In the News

• The New York Times Tuesday, Jun. 06, 2023

  It's Called the Grand Canyon, Not the Eternal Canyon

  You don’t need me to tell you that the Grand Canyon is magnificent. Otherworldly. Sublime. But, having rafted through 90 miles of the canyon with a group of scientists and grad students, I can tell you that it’s quite a bit more fragile, and less permanent, than you might think.

  I wrote an article about the canyon this week in The Times. If you’ve seen it only from the rim or in photos, you probably think of the place as a bunch of rocks stretching to the horizon. Dramatically sculpted, gorgeously layered rocks. But still, rocks. Rocks are ancient, eternal, unchanging, at least for any species that thinks in years and decades.

  It was something far more transient, however, that cut a chasm into all that rock. The Colorado River is the water knife that gravity dragged through the landscape over millions of years. Then, humans came along and started building dams to control the Colorado. This is when the canyon began to change.

• The New York Times Tuesday, Jun. 06, 2023

  The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River

  Down beneath the tourist lodges and shops selling keychains and incense, past windswept arroyos and brown valleys speckled with agave, juniper and sagebrush, the rocks of the Grand Canyon seem untethered from time. The oldest ones date back 1.8 billion years, not just eons before humans laid eyes on them, but eons before evolution endowed any organism on this planet with eyes.

  Spend long enough in the canyon, and you might start feeling a little unmoored from time yourself.The immense walls form a kind of cocoon, sealing you off from the modern world, with its cell signal and light pollution and disappointments. They draw your eyes relentlessly upward, as in a cathedral.

  You might think you are seeing all the way to the top. But up and above are more walls, and above them even more, out of sight except for the occasional glimpse. For the canyon is not just deep. It is broad, too — 18 miles, rim to rim, at its widest. This is no mere cathedral of stone. It is a kingdom: sprawling, self-contained, an alternate reality existing magnificently outside of our own.

• Deseret News Tuesday, May. 30, 2023

  An NIL collective has been formed to benefit all Utah State athletes

  There was a time when Utah State athletics didn’t have a collective dedicated to furthering the cause of Aggies student-athletes’ name, image and likeness.

  Not so much anymore.

  On Tuesday, the Blue A Collective, co-founded by Eric Laub and former USU head football coach Gary Andersen — was announced, with the purpose of “empowering student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness while simultaneously fostering a strong connecting with Cache Valley,” Laub said in a statement.

• NPR Monday, May. 29, 2023

  The Colorado River deal won't be enough to save the river long term

  There are winners and losers in the new landmark deal to avert a water shortage crisis on the Colorado River. But experts say it doesn't go far enough and no one should be celebrating.

  People who rely on this shrinking Colorado River are still assessing the consequences of a landmark deal that the Biden administration says will avert a major crisis. It looks like a win for produce farmers in the Southwest, but some experts say no one should be celebrating. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports.

• The Herald Journal Monday, May. 29, 2023

  USU doctoral student to travel Utah with wasp exhibit

  When asked why a wasp that makes its way onto a desk at The Herald Journal shouldn’t be killed, Brenna Decker — a doctoral student in Utah State University’s biology department — gave a few compelling reasons.

  “If you have a wasp on your desk, it’s most likely the European Yellow Jacket or the European Paper Wasp,” she said. “If it’s one of those two, they’re also really good biocontrol.”

  If the hypothetical wasp in question was caught and released rather than killed, she explained, it can go hunt for other creatures such as spiders and garden-destroying caterpillars.

• The Los Angeles Times Monday, May. 22, 2023

  Is landmark deal over the Colorado River enough to stave off disaster?

  The groundbreaking deal announced Monday to cut water use from the Colorado River comes after months of negotiations.

  But is it enough to deal with the drought crisis on the Colorado?

  Here is what we know:

• KSL Friday, May. 19, 2023

  Elizabeth Cantwell chosen as Utah State University's new president

  LOGAN — The Utah Board of Higher Education announced Elizabeth "Betsy" R. Cantwell as Utah State University's new president Friday afternoon after an extensive, nationwide search.

  Cantwell will replace previous USU President Noelle Cockett, who stepped down after six years at the university's helm.

  "I am so pleased to take everything I've done and bring it here, and really offer it to you as service," Cantwell said. "It is the role of your next president to take you to where you want to go."

• Hill Air Force Base Thursday, May. 18, 2023

  Hill AFB, Utah State sign partnership agreement

  HILL AFB, Utah --  

  A new agreement between Utah State University and Hill Air Force Base will create enhanced learning opportunities for students and spur innovative joint research efforts.

  The Education Partnership Agreement was signed May 11 by USU President Noelle E. Cockett and Wayne Ayer, a director of the Air Force Sustainment Center’s Engineering and Technical Management Directorate in Ogden.

  “There are so many opportunities and technologies that exist within the Air Force that students and faculty can be a part of,” Ayer said. “By meeting with students through mentoring, student design projects, tech talks, tours and various other engagements, we can help enhance their understanding of a STEM career and expose them to various ways they can utilize their degree.”

  The agreement creates a more direct partnership between USU and Hill Air Force Base, which allows both parties to more efficiently engage on future research.

• Cache Valley Daily Tuesday, May. 16, 2023

  Utah State's SDL is building cameras to study the edge of space

  NORTH LOGAN – Two years ago NASA commissioned Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) to develop cameras for a mission to advance our understanding of the exosphere.

  Planned for a 2025 launch, the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will include SDL’s two Far Ultraviolet, or FUV, cameras which will be the primary science instruments for the mission.

  The exosphere, the outermost layer of the earth’s atmosphere, is about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It is the point in space where the gravitational pull of Earth and the Sun is equal and opposite and that will allow the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory to maintain a stable orbit as it conducts its scientific mission.

• Fox 13 News Monday, May. 15, 2023

  Steed named to oversee Great Salt Lake efforts

  SALT LAKE CITY — Brian Steed, the head of an environmental policy institute at Utah State University, has been tapped to oversee state efforts to help the Great Salt Lake recover.

  Governor Spencer Cox, House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President J. Stuart Adams picked him to be the "Great Salt Lake Commissioner," a position created by the legislature earlier this year. The position has the ability to override state agencies if it means protecting the lake, which has declined dramatically and presents an ecological crisis for nothern Utah.

• The Herald Journal Monday, May. 15, 2023

  USU announces scholarship for Native students

  Utah State University is now offering full tuition and student-body fee scholarships to qualifying Native American Students, according to a Utah State Today press release posted Monday morning.

  Applications for the scholarship are currently open, according to the release, and the university plans to grant the funds for the Fall 2023 semester.

  “The Native American Student Scholarship is USU’s continued commitment to Native American students,” Kristian Olsen, an associate vice president for USU Blanding, was quoted as saying. “We know this will help many students who want to attend university but are concerned about paying the tuition.”

• Fox 13 News Thursday, May. 11, 2023

  USU partners up with Hill Air Force Base in multiyear long education program

  LOGAN, Utah — Hill Air Force Base has struck a five-year-long partnership with USU, allowing researchers on the base and military personnel to pursue degrees and certificates at the university.

  The partnership, which was signed and made official at the David B. Haight Alumni Center Thursday morning, is to be made valid across the entire university and is the first formal contract between the two bodies. Though according to Dean Jagath Kaluarachchi, they have had several collaborations in the past.

  "Unfortunately, for so many years, we didn't have a formal mechanism because of various logistical difficulties, legal contractual difficulties, etcetera," Kaluarachchi said. "So that shuts doors and windows for our people to work directly."

• KSL Thursday, May. 11, 2023

  USU's 3D printing center aims to create solutions for disabilities

  LOGAN — For some people with disabilities, the devices they need to help with their everyday tasks may not even exist yet, but a center at Utah State University is looking to change that.

  The ability to be independent is huge for Shawnie Christensen, as a unique device helps her to speak through her muscular dystrophy.

  "It has been really helpful but when it breaks," Christensen said.

  But that device is unlike the other things she's used for years. Christensen has a custom-made mechanical arm, which helps her with specific challenges and reach.

• Deseret News Thursday, May. 04, 2023

  President Cockett bids USU graduates adieu in her last commencement

  Utah State University awarded degrees to 6,640 students at the school’s 163rd commencement Thursday morning.

  After their traditional walk from the Quad, the graduates were welcomed into the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum arena by triumphant music from the USU Wind Orchestra. Friends and families cheered as their graduates appeared smiling and waving on the jumbotron.

  As the students filed into their seats, President Noelle Cockett took to the podium to conduct her last commencement ceremony before stepping down after six years in the position.

• Salt Lake Tribune Monday, May. 01, 2023

  Utah State University reveals three finalists in search for new president

  Utah State University announced Monday that a search committee has recommended three finalists to become the school’s new president, following current president Noelle Cockett’s November announcement that she was resigning.

  The three finalists are Rodney Bennett, a previous president of the University of Southern Mississippi; Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell, senior vice president for research and innovation at the University of Arizona; and Kenneth “Ken” White, USU’s dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, among other roles.

• Yahoo! News Monday, May. 01, 2023

  Why the world's oceans are suddenly getting hotter

  The ocean is getting warmer, and fast. The BBC reports that "a recent, rapid heating of the world's oceans" has raised alarms among scientists who worry the sudden trend is a sign that climate change is accelerating. That could have devastating consequences: Fish and other marine life could die off, more extreme weather events could be on the way, and the oceans — already rising — will encroach on coastal areas.

  "This is heading in an unprecedented direction, and could be taking us into uncharted territory," the University of East Anglia's Ben Webber tells The Guardian. Why is the ocean warming? What effects will it have? And can anything be done?

• Cache Valley Daily Saturday, Apr. 22, 2023

  New USU Extension website offers flood preparation and recovery resources

  Due to the record snowfall this year, many areas of the state have experienced flooding, and other parts are bracing for it. To assist homeowners, businesses, and others, Utah State University Extension created a website with flood information and resources at flood.usu.edu. The site includes information and tips on how to prepare for flooding, what to do during a flood, and recovery after a flood. Also included are flood maps for the state, information on sandbagging, flood insurance, emergency preparation, food safety, sanitizing, and more. 

  One article on the website includes information on safely cleaning your home after a flood.

  USU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Professor Kathy Riggs stresses the importance of properly cleaning and sanitizing wet and muddy household furnishings, carpets, clothing, and surfaces as quickly as possible after a flood to avoid damage and contamination. 

• Cache Valley Daily Friday, Apr. 21, 2023

  New building to be added to USU's Huntsman School of Business complex

  LOGAN – Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business will soon have a home on campus for its experiential learning offerings with the announcement Friday of a new building coming to the Huntsman School of Business complex at USU.

  The new building will honor prominent business leaders and philanthropists Kem and Carolyn Gardner.

  The Huntsman School has become a premier hands-on learning center, with the continuing development of experiential learning, or learning by doing.

• KSL Friday, Apr. 21, 2023

  USU professor trying to solve wild horse overpopulation problem

  HENEFER, Summit County — Horses are long considered a symbol of the American West. There are well over 80 thousand wild horses and burros across the western U.S. and they're a constant concern for both wildlife managers and animal activists.

  Utah State University professor Terry Messmer called it a problem that his generation created.

  "The 1971 act said horses are important, they're valuable, they need to be part of the landscape," Messmer said.

  He pointed out that the animals are not native and they're exhausting the resources for other animals and themselves.

• Utah Public Radio Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2023

  USU landscape arch. students 'All Hands on Deck' to save Great Salt Lake

  On Friday, USU’s landscape architecture seniors are presenting their capstone projects under the theme of “All Hands on Deck,” an effort aimed at saving the Great Salt Lake. The students have formulated and developed landscape architecture initiatives for five locations related to Great Salt Lake.

  The five projects include a proposal for the establishment of responsible development on the eastern shoreline, preservation and design of a landscape commemorating the Bear River Massacre site, plans for a saline lake research center on Antelope Island, a proposal for an ecologically-focused regional park in Salt Lake City, and the creation of a toolkit for designers, planners, and citizens to help guide policy and design approaches intended to return water to the lake.

• KSL Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2023

  Snow cover allows vole populations to thrive in Cache Valley

  CACHE VALLEY — Voles are tearing up yards, and in some cases, wreaking havoc on lawns in Cache Valley.

  Every several years, the populations explode, and some of the experts say the cover from the snow this year is helping keep them hidden from predators.

  It's not exactly what Austell Cowley expected to catch on his wildlife camera.

  "I thought I'd show her all the birds that came to feed in her feeder," he said.

• Popular Science Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

  Blue carbon is a natural climate solution with big potential

  To curb climate change, governments across the globe have set goals to achieve “net zero emissions.” This means that for every unit of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere, the same amount is removed through a nature-based solution—like forest protection—or artificial ones like carbon capture technology. 

  In an effort to reach net zero by 2050, the Biden administration is investing in a promising strategy: blue carbon.

• Cache Valley Daily Sunday, Apr. 16, 2023

  USU Extension and College of Ag honored with seven Best of State awards

  Four Utah State University Extension programs and three College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences (CAAS) programs are recipients of the 2023 Best of State Awards.

  Utah’s Best of State Awards recognize organizations and businesses in Utah that are outstanding in their area of work. Applicants are required to write about achievements in their field of endeavor, including innovation or creativity in their approaches, techniques, methods or processes, and the contribution their business makes to the quality of life in Utah. Over 100 judges review each nomination before casting their votes, and applications with the highest number of votes win a Best of State medal.

• Cache Valley Daily Thursday, Apr. 13, 2023

  USU receives $1 million grant to optimize AG water use

  LOGAN – A recent million dollar grant to Utah State University is designed to fight drought and conserve water in the Colorado River Basin.

  The funds will be used to invest in what is called Ag-DRIP, or the Ag Water Demonstration, Research and Implementation Program.

  Dr. Burdette Barker, an Irrigation Specialist with USU’s College of Engineering and USU Extension, said this project will help farmers make the best of what water they have.