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Dirt Works solving problems in Solar Decathlon Build Challenge
LAWRENCE – A University of Kansas studio run by Chad Kraus, associate professor of architecture, received word that it was one of 14 applicants winning approval to proceed with an associated $50,000 in funding in the Build Challenge portion of the Department of Energy’s 20th annual Solar Decathlon. Dirt Works Studio has partnered with a new nonprofit organization, The Good Work, which is dedicated to serving families experiencing crisis, on the homebuilding project in Kansas City, Kansas.
16 KU Engineering faculty members among most cited researchers in the world, study shows
LAWRENCE — Sixteen faculty members at the University of Kansas School of Engineering are among the top 2% of scientists worldwide cited by others in research publications, according to a study from Stanford University. “We all hope our work has impact, and that’s what this is a measure of,” said Michael Branicky, professor of electrical engineering & computer science and former dean of the school, who was among the most cited researchers. “It’s proof of the global reach of our research.”
Service learning excellence recognized with awards and juried presentations
LAWRENCE — The Center for Service Learning (CSL) at the University of Kansas has announced the 2022 Excellence in Service Learning award recipients and selected the winners of this year’s Service Showcase presentation competition. The CSL recognized these award recipients and others at the annual Service Showcase + Celebration. Honorees include students from Leavenworth, Lenexa and Overland Park.
KU CREES announces Laird essay contest winners
LAWRENCE — The Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREES) at the University of Kansas has announced that the 2022 Roy D. and Betty Laird Essay Contest winners are undergraduate students John Lubianetsky, of Kansas City, Missouri, for his essay “The United States’ Role in Resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Transformation and Change in Caucasian Security,” and Aylar Atadurdyyeva, of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, for her essay “‘The Woman Question,’ Dostoevsky, and the Women of ‘Crime and Punishment.’”
Full stories below.
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Contact: Rick Hellman, KU News Service, 785-864-8852, [email protected], @RickHellman
Dirt Works solving problems in Solar Decathlon Build Challenge
LAWRENCE – A home designed for state-of-the-art energy efficiency, that shelters people fleeing from domestic violence, fills an inner-city “orphan lot” and simultaneously trains architecture students in construction?
That is the quadruple play that a Department of Energy award to the University of Kansas’ Dirt Works Studio will catalyze over the next year in Kansas City, Kansas.
Dirt Works Studio, run by Chad Kraus, associate professor of architecture, received word that it was one of 14 applicants winning approval to proceed and an associated $50,000 in award funding in the Build Challenge portion of the DOE’s 20th annual Solar Decathlon. A year from now, the results of their work will be judged against that of other competitors, including teams from Pennsylvania State University, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
According to the DOE, the teams will work over a two-year period to design, build and operate houses in their own communities. Student work will culminate in April 2023 with the Solar Decathlon Competition Event at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The finished homes must “demonstrate creative solutions for real-world issues in the building industry. Teams will compete to earn points by operating their house successfully and by showcasing the excellence of their solutions to industry expert jurors.”
For Kraus, designing and building an ultra-energy-efficient house is a step up from Dirt Works’ usual outdoor pavilion or indoor renovation project.
“Since the mid-’90s, when (professor) Dan Rockhill started Studio 804, we’ve had a really strong design-build program — many would say one of the strongest in the country,” Kraus said. “So you would think we would have been engaged in this, which is probably the highest-profile design-build competition in the country.”
various reasons, though, Kraus said, a KU team had not done so. This year felt like the right time, he said, and work began during the fall 2021.
Kraus said Dirt Works Studio has partnered with a new nonprofit organization, The Good Work, which is dedicated to serving families experiencing crisis, on the homebuilding project. The Good Work owns the vacant lot in Kansas City’s Strawberry Hill neighborhood that Dirt Works will build upon, and the organization will raise whatever additional money is needed to complete the house, with an estimated budget of $300,000. The completed home will serve as a refuge for a parent and their children fleeing abuse, Kraus said.
Other partners in the endeavor include Henderson Engineers (mechanical, electrical and plumbing), Apex Engineers (structural), BNIM (architectural consulting), BuildSmart (a maker of prefabricated walls) and Wood Haven (a lumber supplier and rainscreen manufacturer).
“It’s a narrow lot,” Kraus said, “so it’s really difficult to build on because it was set up at a time when building codes were quite different. Now you can’t even legally build on these lots unless you have a special provision, which they’ve developed in Strawberry Hill, called their Narrow Lot Design Guidelines that allow certain deviations from the zoning codes.” Those guidelines include minimum setback distances from the street and the neighbors’ property.
This lot, though, has other issues as well, including the fact that it’s near an interstate highway. So Dirt Works is trying to turn those vices into virtues, using, for instance, the southern exposure created by the expanse of highway to invite passive solar gain for warmth inside the home. The geography also makes for a spectacular view of the Kansas City, Missouri, skyline from the new home’s master bedroom.
After some help from professionals who will pour the foundation over the summer, roughly two dozen Dirt Works students will do most of the construction work themselves during the fall and spring semesters of 2022-23. Once the building is complete, Dirt Works will operate the home for a period of weeks, measuring its energy efficiency for contest-judging purposes. The goal is for the home to be “net-zero” or better — that is, to create as much or more energy with its solar-electricity-panel array and other features as it uses. The home that strikes the best balance of efficiency and elegance in solving all its design-build problems will be declared the winner.
Kraus said he is anxious to see how this most ambitious Dirt Works project turns out.
“I’m passionate about design-build education,” he said.
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Contact: Cody Howard, School of Engineering, 785-864-2936, [email protected], @kuengineering
16 KU Engineering faculty members among most cited researchers in the world, study shows
LAWRENCE — Sixteen faculty members at the University of Kansas School of Engineering are among the top 2% of scientists worldwide cited by others in research publications, according to a study from Stanford University.
That number equals roughly 14% of KU’s engineering faculty — an “impressive accomplishment,” said Arvin Agah, dean of the engineering school. “I appreciate the commitment and dedication it takes to achieve this status.”
Stanford researchers created a database of more than 180,000 scientists across 176 subfields — out of nearly 9 million scientists worldwide who had been credited with publishing more than five papers — then analyzed the number of citations that each received. Self-citations were excluded. This achievement is a sign that research by KU engineering faculty has served as a foundation for scientists and engineers around the world to explore new areas of innovation in their respective fields.
“We all hope our work has impact, and that’s what this is a measure of,” said Michael Branicky, professor of electrical engineering & computer science and former dean of the school, who was among the most cited researchers. “It’s proof of the global reach of our research.”
Branicky made the list, having been cited nearly 11,000 times for his multidecade work in such diverse areas as networked control systems that share information, like “smart electrical grids,” hybrid systems that combine physical and computer inputs, like airplane autopilots, and robotic motion planning.
He said the Stanford research offered evidence that KU engineering professors are spreading knowledge beyond their own labs and lecture halls.
“Certainly, what we do helps train our own students in the classroom and the graduate students who are our mentees,” Branicky said. “But it also literally reaches across the world — our work is being followed and transformed by many other scientists.”
The whole purpose of research, he said, is to build a foundation for others to use to create even more new discoveries and ideas.
“Research is like setting course in a forest. You get to a different clearing, and you set up camp — and once you’ve set up camp, other people can go from there and explore other things,” Branicky said. “We all have differing expertise, but it’s a similar story in terms of these mountains we’ve each climbed.”
The list was generated by John Ioannidis, professor of medicine at Stanford University, and reflects citations through August 2020.
KU engineering faculty on the list:
Aerospace engineering
1. Ronald Barrett, professor
2. Z.J. Wang, Spahr professor
Chemical & petroleum engineering
1. Cory Berkland, Solon E. Summerfield Distinguished Professor
2. Stevin Gehrke, Fred Kurata Memorial Professor
3. Trung Van Nguyen, professor
4. Mark Shiflett, Foundation Distinguished Professor
5. Bala Subramaniam, Dan F. Servey Distinguished Professor
Civil, environmental & architectural engineering
1. David Darwin, Deane E. Ackers Distinguished Professor
2. Anil Misra, professor
Electrical engineering & computer science
1. Shannon Blunt, Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor
2. Michael Branicky, professor
3. Victor Frost, Dan F. Servey Distinguished Professor
4. Rongqing Hui, professor
Mechanical engineering
1. Theodore Bergman, Charles E. & Mary Jane Spahr Professor
2. Steven Soper, Foundation Distinguished Professor
3. Paulette Spencer, Ackers Distinguished Professor.
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Contact: Kate Kemper, Center for Service Learning, 785-864-0960, [email protected], @KUServes
Service learning excellence recognized with awards and juried presentations
LAWRENCE — The Center for Service Learning (CSL) at the University of Kansas has announced the 2022 Excellence in Service Learning award recipients and selected the winners of this year’s Service Showcase presentation competition. The CSL recognized these award recipients and others at the annual Service Showcase + Celebration.
The CSL’s Excellence in Service Learning Awards recognize exemplary contributors to the KU community culture of service and civic action. Nominations are continuously accepted on the CSL’s awards webpage.
Award for Excellence in Service Learning
Kathleen Dahl-Nuckolls, environmental studies lecturer
Dahl-Nuckolls is an active and engaged champion of service learning and committed collaborator with the Center for Service Learning. She instructs service-learning designated courses in the Environmental Studies Program and promotes the Certificate in Service Learning with her students. Through her courses, she integrates hands-on, community-engaged experiences for her students, including working with the Community Gardens to do soil sampling at current and proposed garden sites.
Staff Award for Excellence in Community Engagement
Mercedes Bounthapanya, project manager for CLAS associate deans
Bounthapanya provides their service-based expertise in ongoing collaborations with community organizations such as the Black Economic Union (BEU) of Kansas City, Lawrence Sexual Trauma and Abuse CARE Center, Haus of McCoy, Lawrence Queer/Trans Youth Alliance and Food Not Bombs, among others. Bounthapanya’s involvement both on- and off-campus is critical for providing a welcoming community at KU and more broadly.
Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Community-Engaged Research + Learning
Alyssa Francis, master’s in higher education administration student
Francis, from Elkhorn, Nebraska, has taken an active role in a partnership with CSL to involve students in civic engagement education by partnering on a variety of programming initiatives and the Civic Engagement Ambassador program. In her position as graduate assistant in the Student Involvement & Leadership Center, she also works with students to find ways for them to take part in the service opportunities on campus.
Community Partner Award for Excellence in Campus Collaboration
Young Women on the Move, Youth Empowerment Organization
Young Women on the Move (YWOM) is a youth-serving organization in Kansas City, Kansas. For years now, YWOM has collaborated with the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and schools of Journalism and Social Welfare to partner as a service-learning host site. Projects students have assisted with include curriculum development in subjects such as healthy eating, exercise and art; youth program facilitation in the schools and the development of a volunteer management system.
Undergraduate Student Award for Excellence in Service Learning
Cori Brungardt, senior in marketing
This year, Brungardt, from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has helped connect Pi Beta Phi members to volunteer opportunities with the Ballard Center, including kindergarten readiness tutoring initiatives and community supply drives. Ballard Center staff noted the incredible impact Brungardt has had on the children served by the organization, as well as the organization itself.
Undergraduate Student Award for Excellence in Service Learning
Yasmin Edrees, senior in behavioral neuroscience
As the communications director for the KU Center for Community Outreach, Edrees, from Overland Park, has supported a group of around 40 student leaders in promoting both in-person and virtual service opportunities through various channels. As a co-president of HEAL KU, Edrees has facilitated a wide variety of service, advocacy and education opportunities while building a strong leadership team to carry on the organization’s valuable work.
In addition to the recipients of the CSL’s Excellence in Service Learning Awards, two student recipients of national awards were also recognized at this event:
2022-2023 Newman Civic Fellow
Abeer Iqbal, junior in behavioral neuroscience
The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who are changemakers at Campus Compact member institutions. Iqbal, from Urbandale, Iowa, has served with a variety of organizations including Phi Delta Epsilon, Sigma Kappa, Dance Marathon, LEAD UP, and Jayhawk Health Initiative. She is currently interning with the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
Presidential Volunteer Service Award
Riya Patel, senior in molecular, cellular & developmental biology
This year, Patel, from Leavenworth, has earned the bronze Presidential Volunteer Service Award for completing 100 hours of service in a year. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities. Patel currently serves as the co-president of HEAL KU and has volunteered with numerous local efforts.
At the Service Showcase + Celebration, exemplary student presenters for the annual Service Showcase poster competition were recognized. Faculty, staff and community partner judges evaluated each presentation based on several criteria, including evidence of meaningful community partnerships, intentional reflection and sense of civic identity and social responsibility.
Rachel Strothkamp
Senior in psychology and applied behavioral science
Strothkamp’s presentation detailed her spring 2022 work with Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ. Strothkamp is from St. Louis. KSPHQ is the comprehensive suicide prevention leader in Kansas, providing education, support and crisis services for all.
View Strothkamp’s presentation.
Izzy Walker
Senior in applied behavioral science
Walker, from Lenexa, had a presentation that detailed her fall 2021 and spring 2022 work with Heartland 180. Heartland 180 works to empower youth to improve their lives by accepting personal accountability and to strive toward the goal of achieving their full potential, “one degree” at a time.
View Walker’s presentation.
“Our annual Service Showcase and Celebration recognizes a year of community-engaged work at KU with community partners and across our campuses,” said Jomella Watson-Thompson, director of the Center for Service Learning. “It’s a great way, as we think about concluding our academic year, to really celebrate, recognize, acknowledge and showcase the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, faculty and our community partners.”
The event recording for the Service Showcase + Celebration, hosted by the Center for Service Learning on April 21, can be viewed on the CSL’s YouTube channel.
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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”
a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.
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Contact: Esra Predolac, Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, 785-864-2358, [email protected], @KUCREES
KU CREES announces Laird essay contest winners
LAWRENCE — The Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREES) at the University of Kansas has announced that the 2022 Roy D. and Betty Laird Essay Contest winners are undergraduate students John Lubianetsky, for his essay “The United States’ Role in Resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Transformation and Change in Caucasian Security,” and Aylar Atadurdyyeva, for her essay “‘The Woman Question,’ Dostoevsky, and the Women of ‘Crime and Punishment.’”
Now in its 28th year, the essay contest is named after the late Roy Laird, a longtime member of the Russian, East European & Eurasian studies and political science faculties, and Betty Laird, whose support makes this prize possible.
A committee of four REES faculty read and independently rated the anonymous essays submitted for the contest. According to CREES Director Erik Scott, Lubianetsky’s essay offered “productive ideas for seeking a stable peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.” He said that Atadurdyyeva’s essay provided “a thought-provoking analysis of gender in 19th-century Russian literature and its relevance for understanding Russia’s past and present.”
Both Lubianetsky and Atadurdyyeva will receive a $250 cash prize award.
Lubianetsky is from Kansas City, Missouri. At KU, he is pursuing a triple major in Chinese language & literature, global & international studies and political science, with minors in intelligence & national security studies and Russian, Eastern European & Eurasian studies. His academic interests are in East and Central Asian security and in international arms control. In the future, he plans to attend graduate school to study international relations.
Atadurdyyeva, from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, is a third-year student majoring in global & international studies, microbiology and political science with minors in German studies, psychology and Russian, East European & Eurasian studies. She is an active member of the University Honors Program, where she serves as a student ambassador. She is currently interning with Education USA, a U.S. Department of State program. After graduation, she intends to pursue a doctorate in either microbiology or political science with hopes of becoming a scholar-practitioner.
CREES is a designated National Resource Center (NRC) for the study of Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia by the Department of Education and receives Title VI funds for educational events and outreach activities. For more information on CREES events and activities, visit www.crees.ku.edu or call 785-864-2358.
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