Celebrating a ribbon cutting in advance of this past weekend’s Subway and Bento Sushi openings are, from left, MSU Dining Services Director of Operations Valerie Schultz; Food Service Director Dwight Turner; MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt; MSU Student Association President Carson McFatridge; MSU President Mark E. Keenum; Subway Supervisor Angie Robinson; and Aramark Resident District Manager James Jankowski. PHOTO: Jonah Holland | Public Affairs
MSU showcases automated agricultural technology at agronomic field day
The latest precision and automated agricultural technologies were showcased during the Mississippi State agronomic field day last week at the R. R. Foil Plant Science Research Center. Co-hosted by the university’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the MSU Extension Service, the public event featured sessions on crop management, insect control and plant physiology stress. An event highlight -- the highly anticipated sprayer drone demonstration -- in partnership with Leading Edge Aerial Technologies piqued the interest of attendees. Madison Dixon, AAI’s associate director, said that MSU will benefit from LEAT’s knowledge and expertise by putting sprayer drone technology into the hands of researchers and farmers alike.
Shinde's $1.1M NASA grant to develop computational tool aiding hypersonic vehicle design
NASA is awarding a Mississippi State University assistant professor a $1.13 million grant to develop a new simulation tool to aid the design of hypersonic vehicles used in space exploration. Vilas Shinde of MSU’s Department of Aerospace Engineering won the grant to develop a new flow stability and transition analysis tool, which will aid researchers and aircraft designers in understanding and predicting changes associated with the boundary layer—air flow in the vicinity of an aircraft’s surface during flight. “This is a very competitive award, so the happiest moment for me was when my abstract was selected for the full proposal development,” said Shinde. “I’m fortunate to collaborate with some of the finest scientists in the field.”
Arts and Sciences launches innovative TEAMS program to foster teaching excellence
Mississippi State University’s College of Arts and Sciences is launching an interdisciplinary initiative aimed at promoting outstanding teaching practices and collaboration within the largest academic college at the university. Teaching Excellence and Motivating Success, or TEAMS, stems from universitywide directives to increase effective teaching practices, said Kelly Moser, MSU Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures associate professor. TEAMS leaders will engage in various activities, such as classroom observations, discussions on teaching and sharing resources to support faculty development.
Porter delves into health opportunities for military veterans
Named a top 10 Military Friendly School for four consecutive years, Mississippi State University continues its military support through a new online paper by a psychology faculty member, detailing a national program’s potential to enhance understanding of military and veteran health. Assistant Professor Ben Porter’s article in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) highlights veterans as a key subpopulation. He demonstrates how the extensive health data available through the All of Us Research Program can address critical health questions for veterans. “This study is unique because anyone 18 years or older in the U.S. can sign up to be a participant. I am actually a participant,” Porter said.
Reminder: University policy addresses employee political activity
With campaigning for elected offices underway this year, 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.
Free learning opportunities via LinkedIn Learning available to faculty, staff and students
Sharpen skills. Explore new interests. Increase professional value. These and other results are now available via no-cost learning opportunities to Mississippi State faculty, staff and students through MSU’s new agreement with LinkedIn Learning. A popular, online education platform, LinkedIn Learning’s 20,000-plus courses are available to campus via a quick login using their MSU NetID email addresses. With self-paced learning, courses are presented in various formats, including bite-sized video, audio only and in-depth content. The platform is directly integrated with Canvas, the university’s learning management system. MSU faculty can use it to supplement course material or even develop and load their own content onto the platform.
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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