Mississippi State University and the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority worked together to fly a technologically-advanced unmanned aircraft at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in late May. Through the collaborative efforts of Raspet and JMAA, the duo successfully obtained FAA authorization for the first flight in JAN’s controlled airspace, known as Class C, on May 26. Class C airspace is a designation of up to 4,000 feet above ground level at airports with control towers, radar approach control and a certain level of activity. Pictured, from left, are MSU Associate Vice President for Corporate Engagement and Economic Development Jim Martin, JAN Federal Security Director Kim D. Jackson, JMAA Commissioner LTC (Ret.) Lucius Wright, MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan, JMAA Chief Administrative Officer Nycole Campbell-Lewis and MSU Raspet Flight Research Lab Director Tom Brooks. PHOTO: Chris Bryant | Raspet
Brown garners $1.1 million NSF grant to better understand ‘tree of life’
A National Science Foundation grant worth more than $1 million awarded to a Mississippi State University biologist will expand scientists’ knowledge of the environmental distribution of Amoebozoa -- the major eukaryotic amoeboid lineage -- providing a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of “the tree of life.”
Matthew W. Brown, an associate professor of biological sciences at MSU and sole principal investigator of the $1,114,943 grant, said a deeper look into Amoebozoa ancestry and biodiversity is important “to better understand how microbial and multicellular eukaryotes evolved into the vast diversity we see today.”
Emerging ‘new frontier’ of nanoscience and technology garners Wang U.S. DOE early career award
A new Mississippi State University faculty member is the recipient of $750,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Research Program. Kun Wang, an assistant professor with joint MSU appointments in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Chemistry, is one of 51 university-employed scientists from the U.S. to receive DOE early career awards for “mission-critical” research. Wang’s project, “Probing and Understanding the Spatial and Energy Distributions of Plasmonic Hot Carriers via Single-Molecule Quantum Transport,” funded for five years, seeks to explore the new frontier of nanoscience and technology -- a “challenge,” Wang said, because until now most research has relied only on theoretical simulations.
USDA grant funds Barton's study of using sound as weapon against agricultural pests
A Mississippi State University faculty member is using a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to determine the effects of sound on grasshopper physiology and behavior, an implication that could be good for both farming and the environment. Brandon Barton, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, received the one-year $113,000 USDA grant—Sonic Weaponry for Managing Rangeland Grasshoppers and Mormon Crickets—in collaboration with the USDA-APHIS-PPQ-Science and Technology Phoenix Lab Rangeland Unit. “My lab is interested in how sound and sound pollution affect ecosystems,” Barton said. “This project lets us look at how to weaponize sound to create more environmentally friendly ways of controlling pests."
Wang uses new method to study plasma with funding from DOE
Chuji Wang, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Mississippi State University, is the recipient of a $199,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s Discovery Plasma Science: Measurement Innovation Program to study the effects of plasma in complex settings using a novel method -- the cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) technique. The Measurement Innovation Program supports the development of novel and groundbreaking diagnostic techniques and their applications to new, unexplored or unfamiliar plasma regimes or scenarios.
Scouts BSA honors Lehnerer and Fountain with outstanding volunteer awards
Mississippi State employees Gerhard Lehnerer and Brent Fountain are both receiving the Silver Beaver Award, the highest volunteer honor given by the Pushmataha Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. The awards were presented at the council’s recent annual recognition event at Camp Seminole in Starkville. “The Silver Beaver Award is the highest honor afforded adult Scouters by the Scouting program,” said MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter, a prior winner of the award. “Both Brent Fountain and Gerhard Lehnerer have served the Scouting program in the Pushmataha Area Council ably and well for many years and are most deserving of this honor. Their distinguished service to Scouting is in keeping with their professional service here at MSU.”
Abutabenjeh co-authors timely study on future emergency management policy
Research on public procurement in the wake of COVID-19 is the focus of a Mississippi State University faculty member’s paper now featured in a recent edition of the Journal of Emergency Management. Sawsan Abutabenjeh, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, co-authored the article as part of a multi-university collaboration investigating how the government’s pandemic response to assembling and allocating resources was impacted by emergency conditions, existing systemic problems and value conflicts.
DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Laura Andrews
Laura Andrews is the program manager for the College of Forest Resources and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center on campus. She provides administrative support to the department and spends much of her time managing federally funded projects. She also coordinates support staff responsibilities, hiring, training, and assignment changes. “My position in the department has evolved over time and has become a career that I really enjoy,” Andrews said. “I like that there is a lot of variety in our department. Although the work is similar, each project is different and interesting in its own way.”
DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Christine Woodley
Christine Woodley has been paying it forward for 7 years. As an assistant teacher at Gaston Point Head Start in Harrison County, she wants to have an impact on the lives of the children with whom she works. “I have a soft spot for children, and some children require just a little more than others for whatever reason,” Woodley said. “I remember my second- and third-grade teacher, and I am still connected to her to this day. I love her so much, and I’m still bonded with her because of the love she showed me those two years I was a part of her class. So, in turn, I want to pay it forward to my own students.”
National journalist Baier tours Grant Presidential Library
National journalist Bret Baier met with Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum on campus last week before touring the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at MSU. Anchor of “Special Report with Bret Baier” on the Fox News Channel, he also is the chief political correspondent for Fox. Baier is author of “To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876,” written with Catherine Whitney and forthcoming in October from HarperCollins. The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at MSU’s Mitchell Memorial Library contains 15,000 linear feet of correspondence, research notes, published monographs, artifacts, photographs, scrapbooks and memorabilia by and about the United States’ 18th president, covering his early life, Civil War triumphs, presidency and beyond. MSU is one of only six universities in the nation to house a presidential library.
Applications open for SEC Visiting Faculty Travel Grant Program
Mississippi State faculty members are invited to submit applications for the Southeastern Conference Visiting Faculty Travel Grant Program until June 25. Sponsored by the SEC Academic Consortium, the program is intended to enhance faculty collaboration that stimulates scholarly initiatives between SEC universities. It gives faculty from one SEC university the opportunity to travel to another SEC campus to: exchange ideas; develop grant proposals; conduct research; consult with faculty and/or students; offer lectures or symposia; or engage in whatever activities are agreeable to the visitor and host unit.
Reminder: University policy addresses employee political activity
With political campaigning underway for local elections, Mississippi State's Office of General Counsel offers the following reminder of the university’s policy on political activities. There are several basic guidelines that university employees should keep in mind when engaging in any form of political activity. MSU employees are encouraged to review OP 01.14: Political Activities in its entirety and to understand their rights and responsibilities.
Smoke-free policy enhances healthy environment
Mississippi State University is a smoke-free campus. Official policy prohibits the use of any combustible or vapor products anywhere on campus property including university buildings, university grounds, university vehicles, parking areas and sidewalks. The smoke-free campus policy is part of the university's commitment to creating a healthy environment for all members of the campus community. Use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah or other similar devices are prohibited by this policy. The complete policy is available at www.policies.msstate.edu/policy/91301.
The Office of Public Affairs provides Maroon MEMO as a general information
resource for Mississippi State University employees.
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