Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty
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Greetings, everyone!
I hope you are all doing well, staying healthy, taking time for breaks and keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Please don’t let “work at home” morph into “work all the time.” You all need your down time, now more than ever.
As this highly unusual and challenging semester winds down, I want to take a moment to recognize the hard work, amazing effort and successes of the College. The abrupt transition from face-to-face instruction to online delivery required all of us, faculty and staff, to rework our plans, reprioritize our resources, and juggle our time and energy so that we could effectively support our educational mission. And it worked! You all did great. And let’s not overlook the fact that our students displayed remarkable perseverance and resilience in the face of uncertainty and a general lack of external motivation. For me, the way we overcame these challenges together just reflects the strength of our College and our CEAS “family.”
With “classes” coming to an end and final exams approaching, let’s keep in mind our overarching goal to support our students as they complete this highly unusual semester. We all know that finals can be stressful for students even in the best of times, and these unprecedented times increase that anxiety. Don’t hesitate to let your students know that
the University Counseling Center
is a wonderful, free resource for them to utilize if needed
.
The question I know you are all asking yourselves is, “when do we return to normal?” Many, many (Zoom) meetings and discussions are being held to review the latest state and federal policies, guidelines and recommendations, looking for insight regarding where we go from here so that we can have an idea of what campus life at UW will look like for the fall semester. We’re also looking at what other universities are planning to do, to see if that can also inform us. It’s important to keep in mind that all this is happening in an environment that is constantly evolving. We’re looking at lots of different scenarios and strategies, each with their own tradeoffs. I’ll continue to keep you updated on these decisions and plans for the fall semester as they develop.
I’m acutely aware that the adjustment to physical distancing has been a tough one — the demands of school, work, and for many of us, child, family, and elder care, can be overwhelming. You might be starting to feel stressed out yourself as finals approach, which is normal and not unexpected, but stay strong! You’ve shown me what an amazing crew you all are, and I know you’ve got this. We’ll make it through, together.
Warm regards,
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Four UW Faculty Members Selected for CAES Summer Visiting Faculty Program at INL
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Four University of Wyoming faculty members were selected to participate in the Center for Advanced Energy Studies’ (CAES) third annual Summer Visiting Faculty Program at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
UW faculty members selected and their areas of research during the program are: Dilpuneet Singh Aidhy, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, nuclear energy; Mike Borowczak, an assistant professor of computer science, cybersecurity; Nga Nguyen, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, innovative energy systems; and Xiang Zhang, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, advanced manufacturing.
CAES is a research, education and innovation consortium consisting of INL and the four public research universities of Idaho and Wyoming: Boise State University, Idaho State University, the University of Idaho and UW. Students and researchers perform collaborative research at locations at all five institutions and at the 55,000-square-foot CAES building in Idaho Falls.
This collaborative program was created in 2018 to promote one-on-one partnerships and collaboration between university faculty and researchers at INL to create unified research teams to address critical issues in energy-related science and engineering.
The annual program begins in May, when university faculty spend a week in residence at INL to brainstorm ideas with their INL counterparts and learn about capabilities. The faculty then return home and work remotely, but collaboratively, for two months on proposal writing.
The CAES program allows faculty members to learn about the inner workings of a national laboratory, its capabilities and expertise, and to build lasting networks. Additionally, it gives INL researchers the opportunity to build new academic connections, access diversified funding sources and connect with students supporting the faculty member. Students are involved throughout the process, which provides training for a new generation of energy-related scientists and engineers. This also provides faculty-researcher connections that create a diverse pipeline for students to transition from university to employment at the national laboratory.
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New Marketing and Communications Specialist Joins CEAS Team
The CEAS welcomes Caitlyn Spradley as the new marketing and communications specialist for the college. Please feel free to reach out to Caitlyn directly at
caitlyn.spradley@uwyo.edu
.
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Chemical Engineering Student Karla Contreras Receives All-America Honor
Redshirt junior Chemical Engineering student,
Karla Contreras
, was recently honored by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as part of the 2019-20 All-American teams. Congratulations Karla!
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Petroleum Engineering Wins Regional SPE Paper Contest Fifth Year in a Row
It’s the fifth year in a row that a member of the research team of Wyoming Excellence Ch
air in Petroleum Engineering Mohammad Piri has won the Regional Student Paper Contest hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). This win leads to a trip to SPE’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, to be held this fall. Way to go!
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Saheed Olawale Olayiwola To Present at Prestigious ATCE
Department of Petroleum Engineering Assistant Professor Morteza Dejam's PhD student, Saheed Olawale Olayiwola's work, "
Effect of Silica Nanoparticles on the Oil Recovery during Alternating Injection with Low Salinity Water and Surfactant into Carbonate Reservoirs,
" will be presented at the SPE ACTE this fall. Great job Saheed!
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UW Themed Zoom Backgrounds Available
Looking to have fun with your virtual Zoom backgrounds? Download the free
UW themed Zoom backgrounds
today! Directions on how to change your Zoom virtual background can be found
here.
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Our sympathy to Kennon Vaudrey and family after the recent passing of his father, Calvin Vaudrey (95) on April 16, 2020. Calvin is a 2006 College of Engineering and Applied Science Distinguished Alumni. Calvin received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from UW in 1948, his M.S. in 1950 and his PhD in 1954.
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Teddi Freedman and her husband, Kit, are thrilled to share the very happy news and announcement of their daughter, Elizabeth “Joan” Freedman — born April 14, 2020, weighing 6 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches long. Mom and baby Joan are happy and healthy!
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Graduation Convocation
Friday, May 15
5:00 p.m.
Virtual Prerecorded Event
More details coming soon.
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May Commencement
Saturday, May 16
10:00 a.m.
Virtual Event
Details can be found
here
.
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CEAS Virtual Happy Hour
Every Thursday
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Zoom Meeting
All are welcome!
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Professional Development Corner
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LinkedIn Learning: Courses for Every Step of Your Career.
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University of Wyoming faculty, staff and students now have access to a powerful online learning and development platform, LinkedIn Learning.
LinkedIn Learning offers relevant, up-to-date content taught by credible industry experts on a wide range of business, technology and creative subjects. Access over 15,000 courses in 7 different languages taught by real-world practitioners, located across the globe.
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Assistant Professor in Department of Petroleum Engineering,
is First Author of Study on Other Variables Affecting Coronavirus Numbers Worldwide
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UW Student Innovation Center Team’s COVID-19 Operations Go Statewide
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Tyler Kerr, the UW makerspace coordinator in the Student Innovation Center, and his team are producing surgical facemasks and protective face shields for the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. To this point, 20 Wyoming medical facilities and departments have requested 983 pieces of safety equipment.
Read more on their efforts here
.
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UW Introduces Advanced Degree Options for 2020 Graduates
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Given the uncertainty facing many graduates from the 2020 class, UW’s Office of Graduate Education has worked with various campus graduate programs to extend their application deadlines to accommodate those students whose plans have been affected by global economic difficulties stemming from COVID-19.
Learn more here.
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Two UW Colleges, Central Wyoming College Offer New Entrepreneurship Program
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Central Wyoming College and UW's College of Business and College of Engineering and Applied Science are extending their partnership to support Wyoming’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, continuing a statewide education program called Entrepreneur Essentials. After hosting a successful pilot program this past fall throughout the state, Entrepreneur Essentials is ready to provide educational tools to help statewide entrepreneurs build a solid foundation for launching and growing successful businesses.
Find out more about the program here.
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April Inspirational Phone Background
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Click the button below to download and save this inspirational image to your phone!
"Better Days Are Ahead!"
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