From the VPR

We are pleased to share the latest issue of Seek, Kansas State University’s award-winning research magazine. This fall, Seek received five awards from the Council on Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE, for stories, photographs and design in the last year. I couldn’t be prouder of our editorial and design teams for their continued great work on this magazine showcasing K-State research and connecting our discovery, scholarship and innovation to Kansas and to Kansans.

This issue comes at an exciting time for K-State as we have embarked on our Next-Gen K-State strategic plan, operationalizing and driving a bold and ambitious plan to become a next-generation land-grant university. Research growth is a big part of the Next- Gen plan, with several new initiatives launched recently. These initiatives aim to build and empower teams of researchers across disciplines, invest in existing and emerging research strengths, and support our faculty members’ proposal development efforts.

In this issue you’ll find feature articles on our NASA-funded research; the use of nanotechnology to combat mosquitoes; human health and health care; and the application of artificial intelligence, with topics ranging from personality inference to sustainable wheat production. Also in this issue are stories highlighting our new collaboration and partnership with Stormont Vail Health System at its new Manhattan facility and the work of Jesse Nippert, university distinguished professor of biology. Finally, as we do in each issue of Seek, we feature a graduate student researcher undergraduate student researchers and faculty researcher.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Seek, and welcome your feedback and suggestions. Our goal is to highlight the breadth of research and discovery taking place on our campuses, in our field stations, across the state and with our many partners. As I share often with legislators and others, our research is faculty-initiated and faculty-led, and it affects the lives and livelihoods of Kansans in all 105 counties. This is our land-grant commitment, and this is what it means to be a great public research university.

D. Rosowsky, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research