Fall 2006
Making decks safer
Decks are right behind hurricanes and tornadoes in the number of injuries they cause involving wood building components. » More ...
Search Results
Fall 2006
Of dogs, drugs, and medical decisions
When it comes to drugs, not all dogs are created equal. » More ...
Fall 2006
Establishing a solid foundation
A laboratory and vineyard in Prosser are where your wine is supposed to begin.
» More ...Summer 2003
Thriving in Rural America: Ochs uses computer technology to stay on family farm
Wanted: Person with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts to help design and create software programs; location: Dusty, Washington, population 10.
These are just the kind of person whom Jon Ochs, president, CEO, and founder of Eureka Software, Inc., may soon be looking to hire for the multimedia communications company he runs from his family farm in very rural Eastern Washington.
“We actually have four employees that are here all the time, so it is no longer a mom and pop business,” he says, sitting on the porch patio among his wife’s flowers and scratching the head of his large and rather relaxed dog, Amber. … » 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
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 2006
A new kind of chop suey: China’s contemporary urban architecture
Visiting China’s cities in recent years is like watching time-lapse photography. Consider: the city of Shanghai had one skyscraper in 1985; now they are legion. In 1988, I looked from Shanghai’s famous Peace Hotel on the Bund to the far side of the Huangpo River: nothing but a gray stretch of grimy shoreline. In less than 20 years, Shanghai’s Pudong District transformed from a forlorn swamp to something like the Chicago Loop. To say no more, this kind of construction explosion doesn’t afford much time to evolve a coherent architectural style.
The 20th century was a tough one for China. It began with the collapse … » More …
Spring 2006
Better living…through solar
For more than two years, a group of Washington State University students in architecture, construction management, interior design, and engineering designed and built a solar house, including all of its systems, from the ground up. In September 2005, they transported the house to Washington, D.C., to take part in the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition on the National Mall. WSU was one of only 18 schools from around the world-and the only school from the Northwest-to participate. Sponsored by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab, the competition required students to plan and build a 650-square-foot home and provide it with all the modern conveniences, including … » More …
Spring 2007
Phyllis Campbell: Being about forever
Someone recently told Phyllis Campbell ’73 that she had the perfect resume to run for governor.
In her office high above 5th Avenue in Seattle, Campbell tells me this with a mixture of amusement and certitude. Running for political office is the last thing she’s interested in.
“You can print that,” she says. “I’ll never run for political office.
“I value people who do,” she adds, “but that’s not my calling.”
Politics, after all, is so short-term.
Campbell shows me, with obvious pleasure, the medal that represents the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award with which she was recently honored. Campbell’s relationship to Washington State University, which … » More …