Recognition Ceremony and Reception was postponed until September 2021. New honorees will not be selected in 2021. Applications that are submitted now through 2022 will be reviewed and awardees chosen in the Spring of 2022. Those awardees will be honored in the fall of 2022.
NOTE: These awards are in addition to the UW Distinguished Alumni & Medallion Service Awards.
WYOGRAMS
grandmother’s pumpkin pie. A gesture symbolic of their ties to tradition and love for family, it is sure to bring prosperity and was a sweet ending to an unforgettable day.
Jorey Unverzagt, B.A. ’11, geography, and Brittany (Rehm) Unverzagt, B.A. ’13, communication, wed on 10/10/2020 in Westminster, Colo., during a ceremony attended by close friends and family.
➐ Jaimee (Clement) Winden, B.A. ’17, criminal justice, and Matthew Winden wed on 10/10/2020 at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Alabama. The couple met in 2013 at the end of their high school careers in Cheyenne, Wyo.
Anniversaries
Jerry Galles, B.S. ’75, microbiology, and Betsy (Watson) Galles, B.A. ’70, elementary education, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 7/25/2020.
Philip Wagner, B.S. ’78, civil engineering, and Lisa (Fingerhut) Wagner, B.A. ’80, elementary education, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on 7/26/2020.
Steve Zaharas, B.S. ’85, biology, and Kelly Zaharas celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on 7/15/2020.
Arrivals
Nick Carlson, B.A. ’12, environment and natural resources and geography, and Taylie (Jackson) Carlson, Exp. ’10, welcomed a daughter, Tessa James Carlson, into their family on 7/16/2020.
Christopher Carroll, B.S. ’08, wildlife and fisheries biology and management, and Katie (Bartman) Carroll welcomed a daughter, Olivia Jean Carroll, into their family on 5/14/2020.
Janae Nuspl Cywes, B.S. ’04, speech language and hearing science, M.S. ’06, speech pathology audiology, and Robert Cywes, welcomed a son, Rian, into their family on 8/22/2020.
Dillon Peters, J.D. ’12, law, and Jaime (Huhn) Peters welcomed twins, Brynn and Brooks Peters, into their family on 10/10/2020.
Daniel Stebner, B.S. ’07, geography and political science, J.D. ’11, law, Stacy (Sewell) Stebner, M.A. ’11, anthropology, and their daughter Bess, welcomed a son, Charles George Stebner, into their family on 8/2/2020. He was named after some charismatic family members: a dentist, a chemist and a cowboy.
Patrick Williams, B.S. ’08, business management, Cer. ’08, real estate, and Lauren Williams, B.A. ’09, elementary education, welcomed a daughter, Molly Elizabeth Williams, into their family on 5/15/2020. She is the third child and second daughter of their family.
In Memoriam
William Acton, B.S. ’61, civil engineering, 8/25/2020. Acton was an avid golfer in his earlier years and enjoyed traveling. He retired from General Dynamics Free Man Coal Mine. Survivors include his wife, sons, daughtersin-law and grandsons.
Larry Aksamit, B.S. ’70, electrical and biomedical engineering, 10/7/2020. Survivors include his
WyoGrams continues on page 61
PHOTO BY JABIGAYLE PASLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT HOPES TO PAY IT FORWARD
For a dedicated student like freshman Faith Erramouspe, college was the place to go, even as the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down.
Erramouspe began at the University of Wyoming this fall, aided financially by the John and Patricia Eastman Scholarship. Awarded by the UW Alumni Association, the scholarship provides $500 a semester for two semesters to a graduate of a Montana high school.
And Erramouspe, a Billings High School alumna, is thankful for the help.
“I was able to go to college because of this scholarship,” she says. “But also because of it, I don’t have to split my time between academics and my work life.”
Erramouspe divided her time between Montana and Wyoming, attending school in Billings but spending the warmer summer months
with her dad in Rock Springs. While in Wyoming, she also started working as an apprentice electrician, which allowed her to start saving for college.
“My dad is a master electrician and owns his own business,” she says. “After having knee surgery, he couldn’t really get into crawl spaces—so I did it. I got my apprenticeship license and was able to help him with that stuff. And I actually really enjoyed it. It was very interesting to see how it all works.”
In high school, Erramouspe got involved with the volleyball and softball teams and with symphonic, jazz, pep and honor bands. She also had a role with the speech and debate team for three years.
But Erramouspe’s real strength was in the classroom.
“In high school, I really thrived in the history department,” she says. “My
I was able to go to college because of this scholarship. But also because of it, I don’t have to split my time between academics and my work life
— Faith Erramouspe
PHOTO
BY CARA FAIRBANKS/ MTBOMBSHELL PHOTOGRAPHY
history teacher was that one teacher I could talk to. He convinced me that I was a fit for college, even though I had my doubts.”
While the future is wide open, Erramouspe says the encouraging mentorship she received informs what she wants to do.
“I would really like to pay that forward, to pay it back to the community,” she says. “There are kids like me who were not focused only on academics or athletics but can do more than that. And I think it’s just important for the community that we have people like my history teacher who are there for the students, who not only teach but also support.”
Through the fall semester, Erramouspe took exclusively online courses, although not by choice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think in-person classes are probably the most beneficial for me and for many of the people I’ve met,” she says. “When I signed up for classes, they were all in-person and then slowly started to move online, dropping one by one like flies.”
Still, the decision to attend college this year was an easy one, as soon as Erramouspe secured the funding.
“School is all I know, and I don’t think I would do well with a gap year,” she says. “I don’t know what I would do with myself. But if I didn’t have this scholarship, I would not have been able to afford college, so it was a big relief.”
WYOGRAMS
wife, daughter, grandson, sister, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Carolyn (Brown) Archibald, B.S. ’66, math/chemistry, 6/18/2020. She was an accomplished watercolor artist, wife and mother. She passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Survivors include her husband, William Archibald B.S. ’63, electrical engineering, M.S. ’67, electrical engineering, children and grandchildren.
Roger Ashbaugh, B.S. ’75, electrical engineering, 6/22/2020. Survivors include his brother, sister, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Robert Bacon, Exp. ’80, college of education, 7/4/2020. Survivors include his wife, children, brother, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Dee Beardsley, B.S. ’50, geology, 9/6/2020. Beardsley was a B-17 belly turret gunner in World War II and used the GI Bill to finance his education at UW after the war. He was PG #66 in Wyoming, which is where he worked the majority of his career as a petroleum geologist. Survivors include his wife, sister, nieces, sons, grandsons and greatgrandchildren.
Marion (Waln) Buchenroth, B.A. ’53, political science and economics, 9/27/2020. Survivors include her children, grandchildren, brother and his children.
Lawana (Shaul) Carley, B.A. ’47, music education, M.A. ’54, English, 7/14/2020. Survivors include her nieces.
7/16/2020. Cole co-created The Country Junction in Centennial, Wyo., and purchased the Vee Bar Guest Ranch to operate with her husband. Survivors include her husband, sister, children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Wilma (Criss) Cutrell, B.A. ’49, education, 1/18/2020. Survivors include her nephews and niece.
Edwin Dowding, M.S. ’67, mechanical engineering, 9/25/2020. He taught agricultural engineering and agricultural mechanics at UW, South Dakota State University and the University of Idaho, where he retired as a professor emeritus of agricultural engineering. Survivors include his wife, children, sister and grandchildren.
John Duletsky, B.S. ’89, geology, 8/25/2019. Survivors include his daughter, brother and sister.
Michael Eberle, Exp. ’71, college of education, 9/14/2020. While attending UW, Eberle played basketball and baseball. In 2019, he was inducted to his high school’s and UW’s Hall of Fame for basketball. Eberle owned and operated a smallanimal practice, Eberle Animal Hospital, until retiring in 2017. He also served on the UW Alumni Association Board as the Midwest representative. Survivors include his wife, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, sister-in-law, brother-in-fact and his wife and family he cherished.
John Fanto, B.A. ’57, international studies, 3/13/2020. Survivors include his son, daughters and grandchildren.
➑ George Frison, B.S. ’64, anthropology, 9/7/2020. Frison created the Department of Anthropology at UW and was the first scientist from Wyoming to be elected to the National Academy of Science. He pioneered methods of analysis of artifacts and sites that became known as the “Frison Effect” on archaeological research. Survivors include his daughter and friend.
Randy George, B.S. ’76, finance, 10/7/2020. Survivors include his wife, daughters, grandson, siblings, sister-in-law, nieces and nephews.
Bette (Kovar) Geraud, friend of the university, 6/15/2020. She passed away in Meridian, Idaho. Survivors include her husband.
Jerry Hampshire, B.S. ’68, range management, 8/8/2020. Survivors include his wife, daughters, son, grandchildren, sister, sisters-in-law, brother-inlaw, nieces, nephews and cousins.
James Hillberry, B.S. ’60, animal husbandry, 7/21/2020. Survivors include his wife, daughters, grandchildren, brother and sister.
Andrew Johnson, M.Ed. ’69, educational administration, 10/12/2020. Survivors include his wife, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
WyoGrams continues on page 63
2020
HOMECOMING FROM HOME
For this year’s Homecoming, Dave Walsh—the “Voice of the Cowboys”— could be heard through speakers on computers, tablets and phones as he spoke about the history of Homecoming at the University of Wyoming. Alumni, friends and the campus community were treated to a virtual video celebration that included not only the history of Homecoming but a congratulations to the class of 1970 who were celebrating their 50th reunion, a sing-a-long to “Ragtime Cowboy Joe” and a recounting of favorite Homecoming memories. We celebrated Homecoming from home in 2020 from Oct. 10–17.
As UW leadership continually monitored the reopening of campus, there was a consensus that in-person alumni Homecoming traditions could not be held with the same integrity, quality and safety as past celebrations. We still felt it was important to host components of Homecoming virtually, as it is a time-honored tradition that many look forward to every year.
To kick off Homecoming, alumni could register to receive a 25 percent
discount to the University Store.
Alumni from the class of 1970, celebrating their 50th anniversary from UW, were offered a 50 percent discount. Alumni also had the opportunity to update their contact information and sign the virtual guestbook.
Thank you to our Homecoming sponsor
Our virtual offerings were wideranging. Downloadable content was made available on the Homecoming website that included pumpkin carving stencils, coloring pages, postcards, a crossword and word-find.
The UW Alumni Association partnered with Institutional Marketing to create a social media interactive toolkit that included Instagram GIF stickers and Facebook profile picture frames, as well as phone and Zoom backgrounds.
We continued our Golden Boot Competition, where any UW department or Laramie business could decorate its office to show its Cowboy spirit. The 2020 winners were the UW Trademark Licensing Office and UniWyo Federal Credit Union. They get the honor of proudly displaying the Golden Boot in their offices for the year.
In celebration of the class of 1970, alumni were able to fill out a memory form about what they have been up to since graduation, listen to songs from the ’70s via a Spotify playlist and request to receive a class certificate. The UWAA featured five alumni video highlights
from this class that included Dr. Jeffrey Cummings (B.S. ’70; H.D. ’11), Marilyn Kite (B.A.’70; J.D. ’74), Bill Hill (B.A. ’70; J.D. ’74), Glen Larson (B.S.M.E. ’70) and Susan Kany (B.A. ’70).
The 2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards were postponed to 2021. In the fall of 2021, we will celebrate David Burman (B.A. ’74), Nancy Freudenthal (B.A. ’76; J.D. ’80), Peter Sherman (B.S. ’86) and Medallion Service Award recipient April Brimmer Kunz (J.D. ’79).
By celebrating Homecoming 2020 virtually, we were able to increase the accessibility of our activities to alumni throughout the world who may not have had the opportunity to travel to Laramie. While we are looking forward to celebrating Homecoming 2021 in person next fall, we will still look to include virtual components to help keep the brown and gold spirit alive wherever our alumni may be celebrating from.
If you didn’t get a chance to view the Homecoming videos, they can still be accessed on the UWAA YouTube page or the Digital Connections page on the UWAA website.
WYOGRAMS
Wayne Jones, B.S. ’60, agronomy, M.S. ’62, agronomy, 8/16/2020. Survivors include his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sisters and brother-in-law.
Jean (Yates) Keeney, B.A. ’69, art education, 5/29/2020. Survivors include her son, daughter, granddaughters, grandsons, great-granddaughter, great-grandsons, niece and nephews.
Scott Keith, B.S. ’80, agriculture business, 9/22/2020. Keith worked in the agricultural world, for the Wyoming Business Council and as a contractor for Big Iron Auctions. Survivors include his daughter, son, expected grandchild, sister, significant other, family and friends.
J. Kenneth Kennedy, B.S. ’48, civil engineering, 9/15/2020. Kennedy was the engineer for Platte County, Wyo., and remained in that position for 45 years. He served his community and state in many capacities, specifically by promoting education. The UW chapter of Tau Beta Pi presented him with the society’s Eminent Wyoming Engineer Award in 2006, and UW presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009. Survivors include his wife, daughter, sons, step-daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, stepgrandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Janet (Supon) Kingsbury, B.S. ’66, home economics, 4/17/2020. She was born and raised in Pine Bluffs, Wyo., where she graduated as valedictorian of the high school class of ’62. While attending UW, she was a
member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority and numerous honor societies. Survivors include her husband, Bob Kingsbury, B.S. ’66, civil engineering, brother, sister, children and grandchildren.
Stevia Lankford, Exp. ’72, architectural engineering, 9/6/2020. Survivors include her son, grandchildren, brother, niece and friends.
Zane Lew, B.S. ’75, business management, 8/9/2020. Survivors include his mother, brothers and sister.
Lee Linn, Exp. ’60, College of Arts and Sciences, 8/17/2020. Survivors include his wife, son, daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Thomas McGarvey, Exp. ’62, College of Arts and Sciences, 5/17/2020. Survivors include his sister, daughters, sons, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Jerrold Moore, B.S. ’56, civil engineering, 7/25/2020. Survivors include his wife, children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, sister, former wife, nieces, nephews and various in-laws.
John Muller, B.A. ’61, personnel management, 8/28/2020. Muller passed away in Reno, Nev., on his 81st birthday. Survivors include his wife and daughters.
Elmer “Kim” Nelson, B.A. ’43, psychology, J.D. ’47, law, M.A. ’49, psychology, 8/30/2020. Nelson was a generous and perceptive teacher and an innovator in reforming prisons in the United States and Canada. Survivors include his son, sister, nieces, nephew and many relatives.
Charles Patton, Exp. ’74, College of Arts and Sciences, 7/18/2020. Survivors include his wife, sons, daughter, grandchildren, brother, sister, aunt, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, buddies, lifelong friends and pets.
Jason Pennock, B.S. ’95, business management, 7/22/2020. Survivors include his mother, stepfather, dog, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Jean (Summers) Porter, Exp. ’49, College of Arts and Sciences, 7/12/2020. Survivors include her daughter, sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
James Prosinski, B.S. ’84, accounting and finance, 10/1/2020. Survivors include his wife, brothers, sister, father’s widow, nieces and nephews.
Wade Ravert, B.S. ’86, information systems management, 8/5/2020. Survivors include his wife, son, daughter, stepchildren, grandchildren, parents and sister.
Edward Reynolds, B.S. ’66, pharmacy, 9/12/2020. Survivors include his wife.
Robert Rhynsburger, B.S. ’59, physical education, 5/13/2020. Survivors include his children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and sister.
Elmer Richers, Ed.D. ’69, education, 8/13/2020. His career was in education with elementary school teaching in Kansas and Colorado. He was a long-term elementary school principal in Jefferson County, Colo. Survivors include nieces and nephews.
WyoGrams continues on page 65
RETROGRAMS
Before most people had individual cell phones able to connect to anyone at the touch of a button, folks had to go through telephone switchboards managed by multiple people. These ladies working the Bell telephone board in Cheyenne circa 1900 were deemed “Hello Girls” due to the way they greeted callers when they answered the switchboard.
UNIVERSITY
WYOMING, AMERICAN
Some of the first computers at the University of Wyoming were the Bendix G-15 (in 1959), the IBM-1620 (in 1961) and the Philco 2000 (in 1964). Featured here is a Philco computer from the 1966 WYO yearbook initially captioned “A computer is a friendly machine … if you know how to make it work.” The Philco computers were mainly used for business or science and could range from 1,650 to 6,500 pounds, depending on the model that was purchased.
AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, WYO 1966, PG. 59
Wyoming is well known for its many boom-and-bust cycles. That includes its participation in the energy technology business. In 1859, Pennsylvania experienced the first successful use of a drilling rig. Not too long after that, in the 1880s, the first oilfield in Wyoming was created—the Salt Creek Oilfield. Expansion of this prolific oilfield continued on into the 1930s. To this day, the Salt Creek Oilfield is still producing oil and is considered one of the longest-producing oil fields in the world.
AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING,
OF
HERITAGE CENTER, JOSEPH E. STIMSON COLLECTION, ACCESSION NUMBER 1208, BOX 2, FOLDER 2
PHOTO FILE: PETROLEUM – OIL FIELD –SALT CREEK
WYOGRAMS
Gary Riedl, B.S. ’55, engineering geology, M.A. ’59, engineering geology, 9/15/2020. Survivors include his wife, children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Ronald Ries, Ph.D. ’73, range management, 9/8/2020. Survivors include his wife, sons, grandchildren, sister, nieces and nephews.
Robert Riley, M.A. ’64, physical education and health, 6/22/2020. Survivors include his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
David Robrock, B.A. ’70, history, M.A. ’75, history, 5/18/2020. Robrock served in the U.S. Army from 1971 to 1975, a captain in military intelligence at White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss, Texas. His librarian career included the University of Houston, University of NevadaLas Vegas (special collections) and University of Arizona. Survivors include his brothers, sisters-in-law, nephew and nieces.
Kathleen (Long) Sanford, Exp. ’49, College of Arts and Sciences, 8/30/2020. Survivors include her sons, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, nephews and nieces.
Michael Schulte, B.S. ’80, geology, 7/14/2020. Survivors include his wife, brothers, sister, nieces and nephews.
Bruce Schwindt, Exp. ’79, College of Business, 8/31/2020. Survivors include his wife, brother, great-niece, greatnephew and extended family members.
Thomas Scott, B.A. ’69, economics, 6/20/2020. Survivors include his wife, brothers, sister, daughter and son and their families, nieces and nephews.
Donald Dean Shepardson, B.S. ’78, civil engineering, 7/21/2020. He was well known in the Las Vegas valley and worked with various construction companies since 1979. Survivors include his wife and children.
Margaret Smith, B.S. ’51, medical technology, 9/12/2020. Smith worked at Clinical Labs for 45 years and held positions including lab supervisor, chief technologist and administrative director. Survivors include her cousin, extended family and friends.
➒ Charles Spice, Jr., M.A. ’55, psychology, Ph.D. ’63, counselor education, 5/28/2020. Spice was a faculty member in the department of counselor education at the University of Pittsburgh and later became the head of the department. He was also a dedicated Mason. Survivors include his wife, brother-in-law, nephew, grandniece, step-grandnephew and friends.
Leona (Blakeslee) Turley, Exp. ’67, College of Health Sciences, 7/9/2020. Survivors include her son, daughter, son-in-law and brother.
David Uchner, B.S. ’57, history, J.D. ’59, law, 9/25/2020. Survivors include his daughters, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Charlene Kelley-Urban, B.A. ’60, English, 6/6/2020. Survivors include her daughters, brotherin-law, nieces and nephews.
Linda Waggener, B.A. ’88, elementary education, M.A. ’19, American studies, 9/12/2020. In 2006, she moved back to Wyoming after accepting a job at UW as library assistant senior. She researched Wyoming’s Carnegie libraries and their importance in the public sector. Survivors include her mother, brothers and sisters-in-law.
David Wedemeyer, Exp. ’71, College of Engineering and Applied Science, 7/2/2020. Survivors include his wife, sons, daughters, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, great-greatgrandchildren, brother, other relatives and friends.
David Welke, B.S. ’87, electrical engineering, 8/20/2020. Survivors include his wife, mother and brother.
Survivors include his daughter, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Rebecca (Scott) Zuchowski, B.A. ’67, elementary education, 8/1/2020. Survivors include her brothers, sister, daughter, sons, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and puppy.
The UW Art Museum goes virtual to make its works accessible to a wider audience.
By Nicole M. Crawford
How can you visit a museum when the doors are closed?
While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced museums to think about this issue and adjust on a quicker schedule than anticipated, the University of Wyoming Art Museum is prepared. Museum staff thought over the last few years about how to engage with audiences from around the world, and so the museum has partnered with units campus that have the technology and expertise to help move the museum’s collections and exhibitions onto a virtual platform.
In an ongoing project that began two years ago, the Art Museum has partnered with UW Libraries Digital Collections to 3D scan a large collection of objects from Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. The collection consists of over 180 small sculptures carved from volcanic rock, stone and wood. The objects were collected by William Mulloy Jr. (1917-1978), a former anthropologist at the university, and were gifted to the museum after his death. Student employees at the museum are assisting to carefully photograph these objects from every angle. It takes about 10-15 minutes per object to create a comprehensive model with photogrammetry, which means only eight to 10 objects are completed in each 2.5-hour session. The ultimate goal of the project is to share objects and knowledge between the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum on Rapa Nui and the UW Art Museum without moving objects across borders.
maneuver through the museum gallery and zoom in to see specific artworks. In addition to reaching a greater audience, these virtual galleries allow for exhibitions to live on beyond their time on the museum walls.
The Art Museum is also looking for new ways to share our collections with students and faculty, especially in the time of COVID-19. As a result, UW class visits look a little different these days. Usually artwork is pulled from storage and placed on tables in the Resource Room, where the students can get an up-close view of the piece of art—a more intimate experience than viewing the artwork displayed in the galleries under glass. The Art Museum staff tackled the problem of how this can be translated to a virtual platform. Working as a team, the museum’s staff is providing virtual visits for UW classes. This involves essentially setting up a small film studio in the hallway where the collections are stored. Students can ask for the team to zoom in on a specific section and sometimes are actually getting a closer view than they would in person.
The Art Museum is grateful to have access to these units on campus that have graciously provided their expertise and equipment. As this technology isn’t cheap, the Art Museum is grateful to Wyoming State Library for a CARES mini-grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that allowed for the purchase of new portable LED lights to improve the video quality of virtual class visits.
Thinking even bigger, the Art Museum is also working with the Shell 3D Visualization Center in the School of Energy Resources to capture entire exhibitions digitally to provide an immersive experience where a visitor can virtually
While nothing can replace visiting a museum and viewing artwork in person, the UW Art Museum is working hard with partners on campus to make the museum accessible for all people, wherever they are located.
Top: Student Collections Assistant Isabel Leininger assists in capturing a 3D image of a small sculpture from Rapa Nui.
Bottom: Capturing a 3D image of the Teaching Gallery exhibition installation.
Capturing the digital 3D image of a moai sculpture from Rapa Nui.
Building ComputationalBetterModels
A UW DATA SCIENCE TEAM IS LEADING A $6 MILLION NSF GRANT TO BUILD AND TEST COMPUTATIONAL MODELS.
Researchers are developing computational models for a variety of phenomena, including the evolution of novelty. For example, what genetic, chemical and environmental factors predict the adoption of a novel host plant by herbivorous insects? This includes host shifts from native legumes (such as the pictured foothill milkvetch, Astragalus tridactylicus) to introduced plants.
BY ALEX BUERKLE
PHOTO
By Ron Podell
Dramatic increases in the scale and availability of data are profoundly reshaping the life sciences. As a result, data acquisition and availability—from DNA sequencers to environmental sensors to parallel global studies—are outpacing the capacity for analysis, including the development of models that represent knowledge of biological processes.
Thanks to a $6 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, researchers from the University of Wyoming, the University of Montana and the University of Nevada –Reno will be able to address pressing needs in the life sciences through research and education by this consortium. The title of the project is “Highly Predictive, Explanatory Models to Harness the Life Science Data Revolution.”
“This grant will fund a network of scientists to build and test computational statistical models for the life sciences,” says Alex Buerkle, a UW professor of botany and principal investigator (PI) of the grant. “It will grow the Data Science Center at the University of Wyoming.”
The center, established in September 2018, is designed to help educate and provide tools for analysis for everyone from undergraduate students up through faculty and to create unprecedented opportunities for researchers to engage in the cutting edge of data science.
The four-year NSF grant started Sept. 1 and will run through Aug. 31, 2024. The grant builds on previous NSF, private donor and state investments in data science at UW, Buerkle says.
or future time points,” Buerkle explains. “Conversely, other types of models can be more general but provide a poorer fit to individual data sets. In our research, we will develop knowledge of these trade-offs and methods that combine advantageous features of different types of models.”
The research consortium will further develop computational, statistical and machine learning methods for multidimensional data to develop highly predictive and explanatory models for the life sciences. Additionally, the group will test and refine methods and develop critical tools for harnessing the data revolution.
In addition to Buerkle, UW participants and co-PIs are Sarah Collins, an assistant professor of zoology and physiology; Daniel Laughlin, an associate professor of botany; and Lauren Shoemaker and Christopher Weiss-Lehman, both assistant professors of botany.
Other researchers include Joanna Blaszczak, an assistant professor of natural resources and environmental science, and Matt Forister, a professor of biology, both at the University of Nevada-Reno; and Robert Hall, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station.
“Some types of models can fit observed data very well but lack generality and the ability to extrapolate to novel settings
Each year, the grant will fund the salaries of 12 postdoctoral researchers who will participate in the consortium, with most of them working at UW.
“In each year, our consortium will train a diverse cohort of 12 postdoctoral researchers in cutting-edge modeling techniques and prepare them for the workforce,” Buerkle says.
The project investigators and postdoctoral researchers at the three institutions will create an integrated, highly collaborative and interdisciplinary consortium of data scientists, he adds.
“We will develop educational tools to aid the dissemination of the methodologies we develop, promoting the efficient use of high dimensional data in the life sciences,” Buerkle says.
Graduate botany student Sienna Wessel gathers plant trait data in Grand Teton National Park to support models of community ecology.
PHOTO BY DANIEL LAUGHLIN
HIGH-TECH ATHLETES
UW Athletics employs the latest technology to maximize performance and avoid injury.
By Micaela Myers
In the age of technology, it’s not surprising that University of Wyoming Athletics employs the latest tools to improve performance and athlete health, including altitude simulation chambers and GPS monitoring.
Step Inside the Simulation Chamber
As athletics officials designed the new High Altitude Performance Center, they wanted to incorporate technology few schools can offer: altitude simulation chambers to increase oxygen in the bloodstream.
“Our original thought with those rooms was to help with concussion recovery,” says Director of Sports Medicine Scott Knerr. “Once we got the room in athletic training set up, it turned into just a general recovery room that our athletes enjoy using.”
At high altitudes such as Laramie’s, there’s a lower concentration of oxygen in the air. The chambers have a higher concentration of pressure, which increases oxygen levels.
“Anytime you’re increasing oxygen in blood, you’re going to have healing,” Knerr says.
The vinyl walls allow the athletes to see out, while the pressure system provides soothing white noise.
“We have athletes who will sit in the lounge chairs there and study in between classes,” Knerr says. “We also have some pressurized boots in there that help with recovery for the legs. It’s been a great tool for us. The athletes really see a benefit from it.”
For maximum benefits, athletes spend at least 20-30 minutes in the chamber, and the room can accommodate approximately five athletes at a time. Athletes from 17 different sports use the room.
A second room is located in the strength and conditioning center to allow student-athletes to simulate training at different altitudes.
“The nice thing about these rooms is that we’re not pumping in oxygen, we’re just increasing the pressure,” Knerr says. “We leave them set at the equivalent of 1,500 feet above sea level. If you have higher pressure in the room, you’re going to increase the transmission of oxygen from the air into the lungs and bloodstream.”
GPS Maximizes Potential
Cowboy football uses Polar Team Pro GPS systems to prepare athletes prior to the season and to ensure their training is on target during the season. The 45 units provide internal and external data—from movement like the GPS mapping on your phone to acceleration and heart rate.
“The main variable that the GPS measures is the yardage—how far these guys run and how fast they run,” says football’s Director of Sports Performance Eric Donoval. “It measures high-intensity accelerations and decelerations. That’s essentially how explosive the athlete is. It gives us the internal load that the heart works. So it gives us a lot of different variables through our system.”
The small unit is worn around the athlete’s torso during practice, workouts and games.
“By accumulating that data, it allows us to really hone our training to make sure that we expose these guys, from a position standpoint, to the demands they’re going to face in camp and in practice,” Donoval says.
Data is also used to make sure players aren’t over or under training for game day. Donoval began using the tech at Louisiana State University and made the investment when he joined the team at UW in 2018.
“Injury happens when there’s a high spike in intensity or volume,” he says. “If we can prepare these guys through the off season for the rigors of practice and games, they have a much higher likelihood of not getting injured.”
“In 1962, several large fragments of a rock art site were drilled, cut and blasted off a cliff face near Greybull, Wyo. At the time, archaeologists thought the petroglyphs were under threat from vandalism and potential reservoir construction.
“In 2017, nine of the Greybull rock art fragments were transported to Laramie as part of a collaboration among the Department of Anthropology, Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist, UW Archaeological Repository (UWAR), UW Libraries, UW Innovation Wyrkshop, Draper Natural History Museum, Plains Indian Museum and the Bureau of Land Management. One of the primary goals was the creation of 3D models for digital and physical reconstructions.
“In 2019, I conducted photogrammetry (a series of overlapping photographs to produce a 3D model) for the rock art fragments as part of my graduate assistantship. Once the digital reconstruction of the damaged fragments was complete, I worked with UWAR and UW Libraries’ Chad Hutchens to begin producing a physical replica. With help and training from Tyler Kerr and the staff at the Innovation Wyrkshop, we designed a 3D print that could be used for an educational exhibit about rock art and conservation. To be able to make a single 10-foot 3D replica, I printed 85 individual pieces (over 320 hours of print time). After printing was complete, the pieces were glued together and sand-textured paint applied.
“Although we will never be able to physically put the rock art fragments back into their original locations, the digital and physical reconstruction of the Greybull rock art fragments helps fill the gaps created during their removal.”
Though we’ve not been able to host as many in-person events or visit the high schools of prospective students this year, UW Admissions is here to support you on your journey to becoming a Cowboy! We’re offering several virtual visit opportunities so that you can learn more about UW, and we hope you’ll join us for these events. You can also connect with your admission respresentative at uwyo.edu/findacounselor.
Division
University of Wyoming Department 3226
1000 East University Avenue Laramie, WY 82071-2000
