* K-State's Konza Prairie Biological Station has been selected as a candidate core site for the proposed National Ecological Observatory Network, also known as NEON. The network is being developed as a continental-scale ecological observation platform, which will include 20 heavily-instrumented core sites designed for at least 30 years of intensive measurements. It also includes additional relocatable sites distributed across the continent, combined with mobile and airborne ecological sensing systems. The network is to help researchers over the next 30 years or more to understand and forecast the impacts of contemporary global changes -- including climate change, land-use change and invasive species -- on the ecology of ecosystems as diverse as grasslands, deserts and forests. The network is being planned with support from the National Science Foundation. July 2008
* Elizabeth Holste, Ludell, a May 2008 bachelor's graduate in history, received a Fulbright scholarship to teach English to high school students in Mainz, Germany, during the 2008-09 school year. July 2008
* K-State's Konza Prairie Biological Station is the subject of a photography exhibition in Washington, D.C. "A Sea of Tallgrass: The Konza Prairie" is featured July 18-Sept. 12 at the U.S. Department of Interior Museum, which is in the department's main building in the nation's capitol. The exhibition explores the Konza through 28 photographs taken by Judd Patterson, who earned a master's in geography from K-State in May. Patterson also earned a bachelor's in natural resources and environmental sciences from K-State in 2005. The exhibition's curator is Deborah Wallis Wurdinger, who earned a bachelor's in anthropology from K-State in 1993. Wurdinger is a museum technician at the Interior Museum. K-State's Konza Prairie Biological Station is a native tallgrass prairie preserve that spans about 8,600 acres. It is owned by The Nature Conservancy and K-State. July 2008
* A K-State student was named a 2008 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Finalist and took part in a special program in New York City designed to honor and support outstanding students of history. Rebecca Bush, senior in history, Pratt, was among 50 students selected by competitive application to participate in the program, sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. To Bush's knowledge, she was the first student from K-State and from Kansas to be selected for the program. The Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Finalists program fosters an interest in American history and provides an opportunity for students to hear from some of the field's leading scholars. June 2008
* A K-State professor whose students' work has been viewed online by millions is a finalist for the Inspire Integrity Awards from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Michael Wesch, assistant professor of anthropology, is one of 15 finalists for the awards, which recognize faculty who have had a significant impact on their students' lives and instilled a high degree of personal and academic integrity. Undergraduate members of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars nominate faculty members who inspire integrity through their classroom lectures, activities and curriculum. The nominees then write a brief essay on the concept of integrity and its meaning to them personally. Competition is conducted at a regional level, with three finalists from each of the society's five regions selected to advance to the national competition. Wesch was among the finalists from the society's region four and receives a $250 stipend for the regional honor. A national selection committee will choose the national winner and one runner-up in June. May 2008
* Travis Linnemann, a doctoral student in sociology, received a fellowship to attend the 2008 Summer Institute on Youth Violence Prevention, Aug. 3-8, at the University of California at San Diego. Linnemann was among the 20 doctoral students selected to attend the institute, which brings several national experts on crime, culture and violence together to expose young scholars to the latest research on these topics. Linnemann's substantive research areas include criminology and the sociology of gender. His research on extra-legal influences of criminal court processes and alternative treatments for court-involved youth has been published in peer-reviewed journals. His current research projects are examining international variation in criminal punishments and mediated depictions of rural drug markets. May 2008
* A team from K-State took first place at the 2008 Kansas Collegiate Mathematics Competition. Two K-State students also were among the four competitors finishing first individually. Ashley Wheeler, graduating senior in mathematics, Manhattan, and Will Carlson, senior in mathematics, Overland Park, tied for first individually along with two other students. Carlson also was a member of K-State's first-place team, which also included Mike Reppert, senior in chemistry, biochemistry and mathematics, Manhattan, and John "Patrick" Stewart, a graduating senior in physics, mathematics and statistics. Coach of the K-State mathematics teams was Virginia Naibo, assistant professor of mathematics. May 2008
* K-State's A. Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications was re-accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The Council met in Arlington, Va., May 2 and voted unanimously in favor of re-accreditation. The school successfully passed all nine of the council's standards including curriculum, diversity, research and student services. The council accredits 110 schools of journalism across the country. Eighteen programs were evaluated this year, and only five of those programs, including the Miller School, were found in complete compliance. The team listed a number of strengths of the program including internships, satisfaction and loyalty of students, quality of instruction, significant research production and commitment to scholastic journalism. May 2008
* Michael Herman, associate professor in the Division of Biology at K-State, will head to the Netherlands for the fall 2008 semester to serve as a J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholar. Fulbright Program scholars, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential. While in the Netherlands, Herman will be collaborating with several scientists throughout the country to further his research and knowledge in ecological genomics and quantitative genetics. April 2008
* The K-State debate team finished the season ranked sixth in the nation, according to the Cross Examination and Debate Association and the National Debate Tournament. Elizabeth Mendenhall, sophomore in political science, earned first team Academic All-American honors and qualified for the National Debate Tournament. She also was the second-place junior varsity national champion. Also earning second-place junior varsity national champion honors were Chalmer Calhoun, sophomore in speech, Jordan Hanson, sophomore in English, and Derek Ziegler, freshman in political science. Chelsea Good, senior in agricultural communications and journalism, and Ryan Bennett, junior in agricultural communications and journalism, finished second at the Novice National Championships. Good also earned second team Academic All-American mention. Tristan Tafolla, Drew Cummings and Kara Thiele also received second team Academic All-American honors. April 2008
* Two K-State students have attended a select assembly that focused on terrorism. Phuong Vu, Manhattan, and Krista Leben, Loveland, Colo., both seniors in political science, were among the 200 undergraduate students 20 international graduate students selected to attend the 50th annual U.S. Air Force Academy Assembly. This year's assembly, Feb. 5-8 at the academy near Colorado Springs, Colo., was "Dismantling Terrorism: Developing Actionable Solutions for Today's Plague of Violence." The assembly includes lectures by guest speakers and small roundtable discussions by participants. Guest speakers included prominent military officials. April 2008
* Linda Puntney, an assistant professor of journalism and mass communications who directs student publications at K-State, won an Elizabeth B. Dickey Distinguished Service Award from the Southern Interscholastic Press Association. Puntney, who also serves as faculty adviser to K-State's Royal Purple yearbook, was recognized for her years of guiding students to success in the classroom and to rewarding careers after graduation. March 2008
*Three K-State students won awards for their research presented at the 140th annual meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science, March 28-29, at Emporia State University. Kaley Morris, senior in biology, Derby, received second place for her undergraduate poster presentation, "The Tribolium Gut Proteome." Erin Katzfey, senior in biochemistry, Eudora, won third place for her undergraduate poster presentation, "Proteomic Analysis of Beauveria Bassiana Infection of Tenebrio Molitor." Both Morris and Katzfey work in the labs of K-State's Brenda Oppert, adjunct assistant professor of entomology, and John Tomich, professor of biochemistry. Mark McHaney, junior in biology, Manhattan, won second place for his oral presentation about work he completed in the lab of Mark Weiss, K-State professor of neuroscience, on cloning and sequencing a rat Oct-4 promoter sequence and comparing it to known sequences from other species. McHaney also created a vector expressing the Oct-4 promoter driving enhanced green fluorescent protein and a tetracycline-resistance gene. April 2008
* Benjamin Champion, a 2003 Rhodes Scholar who earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from K-State in 2002, has been awarded his doctorate in geography from Oxford University. He plans to pursue work in climate policy or in his doctoral field of helping small food producers reach viable markets. March 2008
* K-State's Russell Webster, graduate student in psychology, Shorewood, Ill., won two awards for his poster presentation at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M. Webster won the Diversity Fund Travel Award and the Graduate Student Poster Award. Webster's poster explored the terror management processes on sexual prejudices. March 2008
* "Winter Teapot" by Jason Harper, senior in fine art, Manhattan, was among the 116 teapots selected for the Third International Small Teapot Competition and Show at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif. The teapot depicts how a tree would look in the winter and is one in a series of nine teapots Harper made as part of class project. March 2008
* Joel Jackson, Salina, senior in mass communications at K-State is the winner of a Student ADDY for Best in Show at the Kansas City Advertising Club's annual ADDY Awards competition. Jackson submitted a three-piece magazine campaign, "Educate," designed for the World Wildlife Fund. The next step for Jackson is the Ninth District ADDY competition. If he wins a Gold Award at the competition, his work would be forwarded to the National ADDY competition. The National ADDY Student Best of Show receives a $1,000 prize. February 2008
* Sally Bailey, an associate professor and director of graduate studies in theater and director of the drama therapy program at K-State, is recipient of the 2007 Award for Distinguished Service in Arts and Disabilities from Accessible Arts Inc. and the Kansas State Board of Education. The award recognizes Bailey for her course Drama Therapy for Special Populations, which pairs K-State students with children, teens and young adults with disabilities to help the students learn about inclusion of all individuals in work and in play. Bailey also is being recognized for her Barrier-Free Theater, which is offered through the city of Manhattan's Parks and Recreation Department and in conjunction with the Manhattan Arts Center. February 2008
* Shannon Connolly, an Overland Park senior in anthropology and French, won a Joseph W. Yedlicka Award from Pi Delta Phi for a summer of study in Avignon, France. Pi Delta Phi is an honor society devoted to French language and literature. February 2008
* Timothy K. Behrens, an assistant professor of kinesiology at K-State, was one of nine people to be named a Fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Behrens joins about 375 fellows in the consortium, which is a group of more than 5,500 alliance members who have a strong interest in research. Fellows are selected for their scholarship, including research presentations and publications. February 2008
* The Encyclopedia Britannica named Michael Wesch, assistant professor of cultural anthropology at K-State, to its editorial board of advisers. Wesch explores the impact of new media on human interaction. His video "The Machine is Us/ing Us," which was widely circulated on the Internet last year, and his other new-media scholarship brought him to Britannica's attention. The 12-member board includes a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Nobel laureate and even a member of the House of Lords. Editorial advisers in the encyclopedia's ink-on-paper past included Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Marie Curie and Sigmund Freud. February 2008
* A book by Dale Herspring, university distinguished professor of political science at K-State, was included in Choice magazine's round-up of outstanding academic titles for volumes reviewed in 2007. "The Kremlin and the High Command: Presidential Impact on the Russian Military from Gorbachev to Putin" (University Press of Kansas, 2006) was one of 597 books so honored. That represents less than 3 percent of the titles submitted in 2007 to the magazine, which is published by the Association of College and Research Libraries. January 2008
* An article written by a K-State doctoral student in history has earned a prestigious honor from the CIA and its Center for the Study of Intelligence. Ricky Dale Calhoun received the CIA's Walter. L. Pforzheimer Award at a ceremony in December at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. The award is presented annually for the best article on an intelligence-related subject written by a U.S. graduate or undergraduate student. Calhoun received the honor for his article, "The Musketeer’s Cloak: Strategic Deception During the Suez Crisis of 1956," which was published in the summer 2007 issue of the CIA's scholarly journal, Studies in Intelligence. At K-State, Calhoun's focus is on foreign affairs and the role of intelligence in decision making, with special interest in the Middle East. January 2008
* Two K-State physicists were part of a team making world news in the scientific community. Tim Bolton, K-State project leader, and Yurii Maravin and a team of graduate and undergraduate students, have worked for the past seven years helping bring to life the world's most powerful particle accelerator, known as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. K-State is one of 48 institutions from 22 states and Puerto Rico involved in this project. Approximately 2,300 international collaborators are working on the project. Their work reached a key milestone Jan. 22 with the insertion of the final piece of the 1430 ton Compact Muon Solenoid detector into the 17 mile long circular tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider. The detector, in essence a giant high-speed digital camera, will provide snapshots of the violent collisions between beams of counter-rotating protons in the collider. Each of these collisions release up to 14 trillion electron-volts of energy. January 2008