Wichita State Poised For Massive Growth

[pogo]

Went to the Grand daughters (Maize) high school graduation last evening and during the pre event had pictures of the graduates and where they were going to attend an institution of higher learning if applicable. Notice by far that their choice was WSU or WSU/Tech. Talked to the grand daughter about that and she said that nearly half of the Honor Society grads were WSU bound and around 80 Maize graduates were going to either WSU or Tech. If that is true they did a heck of a job in recruiting at Maize.

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WSU - WSU's Shocker Success Center: An oasis of opportunity

The Shocker Success Center will house 17 student services that are currently scattered across campus in 10 buildings: the Office of Adult Learning, CARE Team, Career Closet, Military and Veteran Services, Office of Disability Services, OneStop Student Services, Shocker Support Locker, Office of Student Success, Tech Help, Testing Services, TRIO Disability Services, TRIO Student Support Services, Writing Center, Math Lab, Supplemental Instruction, Physics Lab, and the Shocker Learning Center.

Over the summer, the current occupant of Clinton Hall — the W. Frank Barton School of Business — will move to its new home in the brand-new Woolsey Hall on the Wichita State Innovation Campus.

“When the business school moves to Woolsey Hall, Clinton Hall will need a new occupant,” said Corey Saleh, campaign director for the WSU Foundation. “When we were looking at our Strategic Enrollment Management plan, we said, ‘What is the most important thing that our students need to succeed that could be housed in this space?’”

I have wondered what would happen to Clinton Hall once the business school moved into its new digs. Clinton will receive around $17M for renovations.

WSU - Home for digital transformation rising on Innovation Campus

The work of digital transformation, boosted by Innovation Campus plans in 2012, is not new at Wichita State.

In 2011, LSI Corp., later purchased by NetApp, donated to Wichita State to start the first applied learning model using high-performance hardware. In 2014, NetApp announced its partnership with Wichita State and a move to campus. Projects such as new degrees in data science, data analytics, and digital arts, the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL), and the Advanced Virtual Engineering and Testing Lab and others added to the university's progress.

“We’ve been building these capabilities and technical knowledge and skill for quite a while,” said Tonya Witherspoon, associate vice president, Industry Engagement & Applied Learning. “What we want to do is open up those technical skills and industry to a broader range of industry. We want to do more.”

Digital transformation is a broad term for taking physical practices and transferring them to a digital format to streamline processes or manufacture replacements for aging parts. In 2020, the Kansas Board of Regents approved the creation of the National Institute for Research and Digital Transformation at Wichita State.

Expected to be ready by spring of '23.

NIRDT will focus on innovation, applied research, and applied learning in areas such as:

• cloud computing and software development
• cybersecurity, cyber operations, AI, ML, xR, and IoT
• agile cultural and organization transformation focused on value creation in customer experience, operational processes, and business models
• research and service laboratories to provide the needed system engineering technology for Kansas to compete globally.

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WBJ - 2022 Real Estate Awards: Seventeenth Apartments fill need for more student housing

The addition of the apartments, at 3945 E. 17th St., also served to rehabilitate the neighborhood, with some of the old buildings falling apart as they were being torn down.

“It’s been a big help for the neighborhood security, as well as that for the residents that are living there,” Phillips said.

Construction is still taking place, with two more buildings being a part of Phase 2. Phillips said they will be done in early June, with over 100 beds, 1-to-1 bed bath ratio and more three- and four-bedroom units.

“Right now, they’re not building anything that can’t justify the need for it in terms of numbers," Phillips said. "I think two years ago was the first time the student population exceeded 16,000. And I think the growth numbers are even greater than that now."

I think this development was previously mentioned somewhere, but they look nice and can definitely coexist with campus while offering the possibility of more students on/near campus which should help with the vibe of real college life that some say used to be missing. More development along 17th and around Braeburn Square will continue to contribute to the positive changes there.

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WSU - Woolseys give $1.3 million to fullfil vision for Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall

The garden is a memorial for Kay, who passed away in 2019, and will be located on the south lawn of the building. It will provide an eye-catching expanse of color outside the windows of Woolsey Hall, while lying directly in the line of sight from the Promise Bridge.

“Kay was totally involved with the business, and she worked endless hours,” said Scott Fraizer, president of Woolsey Cos. “But one of the things she made sure of was that there were fresh flowers every month in the entrance – she just loved flowers. I think this is a wonderful tribute to both what she loved and all she did for the company.”

The Woolseys designated the other portion of the gift to go to the endowed Woolsey Hall Technology Fund, which will provide an annual payout of approximately $60,000 to update technology throughout the building. This fund will ensure WSU stays ahead of the curve on what students need to learn.

The Business School hasn't even opened its new place yet and it's already getting a beautification project. I'm sure it'll look nice, and the Tech Fund is definitely a valuable asset for an ever changing and upgrading society.

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WSU - NIAR WERX announces MRO program expansion with Precision Aircraft Solutions

The WERX program at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and Precision Aircraft Solutions have reached an agreement to work cooperatively on modification, maintenance and engineering for various Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

In the third quarter of 2022, NIAR WERX will begin performance of passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions for Precision, adding two new aircraft to its conversion portfolio with the expectation of performing 12-24 per year at NIAR WERX.

NIAR will soon complete conversions and maintenance – which began last year – for Precision’s sister company, Erickson Aero Tanker.
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Based on this new partnership and the recently announced expansion of the 777-300ERCF P2F conversion program, NIAR WERX anticipates the creation of nearly 1,500 jobs over the next five years.

[shocktown]

WSU - NIAR WERX announces MRO program expansion with Precision Aircraft Solutions

Interesting, looks like Precision currently does much of their conversion work in Xiamen China.

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Oops

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WSU - Wichita State team will help Kansas communities deal with natural disasters

An interdisciplinary team from Wichita State University will participate in a $24 million state initiative to help rural and urban communities prepare for and recover from natural disasters.

Wichita State is one of 17 Kansas universities and colleges participating in the Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures driven by Social Equity (ARISE) project, funded by the National Science Foundation and the state of Kansas. The Wichita State team will lead power-system work and capital-asset management to address resilience and infrastructure responses to disaster and extreme weather events.

Kansas currently ranks ninth in federal disaster declarations per capita, according to the Kansas National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Amid changing climate patterns and frequent extreme weather events, historically underserved communities often receive less aid and recover slower from weather disasters.

The research team at Wichita State comprises social sciences, electrical engineering and computer science. It will focus on understanding the societal influences on engineering solutions and developing socially equitable solutions to improve resiliency of interdependent systems such as electric grid, transportation and water. It will support the development of a decision-making tool by using artificial intelligence and an interdisciplinary data science consortium.

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WBJ - Deloitte touts 'the art of the possible' with Wichita State Factory

“Manufacturers must evolve in response to unprecedented levels of supply chain and workforce disruption by reassessing the capacity and agility of their manufacturing operations,” CEO Dan Helfrich said. “The Smart Factory @ Wichita showcases how Deloitte and our strong ecosystem of collaborators is bringing this innovation to life and helping deliver a combination of strategy and end-to-end technology to help organizations better navigate the challenges of today and tomorrow with a tech-forward approach.”

But rather than build a small demonstrator that can show companies how to begin incorporating technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, Helfrich said, Deloitte instead decided to build an operational, 60,000 square-foot factory.
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The Smart Factory is a working factory and uses recycled materials to build STEM Rover kits that are then donated to middle schools around the country with the goal of empowering students with early experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The facility has already shipped around 250 of the kits — the production of which can be used to show off advanced manufacturing techniques — and Deloitte has a goal of reaching around 800,000 students nationwide with its associated STEM curriculum over the next four years.

Advanced manufacturing. Environmentally friendly. Expected to attract 5k industry visitors over the next year. Gives WSU students hands on experience within engineering and manufacturing.

The Smart Factory has its own website that can be found here. It contains more detailed information about the facility

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WSU - WSU NASA program launches first-generation student's future

Wichita State has a storied history of working with NASA to provide research opportunities to its students. David Nevarez-Saenz, an aerospace engineering senior and first-generation student, has been working with WSU’s NASA Jump Start Program (JSP) for the past two years.

David learned about the program while he was freshman and working in WSU’s First Year Research Experience (FYRE) program in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) from Dr. Bhisham Sharma, assistant professor in WSU’s Department of Aerospace Engineering.

The JSP supports select students to work on NASA or NASA-relevant projects. Funding comes from NASA. Most of the opportunities come from WSU’s Aerospace Engineering Department.

This is a pretty good opportunity presented to students.

[pogo]

WBJ - Deloitte touts 'the art of the possible' with Wichita State Factory



Advanced manufacturing. Environmentally friendly. Expected to attract 5k industry visitors over the next year. Gives WSU students hands on experience within engineering and manufacturing.

The Smart Factory has its own website that can be found here. It contains more detailed information about the facility

I like the comment that it is expected to draw more than 5,000 visitors. This will bring eyes to the Wichita/South Central Kansas area and give those visitors a peek at what makes Wichita and WSU special.

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WBJ - Former senior USAF engineer joins NIAR as advisor, deepening DoD connections

Fischer’s addition adds yet another defense tie to NIAR, which has rapidly grown its profile with the Department of Defense in recent years.

Those ties have translated to significant new defense spending in Wichita, highlighted most recently by NIAR’s win of a $100 million USAF award for sustainment work on the B-1 bomber.

That March award is the largest contract in WSU’s history.
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“I was attracted to NIAR by their contributions to aviation and national security, the applied learning model at Wichita State, and ultimately NIAR’s record of delivering high-value work,” Fischer says. “I am excited to be a member of this exceptional team. My goal is to help NIAR grow contributions to its industry and defense customers and produce the talent our nation needs.”

[WstateU]

Campus drone video (day and night views)…

[WuDrWu]

That's really cool stuff from Coach Wise!

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WBJ - NetApp shows off new Wichita facility

The state-of-the-art, $50 million, 168,000 square-foot facility has room for all 500 local company employees — though many work on hybrid remote schedules.

It will also house around 50 WSU students at any given time, further connecting NetApp to the applied learning model at the school and helping it build its own workforce pipeline.

But, Huber said following the open house event, the building was also built with an eye on the future and has capacity for up to 700 people to accommodate growth.