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Summer 2003

Eliminating chaos: “Organization isn’t about shifting things around”

Laura Leist Bishop is organized. She says she always has been. That’s doesn’t mean her office is tidy all the time. But ask her for anything, and she can find it. At home everything is arranged in her kitchen-canned food in one area, appliances in another. Clothes are in the closet. Garden implements line one wall of her garage, athletic gear another.

Because she is organized, she manages her time better. She knows what needs to be done tonight to be ready for tomorrow. Sometimes she plans three days ahead. “Because I do that,” she says, “I’m able to accomplish a lot.”

As president of … » More …

Summer 2003

Emerald winters, brown summers

How dry it is! Understanding the summer climate west of the Cascades baffles lots of residents. The “emerald green” attitude extends to believing that summer months wrap themselves in rain and mist just as winter does. However, our “modified Mediterranean” climate makes water planning as important in Seattle as it is in Spokane.

Summer of 2002 brought only 4.6 inches of rain at Sea-Tac (May 1 through November 1). September and October, usually good planting months, totaled only 1.08 inches combined. Another way to get perspective on this summer rainfall total-just imagine you’ve planted hybrid rhododendrons in April. They require about an inch per week, … » More …

Summer 2003

Leveling the playing field

In softball, success or failure happens when the ball meets the bat. The faster a batted ball travels, the greater the likelihood of a batter’s success. Softball bat manufacturers are using technology to create bats that hit the ball harder than ever-but not everyone is pleased with the results.

Recent advances in softball bat performance raised concerns with the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) that softball bats generating high batted ball speeds were giving individuals an unfair advantage in competition and creating safety problems, says Lloyd Smith, an associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University.

Since 2000, the ASA, … » More …

Summer 2003

Bose and Asay are named to National Academy of Engineering

Anjan Bose and James R. Asay have been named members of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the most prestigious honor in the engineering field. Bose is dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University and distinguished professor in power engineering. Asay is research professor and associate director of WSU’s Institute for Shock Physics.

Election to the NAE comes from peers within the academy, based on nominees’ outstanding contributions to their field. Founded in 1964, the NAE serves with the National Academy of Sciences as an advisory board for the federal government through the National Research Council. Out of approximately 10 … » More …

Summer 2003

The Great Conversation

As diverse as the state, each of Washington State University’s 10 learning centers has its own character, determined both by location and by the personality of its staff. But they share a common mission—to provide opportunity throughout the state to all place-bound adults who desire further education. The learning centers combine “high tech” delivery methods and “high touch” service of the resident staffs, to provide opportunity that would not otherwise be available. Last fall, North Olympic Peninsula Learning Center coordinator Robert Force presented this evocative paean to the experience to Provost Robert Bates and other visiting administrators.

One Saturday evening I was wearing my Washington State … » More …

Summer 2003

The friends you keep & the wealth you reap

People evaluate information through social interaction with others.

There’s an old saying that you can be judged by the friends you keep. But do your friends also affect your wealth?

Ever notice how a group of people who spend time together, whether in a social group or work environment, tend to develop similar tastes, interests, and lifestyles? The reason is that people evaluate information through social interaction with others. This is especially true for topics you may consider to be difficult. Many people consider financial decision-making to be hard. Should I contribute to my retirement plan at work? How much should I contribute? What should … » More …

Summer 2003

They’re back! Doba’s football staff includes five former Cougars

As athletes they brought recognition to Washington State University. Now, as assistant coaches, Mike Levenseller, Michael Walker, Timm Rosenbach, Ken Greene, and George Yarno are being counted on to help shape the football future at their alma mater.

Who said you can’t go home again?

Not Bill Doba.

He’s been on the WSU football staff for 15 years, but this is his first as head coach. Cougar pedigrees are obviously important to him. For starters, he convinced assistants Levenseller (offensive coordinator/wide receivers) and Walker (defensive line) to stay, rather than follow former Cougar coach Mike Price to Alabama. He got the same commitment from two … » More …

Summer 2003

Whitney Evans: All-America high jumper has a head for finance

Whitney Evans leaves little to chance. Whether competing in sports or analyzing a stock portfolio for a finance class, her attention to detail pays dividends. The fifth-year scholar-athlete from Calgary is a straight-A student, a six-time track and field All-America. By the time she completes her athletic career at Washington State University in June, she will be the most decorated female athlete in the school’s history.

It’s late January now, the first track meet in WSU’s new air-supported “bubble.” Evans arrives early, stretches, and jogs easily. When her name’s called, she toes a piece of white tape 14 feet left of the high jump standard … » More …

Summer 2003

How do bonds break?

The underlying question that motivates my current work is, “What are the forces on atoms and ions associated with surfaces that result in these particles leaving or reattaching to the surface when stimulated with an outside agent?”

These surfaces may be surrounded by very high vacuum or by an aqueous solution. The stimulation that assists the motion of the atoms or ions may be a laser or electron beam, or it might be a very sharp, hard tip pushing on the surface. In all cases, the rate of particle removal or attachment, the speeds or energies of the particles involved, and even the direction they … » More …

Summer 2003

A New language

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