* 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
* Megan Montgomery, a third-year student in veterinary medicine, is among the 43 veterinary students worldwide selected for the Morris Animal Foundation's Veterinary Student Scholars Program. The program provides veterinary students an opportunity to become involved in research that enhances the health and welfare of companion animals and wildlife. Montgomery is receiving a $5,000 stipend to participate in a short-term clinical or basic veterinary research project under the guidance of an experienced researcher. Her project is evaluating the oral bioavailability of terbinafine in horses and in some dogs. Her faculty mentor for the project is Butch KuKanich, assistant professor of anatomy and physiology. Montgomery also has been invited to attend the Morris Animal Foundation's 2009 annual meeting in Colorado, where her project will be reviewed by the foundation's scientific advisory boards. June 2008
* Nick Green, a May 2008 K-State at Salina bachelor's graduate in professional pilot, Lawrence, has received the SimuFlite Citation type rating scholarship from CAE SimuFlite, a Dallas-based aviation training corporation. The scholarship, worth around $15,000, can be used to earn a 500 series Citation type rating. CAE SimuFlite awards scholarships to current students or recent graduates of member institutions of the University Aviation Association. Its scholarship program was created to promote business aviation as a career to young aviators. June 2008
* For the seventh time in the 11-year history of the event, a team from K-State has won the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Design Competition. This year's competition was May 29-June 1 in Peoria, Ill. It is sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The K-State Powercat Tractors Quarter-scale Design Team placed first overall out of 24 team from schools across the U.S. and Canada by accumulating the most points in the competition categories of performance, written report, oral report, design judging and maneuverability. K-State was first in the 1,050-pound performance pull competition and tied for first in the 1,300-pound performance pull competition. In addition, the K-State X-Team placed third overall in the X-team competition, including receiving first place on the oral report part of the event. The X-team is made up of freshmen and sophomores who compete using last year's tractor. June 2008
* Sixteen students from K-State's department of electrical and computer engineering have been named 2008 Garmin Scholars. Funded by the Kao Family Foundation, the Garmin Educational Initiative program, of which K-State is a member, will provide the students with $6,000 per year for premier scholarships. In addition, scholarship recipients will be given first consideration for paid internship opportunities at Garmin, including housing and health insurance. In total, the package is estimated to be worth up to $20,000 per year to each recipient. Min Kao, president and chief executive officer of Garmin International Inc., Olathe, established the program at K-State as part of a $10 million endowment to support engineering in the region. Kao began the initiative in order to recruit and retain stellar students in the fields of electrical and computer engineering. K-State is one of only a handful of universities in the country to receive this distinction. June 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
* Strong leadership skills and a demonstrated interest in free enterprise have earned K-State's Nick Gay a prestigious $10,000 scholarship from Students in Free Enterprise. Gay, senior in electrical engineering, Lenexa, received the Jules and Gwen Knapp Students in Free Enterprise Ambassador Scholarship at the organization's national exposition May 13-15 in Chicago. Along with the scholarship, Gay will receive training from Students in Free Enterprise USA. As the Knapp Students in Free Enterprise Ambassador, he also may be asked to represent the organization on various campuses and at events throughout the academic year. The purpose of the scholarship, the largest awarded by the organization, is to recognize the leadership, teamwork and communications skills developed in students who are members of Students in Free Enterprise. Gay is president of K-State's chapter of the organization. Members work in teams to create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills and business ethics. May 2008
* Samantha Butler, a senior in architectural engineering at K-State, has received the 2008 American Institute of Steel Construction/Fred R. Havens Fellowship. The $5,000 fellowship is awarded annually to a civil or architectural engineering undergraduate or graduate student at universities in Kansas, Missouri or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Applicants for the fellowship are judged on academic performance and faculty recommendations, as well as papers they write about their interest in engineering or constructing steel structures, and an original sample steel design analysis/design solution. May 2008
* Five students from K-State's College of Engineering have received $2,000 Tau Beta Pi scholarships. The scholarships are awarded by the Tau Beta Pi Association, a national engineering honorary, based on scholarship, strong faculty recommendations, extracurricular activities and future career promise. Recipients include May 2008 Austin Pfannenstiel, senior in electrical engineering; Lisa Beck, fifth-year senior in architectural engineering; Derek Woodman, senior in computer engineering; Jon Oakes, junior in mechanical engineering; and Jay Reimer, junior in biological and agricultural engineering. 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
* The April 2008 issue of Military Spouse magazine included a student profile on K-State's Leigh Garza, a junior in pre-professional business administration, Fort Riley. The profile also highlighted K-State's educational opportunities for today's military spouses. After moving her family from Fort Hood, Texas, and being stationed at Fort Riley, Garza earned an associate degree in science through Barton County Community College courses offered on post, a partnership effort between the community college and K-State. For the spring 2008 semester, she decided to continue her education by earning a bachelor's degree through K-State. May 2008
* Two K-State graduate students in agricultural economics were selected to participate in the 2008 Copenhagen Consensus Center Youth Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 25-30. Koichi Yamaura, Hidaka, Japan, was selected to represent the country of Japan and Michael Burns, Jetmore, was selected as one of two students to represent the United States. Eighty students from 37 countries were selected to participate in the conference. The Youth Forum represents more than 70 percent of the world’s inhabitants. The overall objective of the Youth Forum is to listen to a group of young future decision makers from around the world and having them voice what solutions they believe should be given. The vision of the Youth Forum is to contribute to an open, public debate on how to prioritize solutions to 10 of the most pressing challenges. May 2008
* Three K-State students received awards from Phi Kappa Phi, a national honor society. Emily Voigt, senior in chemical engineering, McPherson, was one of only 60 students nationwide to receive a $5,000 graduate fellowship from the society. Each Phi Kappa Phi chapter is only allowed to select one outstanding student to compete in the national fellowship competition annually. Since 1986, K-State leads the nation in fellowship winners with 21. Megan Dirks, junior in marketing, Hutchinson, and Jayne Long, junior in life sciences, Topeka, each received $1,000 study abroad grants. Only 50 such grants were awarded. May 2008
* The K-State Crops Team won third place overall at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Crops Contest April 18 at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. The team also placed second in identification and third in the lab practical phases of the contest. Fifteen teams from two- and four-year colleges and universities participated in the competition. The K-State team is coached by Gerry Posler, professor of agronomy. April 2008
* K-State's Jessy Ohl, senior in political science from Denison, Iowa, continued his winning ways by capturing the National Forensic Association national individual sweepstakes championship April 18-21 at Tennessee State University in Nashville. This school year Ohl has won six titles at national forensics competitions, giving him seven national titles during his junior and senior years at K-State.
K-State President Jon Wefald said, "Academics are priority No. 1 through five at K-State. We have a commitment to excellence, which Jessy Ohl and the forensics team have embraced. If somebody had a football season like Jessy just had in forensics, he would be a unanimous Heisman Award winner. Jessy is definitely an academic champion of the first magnitude."
K-State's forensics team placed fifth in the nation among 90 schools, competing with just five students. The team also placed first in the nation in the President's II Division, a sweepstakes division for schools with smaller entries. An average 200 students competed in each event. April 2008
* K-State's Elizabeth Voigt, senior in mechanical engineering, McPherson, won a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Germany. Voigt will attend Virginia Tech and work on a master's degree in mechanical engineering. Thanks to a dual degree program between Virginia Tech and the Technical University of Darmstadt in Darmstadt, Germany, she will be able to spend one year at each university and earn a master's degree from both schools. Voigt said she then plans to work toward her doctorate degree at Virginia Tech. April 2008
* K-State's Katie Hamm, a senior in dietetics from Shawnee, was elected to the American Dietetic Association's Student Advisory Committee by student members of the dietetic association. As part of her duties, she will help plan the student workshop that is part of the Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibit at the American Dietetic Association's annual meeting. April 2008
* A radio-controlled biplane designed and built by students in K-State's chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers has landed in second place overall -- and first among U.S. teams -- in the regular class category at the 2008 Aero Design West, an international competition. The K-State entry, "The Purple Diablo," took second behind an entry from Ecole Polytechnique De Montreal. K-State also took second in the regular class category for the most payload lifted at 27.31 pounds. The competition, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers April 4-6 in Fort Worth, Texas, attracted 35 teams. The planes had to take off and land while carrying a maximum cargo. K-State also finished fifth overall -- and second among U.S. teams -- at the Aero Design East international competition, April 18-20, in Marietta, Ga. 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
* A K-State senior in political science has won four titles at a national forensics competition, making him only the second person in the event's 31-year history to do so. Jessy Ohl, Denison, Iowa, won the overall individual trophy at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament April 5-7 in Austin, Texas. He also placed first in extemporaneous speaking, informative speaking and communication analysis. As captain, Ohl led the K-State team to a fourth-place finish overall, out of 90 teams that qualified for the country's most prestigious forensics competition. It was K-State's best finish in the tournament since 1998, when the team also placed fourth. April 2008
* One current and one recently graduated engineering student from Kansas State University have received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Three K-State seniors also received honorable mentions.
The fellowship awards a $30,000 stipend and a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance per year for three years of education, totaling about $120,000 over three years for students pursuing research-based master's or doctoral degrees in an engineering or science discipline. Winners are Emily A. Voigt, McPherson, senior in chemical engineering with a minor in German, and David Thompson, formerly of Burlingame, a 2006 K-State summa cum laude graduate in electrical engineering with an emphasis in biomedical engineering and minors in physics and Japanese. Thompson is currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan. In 2006 while at K-State, he received an honorable mention for the Graduate Research Fellowship he won this year. Named to receive honorable mention were seniors Amir Bahadori , Kansas City, Kan., majoring in mathematics and mechanical engineering; Amy Twite, Olathe, majoring in biochemistry, microbiology and chemistry; Lydia (Roberts) Barrigan, Pomona, senior in chemistry and biochemistry with a minor in biology. All plan to graduate from K-State in May. April 2008
* K-State students Iris Wilson, Manhattan, and Nicholas Long, Topeka, are among the 80 students nationwide who are receiving $5,000 Morris K. Udall Scholarships. The Udall is a congressional scholarship that honors the former Arizona congressman for his legacy of public service. Scholarship recipients must be seeking either a career related to the environment or be a Native American or a Native Alaskan seeking a career in health care or tribal policy K-State is now third among state universities with 20 winners since the competition began in 1996. Wilson is a junior in geography and natural resources and environmental sciences, and Long is a senior in architectural engineering. According to the Udall Foundation, this year was the most competitive yet for the Udall scholarship, with more than 500 scholarship applications reviewed. Since 1986, K-State students have won 124 nationally competitive scholarships -- the Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater and Udall -- more than any other public university in the nation. April 2008
* Lakshmikantha Channaiah, a doctoral student in grain science at K-State, was recognized for a research paper he presented at the Missouri Valley branch meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, March 14-15, in Liberty, Mo. His paper, "Antibiotic resistant and virulent enterococci in animal feed," was co-written with K-State's Subramanyam Bhadriraju, professor of grain science and industry, and Ludek Zurek, assistant professor of entomology. The paper received second place in the oral presentation category. April 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
* Nathan Gorrell, senior in professional pilot and aviation maintenance, Centerville, represented K-State in the All Kansas Air Tour, April 2-7. Gorrell flew a Cessna 172 from the K-State fleet. His participation was made possible with help from a scholarship from the Kansas Department of Transportation's Aviation Division. As part of the scholarship, Gorrell gave presentations at several schools in communities on the tour. He taught students about Kansas aviation history and shared his experiences. April 2008
* A team of K-State interior design students won an international student design competition, dealing with affordable housing that was sponsored by the Interior Design Educators Council. Members of the winning team, all seniors, were Alexandra Sumpter, Leawood; Alison Hecht, Seneca; and Haley Van Wagenen, Orange Park, Fla. Their faculty adviser was Peggy Honey, assistant professor of interior design. The K-State team advanced to the finals of the competition by being among the top three finalists at the council's Midwest regional competition. K-State had two of the top three teams at the regional contest. March 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
* "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
* 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
* Apparel design students at K-State have taken top honors or placed highly in two recent competitions. The events included the Kansas City Fashion Group International competition and the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association's student design competition. In the Kansas City competition, Juan Garcia, senior, Herington, took first place in the original design category, while Molly Shannon, senior, Shawnee, earned second place in the personal shopper board category. In the Alpaca competition, K-State students earned five of six national awards. Winners include Jessica Ponnath, senior, Kansas City, Kan., second place; Elizabeth Kuzila, December 2007 bachelor's graduate, Kansas City, Kan., third place; Jennifer Swander, senior, De Soto, fourth place; Amanda Razlaff, senior, Manhattan, fifth place; and Ashley Snyder, junior, Lyndon, sixth place. March 2008
* When it comes to building with concrete, a student team from K-State is among the best. The five-member team finished tied for second in the international Concrete Construction Competition offered by the American Concrete Institute. Finishing first was Missouri State University, and tying with K-State for second was Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All three teams received $500 for travel expenses to the institute's annual conference in Los Angeles, where they presented their winning solutions to the institute's Construction Liaison Committee. More than 200 students from 49 teams from schools across North America competed. For the competition, teams were assigned a real-life, high-profile job problem to solve. March 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
* K-State's Black Student Union received the Clarence Wine Most Outstanding Big 12 Council of the Year award at the 31st annual Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government, Feb. 14-16, at Oklahoma State University. It's the second time the K-State Black Student Union has received the award in the past three years. February 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
* Katie Hamm, a senior in dietetics, has been selected as the alternate student representative on the American Dietetic Association's Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. The commission is the association's accrediting agency for education programs preparing students for careers as registered dietitians or registered dietetic technicians. It serves the public by establishing and enforcing eligibility requirements and accreditation standards that ensure the quality and continued improvement of nutrition and dietetics education programs. As the student alternate, Hamm will attend any meetings that the student delegate is unable to attend. Only one dietetics student in the nation is selected each year to serve on the commission. February 2008
* A K-State senior in architectural engineering has received a $10,000 scholarship from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. James Newman, Hoxie, was selected for the Willis H. Carrier Scholarship by the society for his outstanding scholastic and leadership abilities, character and potential service to the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration profession. The one-year scholarship is to assist top students in pursuing a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering. It can be used for tuition and fees required for enrollment, including books, supplies and equipment. February 2008
* Two K-State students were named Next Generation Nonprofit Leaders by the Kansas City-based American Humanics. Molly Hamm, senior in English, Shawnee, and Anthony Carter, senior in social science, Colorado Springs, Colo., were selected by a national panel of university, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders. Each will receive $4,500 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help cover living and educational expenses while completing an internship with a nonprofit or philanthropic organization. February 2008
* Natalie Turner Barrett, a fourth-year student in veterinary medicine, Escondido, Calif., is a 2008 recipient of the $10,000 National Simmons Educational Fund Business Aptitude Award. The fund is an educational foundation created by Simmons and Associates to educate practitioners and students about the business of veterinary medicine. The fund awards $1,500 to one veterinary student at each participating school in the nation through its Business Aptitude Award Program. From these winners, one student is chosen to receive a $10,000 award based on their solution to the competition's business case study. Barrett was selected from among a broad pool of national candidates based on her resume and her solutions to the case study. 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