Five Wichita State University faculty and staff members will be featured in a weeklong takeover of NPR's “The Academic Minute,” a nationally syndicated public radio program that highlights research and scholarship from universities across the country. 

The series will air Aug. 3-7 and showcase Wichita State experts whose work spans public health, artificial intelligence in education, advanced manufacturing for space exploration and particle physics. 

• Monday, Aug. 3: Dr. Nikki Keene Woods, professor and chair of public health sciences in the College of Health Professions, will discuss research on wearable devices that enable healthcare providers to monitor fetal heart rates during pregnancy remotely. Her work examines how factors such as comfort, privacy and trust influence women's willingness to adopt new health technologies. 
• Tuesday, Aug. 4: Dr. Heidi VanRavenhorst-Bell, associate professor of public health sciences in the College of Health Professions, will highlight research focused on measuring tongue strength and movement, which play important roles in speaking, chewing, swallowing and breathing. Her work includes innovations designed to improve the accuracy of clinical assessments and treatment. 
• Wednesday, Aug. 5: Dr. JaeHwan Byun, associate professor in the College of Education, will explore "Generativism," a framework that views generative AI as a partner in learning rather than a shortcut to answers. The approach emphasizes critical thinking through an ongoing process of prompting, evaluating and refining information. 
• Thursday, Aug. 6: Dr. Waruna Seneviratne, director and senior research scientist, National Institute for Aviation Research's Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems, will explore how Automated Tool-less Manufacturing (AToM) could transform space construction by allowing large composite structures to be built directly in orbit. The technology uses coordinated robotic systems to create lightweight, aerospace-quality components while reducing the limitations imposed by rocket launches and payload sizes. 
• Friday, Aug. 7: Dr. Nickolas Solomey, professor of physics in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will highlight research exploring how detectors placed closer to the sun could dramatically improve the study of solar neutrinos. The concept could provide new insights into both neutrinos and the fusion processes that power the sun. 

“The Academic Minute” is produced by WAMC Northeast Public Radio and carried by radio stations throughout the United States. Each segment features a brief exploration of research and ideas from faculty experts. Listen on NPR’s website, the NPR app or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry- and defense-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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