In the News

Cache Valley Daily Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2021

Neemias Queta named finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State junior center Neemias Queta has been named one of just four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Tuesday. Queta is joined on the list by Baylor’s Davion Mitchell, Alabama’s Herbert Jones and USC’s Evan Mobley.

Queta has been a defensive force in the nation this season, totaling an NCAA-best 97 blocks and making him one of only three players in the nation with 90 or more blocks this season. The total also broke his own Utah State record of 84, set during his freshman campaign in 2018-19. Overall, Queta recorded 219 blocks over the course of his career, far surpassing the previous Utah State record of 155 career blocks set by Gilbert Pete from 186-89. Furthermore, Queta’s 219 put him tied for third in Mountain West history, matching the University of Utah’s David Foster (2006, 09-11). Queta is one of only five players in Mountain West history to record 200 or more blocks in a career.
KSL Thursday, Mar. 18, 2021

Did life once survive on Jupiter moon? USU space lab helping NASA find out

NORTH LOGAN — In a few years, NASA will launch a new mission in the hopes of answering an existential question humans have asked for years: Are we alone out there?

The mission, called Europa Clipper, will send a spacecraft to one of Jupiter's moons, Europa, to discover if it was once habitual to life. Utah State University's Space Dynamics Lab is now helping NASA answer that question, officials announced Thursday. The university's lab built and tested an integral piece of the mission, the thermal management system to the mapping instrument of the spacecraft, that will chart the surface of Europa.

The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa, or MISE, is tasked with mapping the moon's thick and icy surface to find the warmest spots. USU's technology will help keep the mapping device cooled down so it can function properly.
Fox 13 News Friday, Mar. 12, 2021

Guests to be allowed at Utah State commencement events

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University graduating students will be allowed to bring two in-person guests to commencement events this spring.

The change was made due to the state's COVID-19 cases remaining low, and inceases in vaccine availability. Nearly 20 commencement ceremonies will be held, grouped by college, and take place May 6-7 inside two campus venues: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and Daines Concert Hall. Each student will be allowed to invite two guests to their assigned event.
Cache Valley Daily Thursday, Mar. 04, 2021

Aggies who left USU without a degree are invited back to earn one

LOGAN – Former Utah State University students who left school without completing their degree are being invited back thanks to a generous grant from the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation.

Janet Anderson, USU’s assistant provost, explains the program’s criteria.

“They want students (who) have been out at least five years, they want them to be no more than 30 credits away from completing, and then they want them to try to finish in 18 months,” Anderson explained. “So, those kids are just right at the finish line and just need a little bit more to finish and I so appreciate how generous they’ve been.”
Utah Public Radio Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021

USU Offers Undergrads Top-Tier Research Opportunities

Utah State University was recently recognized as a national leader in research programs for undergraduates.

Undergrads at USU have many different opportunities to take part in research projects that go along with their majors and interests.
Cache Valley Daily Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021

USU sponsors virtual workshop on building body image resilience

The Utah State University Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP), in conjunction with USU Extension, sponsors the virtual workshop, “More than a Body: Building Body Image Resilience.”

The free event is held Thursday, February 25, from 6 to 7:15 p.m., and registration is required.

Twin sisters Lindsay and Lexie Kite, Ph.D.s, founders of the nonprofit “Beauty Redefined” and authors of the new book, More Than a Body – Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament, will discuss how the beauty-obsessed world perpetuates the idea that happiness, health and the ability to be loved depend on how a person looks.
Utah Public Radio Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021

USU Receives Award For Best Undergraduate Research Program In The Nation

Utah State University is the recipient of the 2020 Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments. The award recognizes USU as a national leader in undergraduate programs for research and creative inquiry.

According to a press release from the university, 60 percent of degrees at Utah State require a research or creative-activity capstone. The press release states that according to a national survey in 2012, this is the highest level of undergraduate research in the nation.
Cache Valley Daily Monday, Feb. 15, 2021

USU sponsors forum on stopping violence against Utah girls and women

The Utah State University Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP), in conjunction with USU Extension, sponsors the virtual Spring Women’s Leadership Forum, “Stopping Violence Against Utah Girls and Women.” The free event is held Wednesday, February 17, from noon to 1:15 p.m., and registration is required.

Studies show that one in four girls is sexually abused before age 18 in the United States, which is an estimated 42 million girls/women. Unfortunately, Utah ranks well above the national average for violence against girls and women, and it remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it. Survivors often keep the abuse a secret for many years, and most don’t talk about it until adulthood.
Fox 13 News Tuesday, Feb. 09, 2021

Utah State to hold in-person commencement events for graduating students

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University announced Tuesday it will hold in-person commencement events this spring for graduating students.

Over two days on May 6-7, the school will host about 50 small events that will include processionals from an outdoor staging area to an indoor campus location. Once inside, a short program will be held to recognize students and present them with their diploma covers.

The convocation events held across campus will be limited to the students and faculty. Friends and family of students will be invited to watch the ceremonies online.
Cache Valley Daily Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2021

USU rated as one of nation's top 25 schools for online Bachelor's programs

LOGAN – For a seventh straight year U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) has recognized Utah State University as one of the top 25 online bachelor’s programs in the nation.

The new 2021 rankings list USU 21st, up two places from the 2020 list.

Rene Eborn is assistant vice president in academic and instructional services.

“Our faculty care a lot about our online learning and they work very hard with support professionals to put out online courses that they have developed,” Eborn explains, “and they provide unique and engaging ways to help students get the best possible education.”
Cache Valley Daily Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021

USU students received $7.8 million in funds to help them through pandemic

LOGAN – Last April Utah State University received over $17 million — through the CARES Act — and it came with a requirement that at least half of the funds go directly to students facing unanticipated hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic.

So, $8.7 million was allocated to students in need and more than $7.5 million was dispersed by the time the 2020 calendar year came to an end.

USU Vice President of Academic and Instructional Services Robert Wagner said in the Fall, with some funds still available, the university switched its approach.

“We went back to a more broader grant style where we used the federal application for financial need to determine those students who had the greatest need,” Wagner said. “And then we offered them funds if they experienced hardships related to COVID.”
Deseret News Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021

Will Utah become 'epicenter' of research to electrify transportation?

LOGAN — In another step to advance the research of sustainable electrified vehicles, Utah State University is asking state higher education officials to authorize the university to issue up to $9.2 million in revenue bonds to update and expand its Electric Vehicle and Roadway building.

Utah stands to become the “epicenter” of electrified transportation nationally, if not worldwide, according to USU trustee and former Utah Senate President Wayne Niederhauser.

“Utah is in a prime situation with the inland port and other initiatives as well as the Olympics because they’ve got to be zero emissions. This electrification of transportation is a huge deal and Utah can be the epicenter for that and USU is playing a big, big role in it,” Niederhauser said in a recent trustees meeting.
Cache Valley Daily Monday, Jan. 11, 2021

USU's Sachin Pavithran will become leader of the U.S. Access Board

LOGAN – After 20 years at Utah State University’s Center for Persons With Disabilities — most recently as Policy Director — Sachin Pavithran will leave soon for Washington, D.C. to become Executive Director of the U.S. Access Board.

The Access Board is an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility issues for people with disabilities, similar to his work at USU.

”In spite of being a small agency, it has a large footprint, and is very unique in a sense because no other country has an agency like this,” said Pavithran. “So, it’s not the U.S. only that benefits from the work of the Access Board, it’s a global impact.”
Fox 13 News Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021

USU Space Dynamics Lab wins major NASA mission

LOGAN, Utah — The Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University has been awarded a contract from NASA.

The SDL is tasked with investigating how large weather events on earth, like hurricanes or thunderstorms, create disturbances above the planet’s atmosphere.

“It takes a lot of effort to compete at that level and be awarded an entire mission like this,” said Burt Lamborn, the project manager. “It is a Logan, Utah centric mission that will revolutionize how scientists understand how earth weather affects that layer of space weather.”

The study will look at gravity waves caused by inclement weather and their impact on the ionosphere.
Deseret News Thursday, Dec. 03, 2020

USU genetically engineered hamsters on front lines of vaccine trials

Genetically engineered golden Syrian hamsters developed by Utah State University researchers played a key role in animal trials of a possible vaccine to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19. The Rega Institute in Leuven, Belgium, has used the hamsters produced by professor Zhongde Wang and his lab at USU in Logan to test the safety and effectiveness of a possible vaccine.
Construction Equipment Guide Tuesday, Dec. 01, 2020

Ground Breaks On New Utah State University Campus: Net-Zero Energy

USU's new academic facility in Moab is a combustion-free building that includes solar energy and highlights the beauty of southern Utah's natural landscape, according to the university's website Not only will the building help locals and non-traditional students in south-eastern Utah continue their education, but it fits the highly sustainable environment that many locals maintain in Moab.
Deseret News Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020

Utah State's Sam Merrill selected with last pick of NBA draft

He had to wait as long as possible on Wednesday night, but Utah native Sam Merrill is an NBA draft pick. The former Bountiful High and Utah State star was taken with the 60th and final pick of the draft. The pick was made by the New Orleans Pelicans, but it will be sent to the Milwaukee Bucks, and thus Merrill will begin his NBA career alongside league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Forbes Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020

First Dark Sky Park To Span An International Border Wins Award

The reward is up there, in the sky, when the stars come out above Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The park, taking in national parks in Alberta and Montana, was the first designation in the history of the International Dark-Sky Association to span an international boundary back in 2017. The award has gone to Iree Wheeler, recognized as a Dark Sky Defender by the nonprofit association.
Wheeler, a Ph.D. student in the Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University, is among a number of 2020 award recipients and was recently recognized for being “instrumental” in having the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park designated as the first (provisional) International Dark Sky Place to span an international border. The park encompasses Glacier National Park in Montana, United States, and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada.
Cache Valley Daily Sunday, Nov. 08, 2020

USU awarded two $5 million grants for Fatherhood and Relationship Education

Utah State University was recently awarded two $5 million grants from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Assistance. Both grants will be distributed over a five-year period and will fund fatherhood and relationship education programs. Brian Higginbotham, Utah State University Extension associate vice president and professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department in the College of Education and Human Services, will direct the projects.
ABC4.com Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020

Utah State University ranked top 10 for COVID-19 response

LOGAN, Utah (ABC4 News) – Utah State University has been ranked one of the top 10 colleges in the nation for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The University was ranked number 6 overall for providing housing and meal refunds in spring 2020, giving instructional delivery options to students in fall 2020, adjusting its 2020-21 academic calendar, and identifying students in need of extra financial help, according to college magazine.
KSLtv.com Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020

Cameras Made At Utah State University Help NASA Collect Asteroid Sample

Another space milestone took place Tuesday about 200 million miles away from Earth as a spacecraft with a three-camera suite from Utah State University extended an articulated arm and scooped up some debris, known as regolith, from the surface of asteroid Bennu. The cameras were built at USU’s Space Dynamics Lab. They are aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer spacecraft, or OSIRIS-REx, according to a news release from SDL.
KSL.com Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020

Utah State University Opens Drive-up COVID-19 Testing Site

Utah State University officials are taking a big step in their fight against COVID-19 after opening their own on-campus testing site. They’re getting federal CARES funding to make this happen, and the staff is all being sourced right here on campus. Nursing students are taking the samples and a veterinary science lab is getting the results. Just east of Maverik Stadium, students like Griffin Bolton are getting the kind of real-world experience they probably never expected. “It’s been cool. It’s been interesting to see kind of how the process is done,” Bolton said. “I think it’s definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe not super-practical, once we … you know … five, 10 years down the line, but good experience nonetheless.” But unusual times often call for some creative methods for fighting back. “Having our own resources will be a huge benefit, so we can just send people in, get them tested and get results much more quickly,” said Amanda DeRito, a spokeswoman for Utah State University.
KSL.com Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020

USU Researchers Say They Can Forecast Droughts Years in Advance

Researchers at Utah State University said they’ve figured out how to forecast droughts one to three years in advance. They can’t predict specific storms, but they can, with some degree of accuracy, say how much precipitation an area might get in the coming year. “These predictions can provide a more long-term perspective,” said Yoshi Chikamoto, assistant professor at USU. “So if we know we have a water shortage prediction, we need to work with policymakers on allocating those water resources.” Researchers believe it can become a major tool for agriculture, and maybe even wildfire management. It starts with analyzing up to 100 terabytes of data, all of which is crunched through a supercomputer. “One year is pretty high scale. Second-year is getting lower and lower after year by year,” Chikamoto said. Chikamoto said predictions a year out can be done fairly well, but when it’s two to three years out, they tend to lose some accuracy.
Utah Public Radio Thursday, Oct. 08, 2020

New Study Looks At Rural West Covid-19 Trends

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the United States as a whole, not all areas face the same impact. A recent report from the Institue of Outdoor Recreation and Toursim at Utah State University entitled the "Rural West COVID Project" looks at the impact of the virus in places like Utah. “Rural communities are really particularly vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. You know, there's lower access to health care, there's higher poverty and many places have a higher portion of health compromised people, and the labor market, they're really pretty vulnerable. So what we're talking about right now, this first survey, is part of a larger project that's going to go on over the next year to try and quantify and qualify the impact of COVID-19 on the rural West," said Tom Mueller, an associate professor of sociology at Utah State University and is one of the authors of this recent report.