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Spring 2015

Posts for Spring 2015

 

Mapmaker mystery

Of all the names that were mentioned in the [previous issue] article (those that I studied under in geology), I know Dr. Campbell would have had your answer. I was a graduate student in geology in the early ’70s and I knew Dr. Rosenberg (my advisor), Dr. Webster, and Dr. Campbell. These people were phenomenal teachers and mentors. But when important questions come up, like historical geology questions, Dr. Campbell was your man. He would have known. I remember his research, his retirement, and his death later. Another person who would have known was Al Butler in physics (also my advisor) … » More …

Ed Hume, trash
Fall 2014

Talking trash

One of the green, rolling hills in the Palouse isn’t quite like the others.

Aside from a PVC pipe sticking out of its ridge, it looks—and smells—no different than any other mound. But instead of having a loamy center riddled with earthworms, it’s made of garbage. Tens of thousands of tons of it, though no one really knows how much.

The trash was collected throughout Whitman County over about 30 years until 1993, when the county sealed the landfill, built a transfer station next to it, and began shipping garbage elsewhere. Since then, four to six 18-wheelers leave the transfer station just north of Pullman … » More …

Summer 2013

Waiting for the Rain

In the impenetrable Dogon highlands of Mali, the storm of war is coming.

An excerpt from We Never Knew Exactly Where: Dispatches from the Lost Country of Mali

Washington State University English Professor Peter Chilson happened to be in Mali in March 2012 when a military coup ended the country’s two decades as a model democracy. Within days, the Malian army in the troublesome northern part of the country collapsed. As a result, Tuareg and Islamist fighters claimed 60 percent of the country, creating a safe haven for al Qaeda and other Islamist forces and threatening West African stability and European security.

» More …

1710 Senex map
Winter 2012

The 1710 Senex map of North America

There were still plenty of blank spots on maps when cartographer and engraver John Senex (circa 1678-1740) created this 1710 map of North America. It is one of 33 early eighteenth-century maps from a Senex atlas in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, acquired by the WSU Libraries in the mid-1950s. The atlas lacks a title page, but it is almost certainly Senex’s Universal Geographer, published circa 1725. It includes the bookplate of Sir Archibald Grant of Monymoske, Baronet (1696-1778), and was formerly part of his library.

Courtesy WSU Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections

1710 Senex map of ... <a href=» More …

WSU Nursing Building
Winter 2012

Posts for Winter 2012

William Julius Wilson

We were thrilled to read the article “Race, Class, and William Julius Wilson’s World of Opportunity” in the Fall 2012 issue of Washington State Magazine. Many may not realize that Dr. Wilson got his start at Washington State University and to hear him describe his choice to attend WSU as “the greatest decision he ever made” is an inspiration.

Unfortunately, the article did not mention that the university has named a national award after Dr. Wilson. The William Julius Wilson Award for the Advancement for Social Justice is bestowed upon those who follow in Dr. Wilson’s footsteps by making innovative contributions … » More …