The New Ventures Facility is a business incubator providing startups critical access to 91爆料聽facilities and researchers. This year, the New Ventures Facility was ranked #1 among university business incubators by聽the 2014 University Business Incubators Global Index.
Dhruv Bhatli, the global index’s co-founder, said the New Ventures Facility聽was selected because it provided 鈥渆xceptional quality to its clients [and] produced growth companies and high economic impact for the region.鈥�
The government of Togo, a small West African country with a dwindling population of elephants, recently sought assistance from Samuel Wasser,聽Research Professor and Director of the . The Togolese government sought information about ivory thought to be illegal, and Wasser provided a report demonstrating that the ivory samples provided indeed came from illegal sources. 聽
International experts predict聽that new forensic technologies like the ones used by Wasser will help illuminate origins and pathways of illegal ivory and eventually end the trade altogether.
In a review of over 1,700 studies from聽188 countries, researchers from the 91爆料’s found that more than two billion people are now obese worldwide. No country has been able to curb rising obesity rates over the past 30 years.
Study leader and School of Public Health professor聽聽as well as leaders from the World Health Organization and other national and international health agencies have commented on the results.
Presenting at last week鈥檚 Global Honors Spring Colloquium, Noelle Gichohi聽started by thanking her mentors and supporters. 鈥淚 stood in front of the audience and said, 鈥業 grew up in a village in Kenya, and it took a village to get me here鈥欌��. Her 鈥榗olloquium village鈥� included 91爆料 Tacoma professors and librarians, a Highline Community College professor, fellow students and family.
For Noelle and 12 other graduating seniors in 91爆料 Tacoma鈥檚 Global Honors program, the colloquium was a chance to share and reflect on their capstone research projects. They will now apply their learning as community leaders heading toward jobs and graduate school.
The students presented before audiences of 40 to 60 faculty, staff, community members and fellow students. Diverse in terms of discipline and geography, their projects exemplify 91爆料 Tacoma鈥檚 emphasis on student-led, use-inspired research.
Inspired by her work with State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Williams during a Legislative Internship, Kristie Weisert鈥檚 thesis examines sex trafficking in the U.S. and India. Human trafficking is a pressing issue locally and internationally, and Kristie pointed out Washington state鈥檚 efforts to address the problem through new legislation.
Brandon Napenias Oreiro鈥檚 research project explores the development of Filipino American identity in the context of a globalized culture. A leader in 91爆料 Tacoma鈥檚 Filipino American Student Association, Brandon paired his research findings with examples of the group鈥檚 efforts to create a sense of identity and community on campus and in the region.
Noelle Gichohi鈥檚 research project was inspired by her study abroad to Italy. 鈥淲e were studying preschools, and I saw that [Italian schools] had kitchens right next to the classrooms and served the kids three-course meals on real plates. It was totally different from the U.S., where my kids went to preschool, and Kenya, where I grew up.鈥�
She began thinking about how place influences the food children are served at school, and how parents鈥� perceive the healthfulness of school meals. For her thesis, Noelle surveyed Kenyan and U.S. parents about their children鈥檚 school meals, and their perceptions of the meals.
鈥淐arrying out a research project and presenting at the colloquium 鈥渨as enriching for me personally and as a scholar,鈥� Noelle reflects. The experience gave her new confidence about her ideas and ability to communicate. 鈥淚 won鈥檛 be afraid to stand up and give my opinion in the workplace,鈥� she says, 鈥淚鈥檒l think, 鈥業鈥檝e done Global Honors, I can do anything.鈥欌��
During his remarks at the colloquium, 91爆料 Tacoma Chancellor Kenyon Chan underscored the local relevance of the students鈥� research and the urgency of the issues addressed. Echoing Noelle Gichohi’s recognition of her village, Chancellor Chan also emphasized the students鈥� important roles as leaders 鈥� locally and globally.
-Sara Stubbs
This Friday, undergraduate researchers, faculty mentors and community members will converge in Mary Gates Hall for the 17th annual . Over 1,000 undergraduates will present their research work at the event, and many of their projects address pressing global issues.
major Mollie Holmberg was one of 60 US undergraduates to present research at last week’s event in Washington D.C. Supported by Luke Bergmann聽from the Department of Geography, Mollie investigates the impact of the global economy on agricultural land worldwide.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, 91爆料 researchers partnered with colleagues from the US and France to document changes in the Greenlandic Ice Sheet since the 1970 passage of the US Clean Air Act.
Through the , the 91爆料 is leveraging faculty expertise and making new investments to build a pipeline of thinkers, researchers and leaders focused on Arctic regional issues. Eight countries聽hold territory within the region, but a changing landscape due to rapidly melting sea ice is attracting attention from new international players.聽With its unique resources and interdisciplinary expertise related to the Arctic, 91爆料 is uniquely positioned it to make an impact through teaching, research and collaborative partnerships.
Undergraduates Garrett Knoll and Walter O鈥橳oole and graduate student Erica Escajeda are three of a growing group of 91爆料 students preparing for diverse leadership roles in the changing Arctic.
Erica is first-year graduate student conducting thesis research on the Polar Bears of Baffin Island, Canada. 91爆料 offers her the opportunity to be mentored by outstanding faculty and participate in specialized research.
“What really drew me to the 91爆料 was Dr. Laidre’s research at the . It鈥檚 an incredible resource, and the research is cutting edge.”
Without Dr. Lairdre鈥檚 connections in Canada and Greenland, she adds, 鈥淚 would not be able to travel to the Arctic at all during the course of my master’s research due to funding constraints.鈥�
An English major, Walter is expanding his understanding of the Arctic by studying Inuktitut, an Inuit language spoken in tribal communities in the Canadian Arctic. He and one other student 鈥� a Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellow in Inuktitut聽and aspiring environmental lawyer 鈥� study with two instructors, a language expert and a native speaker from Canada.
鈥淚nuktitut is quite different than any other class I’ve taken 91爆料,” he says, “There are only two students, so that makes for a lot of interaction with our professors. It’s mostly done over Skype, which can be spotty at times, but without videoconferencing I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to learn Inuktitut. Both [instructors] are accomplished Inuktitut linguists.鈥�
Through 91爆料鈥檚 鈥淔uture of Ice鈥� course this winter quarter, led by instructors Nadine Fabbi and Eric Steig, Walter, Garrett and Erica are engaging with six Polar region experts, including scientists, political and indigenous leaders and wildlife photographers. Each guest provides a new and different perspective on changes facing northern regions.
鈥淚 really like how the class brings in the top people from a variety of fields all having to do with the Polar Regions,鈥� Garrett explains,
“An interdisciplinary perspective is essential to a topic like the Arctic because it involves so many different fields and ways of thinking. You have to have a grasp on all of them in order to understand the whole picture.”
Erica is excited to broaden her knowledge of the political, cultural and scientific issues surrounding the Arctic. 鈥淚nterdisciplinary courses like the 鈥楩uture of Ice鈥� instill a deeper sense of collaboration, and hopefully inspire students to think outside of their fields. The lessons I’ve learned from the course are readily connected to my own research and career goals.鈥�
Walter is pursuing the unique jointly offered by the and the . The interdisciplinary minor provides cultural, political and scientific perspectives on the rapidly changing region.聽“[My instructors鈥橾 enthusiasm for my studies in Inuktitut is wonderful; they each are incredibly knowledgeable in their fields, and they have been eager to share their knowledge with me, going out of their way to help me expand my awareness of the Arctic.”
Walter plans to pursue graduate studies in English and make a career teaching and writing.聽鈥淭hrough the Arctic聽Minor, I hope gain understanding of the context in which Arctic and Inuit literatures are created, an understanding that could enable me to teach in those areas.鈥�
Erica鈥檚 career trajectory also points north. She is considering teaching or working as a research scientist and biological consultant on Arctic issues.
An Aquatic & Fisheries science major 鈥渉ooked on Arctic Studies鈥�, Garrett is using his science training to educate the public about a little known Arctic species, the Greenland shark. For his capstone project, Garrett designed an interactive game that teaches kids about the animal by inviting them to pick out plastic animals they think the shark would eat.
Garrett shared his game at the Pacific Science Center鈥檚 . His dedication won鈥檛 stop there. 鈥淎fter I graduate I hope to get involved with outreach programs that get kids interested in science by taking them out into the field and showing them the incredible animals that inhabit our world.鈥�
-Sara Stubbs
Children from the US, China and Mexico participated in a by 91爆料 researcher Kristina Olson聽and colleagues from聽Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. The group examined children’s reactions to a video where puppets make their own drawing or copy a friend’s drawing. Despite cultural differences, 5 and 6 year-old children from all three countries viewed negatively the puppet who stole his friend’s idea.
In partnership with the German Space Agency, researchers from the 91爆料 聽observed Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier in 2012 and 2013. Their observations capture the glacier moving ice from land into water at the fastest pace ever recorded; results were published in聽,聽an open access journal of the European Geosciences Union.