Fall 2018
Returns on education
Damien Pattenaude returned to Renton School District as a teacher, principal, and now superintendent—with an aim to improve the teacher diversity in Washington state. » More ...
Search Results
Fall 2018
A formula for funny
When Kelsey Cook ’11 was a junior in college she delivered her first stand-up performance during an open-mic night at a campus dining hall.
“You’re basically intruding on everyone’s dinner,” she recalls. Even if the crowd thought something was funny they had food in their mouth so she couldn’t really hear their reaction.
Cook has since made a name for herself in comedy and last spring made her stand-up debut on The Tonight Show and earned her first credit on Comedy Central.
She was also back on the road performing stand-up, including a weekend last April at the Spokane Comedy Club where a … » More …
Fall 2018
Modernist Bread
By Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya
The Cooking Lab: 2017
For millennia, bread baking has been more craft than science. Even the current trend in artisan bread rejects much of what modern science has wrought: the advances of manufactured yeast, dough conditioners, added preservatives and the overall industrialization of wheat and bread production.
“The bread zeitgeist is about being ancient, primitive, natural, and pretty much anything but modern,” writes Nathan Myhrvold in his recent 2,642-page … » More …
Fall 2018
Class notes
1950s
The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication recognized Roberta (Bobbie) Ulrich (’50 English) in its Hall of Achievement for more than 50 years of work in the journalism industry. She reported for a number of media outlets, including The Oregonian, and published a pair of books about late twentieth-century Native American history.
1960s
Don Weller (’60 Fine Arts) was recently chosen as this year’s featured artist for “The America’s Horse in Art” show and sale. With an affinity for “cowboy culture” plus decades of graphic design and illustration experience, Weller’s award-winning Western art has appeared on posters, magazine covers, postage stamps, and more.
Bill … » More …
Fall 2018
Architect of other worlds
A green furry dragon named Elliot living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. A twisted and pathetic creature yearning for a ring in Middle Earth. A monstrous ape, an alien jungle, a future dystopian city.
If any of these cinematic creations will capture the imaginations of moviegoers, they need the magic of visual effects created by wizards like Eric Saindon ’96. Saindon’s own imagination was stirred by animated films as a kid, which led to over two decades designing effects and leading teams of visual effects artists on some of the largest blockbusters on screen.
Much of Saindon’s career has been with » More …
Fall 2018
A high five for Cougar V
This fall, the WSU Alumni Association will release Cougar V—the fifth offering in the Cougar Collectors’ Series that celebrates Cougar wineries and the role WSU alumni play as leaders in the wine industry. The Cougar V red blend was created by a team of outstanding Cougs at Mercer Estates Winery, including Rob Mercer ’91, Brenda Mercer ’90, Will Mercer ’92, and winemaker Jeremy Santo ’03.
The only guaranteed way to get your bottle of Cougar V is to join the Wine-By-Cougars Wine Club. WBC carefully selects world-class Coug wines and delivers them to your door four times a year, with four different club levels … » More …
Fall 2018
WSU in 100 words
The Winners
When we asked for your memories of Washington State in 100 words or less, we had no idea we’d get such a flood of compelling stories. It wasn’t easy to choose winners from the dozens of entries, but the magazine staff and colleagues who evaluated the stories picked three that really spoke to us. They’ll get Cougar Gold or a WSU cap for their efforts.
Here are the winners:
Nothing is certain except death, taxes, and Pullman Transit. One winter morning, I was waiting alone at the bus stop near Cougar Crest Apartments. Heavy snowfall the night before. A thick mist … » More …
Fall 2018
Talkback for Fall 2018
Glass mountain
I enjoy finding and connecting bits of information discovered serendipitously that bring enlightenment just as the researchers were enlightened about Broborg glass by chance conversations and discussions. “Fires Burned, Cauldrons Bubble” [Spring 2018] reminded me of a fairy tale, “Princess on a Glass Mountain.” Knowing that fairy tales and storytelling are often embellished verbal histories based on a fact (a particular time, place, person or event), I researched it. The Norwegians, Swedes, and Poles have versions: a glass mountain, princess, and golden apples growing on top. Perhaps the Swedish Vikings carried the tale to Poland as the Swedish Vikings usually traveled … » More …
Fall 2018
Rescripting gender roles
Sex is everywhere, researchers Stacey Hust and Kathleen Rodgers point out, but, strangely, we get very nervous talking about it—especially with our adolescent children.
That’s a concern to the two Washington State University collaborators, who just published a book, Scripting Adolescent Romance: Adolescents Talk about Romantic Relationships and Media’s Sexual Scripts, that examines the power of media, so chock full of sex and violence, to shape the gender roles of children and adolescents in ways that last a lifetime.
So powerful are the … » More …
Fall 2018
Soaring history
Aviation lifted off the ground in the early twentieth century, but few had the guts to explore the uncharted territory of human flight. Two courageous souls willing to glide into the challenge were Washington siblings Cloyd and Audrey Artman.
Humans fantasized for thousands of years about transcending the realm of the birds. We emulated the techniques of flying animals and insects, strapped ourselves to oversized kites, or jumped off great heights while donning makeshift wings, yet gravity won over centuries of trial-and-error.
German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal, though, soared with his successful heavier-than-air glider experiments in the late 1880s. He made over 2,000 glider … » More …