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Researchers named to Washington State Academy of Sciences

A distinguished professor in the Department of Sociology is among four WSU faculty named to the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) today. New members are accepted in recognition of their outstanding record of scientific achievement and willingness to work on behalf of the academy in bringing the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.

Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson
Monica Johnson

Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, professor of sociology and Honors College distinguished professor, studies work, family and education across the life course, with a particular focus on well-being and achievement in adolescence and the transition to adulthood.

The newest members of WSAS will be inducted during the ninth annual meeting at the Seattle Museum of Flight on Sept. 15.

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WSU News

May 12: Tushingham to receive Libraries’ Excellence Award

Shannon Tushingham
Shannon Tushingham

Shannon Tushingham, assistant director of the Washington State University Museum of Anthropology, will receive the 2015 WSU Libraries’ Excellence Award during an 11 a.m. reception Tuesday, May 12, in the Terrell Library Atrium.

The award recognizes a non-library WSU faculty or staff member who has shown consistent support for the WSU Libraries. » More …

WSU announces humanities fellows for 2015-16

2015-2016 Humanities Fellows
2015-2016 Humanities Fellows

Three professors – representing history, philosophy and ethnic studies – have been selected as Washington State University humanities fellows for the 2015-16 academic year. » More …

WSU math teacher wins MIT puzzle competition

Thomas Gazzola with the winning “Nautilodestone” coin from the MIT Mystery Hunt. Photo courtesy WSU Vancouver.
Thomas Gazzola with the winning “Nautilodestone” coin from the MIT Mystery Hunt. Photo courtesy WSU Vancouver.

A Washington State University Vancouver math instructor is celebrating his win in the “Super Bowl” of puzzle hunts.

Thomas Gazzola is part of a 40-member team of solvers who successfully deciphered the 2015 MIT Mystery Hunt, an annual puzzle competition held in Boston during the Martin Luther King Junior weekend.

The Mystery Hunt, created by an MIT graduate student in 1981, is widely regarded as one of the world’s oldest and most complex “puzzlehunts.” According to the MIT website the event draws about 1,000 people each year and has inspired similar competitions at universities, companies and in cities around the globe.

“There were about 180 puzzles in this year’s hunt,” said Gazzola, director of the WSU Vancouver math resource lab. “My crew managed to get through them all in just under 41 hours.”

Winning means his team has the dubious honor of designing the closely guarded theme and puzzles for the upcoming 2016 hunt.

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Sociologist, psychologist named first WSU Honors College distinguished professors

Monica Johnson
Monica Johnson
Raymond Quock
Raymond Quock

A professor of sociology and a professor of psychology are the first distinguished professors of the Honors College at Washington State University.

Sociologist Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson and psychologist Raymond Quock were selected based on their demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and outreach service, said Daryll DeWald, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences which partnered with Honors to create the new professorships.

“Both Monica and Raymond are outstanding teachers and researchers in their respective fields,” DeWald said. “Formalizing this partnership between the two colleges enables our outstanding professors to enrich the Honors environment in a dedicated manner while strengthening both programs overall.”

Read more at WSU News