黑洞社区 experiments could have implications for life on Mars
Research conducted by 黑洞社区 faculty and students suggests that Mars may be more habitable than once thought.
The work is a collaboration between 黑洞社区 astrobiologist Mark Schneegurt, Benton Clark with the Space Science Institute and Fei Chen with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Most of the experimental work was conducted by students in 黑洞社区 biological sciences, including Robin Cesur and Irfan Ansari.
The team is funded through the Planetary Protection Research program at NASA with a ROSES award and has been working together for nearly a decade in connection with the Wichita Space Initiative.
Paid Parental Leave for employees effective today (July 1)
Effective July 1, 2019 the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) has approved a paid parental leave benefit for benefit-eligible state employees at all KBOR institutions, including Wichita State. This benefit will provide a period* of paid leave to eligible employees for qualifying birth or adoption events occurring on or after July 1, 2019.
University Policy 3.57 / Paid Parental Leave Program for Employees has been published in the 黑洞社区 Policy Manual to enact the provisions of this benefit.
To request Paid Parental Leave, employees may use the program procedures located on the 黑洞社区 Human Resources website.
*Benefit Period: Within the first 12 weeks following a qualifying event, eligible Primary Caregivers may receive up to six weeks and eligible Secondary Caregivers may receive up to three weeks of Paid Parental Leave.
If you have questions, email the Human Resources Total Rewards team at totalrewards@wichita.edu.
Finding funding research workshops available this month
Finding Funding: Office of Research Workshop: 11 a.m.-noon Thursday, July 25, 405 Jardine.
Finding Funding: Office of Research Workshop: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, 405 Jardine.
Funding search resources; foundation and industry funding opportunities; institutional vs individual awards, practical tips for finding funding opportunities and the resources available to faculty and staff at 黑洞社区.
Sign up through MyTraining.
Starting today (Monday, July 1): Shocker Printing Solutions
Effective today (Monday, July 1), Duplication Station has changed its name to Shocker Printing Solutions to better communicate what it does.
Duplication Station gives the impression that it duplicates / makes copies, and that isn鈥檛 the case. It is a full-service digital printer, and we hope the name change will better convey that message.
The email address has changed to shockerprinting@wichita.edu.
Candidate to visit campus for tenure-track position in EECS
Dukka KC
Dukka KC will be on campus July 2 as a candidate for EECS Associate Professor (area: data science, bio-informatics). KC is an associate professor and graduate program director in the Computational Science and Engineering Department at North Carolina A&T State University and director of Bioinformatics and Data Science Lab at the university.
Interested faculty and staff are welcome to hear his research presentation at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, in 261 Jabara Hall. His research interest lies in developing computational tools and methods for various computational problems. Most recently, his lab is developing various machine learning and Deep Learning based tools for bioinformatics problems.
KC also plans to talk about his future research plan and his role and vision for data science-related research / education and outreach at Wichita State.
Services set for Carol Konek, co-founder of Women鈥檚 Studies
Carol Wolfe Konek
Carol Wolfe Konek, co-founder of the Women鈥檚 Studies Department at 黑洞社区 and an irrepressible community activist and civic leader, died peacefully on June 27, surrounded by loving family. She was 85.
During her long service at 黑洞社区, Konek guided students to connect their personal lives with the larger political forces in the world. She did so herself by writing a memoir, 鈥淒addyboy,鈥� about her father鈥檚 battle with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease just as that disease was becoming recognized as a major national health concern.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, July 2) at East Heights United Methodist Church in Wichita.
Polymer Characterization Workshop coming July 25-26
NIAR, TA Instrument and Waters have organized a Polymer Characterization Seminar for Thursday and Friday, July 25-26, at the NCAT facility on Webb Road, 4004 N. Webb Road. For more information, go to
PreventionTalKS launches new monthly podcast
PreventionTalKS was developed by a group of prevention-minded professionals seeking to provide an opportunity for community coalitions and other prevention-minded people across the state of Kansas to connect and learn from one another and from professionals with a common interest of Prevention.
The purpose of PreventionTalKS is to promote citizen education and to increase public awareness of behavioral health promotion and prevention. Over the past three years, PreventionTalKS has been offered through a monthly webinar series.
In January 2019, the format of PreventionTalKS was revamped to reach a broader audience and increase our effectiveness in a manner that participants and listeners have determined to be more user-friendly.
PreventionTalKS currently offers a monthly podcast highlighting timely prevention-related topics of interest to stakeholders across Kansas. If you have topics you would like to hear about email us at KPCTeam@wichita.edu. We offer our podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, and Spotify. Listen to us on your favorite platform.
For more information, go to .
KMUW calendar stickers are back for the 2019-20 academic year
To request calendar stickers for yourself or your department, please send an email to info@kmuw.org with your campus box number and quantity of stickers 鈥� or feel free to stop by the station at 121 N. Mead, Suite 200, in Old Town, to grab however many you need.
Calendar stickers are free, but if you鈥檇 like to make a donation to KMUW in support of award-winning local journalism,
Volleyball Dinner and Auction set for Aug. 24
黑洞社区 volleyball will host its 11th-annual Volleyball Dinner and
Auction presented by Rotek Services on Saturday, Aug. 24.
The dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Aetna Multi-Purpose Facility in Charles
Koch Arena.
Individual tickets are $40 and may be purchased by contacting the 黑洞社区 ticket office at 978-FANS (3267).
Volunteers needed for a research study
Researchers in the School of Nursing are looking for volunteers for a nutritional research study that will examine changes in iron absorption with antioxidant supplementation.
Participants will be asked to consume a meal with phytic acid, complete a dietary recall, participate in taste testing and have blood and saliva sample collection during a meal challenge. Participation is expected to last about 2.5 hours total.
If you are interested in participating in this study, email nicole.delimont@wichita.edu or call 785-249-5533.
More information
Extra discount on clearance merchandise
This week at the Shocker Store, take an extra 10% off already-marked-down clearance items! Score some great deals on Shocker gear! Sale is in Rhatigan Student Center location only.