From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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New NSF grant to fund water management data ecosystem in Kansas

LAWRENCE — The U.S. National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator has awarded $650,000 to a team led by University of Kansas scientists working with partners from Viaanix, an Internet of Things technology company, and officials from the Kansas Water Office for their project “Improving Water Quality and Equity through Sensor Data and Machine Learning Models.” The project will develop a water management data ecosystem that collects water quality and quantity data, models it with machine learning algorithms, and makes insights available on a dashboard for local government officials and state government agencies.

KU Law students offer local assistance with free tax preparation

LAWRENCE – This spring, University of Kansas Law students can prepare returns for taxpayers who are residents of Douglas County, make less than $72,000 per household per year and do not itemize their deductions. The VITA sessions began Feb. 19 and will run through April 15, excluding KU’s spring break. KU’s Legal Services for Students also offers free tax filing assistance through a VITA grant from the Internal Revenue Service.

Portraits reveal insight into gender-ambiguous luminaries of early modern Europe

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas professor’s new article, “Trans Visual Narratives: Representing Gender and Nature in Early Modern Europe,” studies the portraits of two renowned gender-ambiguous individuals: the 17th century Spanish soldier Antonio/Catalina de Erauso and 18th century French diplomat the Chevalier d’Eon. Their paintings appear as part of the artistic and scientific explorations that negotiated changing concepts of nature during this period. The research appears in the Journal of Women’s History.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Carrie Caine, Institute for Policy & Social Research, 785-864-9102, [email protected]

New NSF grant to fund water management data ecosystem in Kansas

LAWRENCE — Most of the water in Kansas, especially in the western part of the state, comes from a vast network of underground aquifers. In an agriculture-heavy state suffering from years of prolonged drought, it is crucial that the water available is used sustainably. A necessary piece of that sustainable use is having good monitoring data to understand water quality, water quantity and water use.

The U.S. National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator has awarded $650,000 to a team led by University of Kansas scientists working with partners from Viaanix, an Internet of Things technology company, and officials from the Kansas Water Office for their project “Improving Water Quality and Equity through Sensor Data and Machine Learning Models.”

The project will develop a water management data ecosystem that collects water quality and quantity data, models it with machine learning algorithms, and makes insights available on a dashboard for local government officials and state government agencies.

“This project focuses on a technical solution to the pressing water sustainability challenges Kansas faces,” said William Duncan, principal investigator on the project and assistant research professor of data science at KU.

Over the first year of the project, the team anticipates creating a data dashboard for real-time public reporting on water quantity, water quality and water equity.

“While one can view water equity in several ways, our project explores how the water-related actions of one group of Kansas community members undermine the ability of another group to use water in Kansas. The dashboard that our project is developing will help to mitigate this problematic interaction, thus improving water equity,” said Dietrich Earnhart, director of the Center for Environmental Policy and professor of economics at KU.

One aspect of the project will bring students’ skills to bear on the complex challenges of tracking Kansas water. KU mechanical engineering students will design a sensor that will remotely detect the existence of harmful algal blooms and broadcast the data to the network. In addition, students in the Kansas Data Science Consortium Community Data Labs course will work to build the dashboard and collect water data from the many different sources available, including the Kansas Geological Survey.

This award funds the first phase of this project. In August 2024, the team will apply for Phase 2 funding to expand its work.

“The research aligns with the guiding principles of the 2022 Governor’s Water Plan, and KU researchers will team with industry, state agencies and Kansas community partners to help sustain water resources in Kansas,” said Belinda Sturm, director of the Kansas NSF EPSCoR program and interim vice chancellor for research.

The NSF Convergence Accelerator funds teams who seek to apply basic research to pressing social issues. Teams work across disciplines and industries to find solutions that will have long-term social effects. A key part of this program is that teams work through the program with a cohort of other teams, with hands-on education and mentorship.

“The Convergence Accelerator’s curriculum, consisting of human-centered design, user discovery, team science, early-stage prototyping and pitch preparation, is designed to provide our funded teams the tools to transition their solutions into practice,” said Douglas Maughan, head of the NSF Convergence Accelerator program. “Phase 1 teams are expected to apply the curriculum, as well as focus on cross-cutting partnerships as most large-scale challenges cannot be solved with a single discipline and expertise.

At the end of Phase 1, teams will participate in a proposal and pitch competition, Maughan said. That will be used in selecting teams for Phase 2.

Millicent Coil, associate professor of the practice in mechanical engineering at KU, will also lead work on the project. Other team members include Bruce Fritz and Jay Talreja from Viaanix, and Wes McCary from the Kansas Water Office.

The Institute for Policy & Social Research supported the proposal and will manage the project.

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The official university Twitter account has changed to @UnivOfKansas.

Refollow @KUNews for KU News Service stories, discoveries and experts.

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Contact: Emma Herrman, School of Law, [email protected], @kulawschool

KU Law students offer local assistance with free tax preparation

LAWRENCE – Tax season is underway, and University of Kansas School of Law students will once again assist eligible community members with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

This spring, KU Law students can prepare returns for taxpayers who are residents of Douglas County, make less than $72,000 per household per year and do not itemize their deductions. The VITA sessions began Feb. 19 and will run through Tax Day, which is April 15. No sessions will take place March 9-17 during KU’s spring break.

Sessions are 6-8:45 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 9-11:45 a.m. Saturdays at Green Hall. A satellite location is offered 5-7 p.m. Thursdays at Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, 1600 Haskell Ave.

This year’s clinic is coordinated by third-year law student Shannon Greene.

“The VITA program is a great way to help people in our community,” Greene said. “This is my third year participating in the program, and I have enjoyed my experience in it.”

Last year, the VITA clinic filed 118 returns, which almost doubled the amount the clinic filed in the previous year. Greene said she hoped to see continued growth of the program in the 2024 tax season.

“I’m excited to see how many returns we file this year and to see the positive impact we have on individuals’ lives in our community,” Greene said.

The law school’s VITA program operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and the number of preparers varies by site. Those seeking assistance are encouraged to arrive near the start of each session.

Taxpayers should bring proof of identification and all relevant documentation, including proof of income and expenditures.

For more information, contact the VITA program at 785-864-9227 or by email.

Legal Services for Students (LSS) also offers free tax filing assistance through a VITA grant from the Internal Revenue Service. U.S. resident taxpayers who earned less than $79,000 in 2023 can prepare and file their returns electronically for free with software provided by LSS. International students, faculty and staff at KU filing as nonresident aliens can file their taxes for free with LSS assistance with no income limit. LSS also offers in-person tax filing assistance workshops during the spring filing season. For more information about tax programs provided by LSS visit the LSS website or by email.

“We know tax filing can feel complicated and even overwhelming for taxpayers,” said Jo Hardesty, director of Legal Services for Students. “That’s why at LSS our goal is not only to help taxpayers get their returns filed but to educate taxpayers about the tax system. We want to demystify the process and for our tax clients to feel confident when approaching their tax returns the following year, and every year going forward.”

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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”

a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.

https://kansaspublicradio.org/when-experts-attack

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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]

Portraits reveal insight into gender-ambiguous luminaries of early modern Europe

LAWRENCE — The continual attention on the transgender community implies this is a modern cultural issue. But as a new article attests, transgender individuals have been around for centuries.

“Part of what I’m interested in seeing is how the concept itself is used through human history,” said Marta Vicente, professor of history and of women, gender & sexuality studies at the University of Kansas.

Her article “Trans Visual Narratives: Representing Gender and Nature in Early Modern Europe” studies the portraits of two renowned gender-ambiguous individuals: the 17th century Spanish soldier Antonio/Catalina de Erauso and 18th century French diplomat the Chevalier d’Eon. Their paintings appear as part of the artistic and scientific explorations that negotiated changing concepts of nature during this period.

The research appears in the Journal of Women’s History.

She chose to focus on these two particular personalities because of their many similarities.

“They both came from nobility. They were both wealthy. But their real connection was they were early modern celebrities. People knew them everywhere. People would even imitate them. This gives us a privileged angle to examine gender ambiguity in a way we couldn’t do with ordinary people,” she said.

One notable contrast was d’Eon dwelled in France and England, whereas Erauso resided in the Spanish world.

“Because historians tend to still be very geographically based, if you study Spain or Latin America, you don’t study anything else. Bringing them together taught me how there are some gender perspectives in the early modern world that are if not universal then at least characteristic of western societies,” she said.

Vicente addresses a key question that reverberated throughout both of her subjects’ societies: “Do we see them as part of nature’s diversity or nature’s monstrosity?”

“In the early modern period — and I think it’s still true now — people were interested in those who did not fit the expected gender because they were sort of ‘troubling nature,’” she said. “How the human being fits within the natural world is a curiosity that people have always had. And ambiguous gender makes people question the predictability of nature and the order of things.”

She revealed why Erauso and d’Eon were careful in trying to portray themselves as a wonder of nature.

“Otherwise there can be consequences, as in criminal cases or Inquisition trials. If a trans person is condemned of crimes like sodomy, suddenly, the wonder of nature becomes a monstrosity. Then it’s perceived as a sin against nature,” she said.

The professor chose to refer to both subjects by the pronoun “they,” even though that was not the contemporary method in their respective eras.

“Pronouns are important now because they are a verbal translation of gender. They serve as a bridge that translates gender for us. Pronouns are anchors of identity,” she said.

“But it’s funny because Erauso spoke Basque, which has no pronouns. Yet in Spanish there are. So the ambiguity of language is reflected in this.”

How would she envision a meeting between Erauso and d’Eon?

“Oh, they would probably hate each other,” she said, laughing.

“Chevalier d’Eon was a quintessential feminist. An avant-garde by all means. They wrote an entire essay on the genealogy of women in theology. They wanted women to be ordained as priests. But Erauso, as portrayed in their autobiography, is the quintessential misogynist: a macho, masculine soldier. Women are subhuman to Erauso. They could not have been in the same room for more than five seconds.”

A native of Barcelona, Vicente is the author of “Debating Sex and Gender in Eighteenth-Century Spain” (Cambridge, 2017) and of the articles “Rethinking Identity: Transgender Studies and Catalan Independence” and “Transgender: A Useful Category? Or, How the Historical Study of ‘Transsexual’ and ‘Transvestite’ Can Help Us Rethink ‘Transgender’ as a Category.” Her expertise focuses on queer studies, queer theory, feminist history and sexuality.

“‘Trans Visual Narratives’ offers yet another layer to the complexities of the construction of gender from a historical perspective and therefore also for us today,” Vicente said. “Through these two individuals, we can see what may have been very normal for a lot of people in early modern Europe who were not fitting into the gender that they were assigned at birth.”

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KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-3256

Fax: 785-864-3339

[email protected]

http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings

Upcoming WTO conference addressing vital issues, can reverse existential crisis, international trade law expert says

LAWRENCE — The World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference is set for Feb. 26-29 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The conference, which meets every two years, is the supreme governing body of the WTO.

MC 13 will bring trade ministers from the 164 WTO members to review the functioning of the global trading system and direct the future course of the WTO. Raj Bhala, a renowned international trade expert at the University of Kansas, is available to discuss the conference, its function, goals and ramifications of actions taken with the media.

Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor at KU Law, can discuss the many topics slated for coverage at MC 13, including agricultural trade problems of market access, subsidies, cotton and public stockholding in food security; electronic commerce and digital trade controversies; prospects for dispute settlement reform; trade measures to combat climate change; schisms between rich and poor countries; and the accessions of two new members, Comoros and Timor-Leste.

Bhala has followed every WTO Ministerial Conference since the first one in 1996 and has reviewed the draft negotiation texts for the 13th conference.

“The WTO faces a worsening existential crisis of relevance,” Bhala said. “What was intended to be the preeminent international organization for multilateral trade, and a pillar of global governance, is becoming a sideshow. What causes explain this decline, and what can be done at MC 13 to reverse it?”

About Raj Bhala

Bhala is the author of the acclaimed four-volume “International Trade Law: A Comprehensive Textbook” and 100 law review articles in the field, including a trilogy on the Doha Round of WTO multilateral trade negotiations, which in 2001 aimed in part to fight terrorism through freer, fairer trade. Bhala has two new books on the U.S.-China trade war and Trans-Pacific Partnership, plus a two-volume treatise on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and a recently updated textbook, “Understanding Islamic Law (Shari’a).”

Bhala practiced international banking law at the Federal Reserve of New York and represented the U.S. at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law before entering academia. He has served as senior adviser to Dentons and consulted for many international organizations, governments, nongovernmental organizations and companies. He has worked in 25 countries including the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico, across the European Union, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and throughout India.

To schedule an interview, contact Mike Krings at 785-864-8860 by email.

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KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-3256

Fax: 785-864-3339

[email protected]

http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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Contact: Michelle Keller, KU Endowment, 785-832-7336, [email protected]; @KUEndowment

New date for One Day. One KU. announced

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas and KU Endowment have announced a new date for One Day. One KU. The 24-hour giving day will now take place March 6.

Since its inception in 2018, One Day. One KU. has raised more than $13 million through 22,700 gifts to support initiatives across all five KU campuses and The University of Kansas Health System.

Originally scheduled for Feb. 15, the annual day of giving was postponed due to the shootings that occurred at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration. Additional information will be shared in the days ahead via email, social media and on the One Day. One KU. website.

About KU Endowment

KU Endowment is the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.

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KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-3256

Fax: 785-864-3339

[email protected]

http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

KU senior from Kansas City awarded full ride to University of Cambridge to pursue sustainable engineering

LAWRENCE — Elizabeth Appel, a 2020 Park Hill High School graduate and a University of Kansas senior in civil engineering, is the most recent Jayhawk to be named a Gates Cambridge scholar, bringing the university’s total number of winners to four since the program was established. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

National League of Cities to kick off ‘Roadshow’ in Lawrence to celebrate organization’s 100th anniversary

LAWRENCE — In 1924, the National League of Cities (NLC) was founded at the University of Kansas. To commemorate its centennial, NLC, the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration (SPAA), the League of Kansas Municipalities and the city of Lawrence will convene at KU for a daylong celebration Feb. 29, followed by a half-day visit to the League of Kansas Municipalities in Topeka.

Poet, paleobotanist will reflect on species loss, extinction

LAWRENCE — Visiting poet Kristi Maxwell will give a reading from her latest book, “Goners,” at an upcoming event at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. In addition to Maxwell’s poetry reading, Kelly Matsunaga, KU faculty member and assistant curator of paleobotany at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, will offer reflections based on her research with plant species. The event will take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 in the museum’s Panorama in Dyche Hall.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, KU News Service, 785-864-8858, [email protected], @ebpkansas

KU senior from Kansas City awarded full ride to University of Cambridge to pursue sustainable engineering

LAWRENCE — Elizabeth Appel looks at her future in engineering as more than just capitalizing on a talent for math and science. For Appel, it’s also a way to benefit humanity using a discipline that is not necessarily people-focused.

“I think one major issue is a lack of education on infrastructure not just as a technical product, but also as a social tool,” Appel said. “The built environment shapes how people interact with one another and how they see themselves in their greater community. Public services and public spaces have great power to influence peoples’ lives for the better.”

Appel is a 2020 Park Hill High School graduate and a University of Kansas senior in civil engineering with an emphasis in environmental engineering. She is also the most recent Jayhawk to be named a Gates Cambridge scholar, bringing the university’s total number of winners to four since the program was established. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Gates Cambridge scholars are chosen for their outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, a commitment to improving the lives of others and reasons for their choice of course. For Appel, that will be pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development.

“I felt there was a gap in my understanding of how to engineer things not just for today’s problems, but for tomorrow’s problems as well,” Appel said. “That’s the main reason I pursued this Master of Philosophy program.”

In her application, Appel noted how this particular program will facilitate her goal of becoming an engineer striving to undo the damage done by decades of divisive infrastructure. Internships and experiences as a KU undergraduate exposed Appel to the societal impact of infrastructure in the region, from the South Lawrence Trafficway to urban Kansas City communities shaped and dominated by highways.

“I’ve always known you learn more from people than you do in a classroom,” Appel said. “Working with engineers, students and community advocates in the Kansas City metro has really solidified my belief in the power of engineers to do real good for the communities.”

As a KU undergraduate, Appel has pursued research that explores “ambiguous, social-focused questions” related to civil engineering. Working with Admin Husic, assistant professor of civil engineering, Appel examined the correlation between “redlined” neighborhoods as defined in the 1930s-1950s and modern urban flooding in those areas.

“Elizabeth is investigating the intersection of flooding and social vulnerability,” Husic said. “Her aim is to understand how flooding may disproportionately impact certain groups and what engineers and policymakers should do to address that inequity.”

Appel’s many leadership roles at KU include restarting the university’s competitive design-build competition Concrete Canoe and leading the team to a third-place finish in the regional competition in 2023.

At the 2022 regional competition, KU could only bring three people and no competitive teams.

“I was motivated by my urge to represent KU well on a regional level and to provide the same opportunities that other students had to my own peers,” she said. “Restarting Concrete Canoe was a lot of work, but it showed that even a team of novices can outperform established competitors. That experience taught me that even without technical expertise or experience in the subject, if one has the persistence and dedication necessary to push forward, anything is possible.”

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program was established in 2000 by $210 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge. The first class of scholars came into residence in October 2001. Since then, the trust has awarded more than 2,000 scholarships to scholars from more than 100 countries.

Each year Gates Cambridge offers full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the United Kingdom to pursue a postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. Approximately 25 awards are available in the U.S. each year.

Around the world is a community of more than 1,700 Gates Cambridge alumni, including three Jayhawks.

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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”

a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.

https://kansaspublicradio.org/when-experts-attack

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Contact: Sydney Bannister, School of Public Affairs & Administration, [email protected], @KUSPAA

National League of Cities to kick off ‘Roadshow’ in Lawrence to celebrate organization’s 100th anniversary

LAWRENCE — In 1924, the National League of Cities (NLC) was founded at the University of Kansas in the original Fraser Hall. To commemorate this milestone, NLC, the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration (SPAA), the League of Kansas Municipalities and the city of Lawrence will convene at KU for a daylong celebration Feb. 29, followed by a half-day visit to the League of Kansas Municipalities in Topeka.

Lawrence will serve as the first stop in a roadshow at 100 cities across the country, culminating in November at NLC’s City Summit conference in Tampa, Florida.

“It’s an honor to kick off the National League of Cities’ Centennial Roadshow in Lawrence, Kansas, where this great organization was founded,” said Clarence Anthony, CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities. “Having the opportunity to gather at the University of Kansas allows us to reflect on NLC’s history and look ahead to the opportunities the next 100 years will bring for America’s cities, towns and villages. After beginning our roadshow in Lawrence, we’ll be traveling from coast-to-coast, visiting cities of all sizes to celebrate all that local governments and their residents have given to our country over the last century.”

National League of Cities history

In 1924, 10 state leagues were brought together by John Stutz at KU to create a new, national organization to serve as a clearinghouse for information about municipal government. Stutz is the longest-serving director for the League of Kansas Municipalities, at 35 years. In that time, Stutz became known nationwide as a local government expert and leader in the development of municipal associations. It was during his tenure as executive secretary of the League of Kansas Municipalities that Stutz also became the first executive secretary of the American Municipal Association, later renamed the National League of Cities in 1964.

Over the next 100 years, the nonpartisan National League of Cities has grown in size and influence, serving as a resource for mayors, city council members and municipal government staff, providing them with research and technical expertise.

The National League of Cities, now based in Washington, D.C., serves as a advocate for the nation’s cities, towns and villages in the nation’s capital and has played a historic role in shaping some of the country’s most significant pieces of public policy. Among these are the passage of the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As a testament to the organization, presidents of the National League of Cities have gone on to become governors, members of Congress, senators and cabinet secretaries.

Hosted by champions of excellence in public service

In addition to celebrating the rich and impactful history of NLC’s 100 years, this visit has also provided an opportunity for the three hosting organizations to reflect on their own roles in shaping local government and public service in Kansas and across the country.

“Kansas played a significant role in the National League of Cities’ founding, with our own John Stutz leading the organization in its early years. Like NLC, the League of Kansas Municipalities has always prioritized serving our members by listening well and responding to local needs,” said Nathan Eberline, executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities. “Today, as cities face challenges like infrastructure renewal, affordable housing and other critical issues, NLC remains an invaluable resource — connecting local leaders and amplifying their voices on the national stage,”

Before the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration was formally established, the Master of Public Administration program drew prospective public servants from across the country. The program will celebrate its 75th anniversary in Tampa at the International City/County Manager Association Annual Conference in fall 2025. Further, the KU Master of Urban Planning program celebrates 50 years of educating planners for careers in sustainability, transportation, housing, community building, environmental conservation, governance, nonprofits, advocacy and more.

This celebration will include a new addition to the KU SPAA community, School Director Maja Husar Holmes, who arrived in Lawrence in January 2024.

“The centennial celebration of the founding of National Leagues of Cities in Lawrence highlights the deep commitment of the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration to its No. 1 ranking in local government management,” Holmes said.

For more than two decades, the KU MPA program has held the top spot in local government management as reported by U.S. News & World Report, highlighting KU and the city of Lawrence as inherent focal points for public service and the origins of local government excellence and resiliency.

“I am thrilled to welcome all to the birthplace of the National League of Cities as we joyously commemorate its 100th anniversary, a testament to the enduring spirit of community and collaboration that defines our nation’s municipalities,” said Bart Littlejohn, mayor of Lawrence.

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The official university Twitter account has changed to @UnivOfKansas.

Refollow @KUNews for KU News Service stories, discoveries and experts.

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Contact: Emily Ryan, The Commons, 785-864-6293, [email protected], @TheCommonsKU

Poet, paleobotanist will reflect on species loss, extinction

LAWRENCE — Visiting poet Kristi Maxwell will give a reading from her latest book, “Goners,” at an upcoming event at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum.

In addition to Maxwell’s poetry offering, Kelly Matsunaga, Thomas N. Taylor Assistant Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and assistant curator of paleobotany at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, will offer reflections based on her research with plant species. The event will take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 in the museum’s Panorama in Dyche Hall.

In her eighth book of poetry, published in 2023 by Green Linden Press, Maxwell makes use of the lipogram, an ancient form in which certain letters are excluded from the available alphabet to convey the experience of loss. The book, which centers endangered species, serves to question the common practice of elegizing as it examines the role that anthropocentrism plays in ongoing extinction, according to the publisher.

Her work entangles human-generated modes and events — such as language and erasure; imperialism and extinction — to examine ways in which humans have had a profound and damaging effect on the planet and our ways of understanding it.

“Kristi Maxwell’s new book, ‘Goners,’ considers both the facts about our current moment of mass species extinction and the difficult feelings that arise as we reckon with that devastation,” said Megan Kaminski, professor of English and environmental studies. “This interdisciplinary event will provide both conversations and a community space where we can grapple with questions of environmental stewardship and openings into the care we might provide for our fellow earth inhabitants.”

An associate professor of English at the University of Louisville, Maxwell has a doctorate in literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Arizona.

“We find ourselves in a unique place here at KU, being able to consider extinction — a phenomenon that holds such gravity in the collective understanding — from multiple forms of research,” said Emily Ryan, director of The Commons. “In our midst, we have scientists whose work gives us a completely different way of understanding extinction — as an inevitable part of evolutionary processes and as something that offers us clues to understanding the world more fully. To host Matsunaga in the same space as Maxwell promises a truly dynamic way of thinking about humans’ role in all of this as individuals and as a species.”

The event is supported by the Department of English, the Environmental Studies Program, The Commons and the Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum. Copies of the book will be for sale from Raven Book Store.

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KU News Service

1450 Jayhawk Blvd.

Lawrence KS 66045

Phone: 785-864-3256

Fax: 785-864-3339

[email protected]

http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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Lessons in population health from small-city Kansas

LAWRENCE — A new book from a University of Kansas professor and dean looks at how lifestyle behaviors and health indicators are associated with spatial planning and design factors in 36 small Kansas cities. “In essence, the relationship between population health and built environment seems to depend on how rural you are,” author Mahbub Rashid said. “And we should develop our design and planning guidelines for small cities with that in mind.”

Scientists may have cracked the ‘aging process’ in species

LAWRENCE — New research from the University of Kansas might resolve a mystery in the “aging process” in species — or, how a species’ risk of a going extinct changes after that species appears on the scene. The findings not only help make sense of the forces that shape the natural world but may be relevant for conservation efforts as species face increasing threats from climate change and habitat loss.

Study finds students, designers have different perceptions of masculine, feminine traits of classrooms

LAWRENCE — A new study from the University of Kansas finds that students and classroom designers had different perceptions of the masculine and feminine traits of classroom spaces and how those features influenced students’ sense of belonging — with potential to affect classroom engagement. The findings suggest that architects and designers cannot assume their designs and choices will resonate with others the way they do with themselves.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Rick Hellman, KU News Service, 785-864-8852, [email protected], @RickHellman

Lessons in population health from small-city Kansas

LAWRENCE — Mahbub Rashid sees cities differently than most people. And you might say the dean of the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design ought to do that.

But Rashid has taken spatial analysis of urban development to the cutting edge of technology — and this view of small-town Kansas suggests to him that much more can be done to promote the health of people who live there.

Rashid’s new book, “Built Environment and Population Health in Small-Town America: Learning from Small Cities of Kansas” (Johns Hopkins University Press), looks at how lifestyle behaviors and health indicators are associated with spatial planning and design factors in 36 small Kansas cities with populations between 2,500 and 49,999.

Rashid measured the size and density of each city, its distance from a large city, its daytime population change and the average commuting time of its residents – and he found that all these factors seem to affect how population health is associated with the built environment there.

“A daily two-hour commute is not only a long time in the car, but it also decreases the time one has available to spend with family and friends by that amount,” Rashid said.

Increasing distance from large cities increases isolation — something that has become a reality in small towns with the loss of 20th century transportation options like bus and train service.

“In essence, the relationship between population health and built environment seems to depend on how rural you are,” Rashid said. “And we should develop our design and planning guidelines for small cities with that in mind.

“Having more grocery stores, a better food network or more sidewalks are all desirable to improve population health in small towns, but there may be other ways to accomplish the same ends. For instance, if we are able to reduce commute time to the nearby big city through better public transportation systems, then probably lifestyle will change for the better. People might use parks more, and, as a result, their health and relationships with others might improve.”

Rashid said he sympathized with the various headwinds confronting small-city planners and designers.

“These people are in a bind,” he said. “For reasons beyond their control, they can do very little to keep critical-access-care hospitals, which are often the economic engine of these small cities, from closing down. They can also do very little to get the transportation services these cities need. There is even a resistance, in some cases, to the external government funding that they need to accomplish anything at all. So you see a vicious cycle of decline in the built environment and population health here in these small cities.”

And yet the book cites a few success stories.

Rashid writes that for Baldwin City, rebuffing a big-box store helped save local merchants, preserve the vitality of its downtown and perhaps even some walkability that contributes to public health. And leaders of Montezuma, he said, “found the balance between the development of wind turbines and their economic interest.”

Rashid is a pioneer in studying population health in relation to the built environments of small cities. He said he hoped the book would offer support to those who care about the health of residents in small cities nationwide.

Rashid said that leaders of small cities should partner regionally to achieve critical mass and take public health into account in all their development decisions.

“Small towns studied in the book are not big enough to have a planner’s office,” Rashid said. “They may have one person who works as a liaison between the city government and the regional bodies. … So they will need to be a jack of all trades. They need a good understanding of the politics of the place and how to do public relations while applying appropriate planning tools for improving population health.

“A traditional urban-planning mindset may not work for small-town planning and design. And for this, we will need a planning education relevant to small towns.”

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Contact: Brendan Lynch, KU News Service, 785-864-8855, [email protected], @BrendanMLynch

Scientists may have cracked the ‘aging process’ in species

LAWRENCE — New research from the University of Kansas might resolve a mystery in the “aging process” in species — or, how a species’ risk of a going extinct changes after that species appears on the scene.

For years, evolutionary biologists believed older species lacked any real advantage over younger ones in avoiding extinction — an idea known as “Red Queen theory” among researchers.

“The Red Queen theory is that species have to keep running just to stay still, like the character in Lewis Carroll’s book ‘Through the Looking-Glass,’” said lead author James Saulsbury, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at KU. “This idea was turned into a kind of ecological theory in the 1970s in an attempt to explain an observation that extinction risk didn’t seem to change over the lifespan of species.”

Yet the years have not been kind to this theory.

“In the earliest investigations of this phenomenon, species of all ages seemed to go extinct at about the same rate, perhaps just because of the relative crudeness of the evidence available at the time,” Saulsbury said. “This made sense under this Red Queen model, where species are constantly competing with other species that are also adapting alongside them.”

But as more data was collected and analyzed in more sophisticated ways, scientists increasingly found refutations of Red Queen theory.

“Scientists kept finding instances where young species are especially at risk of extinction,” Saulsbury said. “So we had a theory vacuum – a bunch of anomalous observations and no unified way of understanding them.”

But now, Saulsbury has led research appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that may resolve this mystery. Saulsbury and his co-authors showed the relationship between a species’ age and its risk of going extinct could be accurately predicted by an ecological model called the “neutral theory of biodiversity.”

Neutral theory is a simple model of ecologically similar species competing for limited resources, where the outcome for each species is more or less random.

In the theory, “Species either go extinct or expand from small initial population size to become less vulnerable to extinction, but they are always susceptible to being replaced by their competitors,” according to a lay summary of the PNAS paper. By extending this theory to make predictions for the fossil record, Saulsbury and colleagues found that neutral theory “predicts survivorship among fossil zooplankton with surprising accuracy and accounts for empirical deviations from the predictions of Red Queen more generally.”

Saulsbury’s co-authors were C. Tomomi Parins-Fukuchi of the University of Toronto, Connor Wilson of the University of Oxford and the University of Arizona, and Trond Reitan and Lee Hsiang Liow of the University of Oslo.

While neutral theory might seem to spell curtains for Red Queen theory, the KU researcher said Red Queen still has value. Mainly, it proposes the still valid idea that species compete in a zero-sum game against one another for finite resources, always battling for a bigger slice of nature’s pie.

“Red Queen theory has been a compelling and important idea in the evolutionary biological community, but the data from the fossil record no longer seems to support that theory,” Saulsbury said. “But I don’t think our paper really refutes this idea because, in fact, the Red Queen theory and the neutral theory are, in a deep way, pretty similar. They both present a picture of extinction happening as a result of competition between species for resources and of constant turnover in communities resulting from biological interactions.”

Ultimately, the findings not only help make sense of the forces that shape the natural world but may be relevant for conservation efforts as species face increasing threats from climate change and habitat loss around the globe.

“What makes a species vulnerable to extinction?” Saulsbury asked. “People are interested in learning from the fossil record whether it can tell us anything to help conserve species. The pessimistic side of our study is that there are ecological situations where there isn’t a whole lot of predictability in the fates of species; there’s some limit to how much we can predict extinction. To some extent, extinction will be decided by seemingly random forces — accidents of history. There’s some support for this in paleobiological studies.”

He said there has been effort to understand predictors of extinction in the fossil record, but not many generalities have emerged so far.

“There’s no trait that makes you immortal or not susceptible to extinction,” Saulsbury said. “But the optimistic side of our study is that entire communities can have patterns of extinction that are quite predictable and understandable. We can get a pretty good grasp on features of the biota, like how the extinction risk of species changes as they age. Even if the fate of a single species can be hard to predict, the fate of a whole community can be quite understandable.”

Saulsbury added a caveat: It remains to be seen how broadly the neutral explanation for extinction succeeds across different parts of the tree of life.

“Our study is also working on the geological timescale in millions of years,” he said. “Things may look very different on the timescale of our own lifetimes.”

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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings

Study finds students, designers have different perceptions of masculine, feminine traits of classrooms, influence on belonging

LAWRENCE — The way people interact with the built environment can influence whether they feel comfortable in a space or if they feel they belong among people who gather there. But the people who design learning spaces and those who use them might not feel the same about them.

A new study from the University of Kansas finds that students and classroom designers had different perceptions of the masculine and feminine traits of classroom spaces and how those features influenced students’ sense of belonging therein.

Researchers asked undergraduates and classroom design professionals about their perceptions of classrooms with design features classified as masculine and feminine, finding they had strong, opposite correlations between their perceptions of femininity and sense of belonging in the spaces. The authors said the findings emphasize the need for better understanding of how students perceive learning spaces and how learning spaces can foster a sense of belonging.

Studies have shown that how students perceive learning spaces influences their sense of belonging and that when they feel they belong they have better educational outcomes. But little work has been done on specific design features and how people perceive them as being associated with masculinity or femininity and how such traits influence their sense of belonging in classes conducted in the rooms that include them. In two new studies, researchers surveyed undergraduates and design professionals about their reactions to four learning spaces.

“We say masculine and feminine and those conjure images in people’s minds, but not necessarily the same images from person to person,” said Michael Ralph, vice president and director of research with Multistudio, one of the study’s authors. “When we asked students and designers about the same spaces, we didn’t see a small difference in perception. Their thoughts were very different. I think that emphasizes there is an important personal component about how we interact with these spaces.”

Cheryl Wright, lecturer specializing in best practices in learning in KU’s School of Education & Human Sciences and a study co-author, said she regularly sees the difference a classroom makes in how students engage with a class. When students learn about polarizing topics that can be personally or politically charged, those who are not comfortable in the space may not feel like they belong in a discussion.

“We definitely want to have interactions and dialogue where people feel safe. We don’t just mean physically safe, but safe to share their thoughts,” Wright said. “On topics that are difficult to discuss, the space in which they learn is critical.”

The researchers addressed their questions in two studies. For the first, they collected data from undergraduates at five institutions of higher education across the United States. In the second, they collected data from professionals at design firms across the United States and Canada.

Respondents were asked to share their reactions to four computer-generated images of classrooms meant to strongly evoke masculinity with features such as black and white color palettes and angular/linear space features or femininity with soft colors, additional windows, curvilinear tables and shifts away from dark woods. Other spaces incorporated those features to a lesser extent.

Respondents were shown one of the four spaces at random and asked how much they felt 14 one-word prompts were associated with the shown space. They were then asked four questions about how much they felt they would belong in that space. Results showed the students’ perceptions of feminine traits in the rooms coincided with a higher sense of belonging, but perceptions of femininity among professionals coincided with the opposite — a lower sense of belonging.

The study, written by Ralph, Wright, Julia Pascutto, design director with Lemay x FLDWORK, a Canadian design firm; and Rebecca Pedrosa Martinez, a designer at Multistudio during the study, was published in the Journal of Interior Design.

The authors said that student respondents who reported feeling a sense of belonging in the more feminine spaces was represented across genders.

The authors also found that there was not antagonism toward the more masculine spaces, or responses of feeling that they would not belong there — only that their sense of belonging was higher when they perceived more femininity in a space.

The fact that students and design professionals had opposite reactions in terms of their perceptions of the class environments shows that architects, designers and others who shape and create learning environments for others cannot assume their designs and choices will resonate with others the way they do with themselves. And those choices could potentially reinforce negative hierarchies or make some students feel unwelcome or uncomfortable, Ralph said.

For their part, educators are often assigned a room in which to hold their classes and cannot control design elements such as how many windows a room has, their placement, paint colors or if furniture is affixed in place. However, they can influence how students interact with each other and teachers in a space, such as encouraging collaborative groups or moving furniture to encourage discussion when possible.

“A sense of belonging has to be intentional. I want students to have a transformational education,” Wright said. “Students come in with different backgrounds and life experiences. For me, it is critical that we form a sense of belonging. And my students have said they feel more comfortable discussing controversial or difficult issues in spaces that facilitate them.”

The study also adds to a body of research showing that students will select to take certain classes based on the type of room it is offered in, that women tend to prefer active learning spaces to traditional lecture halls and similar studies Ralph and KU colleagues have conducted.

“We want to learn more about what we can do to make a difference in design, in terms of learning spaces, student housing and across the built environment and what makes good design that helps students feel like they belong,” Ralph said.

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