In the News

• Deseret News Monday, Apr. 10, 2023

  Danny Sprinkle introduced as Utah State basketball coach

  Utah State basketball head coach Danny Sprinkle was introduced on Monday, making his first impression on Aggie fans.

  In a press conference in Logan, Sprinkle said he was honored to be chosen as Utah State’s 29th men’s basketball head coach.

  “I’m honored and humbled to represent you guys, to be chosen as the head coach of your men’s basketball program,” Sprinkle said.

• Cache Valley Daily Saturday, Apr. 01, 2023

  USU gymnasts end 2023 season with solid showing at NCAA Regionals

  PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Utah State’s two gymnasts had solid outings Friday in Session I of the second round of the Pittsburgh Regional.

  The two Aggies – junior Brianna Brooks and senior Sofi Sullivan – both hit on their respective routines as Utah State officially closed out its 2023 campaign at Petersen Events Center.

  “Our staff is so incredibly proud of Brianna and Sofi’s performance today,” Utah State head coach Kristin White said. “They both came in and rocked their final routines of the season and made Utah State very proud.”

  Sullivan capped her stellar Aggie career by recording a 9.875 on beam, placing seventh out of 27 competitors in Session I.

• KSL Thursday, Mar. 30, 2023

  Aggie Chocolate Factory first in US to make rare 'albino' chocolate bars

  LOGAN — Utah State University is working on research of the utmost importance — producing some rare chocolate that is not made anywhere else in the U.S.

  It comes from an albino cacao bean, which is not so easy to get here in Utah

  The Aggie Chocolate Factory specializes in making 70% dark chocolate. The albino chocolate will be that same higher concentration but will bring a much different taste, and it's all being done in the name of research.

  Turning beans into chocolate takes hours of work: the roasting, grinding, smoothing and molding. But to make the super-rare stuff takes sourcing, and in this case, Luciana Monteiro is the key. She's a Fulbright scholar from Brazil.

• CNN Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023

  This lizard species stress-eats to cope with noisy US Army aircraft

  Living in a neighborhood with lots of noise can make you jittery, especially if you’re a lizard that’s just a few inches long.

  It’s no wonder that lizards exposed to noise pollution from low-flying fighter jets have resorted to stress-eating.

  Colorado checkered whiptails (Aspidoscelis neotesselatus) — striped and patterned lizards that live only in southeastern Colorado — are an all-female species that reproduce asexually. They also endure considerable noise from US Army flyovers.

  When researchers recently examined blood samples from these lizards, they detected elevated stress levels from the din. The lizards also had a coping strategy: They moved less, and they ate more.

• The Herald Journal Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023

  USU students work with local greenhouse on rain harvesting system

  Utah State University students are currently working with The Green House Nursery Inc. in Logan to install a rain tank as part of a community outreach portion of a class.

  The students — Ellie Fillimoehala, Joshua Taylor and Ryan Kunz — issued a press release detailing the project.

  “A summer rainstorm at the GreenHouse looks a little counterintuitive,” the release states. “Torrential rain falls on greenhouses full of plants, runs off the roof, and disappears down a drain.”

  Simultaneously, according to the release, “drip lines pull water from the city to continuously water these same plants.”

• Cache Valley Daily Monday, Mar. 27, 2023

  USU researchers are receiving $350,000 for Alzheimer's research

  LOGAN – Several Utah State University researchers studying Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia are receiving a total of $350,000 from USU’s Alzheimers Disease and Dementia Research Center (ADRC).

  Beth Fauth, who is ADRC director, said the center’s mission is to promote Alzheimers research in the state.

  “This last legislative session we received funding to support this work. So, in this first year, we put out requests for proposals from USU faculty,” Fauth explained. “By next year we will be including other research institutions.

  “What we’re doing is asking for requests for what they need, whether it’s equipment or student support or funding for participants so they can bring people in to do studies with live individuals.”

  The center is new, opening last July, and is housed within the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services. Utah legislator Dan Johnson, representing Utah House District 3, sponsored the concept of the center and funding was approved in March, 2022.

• Salt Lake Tribune Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

  Why does Logan have 'the worst wintertime air' on the Wasatch Front?

  Logan • Utahns are no strangers to bad air quality, and this year’s cold winter has caused plenty of days with terrible air. But in the winter months, the air quality in Cache Valley is particularly bad, even though it has a fraction of the population of other counties along the Wasatch Front.

  So why does the county have worse winter air than elsewhere in Utah?

  There are a few factors, according to Randy Martin, an associate research professor at Utah State University’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

• Deseret News Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023

  3 years after Magna quake, here's how Utah's preparing for bigger one

  Brady Cox's career in civil engineering and earthquake engineering has taken him all over the world in the past 20 years. He's traveled from Utah to places like New Zealand, Turkey, Peru, Japan and Haiti studying earthquake damage and doing earthquake reconnaissance.

  "(I) Always kind of had that thought that I would like to return to Utah and try and do more for the citizens of Utah — for my home state — to encourage better earthquake preparedness in terms of engineering design and construction," said Cox.

  Two and a half years ago, Cox returned to his home state, where he now works as a professor of civil engineering at Utah State University and serves as a leading earthquake expert.

• Yahoo Friday, Mar. 17, 2023

  NASA Announces Future Launch for USU-Led Space Weather Mission

  Logan, Utah, March 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NASA announced that the launch of the Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory and College of Science-led Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, is scheduled for December 2023. The NASA-funded instrument will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station.

  AWE Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Taylor from USU’s College of Science leads a team of scientists that will provide new details about how the weather on Earth interacts with, and affects, space weather. To do that, the AWE instrument, measuring about 54 centimeters by one meter and weighing less than 57 kilograms, will peer into Earth’s upper atmosphere from an orbit of about 400 kilometers above to provide unprecedented images of Earth’s gravity waves as they rise through the mesopause, the mesosphere’s upper boundary, and into other parts of the ionosphere.

• Cache Valley Daily Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2023

  Honorary degree recipients named for USU Commencement

  He was an accomplished wide receiver and kick return specialist for Aggie football teams of the 1980s and later, with two degrees from Utah State University, Paul Jones launched a 37-year career in higher education.

  On Thursday, May 4, he will receive an honorary doctorate degree and serve as commencement speaker for the 136th Utah State University graduation ceremony on campus.

  Dr. Paul Anthony Jones is currently serving as the 10th president at Fort Valley State, a fellow land-grant university in Georgia that signed a five-year partnership with USU last year to collaborate on activities of mutual interest.

• Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday, Mar. 07, 2023

  How USU is using data to improve its policing

  Utah State University’s new “predictive policing” model might at first sound like the plot of “Minority Report.”

  But the school says it’s far less dystopian than the 2002 sci-fi thriller, and much more about predicting needs like which football games might require more officers on patrol or figuring out where students are reporting the highest levels of concerns and why.

  “It’s been phenomenal,” said Blair Barfuss, the recent police chief at USU. “We started having answers that I never anticipated seeing. And it’s all data-driven.”

• The New York Times Saturday, Mar. 04, 2023

  Are Butterflies Wildlife? Depends Where You Live.

  It’s tough being an insect. They get swatted, stomped and sprayed without a thought. Their mere presence can provoke irrational panic. Even everyday language disparages them: “Stop bugging me,” we say.

  To make matters worse for insects, they have also been sidelined legally in some states, with unintended but serious repercussions. The reason? According to many state statutes, insects are not considered wildlife.

• Cache Valley Daily Wednesday, Mar. 01, 2023

  USU announces 2023 commencement dates

  LOGAN – Utah State University is preparing for the school’s 136th Commencement since its founding in 1888 and beginning April 20 the school will hold seven ceremonies across campuses in the state through the end of the month.

  Commencement on the USU main campus in Logan will be May 4. That will include the awarding of honorary degrees, announcement of university-wide faculty awards, and Commencement speeches.

• KSLtv.com Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023

  USU Study: population growth causing wild weather patterns

  LOGAN, Utah — From extreme drought to heavy snow, some researchers at Utah State University are tying to get to the bottom of Utah’s rollercoaster weather patterns.

  A new study shows that it may be all our fault and that it’s not going away anytime soon. The two professors on this study say population growth, and the things we all do are adding to the wild swings in weather. While we should work to fix it, they say we’re also going to need to learn how to live with it.

  Most people don’t have these kind of resources to deal with winter.

• Forbes Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023

  Research Explains How Our Teenage 'Templates' Of Love Affect Us As Adults

  A new study published in the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy explains how teenagers can form healthy or unhealthy ‘templates’ of romantic relationships that can perpetuate as they grow up.

  The researchers, led by Kay Bradford and Brian Higginbotham of Utah State University and Jacqueline Miller of the University of New Mexico, believe that relationship education, much like sexual education, may be the key to helping adolescents build healthier current and future romantic relationships.

• The Mercury News Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023

  What creates a huge earthquake? Scientists investigate phenomenon

  TORONTO — Scientists have made further strides toward identifying the key circumstances for catastrophic earthquakes, according to researchers.

  What separates a region prone to mild earthquakes compared to those that could see earth-shattering quakes in the future could come down to a principle of friction, according to a new study published last week in the peer-reviewed journal Science.

  Friction describes the force of resistance when two materials are sliding against each other. One specific frictional phenomenon that dictates how quickly faults heal after an earthquake may also be key to identifying if they will be at risk of a greater earthquake in the future, according to researchers.

• KSL Monday, Feb. 20, 2023

  Stadler Rail, USU to begin work on battery-powered passenger trains

  SALT LAKE CITY — Stadler Rail is partnering with Utah State University to engineer battery-powered passenger trains in North America, as a potential zero-emission solution in rail travel.

  The Swiss-based company with a U.S. facility in Salt Lake City announced Wednesday that it will work with USU's Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification Research Center to develop and test a battery version of its FLIRT model passenger trains, which primarily run on diesel.

  "With little to no electrified routes in the North American public rail transit system, a battery train is a great zero-emission alternative to diesel-powered vehicles," said Stadler U.S. CEO Martin Ritter in a statement.

• KSL Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023

  USU lab studies impact of solar flares on satellites

  LOGAN — Your credit card stops working, then your radio kicks out. What's happening?

  It could be a solar flare causing glitches in a satellite. That's why employees at the Space Dynamics Lab at Utah State University in Logan are investigating. They want to know how the sun messes with satellites and if the Earth's atmosphere plays a part.

  "Solar wind, coronal mass ejections, high energy particles coming from the sun, that is space weather," said Space Dynamics Laboratory Payload Manager Eric Syrstad.

  "And that is what impacts that region of space where we have, you know, really expensive satellites flying around. We rely on those for communication and GPS and that type of thing."

• KSL Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023

  Utah State University to help develop battery-powered train

  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State University and the ASPIRE Engineering Research Center in partnership with Stadler, a Swiss-based brand, will develop and test a battery-powered train. 

  FLIRT (Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train) will be the first of its kind in the United States. The FLIRT train was originally developed for the Swiss Federal Railways and was first delivered in 2004.

  A model of the lightweight train is planned at Stadler’s facility in Salt Lake City.

  In a release from those collaborating, goal is to demonstrate the zero-emission train in real life. In the future, FLIRT is planned for routes without end-to-end electrification.

• KSL Monday, Feb. 13, 2023

  USU instructors use horses to help veterans suffering with PTSD

  LOGAN — Some instructors at Utah State University are helping veterans through tough times with the help of horses.

  There are sometimes events in life that cause people to withdraw. At times it may take a careful touch that humans cannot replicate to rebuild trust.

  Those involved with the program say it's a great way to connect with horses.

• Salt Lake Tribune Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023

  EV charging at freeway speeds? USU's ASPIRE puts it on the road map

  Don’t want to plug and play? Maybe you can get a load from the road.

  In the movement toward battery-powered vehicles, the limiting factor has been and continues to be keeping the batteries charged.It’s a power-to-weight problem.

  The farther a vehicle has to travel without a charge, the larger and heavier the battery must be. And the heavier the battery, the more power it takes to propel the vehicle and its heavy battery.

  For the trucking industry, it’s also a time-is-money problem. Time spent charging a big electric truck at a charging station is money lost in paying drivers and slower deliveries.

  The solution to both? Charge often and without stopping by embedding the chargers in roads.

  Induction charging, as it is known, is one of the key technologies under development at Utah State University’s Center for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE). Under a bill the Utah Legislature is considering, ASPIRE would lead the planning for Utah’s charging network for cars, trucks, trains and even electric aircraft.

• CNN Friday, Feb. 10, 2023

  Scientists fear a Great Toxic Dustbowl could soon emerge from the GSL

  On the shore of Great Salt Lake, Utah (CNN)Like the rest of the West, Utah has a water problem. But megadrought and overconsumption aren't just threats to wildlife, agriculture and industry here. A disappearing Great Salt Lake could poison the lungs of more than 2.5 million people.

  When lake levels hit historic lows in recent months, 800 square miles of lakebed were exposed -- soil that holds centuries of natural and manmade toxins like mercury, arsenic and selenium. As that mud turns to dust and swirls to join some of the worst winter air pollution in the nation, scientists warn that the massive body of water could evaporate into a system of lifeless finger lakes within five years, on its way to becoming the Great Toxic Dustbowl.

• KSL Friday, Feb. 10, 2023

  USU researchers search for source of Wasatch Front air pollution

  SALT LAKE CITY — Researchers are taking a close look at some major contributors to our air pollution, and how to combat the problem better.

  This comes on the heels of another study that shows how a magnesium plant in Tooele County might be adding to the bad air in a much bigger way than previously thought.

  The Utah Division of Air Quality, along with researchers at Utah State University, is taking readings every week at air monitor stations.

  They're looking at some of the sources of our bad air, in hopes of finding what can be effectively targeted to better clear up the problem in the future.

  We're all painfully aware of the air pollution while it's here, but the elements that make it happen are always around, waiting to be trapped by the next inversion.

• ABC4 News Monday, Feb. 06, 2023

  USU Space Lab is helping NASA study gravity waves in Earth's atmosphere

  LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) – Did you know outer space has “weather?” Not only does it, but Utah State University is helping NASA forecast what that “weather” might be.

  USU’s Space Dynamics Laboratory has announced the successful completion of tests for NASA‘s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE), a mission that will help scientists understand and, ultimately, forecast the vast space weather system around our planet.

  AWE, planned for launch at the International Space Station, will study gravity waves in Earth’s atmosphere to “gain a deeper knowledge of the connections caused by climate systems throughout our atmosphere and between the atmosphere and space,” a press release states.