Wichita State Poised For Massive Growth

[SubGod22]

WSU - WSU's Engineers without Borders building much-needed bridge for Ecuadorian village

Several Wichita State University engineering students are bringing Shocker innovation to a tiny village in Ecuador.

Through the WSU chapter of Engineers without Borders, three students recently began the process of working with the rural community of Mercedes de Agua Sucia in Manabi, Ecuador, to build a pedestrian bridge that will give residents safe passage to the main road and nearby cities to sell the goods and products from their farms, shop in nearby El Carmen, and for children to attend school.

Three students — Julian Vasquez, a sophomore in electrical engineering from Wylie, Texas; Austin Rempel, a junior in product design and manufacturing from Hillsboro, Kansas; and Nicolas Reyes, a senior in computer engineering from Oklahoma City— traveled to Ecuador over the summer to begin assessing the community’s needs.

“They have a wide river preventing access to main roadways, and they have constructed a makeshift bridge across trees using bamboo and metal wires that residents use to cross, including the children who cross on their way to school every day,” Reyes said. “Our goal is for this bridge to give safe and fast access to the roadways.”



In addition to the Wichita State team, a licensed civil engineer will be working alongside the students to help with the project.

Agua Sucia in Manabi is home to about 20 families, and the Engineers without Borders team was intentional in its efforts to include the villagers in the planning process.

“Our students spent time working with the people in the village and get to know them,” said Dr. Jacob Mendez, Wichita State’s director of student engagement and career readiness for the College of Engineering. “They also taught the village members how to use the equipment, and some local construction people helped us dig holes for the surveying.”

In all, the team spent about six days in Ecuador, surveying the village’s needs, creating a plan, and getting to know the people.

[Power Outlet]

Not a massive project, but what is the new construction being started between the Eck Stadium outfield and 21st ?

[SubGod22]

I can't find anything official posted on activity over there but I'll keep looking.

[Kung Wu]

Not a massive project, but what is the new construction being started between the Eck Stadium outfield and 21st ?

Well they are on the wrong side of 21st, because I think they are still looking for one of Brock Rodden's homers.

[SubGod22]

Still can't find anything on the work along 21st, but I did stumble across this interactive map that seems pretty up to date.

Active construction on campus includes the obvious Cessna renovations, Clinton Hall being turned into Shocker Success Center, the expansion of the Marcus Welcome Center, and Partnership Building 11.

It also shows future projects such as Wilkins Stadium upgrades, expansion of The Flats, more restaurant and retail spaces, future apartment and office spaces, and a few more partnership buildings.

It also shows the entirety of the University Village boundary along 17th street, but doesn't show anything specific going on or planned there.

[pogo]

Nothing really new but just an observation...After reading about the new DOBO for basketball he made the comment that he was impressed with the Innovative Campus and how the University had more of a "campus" feel to it. Recently I had a similar conversation with a young woman that had recently moved back to the Wichita area from SoCal and was herself amazed at the transformation of WSU. How can alumni not be impressed/aware of what has been going on for the last few years? Is it that the sheer magnitude of the Innovative Campus is difficult to imagine or is it that pictures don't properly convey the scope of what has happened. Maybe a more comprehensive video shot from a drone from different heights rather than the one that has existed for several years now. Just seems curious that with the technology available that WSU can't produce a better production depicting the campus. Go Shocks

[Kung Wu]

The overhaul is jaw-dropping. You definitely can't grasp the magnitude of it until you see it. And I think older Wichitans/alums that haven't been on campus for a decade or more are pre-programmed to just believe it's over-hyped or exaggerated and not worth seeing it for themselves. This is not the campus we grew up at by a very long stretch.

Maybe a super awesome drone video would entice doubters to check it out? Maybe.

[SubGod22]

Seeing it in person definitely has a much bigger impact on the senses than any drone video could. I haven't even gone years without seeing campus and just driving by it's amazing how different it looks from when I was walking across campus to class. So those that have been away and have the memories of trekking across campus are easily going to be more inspired by the new feel of doing the same.

[ShockBand]

The Innovation Campus definitely is impressive to see in person! It really is the shiny and new front porch of campus. I know they tried to keep as many old growth trees from the golf course as they could, but a lot of those had to go. I think many of the old trees were in poor health as well. I know given another decade or so the landscaping of the IC will mature and improve. I hope the IC will see more additions of sculptures, as our outdoor sculpture collection is really fantastic, and doesn't always get the notoriety I think it should. I kind of wish the Miro work on the Ulrich Museum was in a more prominent place, but I often enter at that point just to see that wonderful artwork. Even if it isn't my closest entrance that I could take!

But I have always also admired the "old campus" side. Even way back in my students days of the 80s, I always appreciated the well kept lawns and flowers and trees of the old campus. Having visited urban universities that are nothing but buildings and concrete, I very much liked that WSU had a more "park like" setting. Made my walks from Duerksen over to the other side more enjoyable. With most of old Jardine Drive now closed and redone as a pedestrian mall, it really has a nice park like feel if you walk from the south side of campus up to the arena.

Go Shocks!

[pogo]

I too enjoy the pedestrian mall and the aesthetics it brings to the University. In addition to an awesome drone video I want to see a depiction of what the IC will look like in 50 years with mature trees/plantings. This I want because I probably won’t be around in 50 years. Go Shocks

[Kung Wu]

I too enjoy the pedestrian mall and the aesthetics it brings to the University. In addition to an awesome drone video I want to see a depiction of what the IC will look like in 50 years with mature trees/plantings. This I want because I probably won’t be around in 50 years. Go Shocks

Would be cool if they used Augmented Reality on their drone footage to show the architectural renderings already in place.

[Bluzrover]

It’s been a couple of years since I last came through the campus but even then, my brother and I were amazed at how different the place looks from my days as a student in the late 70s. Since leaving Wichita in 83 for a Navy career, I would always try to visit the campus, well, really, I would just spend a day driving around town to see the growth and changes whenever I came home to visit family. I haven’t lived in Wichita since 1983 but I’m still fond of my hometown and am thrilled to see the recent developments on campus and downtown.

[shocker_torero]

KBOR meeting minutes for September mentions the project plan for the new campus downtown. What was going to be one phase is now broken into two phases. The first phase is a plan to build a ~ $ 200 million dollar 350,000 sq ft. facility with construction complete by 2026. Architectural overview was submitted to KBOR, but nothing released as of yet. Now that we know the location, we can expect that building to be bounded by William on the North, Broadway to the West, and Topeka on the East. No mention of the second phase, but knowing the Wichita bus station is there now, one should expect to wait until they've vacated the property for anything major to be announced. The city of Wichita has had their "multi-modal" transit center on the books for a while now with a location selected and architectural renderings released. Someone just needs to pull the trigger.

A name change is also proposed for the facility, from Health Sciences Education Center to Wichita Biomedical Campus. A formality as the latter is what it's been known as generally.

For comparison purposes, the beautiful new Woolsey Hall is 125,000 sq ft. The phase I construction of the Wichita Biomedical Campus will be 1.8x larger than that building.

[pogo]

There has been at least a couple of construction trailers parked in the vacant area between the Smart Factory and the ATF building but driving by this evening it looked lke at least 4-5 construction trailers parked in that area. The start of the new ATF lab?

[SubGod22]

WSU - Wichita State receives SBA funding to assist STEM-focused small businesses

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) awarded $150,000 to Wichita State University to assist in providing resources and support for small businesses and start-ups focused on STEM and research and development.

The SBA’s 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Stage Two funded 35 accelerator partnerships to foster a thriving national innovation ecosystem that advances equitable investment in innovative startups and high growth small businesses.

The funding awarded to Wichita State Strategic Initiatives will is geared toward domestic manufacturing and production. It will provide funding for three primary initiatives:

1. Expand relationships to grow the ecosystem through supplier diversity conferences and connecting with local economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, and entrepreneurial support organizations.
2. Grow the talent pipeline through student design competitions and internship-matching.
3. Enhance the advanced manufacturing economy through workshops for policymakers and industry summits inclusive of best practices and use cases for small to medium manufacturers.

“SBA is excited to continue growing the network of partner organizations that connect a broad range of communities with the national innovation ecosystem through these new Growth Accelerator partnerships,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.

In 2023, SBA introduced a new two-stage format for the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. In May, Stage One Catalyze winners received $50,000 to build capacity and connections across the U.S. innovation ecosystem focused on themes of National Security & Global Competitiveness, Domestic Manufacturing and Production, Climate and Renewable Energy, and Underserved Communities. Forty Stage One prizes were awarded to organizations from 30 states and territories, including D.C. and Puerto Rico, and were invited to apply for Stage Two of the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.

“The new Growth Accelerator partnerships strengthen networks and collaboration among local and national entrepreneurial support organizations committed to enhancing the chance of success for science and technology driven companies to turn their innovations into impact,” said SBA Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation Bailey DeVries.