Summer 2023
Cougar Crew shell
A wooden relic hangs in the training room » More ...
Clubs / Organizations
Summer 2022
Fish Fans made waves
Synchronized swimming at Washington State University had quite a following. » More ...
Summer 2022
Splish splash: Memories of Fish Fans
Fish Fans entertained audiences at Washington State University for 70 years. Here are a few more memories of Cougar synchronized swim club.
Kay (Huson) Johnson (x’58 Phys. Ed.)
Fish Fans, 1957 to 1958
“I only went to WSU for one year, freshman year. My sister, Carol Huson (’59 Ed.), was already in Fish Fans. She was three years ahead of me. We were raised in Castle Rock, in western Washington, one block from the swimming pool and one block from the Cowlitz River. We were at the swimming pool day in and day out. We were both lifeguards there. … You had to … » More …
Spring 2022
Pull Hard!
Finding Grit and Purpose on Cougar Crew, 1970–2020 » More ...
Spring 2022
Robot swarms, soft bots, and other robotic ideas
We’ve come a long way from clunky, claw-handed Robot from Lost in Space.
Robots have had industrial and entertainment uses for a number of years, but researchers at Washington State University are rethinking robots’ design, tasks, and collaboration with humans. From the tiniest self-powered robot to soft robots, fruit-picking bots, and swarms of small robots like bees that can search collapsed buildings, the very idea of what is a “robot” is changing.
The creation of the National Robotics Initiative in 2011 also pushed the field toward more collaborative robots (or co-robots), which are designed to work cooperatively with humans. The robots are no longer … » More …
Winter 2019
Laura Moore ’08
WSU equestrian coach and alumna takes home the mechanical bull riding trophy. » More ...
Winter 2019
Quite a crew
Different strokes for half a century of Washington State University crew, a scrappy bunch of rowers in WSU's club. » More ...
Fall 2019
The French connection
The Palouse can be a great training ground for the world of cycling, as shown by Washington State University alumni and students. » More ...
Fall 2018
Back in the saddles
Winding through barren April wheat fields, my 4Runner rumbles down a gravel backroad heading toward the small farming town of Colton. Rounding the corner, I spot a sign for the Pat Weber ranch and follow their lane to the barn.
Near the corral, a young woman in a riding helmet turns and waves. Michelle Gordon, Washington State University junior and president of the recently revived WSU Equestrian Team, is here along with several other students for lessons with English riding coach Laura Bagby Moore ’08.
“I’ve known Laura most of my life,” says Gordon as she brushes a bay gelding named Mac. “We’re both … » More …
Fall 2018
The physics of fall
With murmurs and pointing, the crowd watches as a face and then hands—holding a large object—appear in the twelfth-story window of WSU’s Webster Physical Sciences Building.
On the ground, Butch T. Cougar begins a countdown: five, four, three, two… At one, the hands release a 10-pound, half-frozen pumpkin that rockets to the courtyard, exploding in a confetti-bomb of cheers, screams, and a thousand gooey fragments.
Strains of Galileo Galileo from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” fill the plaza and down comes another pumpkin, then another and another. So begins that nerdy-fun Dad’s Weekend tradition—the Pumpkin Drop.
“Throwing out pumpkins is kind of a rush,” says … » More …