Feb. 16, 2021 Voiland College This Week

Go Cougs!

Xiao Zhang, Matt Whiting, Qin Zhang and Changki Mo are utilizing cellulose nanocrystals to protect grape, cherry and other flowering crop plants during frost events.

Omar Al-Hassawi received the American Institute of Architecture Students and Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture New Faculty Teaching Award.

This week’s featured student– electrical engineering major Maximillian Obasiolu, tells how his involvement with the WSU’s National Society of Black Engineers chapter has been so meaningful to him.


Events

Tuesday, February 16 @ 1:10 PM

Canvas getting started:
WSU is moving from Blackboard to Canvas and we are here to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Tuesday, February 16 @4 PM

Data analytics game night:
We will be hosting a fun social for the data analytics program with students, staff, and advisors to play a couple of games and have a chance to win prizes.

Wednesday, February 17 @11:10 AM

Teaching from a distance: Community building and connection:
In this training, we will cover simple ways to build a community-centered environment in your online course space.

Wednesday, February 17 @ 2:10 PM

Zoom (Master Session):
Zoom allows users to communicate through webcam/microphones, chat, and screen sharing.

Thursday, February 18 @ 9:10 AM

Canvas assignments and rubrics:
In this training we will cover assignment and rubric creation, peer reviews, and the plagiarism checker.

Thursday, February 18 @ 11 AM

MME Seminar Series: Soft Robotics and Architectured Materials: A Designer’s Perspective:
Dr. Girish Krishnan, Associate Professor, Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Thursday, February 18 @ 11 AM

Budgeting and budget justifications:
Your budget and budget justification may not make or break a grant proposal, but a well-crafted budget can make for a smoother funding process.

Thursday, February 18 @ 5:30 PM

Dr. Jan Boll speaks on Water Resiliency:
Interested in water, sustainability, climate, or want to learn about the water cycle?

Friday, February 19 @ 11:00 AM

MME Seminar: The Challenging Path to Creating Fully Autonomous and Controllable Microrobots:
Biological machines, in particular insects, still surpass their robotic counterparts in almost every aspect, including power conversion, actuation, sensing, and control.

Saturday, February 20 ALL DAY

2021 Architecture & Film Symposium:
The symposium offers 6 panels of paper presentations, videos, pecha kuchas, movie screening, and the keynote by the distinguished philosopher, Graham Harman.

Monday, February 22 @ 4:10 PM

Canvas tests and quizzes:
In this training we will review the full array of powerful question formats and setting options that allow you to precisely control and manage delivery of online assessments.

Monday, February 22 @ 6:30 PM

Navigating Handshake | Webinar:
Handshake is Washington State University’s free online employment resource website for students and alumni. Join Academic Advisor and Career Development Coordinator, James Bledsoe, in this webinar as he helps you explore the possibilities within this platform to find internships, jobs, network with other Cougs, and more!

Thursday, February 25

AGI Day (PDF):
In this interactive, virtual event, Advanced Grid Institute (AGI) leaders will provide an overview of the AGI and how Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University researchers and scientists are collaborating to solve key grid modernization challenges. They will discuss AGI work to implement a national scale simulation platform and data framework to enable advanced grid controls and operations for complex power systems of the future.

Thursday, March 11 @ 2 PM

VCEA Three-Minute Thesis Competition:
Ph.D. students will be competing for a chance to move on to the WSU-wide competition as well as a $1,500 scholarship for Fall 2021 (first runner-up will receive a $1,000 scholarship and second runner-up will receive a $500 scholarship). Additional prize money in the form of travel stipends is up for grabs at the main WSU event.

Share Your Event

Add your upcoming events to the WSU event calendar and we’ll share them here each week!


Opportunities

2021 Voiland College Staff Excellence Awards – Nominations Due Feb. 22

It is time to submit nominations for the VCEA Staff Excellence Awards. Please see the Jan. 22 email from Chris Gass for nominations and criteria.

Community and Equity Certificate Program Courses

WSU HRS is excited to introduce a new professional development opportunity available to all WSU faculty and staff. The Community & Equity Certificate lays the groundwork for a challenging, personal journey for individuals who are committed to creating equitable and inclusive environments. Through the certificate program, faculty and staff will expand their understanding of equity-mindedness and build a toolkit for engaging more effectively with students, colleagues, and community partners. Faculty and staff must complete seven workshops across four areas to earn the certificate.

Women’s Leadership Summit March 5

You are invited to participate in the inaugural Women’s Leadership Summit, hosted by the WSU Alumni Association. Designed to provide Cougs at all career levels an opportunity to celebrate successes and learn from past experiences of WSU faculty and alumnae. This year’s summit will explore Professional Challenges for Women During COVID-19.

Smith Teaching and Learning Grant – Apply by March 15

Washington State University faculty with innovative ideas to enhance teaching and learning are encouraged to apply by March 15 for a Smith Teaching and Learning Grant of up to $5,000.

Oaks Academic Technology Award Nominations Due March 22

Nominations are now being accepted for the fifth annual Oaks Academic Technology Award, which recognizes an instructor’s innovative application of an existing technology to transform teaching and learning in their classroom (face-to-face, online, videoconferencing).

WSU SURCA opens student applications, judge registrations

Students’ applications and judges’ sign-ups are now open online for the ninth Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA), which will be held virtually on March 29.

Cougar Cage Funding Program – $20,000 – $50,000

Washington State University is launching a new, competitive funding program that seeks to match private donors with worthwhile projects pitched by students, faculty and staff in a format modeled after the popular entrepreneurial TV show Shark Tank.

Live Auto-Generated Captioning Now Available for Zoom

WSU Zoom now provides live automatic speech recognition captioning/transcription capability for live virtual meetings, webinars, and course lectures.

Zoom Webinar Option Now Available to All Instructors

The WSU Zoom support team at Information Technology Services (ITS) is excited to offer all WSU instructors a semester-long Zoom webinar option for spring 2021 courses. These webinars will allow up to 100 or 500 attendees.

Research Funding and Awards

Visit Voiland College’s website or The Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships for lists of some of the national major research funding opportunities.

Office of Research Guidance

The Office of Research posts all guidance for on-site research, scholarship, and creative activities during the Covid-19 pandemic on their website.

Crimson Spirit Award

Have you noticed a WSU employee going out of their way to help a colleague or customer? Nominate them for the Crimson Spirit award to recognize their excellent service. Submit a nomination.


Graduate Student Opportunities

Feb. 25: Learn about the Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows Program

You are invited to meet with the Washington Research Foundation (WRF) to learn more about the WRF Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

AFW Graduate Student Awards Nominations Due March 1

The Association for Faculty Women’s Outstanding Graduate Student Awards recognize the academic achievements and professional potential of WSU’s graduate students. The Harriet B. Rigas Award is presented to an outstanding doctoral student. The AFW Founders’ Award is presented to an outstanding Master’s student. Both full-­ and part-­time students are eligible. Professional and non-­‐thesis Master’s degree students are not eligible for these awards.

Overview of awards, award criteria, and nomination instructions are available on the Association for Faculty Women website. Nominees need no affiliation with the AFW to be nominated. Nominations due March 1 by 5 p.m.

2021 VCEA Three Minute Thesis Competition – Nominations Due March 4

The 2021 VCEA Three Minute Thesis Competition is open to all Ph.D. candidates who have successfully passed their preliminary exam by March 11th, 2021. That date also happens to be VCEA’s qualifying competition to be held virtually on Zoom at 2pm (students must be able to attend at this time).

Students will be competing for a chance to move on to the WSU-wide competition as well as a $1,500 scholarship for Fall 2021 (first runner-up will receive a $1,000 scholarship and second runner-up will receive a $500 scholarship). Additional prize money in the form of travel stipends is up for grabs at the main WSU event.

Contact your faculty advisor or email Chris Gass for more details.

NASA Space Grant – Postponed

The Washington State NASA Space Grant for graduate students and undergraduate students will not be awarded in Spring 2021. There will be a call for applications for this award in the Fall semester – likely in the October/November time frame.

Faculty, staff, and post-docs: sign up to judge at SURCA 2021 on March 29

Your expertise is needed! Faculty, staff and post-docs are sought to register to serve as judges by the March 10 deadline to help judge student presenters at the annual Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (SURCA) on March 29. Learn more on the SURCA website.

Additional Opportunities

More opportunities for VCEA graduate students.


Be Safe Cougs

WSU COVID-19 Information

Visit WSU’s website to get the latest information and resources on WSU’s COVID-19 testing and response.

Caring for Self, Caring for Others – Resources

Self-care is more important than ever. Caring for others adds an additional layer of complexity, but self-care continues to remain paramount. Please use these resources to help you on your self-care journey.

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