In the News

• KSLtv.com Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020

  Cameras Made At Utah State University Help NASA Collect Asteroid Sample

  Another space milestone took place Tuesday about 200 million miles away from Earth as a spacecraft with a three-camera suite from Utah State University extended an articulated arm and scooped up some debris, known as regolith, from the surface of asteroid Bennu. The cameras were built at USU’s Space Dynamics Lab. They are aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer spacecraft, or OSIRIS-REx, according to a news release from SDL.

• KSL.com Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020

  Utah State University Opens Drive-up COVID-19 Testing Site

  Utah State University officials are taking a big step in their fight against COVID-19 after opening their own on-campus testing site. They’re getting federal CARES funding to make this happen, and the staff is all being sourced right here on campus. Nursing students are taking the samples and a veterinary science lab is getting the results. Just east of Maverik Stadium, students like Griffin Bolton are getting the kind of real-world experience they probably never expected. “It’s been cool. It’s been interesting to see kind of how the process is done,” Bolton said. “I think it’s definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe not super-practical, once we … you know … five, 10 years down the line, but good experience nonetheless.” But unusual times often call for some creative methods for fighting back. “Having our own resources will be a huge benefit, so we can just send people in, get them tested and get results much more quickly,” said Amanda DeRito, a spokeswoman for Utah State University.

• KSL.com Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020

  USU Researchers Say They Can Forecast Droughts Years in Advance

  Researchers at Utah State University said they’ve figured out how to forecast droughts one to three years in advance. They can’t predict specific storms, but they can, with some degree of accuracy, say how much precipitation an area might get in the coming year. “These predictions can provide a more long-term perspective,” said Yoshi Chikamoto, assistant professor at USU. “So if we know we have a water shortage prediction, we need to work with policymakers on allocating those water resources.” Researchers believe it can become a major tool for agriculture, and maybe even wildfire management. It starts with analyzing up to 100 terabytes of data, all of which is crunched through a supercomputer. “One year is pretty high scale. Second-year is getting lower and lower after year by year,” Chikamoto said. Chikamoto said predictions a year out can be done fairly well, but when it’s two to three years out, they tend to lose some accuracy.

• Utah Public Radio Thursday, Oct. 08, 2020

  New Study Looks At Rural West Covid-19 Trends

  Although the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the United States as a whole, not all areas face the same impact. A recent report from the Institue of Outdoor Recreation and Toursim at Utah State University entitled the "Rural West COVID Project" looks at the impact of the virus in places like Utah. “Rural communities are really particularly vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. You know, there's lower access to health care, there's higher poverty and many places have a higher portion of health compromised people, and the labor market, they're really pretty vulnerable. So what we're talking about right now, this first survey, is part of a larger project that's going to go on over the next year to try and quantify and qualify the impact of COVID-19 on the rural West," said Tom Mueller, an associate professor of sociology at Utah State University and is one of the authors of this recent report.

• Cache Valley Daily Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2020

  USU Research Looks at Women in Leadership in Utah Cities and Towns

  Research recently looked into the population of areas of Utah in contrast to representation in municipal governments and municipal leadership in general. One of the authors of the survey and study that was published by Utah State University, Dr. Susan Madsen, was on KVNU’s For the People program on Wednesday, and said this was research that was difficult to conduct. “It was. And we were actually surprised…this is our third in a series we’ve released. The first one was how we compare in terms of men and women in the state government. Then we did one on the county government, and then this one is on cities and towns,” she said. Dr. Madsen said what they found out when they did literature review was that the study was unique to Utah and they could not find one other state that has published information like that. USU’s Utah Women in Leadership project looked at data from 247 cities and towns in Utah and found that women hold just 29 percent of elected and non-elected positions in municipal government.

• Utah Public Radio Tuesday, Oct. 06, 2020

  USU Drone Lab Demonstrates New Drone, Drone Use In Agriculture

  The past few years have seen increases in drone use—from recreational flying, consumer deliveries, military transport and even agriculture.  “The way we see a drone is more like a flying tractor. And tractors have several uses. And they're well known and you buy a tractor that can take care of what it needs to do in your farm,” said Cal Coopmans, who runs the AggieAir lab at Utah State University. Last week, the lab demonstrated it’s newest aircraft—GreatBlue. Coopman said although drones may be a large investment for a farm, the varitey applications they have make them a worthwhile investment. For example, GreatBlue can collect information by taking images of the land below while in the air. This images can be pieced together later. “When the drone lands, there would be information there that would help the farmer farm more efficiently in this case, save water or make sure the plants have a high health Index, this kind of thing,” said Coopmans.

• Utah Public Radio Friday, Sep. 25, 2020

  USU Team Working With Shoshone Nation To Restore Bear River Massacre Site

  With the help of a team of students from Utah State University, members of the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation are working to restore the sacred land at the sight of the Bear River Massacre. “It’s us being able to tell our story from our unique perspective," Darren Parry said. "And when you give people a voice, especially marginalized communities, a voice is really powerful.”   Parry is the chair of the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation and is one of the people working to restore the land in Southern Idaho where the Bear River Massacre occurred.  Boa Ogoi, the Shoshone name for the massacre site, is the location of the largest mass murder of indigenous people in the history of the United States.  This site, where an estimated 270 to 400 men, women and children were murdered in 1863, is sacred to the Shoshone nation. In addition to the restoration, an interpretive center will also be built on this site to educate people about the Shoshone people. 

• National Geographic Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2020

  How Beavers Became North America's Best Firefighter

  The American West is ablaze with fires fueled by climate change and a century of misguided fire suppression. In California, wildfire has blackened more than three million acres; in Oregon, a once-in-a-generation crisis has forced half a million people to flee their homes. All the while, one of our most valuable firefighting allies has remained overlooked: The beaver. A new study concludes that, by building dams, forming ponds, and digging canals, beavers irrigate vast stream corridors and create fireproof refuges in which plants and animals can shelter. In some cases, the rodents’ engineering can even stop fire in its tracks. ... For decades, scientists have recognized that the North American beaver, Castor canadensis, provides a litany of ecological benefits throughout its range from northern Mexico to Alaska. Beaver ponds and wetlands have been shown to filter out water pollution, support salmon, sequester carbon, and attenuate floods. Researchers have long suspected that these paddle-tailed architects offer yet another crucial service: slowing the spread of wildfire. “It’s really not complicated: water doesn’t burn,” says Joe Wheaton, a geomorphologist at Utah State University. After the Sharps Fire charred 65,000 acres in Idaho in 2018, for instance, Wheaton stumbled upon a lush pocket of green glistening within the burn zone—a beaver wetland that had withstood the flames. Yet no scientist had ever rigorously studied the phenomenon. (See California’s record blazes through the eyes of frontline firefighters.)"

  
   

• The Herald Journal Monday, Sep. 21, 2020

  USU Lecturer Creates Video to Defuse Mask Blowups

  Whether people decide to comply with mask wearing or make a scene about it could hinge on some simple techniques. In a video shared this semester, USU Communications Studies Lecturer Clair Canfield, who is also a certified mediator, outlines the steps everyone can take to deescalate a potential conflict, including ones over facial coverings. The video comes as USU started enforcing a mask-wearing policy this fall semester and will re-evaluate it for spring. According to the school’s website, it “requires that everyone wear a face covering or disposable mask in all university buildings and vehicles, and outside anytime you cannot practice social distancing.” “Conflict is full of potential — I’ve seen it have the potential to lead to beautiful outcomes, to be the doorway that helps people get what they want and connect more,” Canfield says at the start of the video. “I’ve also seen the potential it has to lead to violent and destructive outcomes.” ... Just as some in CHaSS voiced concerns about potential conflict with mask wearing, Canfield states in his video that students might feel the same way. He says conflict stems from people’s values, which can bring up “strong emotions.” “When you understand more of what’s happening in conflict, it helps you develop a mindset — and when you pair that with a skill set, it can help you develop hope so you can deescalate a conflict,” Canfield said. “Hope starts with humanizing the other person.”

• The Herald Journal Thursday, Sep. 17, 2020

  USU to Grant Scholarships to Students Without ACT, SAT Scores

  Utah State University will provide alternatives to new students unable to take the ACT or SAT placement exams who are seeking academic merit scholarships for the spring, summer and fall 2021 semesters. The change follows an initial announcement in August that the university would transition to a test-optional admittance policy in 2021 following logistical test-preparation and administration disruptions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Those same students will also be considered for scholarships regardless of whether they have taken the ACT or SAT. “USU understands that many high school students have been limited in their ability to take standardized tests over the past several months,” said Katie Jo North, executive director of new student enrollment. “This has affected thousands of potential students who face an unfair hurdle in receiving scholarships they may otherwise deserve.” This year, students who apply for scholarships without a standardized test score will receive a comprehensive academic review. Among the benchmarks considered will be grade point average, high school course rigor, class rank and other criteria.

• Deseret News Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2020

  What a New Monument Placed at the USU Van Crash Site Means 15 Years Later

  Robert “Robbie” Petersen and Rusten Thornley had never met before, yet they shook hands like old friends. The handshake and unique meeting between the 36-year-old Petersen, sporting a black Western Seeds Utah hat, and the 16-year-old Eagle Scout, dressed in his tan uniform with green merit badge sash, took place a few feet from a new 8-foot granite monument, located a few miles north of Tremonton and just off the eastbound side of Interstate 84. What brought the unlikely pair together was 15 years in the making, beginning with a tragic accident and culminating with a fitting tribute. “This site will always have significance for me,” Petersen said. “Every time I come past here I’m reminded of that day.” ... On the sunny fall afternoon of Sept. 26, 2005, a 1994 Dodge passenger van with 10 Utah State University agriculture students was returning from a field trip to see farm equipment in Box Elder County. Evan Parker, a USU Ag instructor, was the driver. The students were underclassmen, mostly freshmen, including Petersen, who recalled conversations on various topics as they rode along. “Guys were talking about the combine we had just looked at,” he said. “As part of the field trip there was a worksheet to fill out, so guys were asking each other questions. Being a bunch of farmers and ranchers, there was talk about Ag stuff. We also talked about the college of Ag activities on campus to celebrate Ag week.” Just before 4 p.m., Parker lost control of the van when the left rear tire blew out, causing the van to roll and ejecting all 11 occupants. The Utah Highway Patrol estimated the van traveled from the interstate over about 300 yards of sagebrush before coming to rest on the edge of a deep ravine.

• Deseret News Monday, Sep. 14, 2020

  The World Has an Idling Problem — Utah Researchers Are Trying to Fix It

  In the middle of a historically active wildfire season — where large amounts of carbon dioxide, brown and black carbon and ozone are pouring into the atmosphere — the Utah Clean Cities Coalition wants to remind people that there is something they can do to help keep the air clean. And it only takes a few seconds. Turning off the ignition of an idle car is a simple act with potentially large benefits, said Tammie Bostick, the executive director of the coalition. It is a message she hopes to share, particularly in the month of September, which marks the 13th anniversary of the Idle Free Declaration issued by the Utah governor. ... The real-time speed limit displays — the ones that tell people how fast they’re going — are effective, according to researchers, but probably not for the reasons most think. “One of the major reasons is they show you that you’re speeding in a way that others can see you’re being shown that you’re speeding, so it’s a violation of what’s called social norm,” Kelly said. “In my terms, it is maybe a little bit of peer pressure to make good choices.” The signs started Kelly thinking, along with her fellow researcher Gregory Madden, a USU professor in the psychology department. What if they were to do something similar for idling?

• New York Times Sunday, Sep. 06, 2020

  Colleges Combating Coronavirus Turn to Stinky Savior: Sewage

  Days after he crossed the country to start college, Ryan Schmutz received a text message from Utah State University: COVID-19 had been detected at his dorm. Within 10 minutes, he dropped the crepes he was making and was whisked away by bus to a testing site. “We didn’t even know they were testing,” said Schmutz, who is 18 and from Omaha, Nebraska. “It all really happened fast.” Schmutz was one of about 300 students quarantined to their rooms last week, but not because of sickness reports or positive tests. Instead, the warning bells came from the sewage.Colleges across the nation — from New Mexico to Tennessee, Michigan to New York — are turning tests of waste into a public health tool. The work comes as institutions hunt for ways to keep campuses open despite vulnerabilities like students' close living arrangements and drive to socialize. The virus has already left its mark with outbreaks that have forced changes to remote learning at colleges around the country. The tests work by detecting genetic material from the virus, which can be recovered from the stools of about half of people with COVID-19, studies indicate. The concept has also been used to look for outbreaks of the polio virus. ... And this week, Utah State's positive wastewater test could be narrowed only as far as four residence halls that share the same sewer system. The test came back positive late Aug. 29, and the quarantine started the next day. Students were required to stay in their rooms, eating meals delivered by a “COVID care” team and barred from walking more than a few steps outside the residence hall. The buildings are laid out in apartment-style suites, and students were released from quarantine in small groups if every roommate in a suite tested negative. The tests had turned up four coronavirus cases as of Thursday.

• The Herald Journal Friday, Aug. 28, 2020

  Fostering Connections: USU Modifies Events for Freshmen

  Fall sports were one of the first COVID-19 casualties for the 2020-2021 school year at Utah State University. The fate of many other Aggie events hangs in the balance of how well USU handles students’ return to campus, but several key “Connections” events for freshmen have survived. The Connections, or USU 1010, class is meant to introduce students to both the school and community, and several events, such as Explore Downtown, welcomed new students to the area — though with modifications to mitigate risk of spreading the virus. “I feel like students are excited to have the opportunity to progress,” said Spencer Bitner, director of Student Involvement at USU. “I think a lot of seniors from high school are discouraged, you know, about not having their graduations in some instances, and having to go home and not really experiencing that. So I think they’re ready to experience life.” Students explored several highlights along Main Street, Center Street and Federal Avenue with others from their classes and residences. Though the former Taste of Logan was originally held just one night, it was spread over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday due to the pandemic. Some businesses chose not to participate, and others, like Locker 42 — which used to invite students to try their hand at mechanical bull riding — scaled back their offerings. Others upped the ante and gave students extra swag to welcome them to the community. Even through the masks — a requirement for both USU’s campus and in the city of Logan, until Aug. 30 — nearly every student who participated found the event fun.

• The Herald Journal Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020

  Sound Garden: USU's Old Main Has New Boulder/waterfall Feature

  George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have some company at the east entrance to Old Main on the USU campus. The well-known presidential bronze busts that greet students entering the university’s iconic administration building now serve as bookends to a rock and boulder garden featuring a series of miniature waterfalls. The new landscape installation is as much about pleasant sounds as it is about visual beauty, according to Shane Richards, USU’s landscape operations and maintenance director. “We want people to be able to sprawl out on The Quad and get that sound coming from those waterfalls,” Richards said. “It’s going to help people relax, help them study and help them enjoy that environment a little bit more. The sound is going to be just as beautiful as the appearance of the waterfalls.” The installation is not quite complete, but with the exception of some plants and a few other details, it will essentially be ready for Monday’s opening day of the fall semester. At night, the landscape will be illuminated with both ambient lighting around the rocks and plants and underwater lights.

• Deseret News Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020

  You Can Watch 3 Oprhaned Bear Cubs from Utah on a Live Webcam

  The orphaned bear cubs roam the two pens. They eat, stretch, play and rest. Sometimes, they climb up and down logs or explore the large wooden crates scattered throughout the sites. One recent morning, the bigger cub worked its way onto the top of one of the crates. The smaller cub quickly followed, crawling inside of the crate. After waiting a few minutes, the little cub poked its head out and extended a front paw to playfully swipe at the larger bear. “The little bear … it reminds me of a sibling, a little sister or brother that just kind of wants to follow and do everything the bigger one does,” said Julie Young, a wildlife biologist who works with the United States Department of Agriculture-National Wildlife Research Center and teaches at Utah State University. “I think a lot of that dominance is just purely based on size, of course — it’s a lot easier to be the one in charge when you’re twice the size of the other one. But they seem to be getting along well.” For these two bears, the pens, located on Utah State University property, have been home for a little over a week now. A third, midsized cub joined them Saturday morning. All recently orphaned, these three bears will spend the next couple of months in these pens being rehabilitated. While the pens are off limits to the public — Young said her staff is trying to keep the bears wild, meaning as little human contact as possible — USU has provided a webcam that allows people to check in on the bears’ development whenever they please. Just don’t get too attached: They’ll be released in the fall, right before denning season.

• Deseret News Thursday, Aug. 06, 2020

  Electrifying Transportation and How USU is the International Springboard

  Imagine a world where all vehicles are electric and the air quality is vastly improved. That is the foundation behind a five-year $26 million grant awarded to Utah State University by the National Science Foundation to establish an international research center to advance sustainable, electrified transportation. The ambitious project, announced Thursday, is being fueled by that $26 million grant that is also renewable to a 10-year $50.6 million effort. Overall, the Engineering Research Center is expected to raise more than $200 million over the next decade through government and industry support. “The bottom line is the timing is right,” said Regan Zane, a USU professor and director of what is being called Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification, or ASPIRE. “There is a need here in the nation for what we are doing,” he said. “This is intended to be a catalyst, a shot in the arm. Let’s get all the industries behind this so we can make this happen.” ... The funding represents a huge advancement for the Logan university, said USU President Noelle Cockett, and comes when it is needed for air quality and transportation challenges. “ASPIRE is needed now. It is a bright star at a difficult time,” she said during the announcement of the grant. “We have been smiling, that is for sure,” Zane said. “This is a phenomenal achievement. There is absolutely no question about it. ... We are at the front of something big.”

• The Herald Journal Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2020

  USU Researchers Debunk Myths to Find Optimal Hemp Growth

  Ninety years ago, hemp researchers at Utah State University grew cannabis for rope and had no way to test the THC content in crops other than smoking it and monitoring the effects. Research halted in 1970 when then-President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act. Now that it’s legal to grow once more USU researchers are back at it — only this time, they’re using technology and testing to determine the optimal ways to grow the plant for high yield and cannabinoid content, and what that means for Utah growers. “We do a lot of trying to nurture these plants as best we can,” said Mitch Westmoreland, the Ph.D. student running the lab at USU’s greenhouse. “But then we also go on the other side of things and see how much we can torture these plants without them dying. … One of the big questions that a lot of people have, especially in Utah, is how drought stress affects cannabinoid concentration.” ... Most of USU’s funding comes from large-scale growing operations across the United States. Because it was illegal to grow cannabis in Utah for so long, a lot of the university’s preliminary testing is debunking claims related to growing the plant. “All these people that have been growing it illegally, they didn’t study science in school, like biology and all the principles, so they make a lot of observations and a lot of bizarre conclusions,” said Bruce Bugbee, the USU professor over the project. “Like you need to plant at the full moon … and the world of cannabis is full of stuff like that.”

• Deseret News Thursday, Jul. 23, 2020

  Utah Can Be the Place for the Pioneering Women of Today

  As Utahns we associate the phrase, “This is the Place” with Brigham Young and the first wagon train entering the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. I can picture that phrase getting passed from wagon to wagon, person to person, and wonder how those words affected my many greats-grandmother, Elvira Pamela Mills, who was among those early pioneers. I imagine she took them as a promise that safety, opportunity and thriving communities lay ahead. Recently I had the opportunity to make a professional shift and joined the faculty of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. As director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, now housed at USU, it thrills me to see what women of this great state have accomplished (and will continue to) over the past 173 years. So it’s no surprise that my favorite new podcast, executive produced by USU professor Patrick Mason, is “This is Her Place,” which highlights remarkable women, past and present. ... The podcast’s title, “This is Her Place,” brings to mind that just as Utah was a land of promise to the early pioneers, it can be a fertile place for women’s leadership and growth today. It also sounds like a response to anyone who dares to limit girls and women, to those who try to make them take up less space and “put them in their place.” When I was younger, I had people tell me that I didn’t need advanced education to pursue my purpose and calling, and I like to imagine myself saying, “But this IS my place!” And, because this is my place, and Elvira’s, and yours — it is big enough for all of us.

• KSL.com Sunday, Jul. 19, 2020

  Comet NEOWISE Discovered by Space-based Telescope Built by USU's SDL

  Stargazing Utahns may have already seen Comet NEOWISE, which is visible above the northwest horizon about an hour and half after sunset. The comet is expected to be visible much of the summer, coming closest to Earth on July 22 when it will be a mere 64 million miles away. Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Lab played a key role in the comet’s discovery. The lab in North Logan built the space-based telescope that enabled NASA to discover the comet on March 27. In 2009, NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, was launched into space. The telescope started taking pictures in December 2009. It was placed on orbit hibernation in February 2011. In September 2013, NASA woke up the sleeping spacecraft to assist with the agency’s efforts to identify and characterize the population of near-Earth objects. ... Space Dynamics Lab designed WISE to detect heat given off by objects in space ranging in temperature from minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit. Because WISE was designed to look for objects cooler than human eyes can observe, the telescope was built to detect infrared light. The mission also required that the telescope remain cooler than the objects it was photographing, which was “an engineering challenge of galactic proportion,” according to a Space Dynamic Lab news release.