Five
WSU athletic programs post perfect APR scores
May 9,
2019 from WSU Sports Info
The NCAA released its 2017‑18
Academic Progress Rate (APR) figures and five of Washington State University’s intercollegiate athletic programs posted
perfect single‑year APR scores, it was announced
Wednesday.
“Our student‑athletes continue to
make great strides academically and it’s a credit to their efforts, along with
the support of their coaches and the entire staff,” said WSU Director of
Athletics Pat Chun.
The APR is an annual assessment of each team’s academic and
retention history. The overall APR score is based on the most recent four years
of data (2014‑15, 2015‑16,
2016‑17 and
2017‑18).
Every year thereafter, the most current year’s data
will be added and the oldest year of data will be removed, creating a four‑year
rolling rate.
For the 2017‑18 academic year,
women’s cross country, golf, tennis and volleyball, along with men’s golf
earned perfect single‑year APR scores of 1,000. Last
week, men’s and women’s golf were recognized by the NCAA for
being among the top 10 percent among all programs nationally for posting four‑year
APR scores of 1,000.
The WSU football team recorded a four‑year
average score of 960. Under head coach Mike Leach, the Cougars have set or tied
the highest APR scores in program history in six of his seven years.
Following women’s golf, the next highest multi‑year
APR score at WSU was earned by the women’s
volleyball team, which posted a four‑year
score of 989. Other women’s
programs include rowing (986), soccer (986), track and field (986), tennis
(984), swimming (981), basketball (978) and cross country (971).
In addition to football and golf on the men’s side, baseball
led the way with an average four‑year
score of 972, followed by basketball (970), cross country (968) and track and
field (964).
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Special promotions for Friday’s WSU baseball
home game against top ranked UCLA
From WSU Sports Info
Washington
State University Athletics is running special promotions for Friday’s home
baseball game against top ranked UCLA. Kids get in free if they wear
their baseball or softball jersey. It’s also Dog Day at the Park.
The Cougars host the Bruins at 5:00 at Bailey-Brayton Field.
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WUS Researchers develop viable, environmentally-friendly
alternative to Styrofoam
An environmentally-friendly, plant-based material that for
the first time works better than Styrofoam for insulation.
By Tina Hilding, WSU Voiland College of Engineering and
Architecture 5/9/2019
RICHLAND, Wash. — Washington State University researchers
have developed an environmentally-friendly, plant-based material that for the
first time works better than Styrofoam for insulation.
The foam is mostly made from nanocrystals of cellulose, the
most abundant plant material on earth. The researchers also developed an
environmentally friendly and simple manufacturing process to make the foam,
using water as a solvent instead of other harmful solvents.
The work, led by Amir Ameli, assistant professor in the
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and Xiao Zhang, associate
professor in the Gene and Linda School of Chemical Engineering and
Bioengineering, is published in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers.
Researchers have been working to develop an environmentally
friendly replacement for polystyrene foam, or Styrofoam. The popular material,
made from petroleum, is used in everything from coffee cups to materials for
building and construction, transportation, and packaging industries. But, it is
made from toxic ingredients, depends on petroleum, doesn’t degrade naturally,
and creates pollution when it burns.
While other researchers have created other cellulose-based
foams, the plant-based versions haven’t performed as well as Styrofoam. They
are not as strong, don’t insulate as well, and degraded at higher temperatures
and in humidity. To make cellulose nanocrystals, researchers use acid
hydrolysis, in which acid is used to cleave chemical bonds.
In their work, the WSU team created a material that is made
of about 75 percent cellulose nanocrystals from wood pulp. They added polyvinyl
alcohol, another polymer that bonds with the nanocellulose crystals and makes
the resultant foams more elastic. The material that they created contains a
uniform cellular structure that means it is a good insulator. For the first
time, the researchers report, the plant-based material surpassed the insulation
capabilities of Styrofoam. It is also very lightweight and can support up to
200 times its weight without changing shape.
It degrades well, and burning it doesn’t produce polluting ash.
“We have used an easy method to make high-performance,
composite foams based on nanocrystalline cellulose with an excellent
combination of thermal insulation capability and mechanical properties,” Ameli
said. “Our results demonstrate the potential of renewable materials, such as
nanocellulose, for high‑performance thermal insulation
materials that can contribute to energy savings, less usage of petroleum-based
materials, and reduction of adverse environmental impacts.”
“This is a fundamental demonstration of the potential of
nanocrystalline cellulose as an important industrial material,” Zhang said.
“This promising material has many desirable properties, and to be able to
transfer these properties to a bulk scale for the first time through this
engineered approach is very exciting.”
The researchers are now developing formulations for stronger
and more durable materials for practical applications. They are interested in incorporating low‑cost
feedstocks to make a commercially viable product and considering how to move
from laboratory to a real-world manufacturing scale.
The work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and WSU’s Office of Commercialization.
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Highly coveted men’s basketball forward Kuany Kuany chooses
Cal over Washington State, Nevada
UPDATED: Thu., May 9, 2019, 5:28 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
PULLMAN – Kuany Kuany won’t be playing for Washington State
in 2019-29, but new coach Kyle Smith and the Cougars will see plenty of the
6-foot-10 forward over the next four years.
Kuany, the three-star Australian big man who’d narrowed his
list of finalists to WSU, California and Nevada, made his highly anticipated
college commitment Thursday, choosing the Golden Bears over the Cougars and
Wolf Pack.
WSU, Cal and Nevada – all programs that will be under the
guidance of new head coaches this season – seemed to have equal chances of
landing the African-born Kuany, who recently finished his career at Napa’s
Prolific Prep and ultimately decided to stay in Northern California.
Kuany’s the third member of Mark Fox’s first recruiting
class at Cal, and the highest-rated prospect, as the country’s 246th-best
recruit, according to 247Sports.com’s database.
The Cougars are slated to play Kuany and the Golden Bears
twice during the 2020 Pac-12 season, although the conference hasn’t finalized
scheduling details. WSU and Cal split last season – the Cougars coming out on
top 82-59 in Pullman before falling to the Golden Bears 76-69 in Berkeley.
Smith signed three players over the last two weeks – Deion
James, Isaac Bonton and Noah Williams – and retained junior college transfer
Daron Henson, who’d inked with the Cougars before former coach Ernie Kent was
fired.
Smith also released wing Chance Moore from the program
earlier in the week, according to the player’s Twitter account. Guard Marvin
Cannon also entered the NCAA transfer portal.
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The Cougars are still in the running for the state’s top
player, Sav’ell Smalls.
By Scott Cresswell May
2, 2019 Coug Center
Let’s take a look at some current recruiting news in
Washington State Cougars athletics.
The football team welcomed a number of touted prospects to
this year’s Crimson and Gray Game, and one of them may be ready to pull the
trigger on a commitment. Outside linebacker Dahlin Mesake of Bishop Gorman in
Las Vegas was a BYU commit before making the trip to Pullman, but has since
backed off on that pledge as of Tuesday. WSU will have a lot of competition for
the three-star 6-foot-3 230 pound ‘backer, though, as LSU, Florida and Oregon
have all reportedly offered.
Another even more highly touted linebacker also showed WSU
some love yesterday. Kennedy Catholic linebacker Sav’ell Smalls, who is a
five-star recruit and the best player in the state, says WSU will be included
in his top 6 announced later this summer. In a shocker, he also told 247’s Brandon
Huffman that the hometown Washington Huskies will not make the cut. This is
sure to bring a smile to Cougar fans everywhere. Here is what Smalls had to say
to Huffman about Pullman:
“I actually loved
my visit to Washington State, it was real cool,” said Smalls. “I will still do
a top six this summer and I think Washington State will be in it and I may do
another unofficial there this summer to spend more time there.”
The Cougars have definitely not been shy about dipping into
the junior college market for offensive linemen during the Mike Leach era and
they continued to try to make inroads there this week. The Cougars offered TJ
Bass, a 6-foot-5/305-pounder out of Butte College. He’s considered the number
one offensive guard in the JC ranks. The Cougars join UCLA, ASU and Auburn in
the race to secure a pledge from this roadgrader.
Great to see so many top recruits recognizing the great
situation in Pullman these days.
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