A National Science Foundation research grant led by Dr. Argelia Lorence, professor of metabolic engineering, and associates at two other institutions was highlighted in Discover as one of the country's top 12 projects in plant science. The Wheat and Rice Center for Heat Resilience (WRCHR), which involves Nebraska-Lincoln, A-State and Kansas State, is creating the foundational knowledge needed for improved wheat and rice yields under stressful environments.

A children's play written by Timothy Bohn, associate professor of theatre and department chair, will open Thursday for a three-day run at Fowler Center. Bohn also is director of the cast and crew of students who are producing the play, titled "The Adventures of Littlebeard." This is the 25th year for Summer Children's Theatre to entertain area children at A-State. Details are online.

Haillie Russell, an employee in the Child Development and Research Center, was named recipient of the "Outstanding Part-Time" award for 2017-18 during the recent Distinguished Performance Awards ceremony. Russell was recognized for being alert, professional and sensitive to the children's needs, especially at a developmentally appropriate level, in addition to having a really big heart and strong work ethic.

Dr. Erik Gilbert, professor of history, was invited to speak at a conference, "Resisting the Neoliberal University," organized by San Francisco State University’s chapter of the California Faculty Association. At the plenary session on the "Mechanics of the Managerial Takeover" and as a workshop panelist, he discussed learning outcomes assessment and what he considers to be its negative impact on faculty.

Dr. William Paulsen, professor of mathematics, solved the main outstanding problem in the field of tetration. In a pair of papers, "Solving F(z+1) = b^F(z) in the Complex Plane" and "Tetration for Complex Bases," both published in Advances for Computational Mathematics, Paulsen proved there is a unique way to define repeated exponentiation, even when the number of repeats is not an integer or a complex number.