Here We Have Idaho — Spring 2017

Here We Have

SPRING 2017

BRAVE AND BOLDLY GOING UI researchers, students and alumni leave their mark on the solar system

A TALE OF

HIPSTER S, HIPPIES AND

HIP SURGEONS. p Sure, we’re home to the University of Idaho, one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities. But we’re also home to a diverse and vibrant farmer’s market. Plus a walkable downtown filled with thriving businesses, eclectic shopping and awardwinning dining. It all creates a unique culture…flavored by a bit of counter-culture.

MOSCOW, IDAHO

p Find your vibe at

MoscowChamber.com

T HERE’S AN I IN OUR TE A M .

City of Moscow

University of Idaho

Moscow Chamber of Commerce

University of Idaho magazine | Spring 2017

Here We Have

In Every Issue 3 4 49 57

Which Cover Did You Get?

From the President Around the State Class Notes Vandal Snapshot

This issue of Here We Have Idaho features three covers designed by fall 2016 UI graduate Cody Muir. Muir also created the above illustration showing the rings around Saturn. Learn more about Muir on Page 57. Let us know which cover is your favorite on social media with #VandalsInSpace.

Here We Have

Here We Have

Here We Have

SPRING 2017

SPRING 2017

SPRING 2017

BRAVE AND BOLDLY GOING

BRAVE AND BOLDLY GOING

BRAVE AND BOLDLY GOING

UI researchers, students and alumni leave their mark on the solar system

UI researchers, students and alumni leave their mark on the solar system

UI researchers, students and alumni leave their mark on the solar system

Features 6 9

Geology Goes to Mars Voices of Idaho:

Defining our Focus 10 Shooting for the Stars 14 Eclipse 2017 16 Voices of Idaho:

One Hundred Years Hence 18 An Atmosphere for Space Education 20 In Support of Science 21 Voices of Idaho:

242 Days That Changed My Life 22 Turning Point 24 What Cassini Can Teach Us 28 Foldout: Vandals in Space 32 Blind Spot 34 What's for Dinner?

37 Voices of Idaho:

STEM Education Leads to Career in Rocket Science 38 Protecting Space 42 Star-Struck 46 Alumni Awards uidaho.edu/magazine

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Here We Have Idaho The University of Idaho Magazine Spring 2017 • Volume 33, Number 2 President Chuck Staben Vice President for Advancement Mary Kay McFadden ’80 Executive Director Communications and Marketing Stefany Bales ’96 Executive Director Office of Alumni Relations Kathy Barnard ’81 Alumni Association President Ben Rae ’83 University of Idaho Foundation Chair Karen Gowland ’81, ’84 Editor Savannah Tranchell ’08 Creative Director Emily Mowrer Class Notes Editor Annis Shea ’86 Writers and Contributors Kathy Foss Brad Gary Kim Jackson ’96 Stacie Jones Brian Keenan Kate Keenan Bill Loftus ’80 Justin McCabe ’17 Josh Nishimoto ’09 Rob Patton Scott Riener Tara Roberts ’07 Whitney Schroeder ’10 Photography UI Photo Services Melissa Hartley Joe Pallen ’96 Irish Joy Martos '17 Right: Students from a research team study Saturn's rings while working in the field.

Photo illustration by Melissa Hartley.

The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and educational institution. © 2017, University of Idaho Here We Have Idaho magazine is published twice per year. The magazine is free to alumni and friends of the university.

For address changes and subscription information, visit uidaho.edu/alumni/stay-connected.

Contact the editor at UIdahoMagazine@uidaho.edu.

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IDAHO | SPRING 2017

From the

President

O

ne of my earliest memories is huddling around the television with my sister in our living room in Waukegan, Illinois, nervously watching astronaut John Glenn become the first American to orbit the Earth. Like many boys and girls — and women and men from all walks of life in 1962 — I was awed by the accomplishment of going to space and successfully returning. The idea that one could travel around the Earth and return safely was incredible. Glenn — who passed away last November — was a true American explorer, displaying great personal courage as he advanced our understanding of the universe.

Space still retains that power to inspire and amaze. Recent explorations of Mars and Pluto give us new information about our solar system, replete with stunning imagery and fascinating stories. But people might be surprised to learn how close to home some discoveries originate. The Vandal spirit of innovation and excellence touches a wide variety of spacerelated projects. You will find a UI connection to the Cassini mission to Saturn, manned space flight through private companies, and to technology that has direct applications to life down here in Idaho.

Many of those interesting stories are showcased in

this issue of Here We Have Idaho.

If a route to the “final frontier” begins somewhat unexpectedly here in Vandal country, that’s a testament to the mission of our university and the excellence we have built over the years. A public research university like ours can take pride in offering students from Idaho and elsewhere the chance to study the world beyond our world. In this respect, alone among Idaho institutions, our NASA Space Grant Consortium offers students and citizens the chance to be a part of a great endeavor.

I certainly didn’t follow John Glenn’s footsteps — my feet stayed closer to the ground, where I found a world to explore in fungi. But science is about the willingness to explore. That’s an attitude you can take with you to designing new rockets, sure, but just as easily to studying the natural world on Earth, improving an organization, starting a company or designing public policy. The possibilities are nearly as endless as the stars in the sky.

We can all take pride in the UI researchers, alumni and students who are looking up at the sun and stars and planets to ask questions about what is out there, how we could learn more about it, and how we could use that knowledge back here on terra firma. Their work is going to inspire future generations to learn more, do more and be more. Someday soon, young boys and girls will be huddled around their televisions — or their phones and tablets and who knows what else — to share in the excitement and tension of another advancement. As you’ll see, there’s a good chance that achievement will have a Vandal connection.

Chuck Staben, President

uidaho.edu/president 3

AROUND THE STATE Moscow

McCall

By Tara Roberts

By Kim Jackson

Researchers Discover Tiny Moons Orbiting Uranus An image of the rings around Uranus.

Photo courtesy of NASA

Last October, University of Idaho researchers announced the discovery of patterns in Uranus’ rings that hint at the presence of two tiny, previously unknown moonlets orbiting the solar system’s seventh planet.

Rob Chancia, a doctoral student in the College of Science Department of Physics, spotted the patterns while examining decades-old data on Uranus’ rings obtained by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986. He noticed the amount of ring material on the edge of the alpha ring, one of the brightest of Uranus’ multiple rings, varied periodically. A similar, even more promising pattern occurred in the same part of the neighboring beta ring.

“When you look at this pattern in different places around the ring, the wavelength is different — that points to something changing as you go around the ring. There’s something breaking the symmetry,” said Matthew Hedman, an assistant professor of physics at UI who worked with Chancia to investigate the finding. Their results were published last fall in The Astronomical Journal.

Chancia and Hedman are well-versed in the physics of planetary rings: both study Saturn’s rings using data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn. A grant from NASA allowed Chancia and Hedman to examine Uranus data gathered by Voyager 2 in a new light.

The researchers estimate the hypothesized moonlets orbiting near Uranus’ rings would be 2 to 7 kilometers in radius — as small as some identified moons of Saturn, but smaller than any of Uranus’ known moons. uidaho.edu/sci 4

IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Helping Communities Understand Climate Change Scientists and educators are designing workshops to help communities understand how global climate change affects them locally. The project, funded by the NASA Earth to Sky Partnership, was presented in a workshop this spring, with a focus on Canada’s Northwest Territories. Teresa Cavazos Cohn, research assistant professor at the McCall Field Campus in the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources, is a member of the team. Climate change is happening in the Arctic and Boreal region, which includes Alaska and Western Canada, faster than anywhere else on Earth. A large and diverse group of indigenous peoples call the area home, and the project team included their traditional knowledge of climate in the workshop content.

The Earth to Sky team is including research findings generated from the NASA Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE). ABoVE is a large-scale study of environmental change; CNR faculty members Jan Eitel and Lee Vierling are researchers on the project.

“There is so much to learn about the changing climate,” Cohn said. “The science that NASA is providing, along with the traditional knowledge of the many indigenous groups from the area, gives educators and community members a rich opportunity to share great ideas on how to communicate about climate change within their communities.”

Jan Eitel performs research in the field in Alaska.

Photo by Kevin Krajick/LamontDoherty Earth Observatory.

uidaho.edu/earthtosky

Learn more about how the University of Idaho is making a difference around the state at uidaho.edu/news.

Kimberly

Grant Puts UI Water Tracking Software on Space Station

By Bill Loftus A view of the International Space Station.

Photo courtesy of NASA

University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences water resources Professor Richard G. Allen’s decades-long efforts to use satellite imagery to track irrigation water use on Earth has a new platform: the International Space Station.

Allen, who is based at UI’s Kimberly Research and Extension Center, received a $155,000 grant from NASA in 2016 to develop software to estimate water consumption on Earth as part of the space agency’s ECOSTRESS mission.

NASA wants to measure surface temperatures around the globe to better understand plant-water dynamics and future ecosystem changes related to climate.

In 2009, Allen and colleagues at the Idaho Department of Water Resources were honored by Harvard University’s Ash Institute with an Innovations in American Government Award for developing the satellite-based system known as METRIC. It tracks irrigation water consumption by measuring how much water evaporates and how much is released by plants.

In the years since, Allen has worked with Google engineers and colleagues in other states to advance space-based water monitoring on Earth.

The goal for the International Space Station effort is to better identify critical water stress points in key areas on Earth that may be affected most by climate change, better understand how and when plants need See a video about water, and measure agriculECOSTRESS at tural water use throughout the uidaho.edu/magazine.

U.S. to improve drought monitoring. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2020 and operate for two years. uidaho.edu/cals

Coeur d'Alene

UI Coeur d’Alene Expands Dual-Credit Computer Science Course Staff report In the northern reaches of Idaho’s panhandle, 12 students at Sandpoint High School are getting a head start in a hightech world. Their dual-credit computer science course — created by math teacher Nanette Brothers in collaboration with University of Idaho computer science Associate Professor Rob Heckendorn — has been so successful that an online version of the class will be offered to high school students statewide in fall 2017.

The online class is made possible, in part, by UI Coeur d’Alene, which now offers a four-year bachelor’s degree in computer science through a partnership with North Idaho College.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a pipeline for a hightech workforce right here in Idaho,” said Charles Buck, UI’s associate vice president and executive officer of UI Coeur d’Alene. “Sandpoint is just the beginning. By making these resources available to more students in rural areas throughout the state, we stand a better chance of meeting the long-term requirements of Idaho’s increasingly techdriven job market.”

This course will offer a unique opportunity to earn college credit while learning foundational skills for a career in computer science. Any high school student in Idaho who completes Algebra 2 with at least a C average will be eligible to enroll. To learn more, visit www.uidaho.edu/cs112.

UI students participate in a dual-credit computer science course.

Photo by Joe Pallen

uidaho.edu/cs112 uidaho.edu/news 5

GEOLOGY GOES TO MARS UI researchers examine volcanic minerals from the Northwest to understand the red planet’s history

By Tara Roberts | Photos by Melissa Hartley

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IDAHO | SPRING 2017

At left: UI geology graduate student Tom Jeute holds up a vial of synthesized allophane.

At right: UI geologist Leslie Baker and student Archana Dahal, a first-year physics major, prepare mineral samples in Baker’s lab.

rom molten rock, a new landscape is born. Lava flows and cools, hardening into pools and pillars of basalt. Ash drifts and settles.

Time passes. Rain falls.

Weather transforms the ash first, dissolving and morphing it into allophane — nanoscopic balls of silicon, aluminum, oxygen and hydrogen.

The basalt changes too. Water seeps into cracks and bubbles in the rock, setting off chemical reactions that create clay minerals like nontronite, made of sandwiched sheets of silicon and iron woven with oxygen.

This process began in the Columbia River Basin about 18 million years ago, when rampant volcanic activity across Idaho, Washington and Oregon flooded the region with layers of lava.

But it also happened much longer ago on Mars.

Finding Minerals on Mars

Rocks from Mars aren’t exactly easy to come by. All we have are tiny, precious samples that were blasted off Mars’ surface by meteorite impacts and flung to our planet. The small fleet of rovers inhabiting Mars are limited in where they can explore and what they can test. The next planned robotic mission is slated to return samples to Earth, but still can’t replicate the ingenuity and nimbleness of a human scientist.

So to understand the geologic forces that shaped the red planet, scientists gather clues from Earth.

At the University of Idaho, geologist and soil scientist Leslie Baker and her students study clay and allophane from the Columbia River Basin to reveal what Mars was like billions of years ago.

Satellites orbiting Mars measure the infrared energy emitting from the planet’s surface, which scientists then translate into information about the composition of the minerals below. These satellites have found 4 billion-yearold rocks containing clay minerals at the bottoms of deep Martian canyons, and 2 billion-year-old deposits containing allophane.

“It means there had to be liquid water,” explained Baker, the chair of the geology and geography departments in the College of Science.

The rocks containing allophane don’t show signs of more advanced weathering processes, indicating Mars was either cold or not particularly wet around 2 billion years ago.

But for nontronite to form, 4 billion-year-old Mars must have been warmer and wetter, with an abundance of liquid

water and atmospheric conditions similar to Earth’s — but that’s a “very stretchy set of conditions,” Baker said.

“Like Hawaii? Like Iceland? That’s still very much a question,” Baker said. “We’re using the field examples here from the Columbia River Basalts to try to narrow those conditions down.”

The techniques Baker has honed and passed along to her students are already opening up our ability to understand the history of Mars. As space exploration evolves, she expects their skills will become even more valuable.

Someday, a robotic or crewed mission will bring home Martian rocks to study. But the time, effort and money required to get them will make those rocks worth millions of dollars.

“They’re going to be very, very precious and very limited in amount, so we’ll need to know how to work with them efficiently, and we need to know the best possible set of techniques to get all the information we can,” Baker said.

“Here, we have the expertise.”

Building Skills on Earth

UI researchers’ Mars mineral expertise lies at the intersection of soil science and geology. Space is naturally interdisciplinary, and Baker’s experience in both fields has allowed her to bring new ideas and methods to planetary science.

“It seems like all the different interesting questions are on the boundaries between fields these days,” she said.

In 2009, Baker and Daniel Strawn, a soil science professor in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, were working on another project involving nontronite and went to Garfield, Washington, just 24 miles from Moscow, to collect more samples. As they climbed a bank along the highway to scrape out the clay, they started talking about nontronite’s special properties.

“We just were observing it’s so unique, such a neat mineral,” Strawn said. “We had all kinds of questions at that moment of ‘Why is this forming here?’”

Baker began collecting other nontronite samples to investigate why it only occurred in certain parts of the Columbia River Basin. Over the years, she’s collected and begun to uidaho.edu/sci

7

Pictured top: Leslie Baker displays one of the many clay mineral samples in her lab.

Below: Tom Jeute prepares an allophane sample that will be sent to NASA’s Johnson Space Center for study.

analyze hundreds of clay samples from across the region. In January 2017, she published some of her research in a special issue of American Minerologist dedicated to explaining how to use Earth evidence to understand Mars geology, and expects other findings to come out soon.

In 2016, first-year physics student Archana Dahal from Dharan, Nepal, joined Baker’s research team. Dahal, who was inspired to pursue planetary science after reading the works of Carl Sagan, spent her first semester of college preparing clay samples for analysis, and was eager to spend spring 2017 gathering minerals on the Palouse and learning field research skills.

“Science is not only in a lab, it’s in life,” Dahal said.

Around the same time Baker started studying nontronite’s importance to Mars, she helped UI’s allophane science make the leap across the solar system, too.

UI researchers have examined allophane’s role in agricultural and forest soils for years. While helping a soil science graduate student synthesize the mineral to compare to samples found in Craters of the Moon National Monument, Baker kept running into references about allophane on Mars.

“It turned out the planetary science community was very interested in allophane, but they didn’t know how to synthesize it,” she said.

Baker contacted Janice Bishop, a researcher at the SETI Institute and NASA’s Ames Research Center in the Bay Area of California. Bishop is one of the world’s leading experts in analyzing infrared data from satellites to study clay minerals, and she was eager to tap in to UI researchers’ abilities.

With funding from the Idaho Space Grant Consortium from 2010 to 2012, Baker and her students made varieties of allophane for Bishop and other NASA scientists. By examining the lab-made minerals’ infrared signatures, scientists can know with confidence what the satellites are finding on Mars.

Continued funding from NASA has allowed the allophane research to advance. Tom Jeute, a UI geology graduate student who works with Baker, spent 2016 synthesizing samples of allophane, opal and other minerals for Bishop and collaborators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to study. This spring, he and Baker visited Stanford University’s synchrotron, an incredibly powerful X-ray tool that allowed the UI researchers to examine their samples down to the level of measuring the distance between individual atoms.

Jeute said he enjoys the research because it helps him not only understand the history of Earth, but also make a connection to space.

“When I was young I always wanted to be an astronaut.

When I started doing geology, I started realizing, ‘Oh, a lot of astronauts are geologists,’” he said. “That’s how we learn about planets.”

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IDAHO | SPRING 2017

VOICES OF IDAHO

Defining Our Focus

By Janet Nelson Vice President for Research and Economic Development

As UI’s vice president for Research and Economic Development, Janet Nelson oversees, coordinates and facilitates all UI research activities, including representing UI’s research interests to funding agencies and foundations, national laboratories, federal and state agencies and the private sector.

Idaho is an incredible place. Since joining the University of Idaho in 2016, I’ve visited researchers, students, partners and communities across the state, from the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene to the Snake River Plain; from the Magic Valley to the Treasure Valley; from metropolitan areas to rural farms and tribal lands.

I’ve found a sense of belonging here.

Although I have lived in most regions of the nation, I have been struck at how comfortable I am as a resident of Idaho.

The landscape and communities remind me so much of my roots in Montana, and now I see the added excitement of how I can help lead the university in a research enterprise that serves this beautiful, dynamic state.

Idaho faces many challenges, yet is rife with opportunity for discovery and innovation. The research we do at UI is vital to people, industries and the economy in our state and region, and its benefits ripple around the globe.

The citizens of Idaho have much in common with people everywhere.

We need clean water and healthful food. We need secure energy, transportation and communications systems. We need strong and affordable health care. We need the tools to prepare for natural disasters, and to respond with resilience when they occur. We strive to understand each other and build strong communities. We need to provide affordable and outstanding education for our next generation, and provide quality jobs for our graduates. We cherish our state’s beauty and

must be careful to preserve it.

I’m eager to help define the topics the university invests most heavily in — areas where our focus can make the biggest difference for Idaho, the nation and the world. Already I see great opportunity in areas such as wildfire science, cybersecurity, and the intersections of water, energy and food.

Addressing these topics is not simple.

The world needs places where groups of pioneering thinkers work together, sharing their expertise and experiences and performing their work with integrity. UI is one of those places.

In January 2017, we opened our Integrated Research and Innovation Center, or IRIC. Researchers from every college on campus are represented among the IRIC’s first tenants. Their projects focus on collaboration and inventiveness in the pursuit of new knowledge, and many directly address Idaho’s pressing problems.

For example, the Intermountain Natural Hazards Collaborative investigates the causes of natural disasters such as drought, floods and wildfires, the cascading effects that occur in their wake, and the actions that could mitigate damage to landscapes and communities.

Another IRIC project, the TATERTOTS mission (which you can read about on Page 10), connects Idaho’s landscapes to alien ones: Undergraduate researchers will study the atmosphere above Craters of the Moon National Monument to help NASA researchers developing lunar and Martian exploration techniques.

I’m excited to continue traveling Idaho and getting to know its people and needs.

I’m proud to be part of our state’s national research university, and I look forward to watching our researchers and innovators improve lives, support communities and explore new territory in Idaho — and beyond. uidaho.edu/research

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By Kate Keenan Photo by Joe Pallen

A

s a kid in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Bethany Kersten spent nights looking through her dad’s telescope at the vastness of the solar system.

Glimpsing into another planetary world became one of her favorite childhood pastimes, and the mystery of space sparked her imagination.

Now a second-year student in the University of Idaho’s College of Engineering, Kersten is spearheading an ambitious student-led research project, the results of which may be used by NASA to prepare for a human Mars mission in the 2030s.

The group — known as Training in Advanced Technology and Exploration Research to Optimize Teamwork in Space, 10 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

or TATERTOTS for short — is working on projects that address big questions: Is colonization possible in the red planet’s lava tubes? Is there a way to create a positioning system to keep track of Martian-based astronauts? Does life exist on Mars?

The project began with Susie Johnson, program manager for the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium (ISGC), located at UI. In October 2015, Johnson visited the Women in Idaho Science and Engineering floor in the Theophilus Tower residence hall and encouraged students to talk to her about possible NASA opportunities.

Kersten, who is studying chemical engineering and Spanish, along with Hailey Johnson, a second-year computer

Shooting

STARS for the

engineering student from Stanwood, Washington, didn’t hesitate. After meeting with Susie Johnson, they gathered together five other interested students and applied for NASA’s Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP).

Through USIP, NASA awarded more than $8 million to 47 teams of undergraduate students. UI’s project will use a high-altitude balloon to launch an experiment and cameras — known as payloads — to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere.

The students wrote and submitted their proposal in November 2015 and were awarded a $200,000 grant in April 2016. Their project began last fall semester, with the team refining its effort based on budget constraints and emerging research, while regularly reporting to NASA.

Undergraduate team using NASA grant to learn about Mars on Earth

Living in Lava Tubes This summer, the TATERTOTS high-altitude balloon launch will collect data to aid NASA experts conducting Mars analog research at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in southern Idaho — a geological phenomenon whose volcanic features and lava fields mimic those on Mars. Scientists studying Mars think the planet’s underground lava tubes are the best bet for finding life or developing human settlements.

“The big push is to study lava tubes because the issue with space exploration is cosmic radiation, and we don’t have a good way to shield against that,” said Avery Brock, a uidaho.edu/engr 11

“

The way they're attacking this project with such intensity, coupled with the spirit of being willing to try something they've never done before is huge; that's what the future needs.

Susie Johnson, program manager, Idaho Space Grant Consortium

second-year electrical engineering major from Woodinville, Washington. “The radiation will just rip our DNA apart if we’re out there long enough. So NASA figured out that if you go about 6 feet underground on Mars, it’s an Earth-like environment in terms of radiation. It’s actually livable and the radiation doesn’t penetrate the ground far enough.”

For now, Susie Johnson said, NASA researchers working on the Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration (FINESSE) project are examining heat variations in the park’s lava formations to better understand how geological features appear on various instruments.

Then, when the instruments encounter such temperatures from similar formations on Mars, scientists can determine what they might be seeing. And these determinations, Johnson said, are important in finding resources and water, identifying viable landing spots and discovering potential habitability.

To assist the FINESSE group, TATERTOTS students will launch a standard camera on the balloon to take photos at Craters of the Moon, offering better images of places FINESSE plans to explore. A second, multi-spectral camera will take images in UV or infrared spectrums. These images will help determine ground temperatures and the likelihood of lava tubes in a given area.

Finding Life, and Yourself, on Mars Once the idea for the first payload fell into place, the group began discussing other things they could study with the project. Johnson encouraged students to consider what astronauts might need on a Mars-bound mission.

“We talked about how we take for granted, here on Earth, that we have a Global Positioning System,” Johnson said.

“And there’s no positioning system on Mars. What if you had multiple astronauts on the Martian landscape and you needed to find them because there’s a dust storm coming and you want to see their relative location?”

Provoked by this curiosity — and recognition of an unmet demand — students decided to create a proof of concept local positioning system that the FINESSE team could field test at Craters of the Moon. The proposed system includes three tethered balloons carrying signaling beacons that the astronauts would release above them. In theory, if they stayed within the perimeter of that triangulation, their positioning could be detected, and mapping could be accomplished.

The last piece of the TATERTOTS project focuses on the 12 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

”

possibility of atmospheric life. Students plan to launch a second payload, on the same high-altitude balloon carrying the cameras, into Earth’s upper atmosphere — 80,000 to 100,000 feet above ground — to see if microbes can thrive at such altitudes. Since most microorganisms are found in soil and water, the existence of airborne organisms in Earth’s upper reaches could be cause to look for similar signs of life in the Martian atmosphere.

The Bigger Picture Beyond the scope of their USIP grant, the TATERTOTS students have their own interests and hopes for solving space-related questions.

Hailey Johnson is interested in creating artificial gravity for space flights to make travel easier on the body. Mareyna Karlin, a senior from Coos Bay, Oregon, majoring in animal science in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, wants to study the effects of space on humans’ immune system, including our response to various pathogens and bacteria. Kersten’s interests lie in developing nuclear power as a safe and sustainable energy source, which could have eventual aerospace applications. And Jonathan Preheim of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, wants to discover additional methods of obtaining information from greater distances via remote sensing.

Technology related to lowering the cost of space flights — which could expand the space tourism industry — is the domain of William Miller and Richard Baptista.

“If you’re old and retired, what else are you going to do with your life? You could play golf or you could go to Mars,” said Miller, of Boise, a second-year student studying in the College of Science and College of Engineering.

“Or, you could play golf on Mars,” said Baptista, a Buhl resident and second-year mechanical engineering major who wants to build reusable rockets for a private aerospace company. Combined with Brock’s interest in developing propulsion technology to create rockets that run on electricity rather than fuel, the cost of that golf trip may become more affordable.

The students are excited about the possibilities their projects hold for the future of space exploration. And Susie Johnson is proud of their accomplishments so far.

“The way they're attacking this project with such intensity, coupled with the spirit of being willing to try something they've never done before is huge," Johnson said. "That's what the future needs. It’s not necessarily that you have a Ph.D. in your back pocket. It’s having the willingness to jump in and confront a challenge.”

Idaho Space Grant Consortium Has Its Sights Set

By Kate Keenan Photo by Melissa Hartley

S

HIGH

usie Johnson ’98 wants to make Idaho a leader in the Space Grant consortium program to Idaho and made UI space — an industry frontrunner alongside agriculthe lead institution for ISGC. Atkinson now works at NASA’s ture, forestry and recreation.

Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) as a senior research engineer.

Now the program manager for the NASA Idaho UI places multiple interns at NASA Ames Research Space Grant Consortium (ISGC), she’s doing everyCenter, JPL and other NASA centers every summer, and thing she can to make that happen by linking students and many go on to careers in the aerospace industry. Interns faculty throughout the state to the aerospace industry and often come from UI’s branch of Idaho RISE (Research increasing public interest.

Involving Student Engineers and Educators), a program for Johnson began working in the aerospace industry in 2000. undergraduates who design, build, test, fly and recover highFor three years, she worked for a consulting firm contracted altitude balloons for science and engineering experiments.

by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration to analyze The experiments interest NASA because the balloons often the demand for space-based tourism and markets. In 2003, she carry hardware — known as payloads — such as cameras or joined NASA as an on-site contractor, writing strategic plans, air pressure sensors. The data collected allows NASA to test annual reports and budget reports. In 2011, she began studying the equipment's functionality during flight and landing as the economic impact of NASA. In 2013, Johnson jumped at well as in extreme temperatures. the opportunity to bring UI students and alumni from the College of the excitement of space Engineering who were former NASA Ames interns to Idaho and join the include senior Jonathan Hanson, senior David Handy, nationwide network Jon Wheless ’15 and Austin Tanner ’15, all of whom of NASA’s Space Grant worked on a project to design a braking mechanism consortiums. for payloads that helps experiments and samples At ISGC, Johnson return in one piece from the International Space works to connect NASA’s National Space Grant College Station. Tanner now works for NASA Ames as a students and faculty and Fellowship Program, also known mechanical engineer. doing NASA research as Space Grant, is a national network ISGC’s commitment extends beyond UI — the to each other and to of colleges and universities working to consortium funds space-related research opporNASA, whether they expand opportunities for Americans tunities for students and faculty at Idaho's public are at UI or affiliates to participate in NASA's aeronauand private colleges and universities, bolsters throughout the state. tics and space projects. The 52 Space STEM programs at community colleges, exposes That effort is building Grant consortia fund fellowships and K-12 students to space-related activities, and funds on the legacy of David scholarships for students pursuing informal education programs, such as the Palouse Atkinson, a former careers in science, mathematics, engiDiscovery Science Center. electrical engineering neering and technology, as well as “With some concentrated effort, we can make a professor who brought curriculum enhancement and faculty really robust space industry in Idaho,” Johnson said. development. Learn more about Idaho’s Space Grant Consortium at www.idahospacegrant.org. idahospacegrant.org 13

About the Space Grant Program

MOSCOW HIGH SCHOOL GROUP OFFERS SKY-HIGH VIEW OF FIRST ECLIPSE TO CROSS U.S. IN 38 YEARS

By Savannah Tranchell

14 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE VISIBLE IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. IN 38 YEARS.

THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE APPEARS IN 12 STATES: OREGON, IDAHO, WYOMING, NEBRASKA, KANSAS, MISSOURI, ILLINOIS, KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE, NORTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA.

or a few hours on Aug. 21, 2017, people around IN THE 35 YEARS FROM the United States will see the summer sky go 2017 TO 2052, THERE dark as North America experiences its first WILL BE FIVE TOTAL solar eclipse in decades.

SOLAR ECLIPSES OVER Beyond just the coolness factor of seeing THE U.S. the sun disappear in the middle of the day, an eclipse offers scientists the opportunity to study THE PARTIAL STAGE parts of the sky we can’t normally see, measure OF THE ECLIPSE LASTS atmospheric changes as the eclipse’s shadow BETWEEN TWO AND moves across the Earth, and conduct experiments.

BETWEEN 1776 AND THREE HOURS. Among the thousands of scientists poised to study this 2017, MONTANA AND rare astronomical event is a group of students from Moscow IDAHO HAVE SEEN High School. Led by physics teacher and UI alumnus THE MOST TOTAL Pat Blount ’05, the students are members of Near Space SOLAR ECLIPSES WITH Engineering, an extracurricular group that conducts highSIX EVENTS EACH. THIS IS THE FIRST altitude balloon launches to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere.

TOTAL ECLIPSE The students are participating in the Eclipse Ballooning EXCLUSIVE TO THE Project, led by the Montana Space Grant Consortium at U.S. SINCE 1776.

Montana State University and funded through the NASA Science Mission Directorate. The project is bringing together nearly 50 teams from 31 states along the eclipse “path of totality” (that is, the areas that will experience total darkness). Each team will launch a high-altitude balloon carrying THIS ECLIPSE WILL BE an identical camera. The cameras will stream videos of the THE FIRST SINCE 1918 eclipse as it happens, allowing those outside the path to TO CROSS THE U.S. watch the shadow cross the Earth.

FROM THE PACIFIC TO Moscow’s team also received funds from the Idaho Space THE ATLANTIC. Grant Consortium (ISGC), housed at the University of Idaho.

ISGC awarded a nearly $16,000 grant to help pay for the materials, as well as launch and travel costs, Blount said. The Source: NASA team will monitor Idaho’s portion of the eclipse from Weiser in southern Idaho.

The Near Space Engineering group is made up of six high school students and UI mechanical engineering student Richard Baptista, who serves as a mentor and resource for the students. Baptista is also a member of the TATERTOTS program at UI (see story on Page 10). Last summer, the Millions of people are expected to travel to prime viewing locations along the eclipse path this August. The eclipse will cross southern Idaho between students attended a workshop in Montana to learn how to 10:30-11:30 a.m. Aug. 21. People along the path of totality will see darkness build the camera system and other technical aspects of the for one to two minutes. Learn more about the eclipse, see a map of the eclipse zone and watch the live stream at eclipse2017.nasa.gov. Follow the Moscow launch.

Near Space Engineering team’s project at www.nearspaceengineering.org.

In addition to the camera, the students plan to launch sensors to collect atmospheric data. They are also building communication devices and a drone that will collect photos of the ground during the eclipse.

It’s a unique experience for high schoolers to be able to participate in, Blount said. Each has his or her own area of interest — one student serves as a media specialist, one is interested in scientific data collection, and another focuses WEISER on engineering.

“They each bring a particular ability and interest to the team that together work really well,” he said.

WATCH THE ECLIPSE

uidaho.edu/engr 15

One Hundred Years Hence

By John B. Herrington

Former NASA astronaut John B. Herrington earned his Doctor of Philosophy from UI’s College of Education in 2014.

16 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

“Lo, the poor Indian whose untutored mind sees God in the clouds and hears him in the wind.”

These were the words written on a poster announcing a three-day celebration around the Fourth of July in Oklahoma City in 1889.

At the center of the poster was a drawing of a group of Native Americans dancing around a fire with the subtitles “Indian War Dance” and “When the Weird Incantations of the Primitive Children of the Forest and the Lurid Flames will Inspire, Awe, and Charm Beholders.”

The poster was one of multiple items stowed for over a century in a time capsule buried in 1913 beneath of the floor of Oklahoma Cityʼs First Lutheran Church. I had the good fortune of examining many of the pieces as they were being inventoried at the Oklahoma Historical Society.

As a registered member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, I was dismayed by the words that stood out on the poster. It spoke to a time when Native Americans were still viewed through the lens of colonialism and the foundation of Manifest Destiny — a lens that pervaded our country since Europeans first placed their feet on the shores of what would become known as North America.

There were many items in pristine condition: A bow carved from bois d'arc wood; a panoramic picture of Quanah Parker with his wives and son, and many of his warriors in full regalia; a picture of Geronimo in breechcloth and war bonnet taken at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; a Bible printed in the Choctaw language.

As I perused the items from the Century Chest, I saw a black book, hardbound with gold leaf lettering embossed on the cover: “CONSTITUTION TREATIES AND LAWS OF THE CHICKASAW NATION.” Printed in 1890, this book documented the treaties and laws by which my tribe abided following their removal to Indian Territory

from their homelands in the Southeastern United States in 1837, also known as The Trail of Tears. I was filled with pride because here was clear evidence to countermand the stereotype depicted in the poster of the “Primitive Children of the Forest,” the “untutored” Native American mind. Alongside the constitution was an unsealed, plain white envelope. I asked the archivist if she knew what was in it. She told me it had not been read yet, but she offered me the opportunity to be the first.

With white gloves protecting the document from the oils of my hand, I carefully pulled from the envelope a two-page letter written in immaculate cursive. The letter was addressed to a Mrs. Czarina C. Conlan, a Choctaw and Chickasaw woman who organized the collection of Native American items deposited in the Century Chest.

As I read the letter, my hands trembled as the words rose from the page.

“I am a native of this Country, born at Old Boggy Depot on Feb, 4th 1845, was educated in the schools of the Chickasaw Nation of that day and was in school in the state of Miss, when I answered the call to arms in the Confederate army in 1861 and served through the war, returned to my native country and was elected Governor of the Chickasaw nation in 1886 and served in that capacity for two years. …”

“To those who would read these words in 2013 I can only say that I added my mite in the way of time, money and influence for the education and advancement of my native people. … My life’s work will end with my humble service to aid the children and unfortunate of my tribe and I devoutly pray that the representatives of the living one hundred years hence will be in full enjoyment of the civilization and advancement that I have always stood for and longed so much to see my people reach. My kindest personal regards to you, I am Sincerely Yours William Malcolm Guy.”

VOICES OF IDAHO

There I was, “a representative of the living, one hundred years hence.” It was as if Gov. Guy was speaking directly to me in his letter, and I was humbled that someone had devoted his life to an idea, a hope, that if he mentored people, there might come a day when that dedication would count for something. Gov. Guy’s desire to “aid the children and unfortunate of my tribe” was his way of providing mentorship to his community.

Many of the decisions I have made in my career have been based on following the advice of people who mentored me. From the owner of a surveying firm I worked for as a teenager, to a retired Navy captain I tutored in college, these men saw something in me that moved them to encourage me to achieve something in life. It was my responsibility to follow that advice.

I am a member of the Chickasaw Nation, a retired Naval Aviator, test pilot, and the first Native American astronaut.

I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics, a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy in education. I flew over 5.6 million miles in orbit above the Earth and helped to assemble one of the most technologically advanced engineering achievements humankind has ever attempted, the International Space Station.

I have been a recipient of those things Gov. Guy wished for his people to achieve — and I was the first person in 100 years to read his words. It was gratifying to see the leadership that my tribe demonstrated during a time when Native people were being marginalized and stereotyped, not yet recipients of the right to vote for the government under which they lived.

Since retiring from the Navy in 2005, I have been involved in numerous efforts dedicated to improving the number of Native Americans in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I have

spoken to thousands of Native American students about my journey in education and how it led me to my career as an astronaut. I even rode a bicycle 4,300 miles across the country, stopping at Indian reservations along the way, sharing my story. I also returned to the University of Idaho and conducted doctoral research on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in southern Idaho.

This is my way of returning the favor to those who have impacted my life.

We all have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone we care about. Often we do not realize the influence we can have on those around us. I would wager that each of us recalls a time when someone said something that profoundly influenced us. It could have been a teacher, family friend, even a boss. They planted a seed in our imagination, encouraged us to pursue a particular field of study, perhaps even motivated us to return to school. Their attention may have made the difference between just living our lives or living our dream.

Each of us, be it as an undergraduate or in the professoriate, needs to be a mentor for those that come behind us. Be the guide shining the light down a dark and confusing path.

Photos courtesy of John B. Herrington A member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, John B. Herrington was allowed to be among those who first examined items taken from a time capsule buried in 1913 in Oklahoma City.

Among the items were a letter written

by Chickasaw Gov. William Malcolm Guy and a copy of the tribal nation's constitution.

17

An Atmosphere for Space Education Upward Bound programs offer branch to STEM fields

By Brad Gary

O

uter space can feel like a giant leap for a kid who has never even traveled across the country.

But for a group of North Idaho high school students, two Upward Bound programs run by the University of Idaho have put the stars within reach.

Over the past two summers, about 40 students experienced simulated space flight and zero gravity at NASA’s Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama — the culmination of a curriculum meant to spark their interest in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The summer curriculum geared toward soon-to-be first-generation college students was “by far the best one we’ve ever done,” said Arielle Horan, director of UI’s Silver Valley Upward Bound program.

The Upward Bound project is one of seven federally funded TRIO projects that are operated by the UI College of Education as a means to provide educational opportunities for all Americans regardless of race, ethnic background or economic status.

The space-themed program began in summer 2015. A group of students from Kellogg and Wallace spent 18 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

time at UI’s Moscow campus and North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene to study sociology, science, literature and foreign language, all with a space emphasis. The success of the curriculum spawned its adoption by another Upward Bound program, Bridge Idaho, in 2016.

Upward Bound is designed to take first-generation college students out of their comfort zones so they realize what it might be like to visit a different region or try out a new field of study. In many cases, Bridge Idaho Upward Bound Director Andrea Brockmeyer said such ideas give the students a realization that they can “handle it.” Putting aspiring astronauts in different settings, whether that be at a college campus or a far-away flight simulator, helps them develop a sense of autonomy and resilience so they can plan for the future, she said.

As part of their six-week study, the Silver Valley students helped build a terraforming robot — one that would erect basic structures out of rocks, sand and dirt — with representatives from nonprofit design laboratory Gizmo-CDA. They also read Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” and debated how best to set up their own society during a fictional two-year excursion to the red planet.

Students wrote journal entries and a 32-page manual to highlight the fictional mission. Among their most pressing concerns were what freeze-dried food they wanted to bring on the six-month expedition to Mars and what kind of entertainment (karaoke, pool and laser tag) they would have available.

“We did the whole summer program around that theme, so you have to pass that class to go to Space Camp,” Horan

Students from Silver Valley Upward Bound spent a week during summer 2015 at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of a spacecentric program. The popular curriculum was adopted by members of Bridge Idaho Upward Bound when its students traveled to Space Camp in summer 2016.

Photos courtesy of Silver Valley Upward Bound and Bridge Idaho Upward Bound.

said. “Which is a pretty effective motivator.”

The students even brainstormed the creation of a domelike building connected to their spacecraft that would serve as home base on the new planet. And they each jotted down journal entries focused on their encounters with alien life.

“All the Martians I’ve seen so far are very mean,” per one journal entry. “I’m thinking they have some unresolved family issues that they need to talk about. Or maybe they are just scared because they haven’t seen any other creatures besides themselves.”

But it was the Space Camp week at NASA’s U.S. Space and Rocket Center where the students learned valuable hands-on interplanetary lessons based on science and math concepts. The young astronauts even had to deal with defeat during the occasions they didn’t survive their simulations.

Experiments involving everything from zero gravity to scuba diving to being firmly planted at mission control helped the students figure out how to function as a NASA team.

Ten Silver Valley students made the weeklong trip to Huntsville in July 2015 with the help of a grant from the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium, which is operated out of UI. The students earned college credit, lived in pods, and met students from New Zealand and Sweden.

While the Upward Bound students may not ultimately choose to pursue a career in a STEM field, Horan said the program ignited an interest in the sciences. While Upward Bound programs focus on a different curriculum each summer, both she and

Brockmeyer said they’d launch the space idea again if funding permits.

“That curiosity to engage in the world around them is a trait I see in those who have participated in the program,” Horan said.

The curriculum’s success prompted Brockmeyer to take a group of students to Huntsville in July 2016 as part of a space/civil rights curriculum through Bridge Idaho Upward Bound.

About 30 sophomores, juniors and seniors from Kamiah, Kooskia, Lapwai and Orofino made the journey to Huntsville last summer. They also visited Birmingham, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Getting high school kids interested in science is no easy task, Brockmeyer said. But allowing them to “geek out” for a week at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center helped them along.

“A couple of students got their geek on,” Brockmeyer said. “It’s not cool to like math or science, so with this kind of experience they did get to see their potential with science and math.”

The trip also acts as a draw to help the students see the benefits of higher education — and help them work through any barriers to their college dreams, she said.

Brockmeyer wants the students to say to themselves, “I did this on my own for six weeks in the summertime. I totally can do this for four years and get a degree.”

uidaho.edu/ed 19

IN SUPPORT OF SCIENCE Research shows that parents' attitudes on science can shape their child's interests

By Kathy Foss

P

arents influence their children in many ways — from DNA that influences physical traits to parenting techniques that influence emotional and social development. And now, new research from the University of Idaho shows that parental actions can also influence a child’s interest in science.

The data was collected as part of an interdisciplinary project that brought together researchers from the UI’s College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences and the University of North Dakota. The researchers examined the correlation between parental attitudes toward science and children’s interest in the subject as they progressed through the Idaho education system, specifically in the fourth, seventh and 10th grades. The study examined surveys conducted through the state over a five-year period, from 2010 to 2015.

The results of the study were published in the Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society in January 2017. It was funded by a $1.2 million award from the Micron Foundation in 2010, which sought to identify the cultural, socioeconomic, and rural and urban barriers and opportunities that affect STEM education in Idaho.

The researchers found that while parents' attitudes toward science remained constant during their child's education, the student's pro-science attitude decreased from fourth to 10th grades. The mean rating for the statement “I like science” on a five-point scale declined from 3.49 in fourth grade to 2.76 by 10th. However, students whose parents claimed an interest in science responded more favorably to the statement “I like science” in 10th grade than those whose parents did not indicate pro-science attitudes.

The findings suggest that parents with positive attitudes toward science are able to sustain their child’s interest and 20 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

sense of ability in the subject throughout their educational journey, said Dilshani Sarathchandra, assistant professor of sociology and a member of the research team.

“When you’re younger, you have a good feeling about science. You are interested in experiments and find everything cool and fun,” Sarathchandra said. “As you get older and the material gets more challenging and complicated, then students who have parents that support science tend to do better than those who don’t.”

There are multiple ways that this relationship can be used to improve a student’s interest in science.

One option is to increase the positive attitude of parents toward science. Sarathchandra suggests improvements can be made by increasing the level of trust between science teachers and parents, involving parents in science classrooms through extracurricular activities and science initiatives, and educating parents on how science can be relevant, practical and applicable.

“People become more familiar with and less threatened by scientific knowledge when they see its relevant application,” Sarathchandra said. “If parents are encouraged to be involved in their child’s science education, their attitudes may become more positive, which would benefit their child.”

Another option is to help students better understand different opinions about science in the public and the factors that shape these beliefs.

“Getting this material into the K-12 social science curriculum would be useful,” Sarathchandra said. “It would train students to identify their own orientation and their family’s orientation to science, so that they learn that struggles with science material are not necessarily intrinsic or knowledge based.” uidaho.edu/stem

VOICES OF IDAHO

242 Days That Changed My Life

By Sophie Milam

W Sophie Milam received her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering while spending eight months in a two-story, 36-footdiameter geodesic habitat as part of NASA’s Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation.

She currently works as a systems engineer for SVL Analytical in Smelterville, Idaho. In 2015, Milam was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science.

To learn more about Milam’s experience visit her blog, https://domesoph. wordpress.com.

hen I was 26 years old, I participated in a study funded by NASA and run by the University of Hawaii. It lasted eight months and studied crew cohesion in conditions of extreme isolation and confinement. Our genderbalanced six-person team was the third iteration of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analogue and Simulation (HI-SEAS), led

by Commander Martha Lenio, Ph.D., of Waterloo, Canada.

So what was NASA doing in Hawaii with six people who chose to be confined together for 242 days? Simply put, they were trying to figure out how to design a team that could survive and thrive on a mission to Mars. Countless hours have been — and will be — spent studying the mechanics of human travel to Mars.

HI-SEAS also contributes to the research that will one day send people to Mars, but it focuses on the mental, rather than the mechanical, dimension of the challenge.

Inside the two-story, 36-foot-diameter dome, all contact with the outside world had a 20-minute communication delay, 95 percent of our food was dehydrated or freeze-dried, our rooms were the size of a large dining table, and we had only one window. When we went outside on Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), we wore mock spacesuits and were never exposed to direct sunshine or wind. Things were definitely different than typical life on Earth.

While the lava quarry landscape around us was as Martian as possible, our days were fairly normal. Five days a week we would wake up, work on our personal research, exercise, have dinner and spend the evening hanging out with our dome homies — or “domies.” On weekends we played games, went outside on fun EVAs and had personal time. All of the dome’s energy came from stored solar power and some of our most trying times were when we had only

enough reserve power for mission critical systems — like toilet ventilation and biological sample preservation.

Worse than the cold and dark, lowpower days was the eventual decay of our social system. During the last two months of our mission, the crew began to withdraw from group activities and restrict our interaction; the last couple weeks were the most stressful of my life to date. Most of us, myself included, learned more about ourselves during those eight months than during the rest of our lives combined and were forced to confront many of our own personal demons. Our experiences affect us to this day. We returned a bit paler, but also with the knowledge that our sensitivities to Earth were more than just skin deep.

Before the mission, I would never have classified myself as claustrophobic, but during an EVA, I muscled my way through an incredibly intense bout of claustrophobia inside one of the mock spacesuits.

After getting out, I moved to a town of 200 people in North Idaho and still, 18 months later, do not feel at ease in large cities. Every day I focus on listening, understanding and relating to the people around me. I strive to have a positive impact on my community in the Silver Valley through informal science outreach.

During the mission, I realized that I would probably be too old to fulfill my dream of joining the first mission to Mars.

However, rather than dampening my spirits, this realization made me more determined than ever to complete the mission and provide data for the researchers. I take pride in the knowledge that because “AstroNots” like Martha Lenio, Zak Wilson, Neil Scheibelhut, Allen Mirkadyrov, Jocelyn Dunn and I chose to give eight months of our lives to HI-SEAS and NASA, future Mars astronauts will be made stronger by our experiences.

21

Private companies are pushing the boundaries in human access to space, and UI alumnus Jeff Ashby sees a new future opening up

By Savannah Tranchell

Q: How did you transition from working for NASA to working in the private sector for Blue Origin?

A: Jeff Bezos often reminds us, “You don’t choose your passions, your passions choose you.” In 2005, when private space companies were just starting to be noticed, I felt a pull to move toward the private space industry because I thought I could help them be successful and I thought it would be exciting. I’m happy to say that I was right on both counts.

Q: Your job title is “Chief of Mission Assurance.” What does that mean?

A: Mission assurance can also be called mission success. My job is to do whatever I can to ensure that our launch vehicles and astronauts return safely to Earth. I view the task holistically in that I monitor everything from our work culture to the fasteners and software code.

22 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Q: What was it about Blue Origin’s mission that attracted you?

A: They were different. When I first came across their website, it was one page and it simply said, “We’re going to do things differently. If you’re interested send us your resume.” So I sent them an email. It wasn’t anything I planned, there was just something about the words on their website that grabbed me enough to send an email and that was it. That was 11 years ago.

Q: Why is space accessibility for all humans something you feel is important to achieve?

A: The answer to that question is really hard to articulate. There is the long view that humans must leave Earth to survive. But there are also important near-term goals, one of which is getting a lot more people to see Earth from the perspective of space, to change the way they think about the world. Research has documented core value changes in astronauts that are generally positive for humankind. They include desires to protect our environment, live together without conflict, and know that what we’re doing on one side of the planet affects the other side.

Q: Do you have any hesitations about making space so accessible? If taking a trip to space becomes as common as a trip to Disneyworld, will we begin to take it for granted?

A: Is Disneyworld any less special now than it was when they first opened their doors?

The answer to that of course is no, for both adults and children. When thousands or millions of people are traveling to space, that journey will surely take on new meaning, but I wouldn’t say it’s less special. I would hope that we would one day take for granted our ability to schedule a space flight and undertake it as we do today on the airlines. That will be a sign of great progress if we can reach that point.

J Read more questions and answers with Jeff Ashby — as well as an article about his 1998 Space Shuttle flight — at uidaho.edu/ magazine.

eff Ashby is convinced that we are living in the second greatest decade in human space exploration. The first — the 1960s — saw man land on the moon. But this one, Ashby says, will see even greater things.

“For 50 years now, we’ve been flying just a handful of people into space each year,” said Ashby, a former NASA astronaut and veteran of three Space Shuttle missions.

“This decade is a turning point where not only will more people be able to visit space, but eventually we’ll have thousands of people living and working there.”

That giant leap for mankind is possible because ambitious private companies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible for human spaceflight with innovations like reusable rockets that cut costs and open space for visitors and entrepreneurs.

Ashby received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho in 1976. The retired U.S. Navy captain, aviator and test pilot left NASA in 2008 to join Blue Origin, a private aerospace manufacturer owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin has successfully tested rockets that can be reused multiple times. The New Shepard rocket will launch a capsule of passengers to the edge of space, where they can experience weightlessness for about 3 ½ minutes before returning to Earth. The company plans to begin manned flights in the next few years.

“The way I see it, the new space race in the world is to privatize and open space up to thousands and millions of people,” Ashby said. “Our United States is so far ahead of all other countries in that regard, that it’s not even perceived as a race.”

Q: Having worked for both NASA and a private company, what is it that makes private industry able to accomplish so much so quickly?

Q: In a 1998 article in Here We Have Idaho, you said that for you, “that bigger picture is the personal experience of being able to get into space and look back on our planet and wonder about what our future holds.” What do you think the future holds now?

A: Looking back, I could not have predicted the path that human space exploration is taking nor my role in it. I also couldn’t be more excited about the way it’s going. This decade is literally a turning point in history. The transition to private industry for space launch is a huge enabler for innovation and progress.

In 30 years, we are likely to have private citizens making the journey to Mars — I hope that happens much sooner.

A: NASA is in an interesting position where it is technically able to do things that private industry can’t and at the same time is highly constrained by non-technical things like politics, funding and governmental obligations. NASA still has the role of pathfinder, because there are some things that only a large government organization can do, but other things can be more efficiently handled by private industry. That’s of course what you’re seeing today: while NASA is sending probes to Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter, you’re seeing private companies launching payloads into Earth orbit, and talking about going beyond Earth, where NASA has been going beyond for 50 years.

Q: You flew on three space shuttle missions, achieving what you have said was a childhood dream. Is there any one memory that stands out among those trips?

A: When I lay in my seat awaiting the countdown for my first flight realizing that I was about to achieve a lifelong dream, I smiled when I recalled that I had invited all of the people who had helped me along the way to witness the launch. Most of them were all sitting just 3 miles away, sharing the moment with me.

Some of them were from University of Idaho. The other memory is looking back at Earth from space. It’s a perspective that changes one’s life. Blue Origin is attempting to make that view possible for many more people.

Q: Any closing words for students interested in a career in space travel?

A: There are some incredible opportunities for graduating students in our world. Several UI engineering grads work with me at Blue Origin, contributing to something much bigger than a business initiative or an engineering project.

In this case, they are contributing to the opportunity for humans to move into space and take advantage of the resources and opportunities there. Not only are there great jobs awaiting new grads, but some of those great jobs also enable contribution to a much greater vision.

23

What

C A S S Can Teach Us

T

he Cassini spacecraft’s first day circling Saturn was Jason Barnes’ first day on the Cassini team.

It was June 30, 2004, and Cassini had become the first spacecraft ever to orbit our solar system’s ringed sixth planet. The same day, Barnes started work as a postdoctoral physics researcher at the University of Arizona, joining the hundreds of scientists around the globe studying the images and data Cassini sent back.

“That was really when the science started,” Barnes said.

“I got married three days later, so it was kind of a whirlwind for me. Everything changed all at once.”

24 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Not long after that and across the country, Matthew Hedman joined the Cassini team as a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He’d been studying the origins of the universe, but was invited to join Cassini because of his programming skills and experience sorting meaningful information from a massive amount of data.

“They said, ‘We want someone without preconceived notions about what we’re going to do,’” Hedman said.

More than 12 years later, Cassini has given humans an unprecedented view of a distant, dynamic planet and its equally fascinating moons, and sparked incredible discoveries. And all that time, Barnes and Hedman have been there

Cassini captured this enhanced-color image of Saturn and its rings backlit by the sun in 2012.

Photo from www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages

I N I UI physicists have spent a dozen years studying data sent back by the satellite orbiting the ringed sixth planet. And while the satellite’s mission ends this fall, their discoveries are likely only beginning

By Tara Roberts

making some of those discoveries.

From their initial beginnings on the Cassini team, Barnes and Hedman separately made their way to the University of Idaho, where they’ve built a pocket of planetary science expertise in the College of Science. Barnes, an associate professor of physics, came to UI in 2008, and Hedman, an assistant professor of physics, arrived in 2013.

Cassini is slated to plummet to a crushing end in Saturn’s atmosphere on Sept. 15, 2017, but Barnes and Hedman’s work won’t be over.

“I think I’m going to spend the next 20 years finishing off the Cassini data set,” Barnes said. “There are really complex problems there, and there’s a lot to be done.”

What is Cassini?

When the Cassini spacecraft crashes into the planet this September, it will have spent nearly 20 years zipping through the solar system and gathering incredible information about Saturn and its moons.

The spacecraft left Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 15, 1997.

The mission, a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency, contained two parts: the large Cassini orbiter and the smaller Huygens probe.

Cassini sent back its first shots of Saturn in 2002, and entered its orbit in 2004. The Huygens probe detached, landing on Titan in 2005 where it survived for 72 minutes, gathering data on the moon’s atmosphere and terrain.

The Cassini orbiter has gone around Saturn more than 250 times, sending back information on the planet’s dynamic surface, rings and moons, allowing scientists to make unprecedented discoveries.

On Nov. 30, 2016, Cassini began maneuvers known as the Grand Finale, gathering unmatched up-close views of Saturn. The spacecraft will continue to send data back to Earth up to its last minute.

Learn more at https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.

25

“

The thrill of discovery, which is probably half the reason anyone becomes a scientist anyway, is available every couple of months.

SHANNON MACKENZIE DOCTORAL STUDENT, COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

”

Software developed at UI was used to help process this composite infrared image of Saturn’s moon Titan, captured by Cassini in 2015.

Photo from www.jpl.nasa.gov/ spaceimages

Physics doctoral student Shannon MacKenzie won UI’s 2016 Three-Minute Thesis competition with a presentation on Titan. View the presentation at uidaho.edu/magazine.

I

n 1989, NASA began choosing its first teams of scientists for the Cassini mission. Barnes and Hedman weren’t yet on board.

“I was 12,” Barnes said with a laugh. “I was the same age Cassini is now in orbit.”

Those early scientists had hints of what to expect from the Voyager missions that had swept past Saturn, but couldn’t predict everything Cassini would find. Scientists of the next generation, like Hedman and Barnes, have been able to break into the project by working with Cassini’s unexpected observations and abilities.

“It was fun to see the process start and see people learn to interpret new data they hadn’t seen before,” Barnes said.

For example, when the Voyager probes passed Saturn’s moon Titan, they saw only a hazy orange ball. But Cassini has peered through the clouds and found a beautiful landscape of methane lakes and seas concentrated at the moon’s north pole.

“We’d have been laughed out if we brought up Titan surface geology” before the spacecraft got to Saturn, Barnes said. “We really didn’t even realize what the instruments would be able to do.”

Barnes and Hedman are participating scientists in the Cassini mission’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, team. The VIMS instrument captures images in 352 different colors, or wavelengths of light, revealing vastly more information than a human looking at Saturn would see.

With information from VIMS and other instruments on the satellite, Barnes and his students have concentrated on understanding Titan. Barnes’ team found evidence of waves and wind on Titan's seas in 2014, and have studied the moon’s diverse features — including sand dunes, impact craters and salt-flat-like materials left by evaporated lakes.

UI is also an important part of bringing images of Titan to the public: Barnes wrote the software that turns multiple VIMS images into one clean picture, and his students operate it.

Shannon MacKenzie, a doctoral physics student who has

26 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

worked with Barnes since 2012 studying Titan's version of salt deposits, has loved the collaborative, explorative nature of the Cassini project. It’s an exciting project as well, with students gathering for “data days,” when waves of new images from the spacecraft are sent to researchers around the world.

“The thrill of discovery, which is probably half the reason anyone becomes a scientist anyway, is available every couple of months,” MacKenzie said. “Seeing new areas is exciting, seeing areas we’ve seen before in better resolution is exciting, seeing changes in areas we’ve looked at before is exciting.”

Hedman and his students focus primarily on Saturn’s rings. In 2016, Hedman led a research team that “weighed” the central parts of Saturn’s bright B ring. He’s examined the origins of the faint E ring, which changes with Saturn’s seasons, and studied how patterns in the rings can reveal information about the moons and planet — for example, acting as a seismograph to detect Saturn-quakes.

Hedman also studies Enceladus, an ice-crusted moon of Saturn that blasts out jets of frozen water and other particles that help form the E ring. In 2013, Hedman and colleagues found that the jets vary depending on how close Enceladus is to Saturn.

These projects have not only allowed Hedman and Barnes to work with other Cassini researchers around the world, but also have given their students a chance to interact with the international planetary science community. A group of Barnes’ students attended a meeting of Titan surface scientists in Paris in November 2016, and UI researchers collaborate with colleagues in France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“It’s a $4 billion spacecraft orbiting a planet,” Barnes said.

“It’s kind of too big for one university or one group to do.”

Cassini will crash into Saturn on Sept. 15, 2017 – but researchers will continue to examine the data it gathered in its 20-year mission.

Illustration from Wiki Commons

W

hen Hedman finds the time, he loves to sit at his computer and watch Saturn.

“We’re just staring at the rings for hours and hours,” he said. “That’s how it starts off, with a lot of what I do. Looking at those and going, ‘Wait, what’s that?’”

The VIMS instrument captures small thumbnail images of Saturn, and another instrument takes more traditional videos of the planet. Sorting through these images allows Barnes and Hedman to look for quirks that merit further investigation — though more often, their undergraduate and graduate students take these first steps.

“I have 19-year-olds in my lab who are the first ones to see the new results from Cassini,” Barnes said.

The discovery of waves on Titan started with Barnes spotting an unusual glint of light in an image.

“We saw that because we happened to be looking,” Barnes said. “And no one expected to see that.”

Recently, Hedman noticed the innermost ring suddenly had patterns that it didn't have before, indicating the ring had been disturbed.

“We don’t know why. It just appeared,” Hedman said.

“We’ve been staring at this thing for a better part of eight years, and all of a sudden there’s a change.”

When the researchers find anomalies worth pursuing, they dig into the data and start quantifying exactly what’s happening. Building a precise scientific understanding of Saturn and its moons and rings can help humanity comprehend how planets form, understand the early days of the

solar system and the Earth, find potential sources of extraterrestrial life, and envision other worlds where humans could one day live.

These are the questions that will keep the Cassini mission alive long after the spacecraft itself is obliterated — and questions Barnes and Hedman, and the next generation of scientists they’ve trained at UI, will continue pursuing, whether through Cassini or through the next missions Earth sends to the outer solar system.

“Sometimes science is going where no one has gone before — and that’s awesome,” Barnes said. “But other times new science comes from looking where everyone has looked, but seeing what no one else has seen.”

Jason Barnes

Matthew Hedman

Jason Barnes and Matthew Hedman talk about what studying Saturn can teach us about the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life. Watch the video at uidaho.edu/magazine.

27

VANDALS

IN

SPACE

From planning a trip to Mars to exploring the far reaches of our solar system, University of Idaho researchers are part of game-changing discoveries.

CRATERS Postdoctoral researcher Deepak Dhingra is studying the moon to understand how impact craters shape planetary bodies in our solar system.

ECLIPSE With the help of funds from the Idaho Space Grant Consortium, Moscow High students will stream live video of August’s solar eclipse as it passes over Idaho.

EARTH

WATER Water resources professor Richard G. Allen received a grant to put water tracking software he developed on the International Space Station to monitor Earth’s climate.

28 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

MICROGRAVITY Chemistry clinical assistant professor Kristopher Waynant has studied the effects of microgravity on advanced “smart skin” materials for spacecraft.

EARTH-LIKE MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER

MARS

BACTERIA College of Agricultural and Life Sciences researcher Andrzej Paszczynski is studying the bacteria likely to hitch a ride to Mars on spacecraft.

Geology assistant professor Leslie Baker and her students use data collected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to study minerals in the Columbia River Basin to understand the landscape of ancient Mars. The presence of certain clay minerals indicate that Mars was once much more Earth-like.

VISION Biological engineering assistant professor Bryn Martin is studying MRI images of astronauts’ eyes after long-duration space flight. Finding ways to prevent vision damage is key to a successful Mars mission.

29

M ET H A NE WAV ES

CASSINI

Physics associate professor Jason Barnes is using Cassini data to study Titan, one of Saturn’s more than 60 moons. His discoveries include finding evidence of waves in Titan’s liquid methane seas.

The Cassini satellite orbiting Saturn launched in 1997 and will crash into the planet in late fall 2017.

T I TA N

S AT U R N

ENCELADUS

LIFE SURFING Physics assistant professor Matthew Hedman is leading a team of student researchers in studying Saturn’s rings.

His team uses Cassini data to study features such as wave patterns and gain a better understanding of how ring systems form and interact with planets.

30 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Doctoral student Shannon MacKenzie developed a concept mission to Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which was published in June 2016. The mission would explore the oceans on Enceladus for evidence of life.

DISCOVERY Last fall, doctoral student Rob Chancia used 30-year-old data gathered by Voyager 2 to find evidence of tiny, undiscovered moons orbiting Uranus.

URANUS

V O YA G E R 2 Currently zipping through interstellar space at 40,000 mph, roughly 10.6 billion miles from earth.

FA ST STA R S Doctoral student John Ahlers has modeled how planets orbiting rapidly rotating stars may experience strange seasons. Fast-spinning stars are hotter at their poles, so a planet with a tilted orbit around such a star could experience wildly varying temperatures.

M

V

E

M

J

S

U

N

*Planets depicted not to scale. Above illustration is actual scale.

31

SPOT

By Rob Patton

32 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Humans have long dreamed of traveling through the far reaches of space — populating other planets and creating societies there. NASA has announced it hopes to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

Bryn Martin uses 3-D renderings and MRI scans to study how space travel impacts the human eye.

But how do you “boldly go where no one has gone before” if you can’t see where you are going?

O

ne health issue related to long duration space travel is the negative impacts to the human eye. Astronauts who have spent six months on the International Space Station return to Earth with significant eye damage, including decreased near vision, globe flattening, optic disc edema, and retinal nerve fiber layer Bryn Martin thickening, studies show.

"Vision impairment is a real problem, not only for our astronauts but also for our larger hopes at deep space travel and exploration,” said Joe Law, director of NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium and associate dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Idaho. "If we plan to send humans to Mars, we cannot have them arriving blind."

The adverse impacts of space travel on human health present a significant challenge to space travel goals, and one that researchers and NASA are working hard to address. In 2005, NASA established the Human Research Program to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe human space exploration.

UI assistant professor of biological engineering Bryn Martin is part of the effort to address zero gravity health issues. Martin is leading a team of graduate and undergraduate students conducting an experimental study to examine the effects of space travel on the human eye, funded by the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium.

Martin leads the Department of Biological Engineering’s Neurophysiological Imaging and Modeling Laboratory (NIML) and is an expert in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computational modeling and analysis. His research is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people affected by central nervous system diseases and disorders.

Martin’s team includes biological engineering graduate student Jesse Rohr and undergraduate computer science

major Austin Sass. Martin and his team plan to quantify changes in the eye geometry of 10 NASA astronauts. All astronauts in the study will undergo MRI scans pre- and post-space flight. The duration of each astronaut’s spaceflight time will be recorded along with basic biophysical measures.

3-D models of astronaut eyes and optic nerves will be created from the MRI images for analysis.

“3-D models allow us to efficiently assess interesting characteristics and changes in astronaut physiology,” Rohr said.

“Once the models are created, we use MATLAB and other programs to run many measurements and tests simultaneously resulting in a better understanding of what is really occurring and why. This will allow us to better identify astronauts who will be able to safely operate in long-term space missions.”

Martin is enthusiastic about the potential the research has on helping NASA achieve its goals, shedding light on gravity’s importance to human health and advancing our overall knowledge of the human body by applying engineering principles.

“Our research may lead to selection of astronauts that have a lower chance of getting eye problems in space and/or it may lead to new ideas for countermeasures that could reduce eye damage,” Martin said. “Ultimately, we want to understand human physiology in greater detail. These discoveries may lead to unintended positive impact on treatment of a host of terrestrial cerebrospinal fluid system disorders.”

The work also will lead engineers to develop solutions and technologies to protect human eyes from the negative effects of space travel. In addition, Martin’s research team is gaining invaluable research experience while investigating the complex interplay between zero gravity and human physiology.

“I have been working on an automated method for quantifying optic nerve/optic nerve sheath geometry from magnetic resonance images,” Sass said. “It hasn't been easy, but we've been able to come up with a pretty neat algorithm for doing this. It truly excites me to see how I'm able to apply my knowledge as a computer science major to solve an important real-world, I mean out-of-this-world, problem.” uidaho.edu/engr 33

What’s for

DINNER?

By Savannah Tranchell and Bill Loftus Photo by Joe Pallen

34 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Food scientist explores how to keep Mars astronauts well-fed and healthy during extended stay on red planet

I

f University of Idaho food scientist Helen Joyner were part of a mining mission to Mars and knew she’d be growing and eating three crops the entire mission, she’d grow potatoes, soybeans and corn.

Deciding which crops to take to Mars is the essence of a case study Joyner and colleague Michael Allen, a Washington State University astrobiologist, prepared for science teachers in October 2015. Joyner is a teacher and researcher in UI’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and based in the School of Food Science, which is operated jointly by UI and WSU. The case study, “Farming in Space? Developing a Sustainable Food Supply on Mars,” presents 12 grains and vegetables and adds fish as potential foodstuffs suitable for production on the red planet. The study was published in 2015 by the National Science Foundation-funded National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University of Buffalo.

The scenario is simple: A mining party of 100 sets out for Mars with enough resources to bring 1,000 acres into cultivation. For the sake of simplicity (and as an academic exercise), the party is limited to three crop choices.

As part of the case study, UI food Her choices, she said, were made because scientist Helen Joyner and WSU potatoes, soybeans and corn can be combined astrobiologist Michael Allen selected into many combinations for meals. And, when 13 potential crops for life on Mars. combined, soy and corn produce the complete The “astronauts” get to choose three protein people need to survive. And, depending to consume for the duration of their on the types of materials you have available to stay on the red planet. Which three process the foods, you can get quite inventive would you pick? with those ingredients.

All the foods change their flavor significantly when roasted, Joyner said, and altering o Corn o Soybeans their texture can also provide a new experience. o Rice o Peanuts Potatoes are high in vitamins and minerals, o Oats o Spinach leaving potential space pioneers with few nutrio Barley o Broccoli tional deficits. o Potatoes o Winter Squash The combinations would hopefully provide o Wheat o Fish “enough variety that you don’t hate eating,” o Peas Joyner said.

Potatoes and corn can be processed into sugar. Soybeans can become tofu. Soy powder and water can create almost an egg whitelike substance too, Joyner said. Fermented soy makes soy sauce. And fermented potatoes can become vodka.

The exercise creates a lot of dialogue. “If you asked five food scientists, you’d probably get five different answers,” she said.

The Menu

uidaho.edu/cals 35

TIM HELMKE GIVES IT ALL T

im Helmke’s position as director of alumni engagement for the Office of Alumni Relations is a perfect fit, really — Tim’s enthusiasm for and commitment to the University of Idaho experience and its people are completely contagious.

Tim ’95 has been a loyal donor to UI for 21 years — the same number of years that he has been an employee — and he is vocal about his support of UI. In 2003, he created an endowed scholarship, the Legacy of Excellence Scholarship.

“My parents and grandparents raised us to give back with time, talent or treasure,” Tim said. “I had received some scholarships as an undergrad that helped me out, and I wanted to pass that along. At that point, it was minimal, but my ability to give has grown over time.”

Although recognizing the importance of financial support, Tim emphasizes that giving goes beyond

Learn more about the University of Idaho’s Loyal Donor Program by visiting uidaho.edu/loyaldonor

36 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

the financial. As a devoted Vandal, he has dedicated his career to sharing the magic of the UI experience whether on the road or in the office, both professionally and personally.

“Being a Vandal means finding yourself while you’re here at UI, and being allowed to be yourself,” Tim said. “It’s also about taking the initiative to make the university proud, make your peers proud and make the faculty and staff proud. We belong to the same tribe.

We came from the north, brave and bold. Something special happens on this campus for those who have been here as students and those who come back as alums. We have a bond.”

Tim received his Bachelor of Arts in journalism and history from the University of Idaho in 1995. “Giving back” and breathing silver and gold guide his approach to engagement with everyone he meets.

Loyal Donor

VOICES OF IDAHO

STEM Education Leads to Career in Rocket Science

By Tom Mueller

Tom Mueller was born in St. Maries, Idaho, and graduated from the University of Idaho in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering. He is a founding employee and chief technology officer of propulsion at SpaceX.

I grew up in a small town in North Idaho, and although I had an interest in science, I didn’t know much about jobs in technical fields.

Early on, I decided I would be an aircraft mechanic, but in high school I took a geometry class and found that I was one of the best students in the class. My math teacher, Mr. Hines, said to me, “You’re really good at math; you’re going to be an engineer, right?” I said, “No, I’m going to be an aircraft mechanic.” His reply are the words that changed my life: “Do you want to be the guy that fixes the airplane, or the guy that designs it?” I thought about it for a minute and said “yeah, I want to be the guy that designs the airplane!”

He helped me get into the right college prep classes and start looking for an engineering school.

I was delighted to find out that UI had an excellent engineering school just 70 miles from my hometown. The choice of schools was easy.

Before starting my studies, I had a poor understanding of what it was a mechanical engineer did. In my classes I learned how to apply engineering to real-world problems. I was amazed at the power of physics and how nearly everything could be expressed in mathematical terms. My favorite classes were the applied engineering classes like fluids, dynamics, stress, materials and thermodynamics. I couldn’t wait to get out in the world to invent, develop and create!

When we formed

SpaceX in 2002, I found myself with the most daunting engineering task of my life. As the vice president of propulsion, I had the responsibility of developing the Merlin rocket engine from a clean sheet.

Booster class rocket engines are such an intense engineering problem that many believed that only governments could develop them. They have the highest energy density of any machine developed by man, releasing billions of watts of thermal energy in a small high-pressure combustion chamber. Everything I learned in engineering applied: Fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, chemistry, dynamics and vibration, stress and strain, materials and metallurgy, electrical systems, heat transfer and mechanical design.

Within a year of starting the company, we had the initial assemblies of the engine in testing: the main combustion chamber and turbopump assembly. Amazingly, they worked, but there were many refinements to make. Containing 6,000-degree gases under high pressure is a daunting task, and any deficiencies in the design are immediately found. We had a saying at our Texas test site: A thousand things can happen when you ignite a rocket engine, and only one of them is good.

Early on we found a lot of the not so good things, and were constantly battling the bane of rocket engine development, the RUD — short for rapid unscheduled disassembly. Thousands of tests and many design iterations later we have the current version of the Merlin rocket engine, the Merlin 1D. It produces 170,000 pounds of thrust, is low cost, is very reliable and has the highest thrust to weight of any booster engine ever developed.

I am quite proud of what we have accomplished.

Thank you Mr. Hines for putting me onto the right path, way back in 1976!

37

A minus-80-degree freezer in UI's Food Science Building holds backup samples of bacteria collected from spacecraft by NASA.

PROTECTING

S PA C E

By Bill Loftus Photos by Joe Pallen

38 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Andrzej Paszczynski, left, and Jeff Beck work with samples from the Viking Lander in their lab at UI.

Mars and food science come together at the University of Idaho to solve a futuristic question: When we find life on other planets, will we know if it hitched a ride there on our own spacecraft?

I College of Agricultural and Life Sciences professor and biochemist Andrzej Paszczynski is helping to answer that question.

NASA is famous for its clean rooms. The spaces where white-suited engineers and technicians assemble spacecraft are designed to ensure that they leave Earth as free as possible from contaminants, including bacteria.

The idea is that when explorations on alien worlds encounter life, scientists will be able to tell whether that life is native to the planet, or if it hitched a ride from Earth.

Before a craft is launched into the great unknown, scientists collect samples of any microbes that remain on its surface.

The samples are stored at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, California, but a backup collection also makes its way to Moscow, where it’s stored in a minus-80-degree freezer that operates unobtrusively in Paszczynski’s lab in UI’s 75-yearold Food Science Building. Even when the frost-rimed interior and multiple doors appear, the freezer looks about as exotic as a kitchen appliance. But should JPL’s collection ever succumb to a tsunami, earthquake or meteorite, Moscow may be called on to answer otherworldly questions.

Paszczynski and his students would be ready. His team has analyzed scores of samples of bacteria found on Mars-bound spacecraft.

Most of the bacteria — identified using DNA sequencing — belong to the genus Bacillus, which includes many species that promote human health and a few that don’t. Other common bacteria identified from the NASA samples were Staphylococcus — think Staph infections and flesh-eating bacteria. Bringing foreign bacteria to another planet would not be ideal.

“Basically we don’t want to contaminate this area with what we bring. That way when humans eventually arrive they will be able to sample those areas to see if life is there,” Paszczynski said.

Discoveries of life in extreme environments — such as the North and South Poles and the Sonoran Desert in North America — make Paszczynski believe life exists beyond Earth.

“This is giving us more and more assurance that life is most likely there. If not on Mars, then perhaps on Europa,” Jupiter’s icebound moon, he said. “Life is so resilient, it is able to survive in unimaginable conditions.”

A number of researchers and projects have come from biochemist Andrzej Paszczynski's lab in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Among them: Aleksandra Checinska Sielaff ’13 earned her doctorate in environmental science from UI. Sielaff, who is now a researcher at Iowa State University, focused on how methods used to sterilize spacecraft might be adapted for food safety.

An early method for sterilizing spacecraft relied on liquid carbon dioxide under pressure — better known as carbon dioxide supercritical fluid. It was thought that fluid could reduce bacterial contamination of chicken and other foods. Tests showed it to be less effective on foods than spacecraft because foods’ porous structure shielded the bacteria.

Stephanie Smith ’08, ’14, worked closely with Paszczynski while earning her master’s in microbiology and doctorate in environmental science.

Her interest in microbes on spacecraft reinforced the close ties between the lab and NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Smith is now a consumer food safety specialist with Washington State University Extension. While at UI, she received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop research-based experiences for K-12 students in Moscow.

Alissa Korsak ’11, ’16, who earned her bachelor’s in biology and doctorate in environmental science, worked in the lab with Smith. Korsak helped to identify microbes from the Mars-bound spacecraft, but she also explored how to open young minds to science.

Korsak now works at the Boise-based Discovery Center of Idaho, the largest volunteer-based venue in the state, which is dedicated to communitybased science, technology, engineering and math education.

As part of her education at UI, she helped Smith conduct science outreach in Moscow. Modeled after Paszczynski’s spacecraft work, experiments challenged students to find life on extreme surfaces, such as sidewalks and freezers.

“It was a fun and meaningful experience,” Korsak said. “I think space research and all NASA programs lend an incredible opportunity to K-12 education in the form of current and engaging STEM content.”

39

GEAR UP HERE! Proud of our athletes. Proud of our scientists.

40 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

FOOTBALL

2017

SEASON TICKETS START AT ONLY

8/31 SACRAMENTO STATE TACKLE CANCER 9/9 UNLV MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY 9/16 @ WESTERN MICHIGAN 9/23 @ SOUTH ALABAMA 10/7 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE HOMECOMING/AG DAYS 10/14 APPALACHIAN STATE CNR CENTENNIAL 10/21 @ MISSOURI 10/28 LOUISIANA-MONROE DADS’/LEADERSHIP WEEKEND 11/2 @ TROY 11/18 COASTAL CAROLINA SENIOR DAY 11/25 @ NEW MEXICO STATE 12/2 @ GEORGIA STATE

For Tickets (208) 885-6466 or GoVandals.com 41

STAR-STRUCK UI undergraduate physics student finds home away from home among science and faith on the Palouse

S

By Justin McCabe | Photos by Irish Joy Martos

arah Horvath spent spring 2016 scrolling through information about thousands upon thousands of stars spotted by NASA’s Kepler space observatory.

“There’s the potential of multiple exoplanets around any given one,” said Horvath, 20, a physics major at the University of Idaho. “Yet I heard that Kepler’s field of view is comparable to the amount of night sky you can block out with your hand extended above you. It was fascinating to have a firsthand sample of the amazing size of the universe.”

Horvath, of Missoula, Montana, was thrilled to be given the opportunity to work as a research assistant during her junior year.

Jason Barnes, an associate professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Science, had tasked a team of graduate students and undergraduate assistants, such as Horvath, with researching planets that orbit stars other than the sun, also known as exoplanets. Horvath’s work was supported by a NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis grant.

“Sarah’s a strong worker and really contributes well in a team environment,” Barnes said. “I like starting undergraduates early in their college careers because it allows them more time to contribute as they learn their way and grow in the program.”

The goal of the project was simply to begin forming ideas about the exoplanets’ characteristics by using a specialized computer program written by Barnes. In particular, the team focused on exoplanets that demonstrate spin-orbit misalignment — a phenomenon where a planet’s orbit is inclined away from the plane of its star’s equator — and exoplanets that orbit gravity-darkened stars, which rotate so rapidly they take the shape of flattened spheres.

Horvath’s job was to search through Kepler’s database of 42 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

stars in order to find the stars likely orbited by exoplanets.

Horvath, a member of the UI’s Campus Christian Fellowship student group, said the scientific experience was also a deeply spiritual one.

“Kepler gathered the data from over 100,000 stars,” Horvath said. “But the information it contains barely scratches the surface. It really put me in awe of the design of the universe.”

Horvath’s deep appreciation for the magnitude and complexity of the universe has instilled her with a healthy sense of adventure. It was largely her desire to explore new places that led Horvath to leave her hometown and study at UI in the first place.

And although she finds UI to be a beautiful, friendly and practical school, what Horvath truly loves the most about Moscow are the friendships she has made during her studies and extracurricular activities.

Horvath is also passionate about music. She began her time at UI as a flute performance major. However, after taking physics classes during her freshman year, Horvath was inspired to change her curriculum and begin her sophomore year as a physics major studying space and astronomy. Now, it is planetary science’s ability to continually captivate her that keeps Horvath pursuing the field.

“Right now the thought that intrigues me most is teaching at the community college level,” she said. “My favorite part of physics is being fascinated by all there is to learn, and by teaching I would get to share that with other people.”

Justin McCabe is a UI senior from Post Falls, Idaho, and is majoring in English literature and minoring in history.

Irish Joy Martos is a UI senior and international student from the Philippines majoring in psychology.

TELLING THE STORY OF THE VANDALS This story about UI physics major Sarah Horvath is more than a piece about student research — it’s a student project in itself.

Vandals in Focus is a print and web publication, now in its second year, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research. It brings together a team of student writers and photographers, along with a video producer and illustrator, to tell the story of undergraduate students conducting faculty-mentored research, scholarship and creative projects.

The students who work on Vandals in Focus come from a diversity of majors, backgrounds, experience levels and interests. The project not only gives them a chance to hone their skills and build a professional portfolio, but also allows them to connect with other students from across campus.

Their experiences, and the experiences of the students they interview and photograph, represent just a few of the possibilities for hands-on creative activity, scholarship and research at UI. Read all of this year’s stories at www.uidaho. edu/VandalsInFocus.

43

THE JOY OF

GIVING I WANT TO HELP OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE RECEIVE AN EDUCATION THAT WILL CONTINUE TO LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL CAREERS.

No one experiences the joy of giving back to her alma mater quite like Joy Irving ’64 Home Economics. Joy and her late husband George started giving back to UI because George was once a chemical engineering student on scholarship. Beyond the gifts Joy makes each year, she has provided for a gift in her will to continue her support for schol­arships in chemical engineering and food and nutrition, as well as for internships in UI Extension. Joy’s gift will help UI students forever while maintaining her financial security now.

q Please send me more information about leaving a gift to UI in my will. q I have already left a gift for the university in my will.

Name Address City State Zip Phone Email

Three easy options: n

Create your enduring legacy by contacting Sharon Morgan at (855) 671-7041 or morgans@uidaho.edu.

Request a complimentary gift planning guide at uidaho.edu/planmygift. n

Return the form above to Sharon L. Morgan, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 3201, Moscow, ID 83844-3201. n

44 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Estate, Trust and Gift Planning

45

ALUMNI AWARDS

P

hil Deutchman will never forget the first time he talked to John Norbury.

It was the early 1980s, and Deutchman was put in charge of the University of Idaho’s Department of Physics for a week while the department chair went out of town.

The physics professor used his time at the top to call that year’s successful graduate student applicants. Norbury, a doctoral applicant from Melbourne, Australia, was his first call.

“Very excitedly, I called John up, and he was in Australia,” Deutchman said.

“The phone rang and I started talking to him and said I wanted to offer him a formal invitation to come to the University of Idaho. And he said, ‘That’s great — but it’s 4 o’clock in the morning here.’”

AN INTERSTELLAR CAREER UI Hall of Fame recipient John Norbury receives top NASA honor for space radiation research

By Savannah Tranchell

The phone call set the stage for more than 30 years of friendship between the two physics colleagues, and was a launching point for a stunning research career in space radiation for Norbury.

Norbury is the lead research physicist and leader of the Space Radiation Group at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. His work centers around calculating the radiation astronauts and spacecraft are likely to experience in space, creating a database of nuclear reaction models, and leading 46 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

a space radiation summer school for graduate students.

Understanding and being able to protect astronauts from radiation is a critical component of NASA’s goal to send a human mission to Mars.

On Aug. 24, 2016, Norbury received NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, one of the highest honors given by the organization. This spring, Norbury will be inducted into UI’s Hall of Fame to honor his accomplishments.

Norbury, who has his master’s and bachelor’s in nuclear physics from the University of Melbourne in Australia, applied

About Space Radiation Space has three main sources of radiation: radiation trapped around the Earth, solar radiation and galactic cosmic rays, which come from exploding stars. On Earth, humans are protected from space radiation particles by the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field. But astronauts traveling to Mars will be exposed to galactic cosmic rays and solar particles. The nuclear physics models that John Norbury has helped create and catalog use what is known as a transport code to calculate how much harmful radiation an astronaut may be exposed to.

“If you know how much radiation is outside the spacecraft, a transport code enables you to figure out how much radiation is inside the spacecraft, and how much radiation an astronaut will receive, and how much each organ of the astronaut’s body will receive,” Norbury said.

The endgame is to protect astronauts, equipment and spacecraft from being damaged by space radiation.

“Once we make these predictions of the radiation environments, we try to reduce the doses that astronauts would receive,” he said. “The particles trapped around the Earth and the particles emitted by the sun, we can deal with them with current technologies, but particles emitted by supernovas, they are much more difficult to deal with. They penetrate straight through a spacecraft.”

for his doctorate at UI because he was looking for adventure and was interested in Deutchman’s physics research.

Deutchman was just entering the realm of nuclear theory and was excited to bring Norbury to campus to explore the new area.

“He helped develop the theory and write the computer programs and do the calculations and make predictions before there was any data to compare it to,” said Deutchman, who retired in 2002 after 34 years at UI. “He was excited about every aspect of it. We wrote a paper together after he finished his thesis work and we got that published.”

Norbury graduated from UI’s College of Science in 1983 with his doctorate in theoretical nuclear and particle physics. He was hired as a post-doctoral researcher at NASA Langley. He returned to Australia briefly before coming back to the U.S. and entering a career in academia. Norbury was a visiting assistant professor of physics at UI from 1986-87. He joined the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 1992, moving to UW Milwaukee in 1997. Norbury had contracts with NASA throughout his time in academia and began working there full time in 2007 after earning his U.S. citizenship.

For the last three years, Norbury has run the space radiation summer school held at the NASA Space Radiation Lab in New York. About 16 doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers from around the globe are selected for the school each year. The program uses an accelerator to simulate the types of fast-moving radiation that appear in space.

It includes a month of intense experimental study with 30 visiting lecturers and world experts in space radiation.

Deutchman said he is in awe of the depths of Norbury’s work, and its importance in protecting astronauts.

“I’ve watched his progress with great amazement. I sometimes kid him that his résumé is heavier than I am,” Deutchman said. “He’s been quite a good teacher and a great researcher, and he's very inventive.”

The two have remained close throughout Norbury’s career and Deutchman and his wife traveled to Virginia to see Norbury receive his award from NASA. “I had never worked with a person so closely that in the sense that if I had an idea, he had the next idea. It was a real back-and-forth communication link, which was just incredible,” he said.

Norbury said he enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of his work — which involves everything from mechanical and nuclear engineering to computer science, radio biology and physics. It’s a key area of study for those interested in being part of the colonization of the solar system.

“The whole area of space radiation is one of the two major stumbling blocks in getting to Mars,” he said. “The whole problem is not going to be solved overnight. The largest uncertainty is not nuclear physics — it’s how the human body reacts to the radiation found in space. We can’t do any experiments on humans with space radiation. So we use animal models and extrapolate to humans. That’s where the big uncertainty occurs.” uidaho.edu/alumni 47

ALUMNI AWARDS UI Office of Alumni Relations Award Recipients Each year, the University of Idaho Alumni Association recognizes outstanding alumni, friends and students through a number of awards that celebrate achievements in volunteerism, success and commitment to the university. The Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during the spring commencement ceremony on May 13, 2017. Other award recipients were honored earlier this spring.

Learn more at uidaho.edu/alumni.

The honorees are:

Hall of Fame Roger Contor ’53 Zoology, College of Science Retired, National Park Service

Silver and Gold Awards Craig Redmond ’91 English, College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences Senior Vice President of Programs, MercyCorps Don Shelton ’76 Journalism, College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences Executive Editor, The Seattle Times Charles (Doug) Gross ’75 Agricultural engineering, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Chief Executive Officer, Gross Farms Inc.

Jim Lyle Award Howard Foley ’69, ’71 Business, College of Business & Economics Juris Doctor, College of Law Attorney and shareholder, Foley Freeman, PLLC

48 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

John Norbury ’83 Theoretical nuclear and particle physics, College of Science Lead research physicist, NASA Langley Research Center

Karole Honas ’77 Radio-television communications, College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences News Anchor, KIFI Local News 8 Lynn Davis ’71, ’72 Metallurgical engineering, College of Engineering Retired, formerly Group President of ATI Primary Metals and Exotic Alloys

ALUMNI CLASS NOTES

uidaho.edu/alumni

Building Your Career Long After Graduation

By Whitney Schroeder

T Chris Cook

here are many benefits to being an alumnus from the University of Idaho, including the lifelong services provided

by Career Services. Career Services doesn’t just help students find jobs, it also helps alumni unpack their diversity of skills, experience, interests and values and use them to grow their career or break into something new.

Career Services Director Chris Cook has made it his mission to build awareness of the benefits the office offers and invite alumni to have a conversation.

“There are more mechanical things people want to see the outcome from: what is this job, how much does it pay and where is it located,” Cook said. “But there are a lot of underlying elements

that are important, such as whether they will be happy with what they are doing, things from a satisfaction standpoint.”

Career Services offers a range of support, from networking to salary and benefit negotiations to interview preparation and in-person meetings with career liaisons across the state of Idaho. They also offer Hire-a-Vandal, a free tool that functions like a social media platform, allowing alumni to easily search over 1,200 job listings, communicate with employers and learn about upcoming career events near them.

“The companies and organizations that are posting to Hire-a-Vandal are looking to hire Vandals specifically,” Cook said. “They sought out and partnered with us for the ability to list there because they recognize the quality and character of the students we have.”

Career Services also can be a resource for alumni living outside the state. Along with the wide range of online resources, Career Services offers phone sessions with career advisors.

Visit the alumni Career Services website at www.uidaho.edu/ current-students/career-services/students-and-alumni.

Class Notes ’50s

’60s

’70s

Clyde Maughan ’50 retired at age 90, after a 66year engineering career. He spent the first 36 years at the General Electric Company as an engineer and manager in generator and turbine engineering design/service/development/manufacturing, and a variety of other positions. Since retiring from GE, he has been in private practice.

Jimmie Crane ’65 was named to the Diamond Pioneer Agricultural Career Achievement Registry, which honors those who have made significant lifetime contributions to agriculture, natural resources and the people of Oregon.

Ken Stafford ’71, ’75 retired as vice president and chief information officer of Kansas State University after 42 years in higher education. He served at UI, then as vice president at three Maryland universities and the University of Denver. He and his wife, Kris Stafford ’71, ’74, plan to travel the country searching for the perfect photo.

Roger Koopman ’73 was re-elected to his second four-year term as Montana Public Service commissioner (R-Bozeman).

Koopman served two terms in the Montana House of Representatives, and owned/ operated Career Concepts Employment Services for 37 years. He is married to Ann (McDonald) Koopman ’73.

Fred Ducat ’72 has retired after 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and 24 years teaching in a high-poverty rural public school.

Robert Durham ’75, ’77 received the 2015 The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce “Ag Achievement Award” for longterm commitment to the 4-H and FFA programs, as well as general Extension service and agricultural organizations support.

Reginald Reeves ’52 was awarded The Outstanding Public Service Award by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Richard C. Fields Civility Award by the Idaho State Bar Professionalism and Ethics Section and Concordia University College of Law. He is also a longtime blood donor and has donated over 269 times.

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’80s

’90s

’00s

Don Bishop ’76 retired in 2004.

His career began as a research geologist at the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, B.C. In 1980, he began studying ancient gold mine sites in the Middle East. After two years on the Arabian Peninsula, he returned to the U.S. and spent the last 15 years of his career as an environmental geologist, in a partnership with Condor Earth Technologies. He and his wife of 56 years, Hattie, have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Nancy Baskin ’83, ’91 has been appointed Fourth District judge in Boise.

Cyndi (Lewis) Faircloth ’90, ’93, ’06 earned her National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Certification in English Language Arts/Adolescence and Young Adulthood in November 2015.

She currently teaches sixth grade English language arts at Moscow Middle School in Moscow.

Jennifer Gish ’01 is the new director of customer marketing for Avalara in Seattle. Avalara Inc. is a SaaS company that delivers compliance solutions related to sales tax and other transaction taxes.

Meg Carlson ’76, president and CEO of Prosperity Organic Foods, has been elected as the new chair of the Arid Club Executive Committee. The club’s chair carries the unofficial title of “Kingfish.”

The Arid Club is Idaho’s elite business and professional club.

Thomas Huegel ’84 has been promoted to vice president of operations for APCON, a leading provider of intelligent network monitoring and security solutions.

David Christiansen ’77 and Jim Hall ’73 went fly fishing for rainbows on the Moose River, Talkeetna, Alaska, in June 2016. Christiansen and Hall retired in 2012. Christiansen worked 34 years for Idaho Falls, 22 years as director of Parks and Recreation. Hall was the director of Parks and Recreation in Juneau, Alaska, and Boise.

Gary Pflueger ’77 has signed a three-year contract to serve as superintendent for Boundary County School District #101 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Pflueger taught for 11 years and served as elementary and middle school principal for over 30 years in various locations, including Pocatello, Salmon and Friday Harbor, Washington.

Harlow “Bud” McConnaughey ’78 has retired after more than 35 years of service as an aviation officer for the U.S. Forest Service.

50 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Dave Houtari ’83, principal at ALSC Architects in Spokane, Washington, and Coeur d’Alene, has been elected to serve a three-year term as director for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Northwest and Pacific Region. Houtari also will serve as the region representative to the AIA Strategic Council.

Norman M. Semanko ’88 was named a partner and is the practice group leader for the water, environment and natural resources group at Moffatt Thomas Barrett Rock & Fields, Chtd, in Boise. Semanko was also recognized recently as a “Leader in Law” by the Idaho Business Review for his work in water law and governmental affairs.

Christine Pakkala ’89 has published her fifth novel for children and the fourth in the Last-But-Not-Least Lola series (Boyds Mill Press, 2016), “Last-But-Not-Least Lola and a Knot the Size of Texas.”

Julie (Workman) Barnes ’91 has been appointed vice president of Private Banking at Idaho Trust Bank. Barnes has over 20 years of banking experience in Boise and surrounding communities.

Barnes will focus her efforts on growing Idaho Trust Bank’s investment and loan portfolios.

Jamie Wagner ’94 has joined the University of Idaho staff as the director of Advancement Communications. She oversees strategic communications and marketing for all of University Advancement, including the Office of Alumni Relations.

Kristin Armstrong ’95 won her third straight Olympic gold medal in the women’s cycling individual time trial event at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games by 5.55 seconds.

Jamie Newton ’97 was appointed by the director of Health and Welfare to the position of administrative director of Southwest Idaho Treatment Center in Nampa.

Christen Wise ’97 has been named St. Luke’s director of major and planned gifts for the Western Treasure Valley.

Erika Hartliep ’02 has joined the law firm of Stokes Lawrence Velikanje Moore & Shore. Her legal practice focuses on business and agricultural transactions and litigation.

Scott Krijnen ’02 won the California Music Educators Association Richard Levin Award for Orchestra Director for the state of California, and the Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area’s All-Star Teacher of the Year. The award came with $20,000 for his school, Castillero Middle School.

He also founded an orchestra which has been officially designated a 501(c)3 and has a full season of performances and soloists, cambriansymphony.com.

Jill (Seetin) Whitesel ’02 cofounded Team 44 Apparel Inc. to bring more fashion-forward apparel options to female fans.

In its second full year, Team 44 has acquired 20-plus collegiate licenses and is preparing to launch several more throughout the year. Check it out at www.team44apparel.com.

Ryan Cash ’04 was hired as the new planner 1, community development for the City of Moscow, Idaho.

Sarah Robinson ’04 completed her master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology from Grand Canyon University.

To update your email and mailing addresses and submit career success, birth announcements or marriages, visit: uidaho.edu/class-notes

Jennifer Anderson ’05 and her husband, Vern Lott, produced a new documentary, titled “The Act of Becoming.”

Their company, Morris Hill Pictures, has produced several documentaries including one titled “Bad Writing,” which gained quite a bit of attention.

To be profiled, mail information, including reunion/graduation year, to Annis Shea, Office of Alumni Relations, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 3232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or email information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be emailed in a high resolution .jpg format.

Please limit your submission to no more than 35 words.

’10s Rob Kreps ’05 manages the Live Entertainment Technology program at Lone Star College and can also be spotted on the video crew at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Kreps lives just outside Houston in Spring, Texas.

Matt Strange ’06 was appointed chief marketing officer for New York-based National Health Care.

Sandy (Stafford) Kreps ’07 is an adjunct professor at Lone Star College where she teaches theater appreciation and film appreciation.

Chere Morgan ’07, INL radiological control director, received the Charles D. (Bama) McKnight Memorial Award from the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists for her outstanding efforts in the radiation protection field, leading to increased knowledge and professionalism among radiation protection technologists.

Taylor Hardman ’09 was promoted to senior vice president of Sales West at Precept Wine, the largest privately owned and fastest growing wine company in the Pacific Northwest. He is one of the youngest people to achieve this position in the U.S. Adam Juratovac ’09, ’10, ’13 published his first book, titled “Student-Athletes and Social Media.”

This book teaches student-athletes to leverage social media to build their personal brands for collegiate and post-collegiate success.

Lisa Scholz ’09 was promoted to escrow officer at TitleOne Corp.

She has 16 years of real estate experience in new construction and several years title and escrow experience.

Karly Jenkins ’12 is working in Los Angeles, California, as a post-production coordinator for the AMC television show “Better Call Saul” (the spin-off from “Breaking Bad”). She worked on Season 2 and was hired back for the current season.

cation projects.

Richard H. Wilson ’13 was hired as an intern architect by Integrus Architecture in Seattle. He is working on edu-

Sam Koester ’14 accepted a job with the UI's Office of Alumni Relations as an assistant director.

Crystal Nutsch ’14 was hired as an architect-intraining at CSHQA. She provides general architectural support on various projects while benefiting from experienced architect mentorship.

Nutsch is working on projects for Whole Foods Market, the Idaho Humane Society and the Wyoming Capitol building. She received her Master of Architecture (2016) from Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland.

Katelin Anderson ’15 earned her Master of Arts in Medieval Icelandic culture from the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.

Jared Hight ’15 was appointed to general counsel from vice president of claims for Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC. He has been with Pets Best since the company’s inception in 2005.

Calla Chapin ’16 joined the health and wellness team at United Dairymen of Idaho and the Idaho Dairy Council.

Alejandra Viviana Gonzalez ’16 was hired as the Adventure Consultant for Cuba Unbound, a new travel program with ROW, Inc. out of Coeur d’Alene.

Marriages Heather Boydell ’03, ’05 to Jason Walter Rachel McHail ’16 to Dillon Halvorsen ’11 Megan Mecham ’10

to George Hall

Anniversaries CDR Rick Herman ’81 and Yolie (Moreno) Herman ’82 celebrated

their 35th wedding anniversary in December 2016. They met during an architecture field trip in 1980. They have three children, one of whom is serving in the armed forces. Their five grandchildren love to come visit their grandparents at their avocado farm.

The University of Idaho Career Services provides lifelong service to all UI alumni no matter where you live.

Visit www.uidaho.edu/career-services to learn more.

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Future Vandals 1. Easton MacKene, son of Jesse ’06 and Jamie (Mabbutt) Aherin ’06, great-grandson of Anita Mabbutt ’04, grandson of Bill Mabbutt ’78 and greatgreat-grandson of William Hamilton ’22 2. Harrison David, son of Matthew ’09 and Candace (Lowe) Aramburu ’10

1

2

3

3. John “Jack” William, son of Bryan ’06, ’09 and Megan (Godwin) Boatman ’07 4. Raegan and Bridger, children of Jacob ’05 and Christina (Jensen) Cahill ’04, ’06, ’07 5. Branch Kelly, son of Michael ’08 and Kirsten (Barker) Clancy ’09

4

5

6

6. Kendall Patricia, daughter of Jeremy and Hillary Darty ’09, grandchild of Ron ’92 and Myra (Evans) Darty ’92, ’95 and niece of Nicole Darty ’08 7. Brynn Kathleen, daughter of Will ’09 and Maegan (Reilly) Krahn ’09 8. Peyton Rose, daughter of Rob ’05 and Sandy (Stafford) Kreps ’07

7

8

9

9. Nora Katherine, daughter of Ryan ’04 and Kristin (Pond) Montgomery ’02, granddaughter of John and Beverly (Wallace) Montgomery ’64, and niece of Kate (Montgomery) Hammon ’97 10. Henry and Mackenzie, children of William “Joe” ’07 and Tiffani Nalivka ’10, grandchildren of John Nalivka ’76, niece and nephew of Ross Nalivka ’07 and Courtney (Staszak) Nalivka ’07, ’10 11. Everett James, son of Justin ’11 and Krista Pagel ’12

10

11

12

12. Madelyn Rose, daughter of Evan ’07, ’14 and Mary Jo Penberthy ’08 13. Jackson Odin, son of Neil and Nicole (Darty) Porter III ’08, grandson of Ron ’92 and Myra Darty ’92, ’95, nephew of Hillary Darty ’09 14. Joy Rose, daughter of Nikki and Michael Richardson ’07

13

14

15

15. Avery Pearle, daughter of Kellan ’09 and Katelyn (Foiles) Sasken ’09, niece of Nick Foiles ’06 and Patrick ’05 and Erin Foiles ’08, granddaughter of Les ’81 and Vickie Foiles ’76, and greatgranddaughter of Wayne ’53 and Ellie Anderson ’55, and great-greatgranddaughter of Emmons Coleman ’31 16. Mathias Alexander, son of Alex ’05 and Lynne (Tower) Siegwein ’03

16

52 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

17

17. Jasper Alexander, son of Theo ’10, ’16 and Melissa (Piekarski) Warner ’10, ’16

To be profiled, mail information, including reunion/graduation year, to Annis Shea, Office of Alumni Relations, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 3232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or email information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be emailed in a high resolution .jpg format.

Please limit your submission to no more than 35 words.

In Memory The University of Idaho extends its condolences to the family and friends of Vandals listed below.

’30s

Hubert Reisenauer ’41, Davis, Calif., Dec. 13, 2015

Virginia (Snyder) Linkhart ’45, Alameda, Calif., June 13, 2015

John Evans Jr. ’48, ’49, Laguna Hills, Calif., March 29, 2015

Hannah (Hinshaw) Willard ’41, Bandon, Ore., Aug. 25, 2016

Mary Jean (Shipman) Sahlberg ’45, Kent, Wash., Nov. 23, 2015

Jack Furey ’48, Boise, July 16, 2016

Esther (Follett) Andrews ’42, Silver Spring, Md., April 22, 2016

Harold Seeds ’45, Longview, Wash., July 26, 2016

Bruce Hanson ’48, Pocatello, Aug. 11, 2016

Elizabeth (Young) Ashton ’42, Bonners Ferry, Nov. 25, 2016

Lucile Vance ’45, Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 13, 2015

Nancy (Smith) Thomas ’48, Kennewick, Wash., July 21, 2016

Elinor (Finch) Brown ’42, Boise, Dec. 22, 2016

Catherine (Deligiannis) Vlachos ’45, Oak Lawn, Ill., Jan. 14, 2017

Joe Brooks ’49, Merced, Calif., Dec. 5, 2016

Robert Fortin ’42, Berea, Kent, Wash., Oct 19, 2016

Nancy Trever ’35, Torrance, Calif., June 14, 2015

Evelyn Langenwalter ’42, Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 8, 2015

Richard Tierney Sr. ’36, Lewiston, July 2, 2016

ImoGene (Muck) Rush ’42, Boise, July 16, 2016

James Burkhard ’38, Boise, July 7, 2016

John Shreve ’42, San Marcos, Calif., Oct. 11, 2016

Dwight Cable ’38, Eugene, Ore., Aug. 12, 2016

Jean Bachaud ’43, Bremerton, Wash., April 18, 2015

George Jones ’38, Kennewick, Wash., May 4, 2016

Clifford Benson ’43, Seattle, Wash., July 11, 2016

David Bacon ’39, Sandy, Utah, May 27, 2016

Bruce Brooks ’43, ’50, Moscow, Dec. 19, 2016

Leah (Dinnison) Porzel ’39, Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 9, 2016

Leonard Johnston ’43, Banning, Calif., March 2, 2015

’40s

Betty McGregor ’43, Lewiston, Dec. 5, 2016

Jessie (Smith) Cook ’40, Seattle, Wash., Dec. 26, 2016 Jane (Montgomery) Counsell ’40, San Diego, Calif., July 18, 2016 Dorothy Crunk ’40, ’52, Monroe, La., Nov. 30, 2015 Mary (Harvey) Gardner ’40, Spokane, Wash., Nov. 17, 2016 Edith (Beenders) Garten ’40, Orofino, Oct. 30, 2016 John Baer ’41, Arlington, Va., Feb. 8, 2015 Vernon Dawson ’41, Idaho Falls, Sept. 12, 2015

Jeanne Sahlberg ’43, Meridian, June 30, 2016 Anne (Whiteman) Beckstead ’44, Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 10, 2015 Marilyn (Jones) Gorshe ’44, Surfside, Wash., Aug. 4, 2016 Wayne Johnson ’44, Nampa, July 17, 2016 Lloyd Peterson ’44, Seattle, Wash., Jan. 19, 2015 Charles Soliday ’44, Seattle, Wash., Aug. 7, 2016 Robert Young ’44, Indianapolis, Ind., May 28, 2015

Emelyn Whitlock ’45, Alhambra, Calif., April 29, 2016 Joan (Benoit) Allen ’46, Boise, Nov. 15, 2016 Cora (Lee) Au ’46, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 30, 2016 Warren Campbell ’46, Spokane, Wash., May 24, 2015 Calvin Crandall ’46, Portland, Ore., Sept. 13, 2015 Jane (Meyer) Leidenfrost ’46, Moscow, Dec. 6, 2016 Helen (Westburg) Lynam ’46, Albuquerque, N.M., June 25, 2016 Jack Mattson ’46, Nampa, April 29, 2016 Jessie Roberts ’46, Boise, Aug. 31, 2016

Martha (Quinn) Freeman ’49, Craigmont, Oct. 15, 2015 Naoma (Grant) Galles ’49, Port Angeles, Wash., July 20, 2016 Walter Grisham ’49, Issaquah, Wash., June 24, 2015 Peggy (Pence) Hoaglin ’49, East Wenatchee, Wash., Nov. 20, 2015 George Hosoda ’49, Moses Lake, Wash., Sept. 6, 2015 Philip Johnson ’49, Oakland, Calif., Nov. 15, 2016 William Mason ’49, Marshfield, Mo., June 14, 2015 Calvin Morrison ’49, Pahrump, Nev., July 28, 2016 Birney Powell Jr. ’49, Elko, Nev., Oct. 3, 2016

William Thompson Sr. ’46, Ephrata, Wash., May 23, 2016

Jeanne (Burnham) Smith ’49, Kennewick, Wash., June 28, 2016

Lois (Tiller) Wallace ’46, Wilmette, Ill., April 10, 2015

Irene (Brewster) Wasson ’49, Eugene, Ore., Aug. 29, 2015

Jean (Thompson) Werum ’46, Woodland, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016

Leonard Winkle Jr. ’49, Twin Falls, Oct. 8, 2016

Maxine (Roberts) Briggs ’47, Boise, Nov. 20, 2016

’50s

Dona (Harding) Colley ’47, ’68, Clarkston, Wash., Aug. 2, 2016 George Emerich ’47, Fallbrook, Calif., April 28, 2015

Keith Browning ’50, Arco, Sept. 13, 2016 William Clark II ’50, Palm Desert, Calif., Sept. 16, 2016

Anne (Erker) Becker ’45, Moscow, Dec. 6, 2016

Eugene Engstrom ’47, Spokane, Wash., Sept. 12, 2016

Jean (Bonneville) Dow ’45, Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 5, 2016

Edward Koester ’47, ’68, Twin Falls, Jan. 15, 2017

Ellomae (Holden) DeMond ’50, Puyallup, Wash., Nov. 21, 2016

LaVon Fife ’45, Orem, Utah, April 9, 2015

Charles Ohms ’47, ’49, St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 21, 2016

Robert Garrett ’50, Elk Grove, Calif., March 17, 2016

Joseph Moodie ’41, Mercer Island, Wash., Feb. 18, 2015

Margaret (Fleming) Gaylord ’45, Newport, Wash., Sept. 12, 2016

Rose (Reichert) Ransom ’47, Lakewood, Wash., July 13, 2015

William Hansen ’50, Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 14, 2016

Harold Powers ’41, ’47, Emmett, Feb. 18, 2016

Margaret (Massey) Holden ’45, Sarasota, Fla., June 28, 2015

Robert Barbour Jr. ’48, Boise, Dec. 3, 2016

Lee Kelley ’50, Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 12, 2016

Robert Harrington ’41, Lincoln, Calif., Feb. 10, 2015 Harriette (Puhl) Honsowetz ’41, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., June 4, 2016

Rex Day ’50, Boise, July 6, 2016

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Jeanne (Miller) Landers ’50, Berryville, Va., June 21, 2016

Robert Beckwith Jr. ’52, Boise, Jan. 15, 2017

Rose (Drake) Williamson ’54, Carmichael, Calif., July 8, 2016

Kenneth Baker Sr. ’58, Sandpoint, June 12, 2016

James Maxwell ’50, Ellensburg, Wash., Oct. 22, 2016

George Blankley ’52, Madison, S.D., Dec. 29, 2016

Charles Benedict ’58, Salmon, June 13, 2016

Roger McHan ’50, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Nov. 4, 2015

Gray Birch ’55, Kaysville, Utah, Oct. 9, 2015

Norma (Parker) Brown ’52, Spokane, Wash., Nov. 12, 2016

Dorothy (Geertsen) Michaelson ’50, Fruitland, Dec. 4, 2016

Darrel Cherry ’58, Pocatello, Sept. 21, 2016

Allan Carson ’52, Moscow, Aug. 25, 2016

Karen (Hinckley) Campbell ’55, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 17, 2016

Lawrence Peretti ’50, Spokane, Wash., Oct. 3, 2016 Joseph Shreve ’50, Sacramento, Calif., June 14, 2016 Donald Stewart ’50, Boise, Aug. 1, 2016 Carrol Tyler ’50, ’51, Emmett, Sept. 17, 2016 Harold “Hal” Williams ’50, Beaverton, Ore., Sept. 18, 2016 Marybelle Zehnder ’50, Modesto, Calif., Aug. 4, 2016 Roger Chichester ’51, ’64, Bakersfield, Calif., Dec. 25, 2016 John Deobald ’51, Kendrick, July 16, 2016 Kathleen (Frazier) DeWitt ’51, Vancouver, Wash., Sept. 11, 2016 Patricia (Smith) Dunn ’51, McAlester, Okla., Dec. 3, 2016 Jane Fisk ’51, Pittsburgh, Pa., Oct. 23, 2016 Corrine (Schumacher) Good ’51, Camarillo, Calif., Dec. 13, 2016 Burton Holt ’51, Emmett, June 13, 2016 Allen Ingebritsen ’51, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 19, 2016 Richard Magnuson ’51, Wallace, July 18, 2016 John McQuillin ’51, McLean, Va., Jan. 22, 2017 Doris (Paasch) Miller ’51, Jenkintown, Pa., Oct. 23, 2016 Shirley Newcomb ’51, Moscow, Oct. 17, 2016 Albert Pappenhagen ’51, ’54, Pleasant Hill, Calif., June 20, 2016 Paul Schwabedissen ’51, Idaho Falls, Nov. 14, 2016 John Zwiener ’51, ’54, Kennewick, Wash., Sept. 12, 2016

54 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Agnes (Helander) Dillon ’52, Atlanta, Ga., June 26, 2016 Jerald Haegele ’52, Port Townsend, Wash., July 6, 2016 Patricia (Patton) Homewood ’52, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Aug. 19, 2015 Hyde Jacobs ’52, ’54, Manhattan, Kan., Sept. 8, 2016 Marvin Jagels ’52, Bakersfield, Calif., Feb. 11, 2015 Robert Nelson Sr. ’52, Sandpoint, Aug. 9, 2016 George Peterson ’52, Victor, July 14, 2016 John Relk ’52, Nampa, Aug. 7, 2016 Ivan Stone ’52, Twin Falls, Jan. 3, 2017 Dwayne Good ’53, Camarillo, Calif., Dec. 24, 2016 Corinne (Lauriente) Vaeth ’53, Olympia, Wash., Nov. 6, 2016 John Bostick ’54, White Salmon, Wash., July 18, 2016 Molly (McFarland) Cone ’54, Kennewick, Wash., Oct. 1, 2016 Ralph Haley ’54, ’56, Lakewood, Wash., Sept. 2, 2016 Barbara (Pickett) Hering ’54, ’57, Lake Park, Fla., Sept. 21, 2015 David Hiner ’54, Montesano, Wash., Oct. 6, 2016

Thomas Donaldson ’55, Carlsbad, N.M., Aug. 8, 2016 Henry Eyrich ’55, Franklin, Ind., Aug. 30, 2016 Kenneth Holland ’55, Edmonds, Wash., Oct. 18, 2016 Donald Jones ’55, Boise, Nov. 1, 2016 Joan Lowe ’55, Albuquerque, N.M., July 9, 2016 Leroy Anderson ’56, Sandpoint, Sept. 27, 2016 William Buckley ’56, The Woodlands, Texas, Jan. 3, 2017 Daniel George ’56, ’63, Kennett Square, Pa., Jan. 11, 2017 John Hansen ’56, ’59, Idaho Falls, Jan. 8, 2017 Howard Hartley Sr. ’56, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 22, 2016 Kenneth Hasenoehrl ’56, Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 5, 2016 James Hill ’56, Nampa, May 22, 2016

Thomas Hennessey ’58, Boise, Aug. 21, 2016 Henry Jones ’58, Concord, Calif., Sept. 12, 2016 Jerald Leatham ’58, ’74, Idaho Falls, Aug. 27, 2016 Mary (Owl) Melquist ’58, Greenacres, Wash., Oct. 31, 2016 Leo Miller ’58, Mountain Home, July 9, 2016 Michael Patton ’58, Holladay, Utah, Aug. 16, 2016 Arthur Roberts ’58, ’60, Farmington, Conn., June 27, 2016 Artell Amos ’59, Salem, Ore., Sept. 30, 2016 Darrell Christensen ’59, Malad City, Sept. 20, 2016 Jean (Walker) Hahn ’59, Cherryville, N.C., Oct. 19, 2016 Dale Hill ’59, Salem, Ore., July 29, 2016 John Kerrick ’59, Spokane, Wash., Nov. 24, 2016

Cynthia (Karlburg) Jordan ’56, Boise, July 9, 2016

James Larsen ’59, McCammon, Oct. 15, 2016

Carrie (Chartrand) Luce ’56, ’93, Hayden, Dec. 20, 2016

Michael Lawler ’59, Portland, Ore., Jan. 3, 2017

Margaret (Van de Grift) Moody ’56, San Diego, Calif., Feb. 2, 2016

JD Lawson ’59, Safford, Ariz., Nov. 21, 2016

Douglas Tellefson ’56, Seattle, Wash., Sept. 10, 2016

Ruth Long ’54, Nampa, Oct. 31, 2016

Ronald Braun ’57, ’61, ’67, Colfax, Wash., Jan. 8, 2017

William Monroe ’54, ’55, Highland, Md., Feb. 23, 2015

Charles Clark ’57, Walla Walla, Wash., Nov. 30, 2016

Joe Soderberg ’54, Eugene, Ore., Oct. 28, 2016

Mary (Verburg) Kincaid ’57, Asotin, Wash., Dec. 20, 2016

William Stephani ’54, Victor, Mont., Aug. 23, 2016

Marie (Ingebritsen) Ormsby ’57, Clarkston, Wash., July 25, 2016

Eugene “Dick” Tirk ’54, Belle Plaine, Minn., Sept. 16, 2016

Richard Peterson ’57, Charlotte Hall, Md., June 27, 2016

John McDonald III ’59, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 12, 2016 Dale Nielsen ’59, Sun City, Ariz., Sept. 13, 2016 James O’Connell ’59, Portland, Ore., Oct. 14, 2016 Raphael Steinhoff ’59, Lewiston, Dec. 23, 2016 Alvin Tuten ’59, Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 14, 2016 Darrell Whitehead ’59, Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 3, 2016

To be profiled, mail information, including reunion/graduation year, to Annis Shea, Office of Alumni Relations, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 3232, Moscow, ID 83844-3232 or email information to alumni@uidaho.edu. Photos can be emailed in a high resolution .jpg format.

Please limit your submission to no more than 35 words.

’60s

Dale Olson ’62, Boise, Jan. 22, 2016

Barbara DuMont ’66, Scranton, Pa., Nov. 21, 2015

Robert Pearson ’62, Oregon City, Ore., Oct. 30, 2016

Louis Edwards Jr. ’66, Moscow, July 25, 2016

Larry Peterson ’62, New Meadows, June 18, 2016

June (Walkup) Greco ’66, Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 27, 2015

Paul Riecken ’62, Weatherford, Texas, July 31, 2015

Roger Hearn ’66, Bristow, Iowa, July 6, 2016

Vicki (Holm) Seelye ’62, Bellingham, Wash., Oct. 16, 2016

Larry Hook ’66, Yakima, Wash., Sept. 24, 2016

Farrel Sims ’62, Pocatello, Sept. 16, 2016

Terrance Lattin ’66, Hagerman, Jan. 3, 2017

Kenneth Thaete ’62, Twin Falls, June 14, 2016

Doris (Maricle) Bruns ’67, Burley, Sept. 9, 2016

Thomas Blessinger ’63, Emmett, Jan. 1, 2017

Theodore Chenoweth ’67, Nampa, Dec. 28, 2015

Milton Mclain ’60, Bryan, Texas, Nov. 20, 2016

Lynne (Paulson) Cantrell ’63, Riverside, Calif., June 25, 2016

Robert Halladay ’67, Coeur d’Alene, Aug. 23, 2016

Gary McNeill ’60, Lewiston, Aug. 9, 2016

Gary Lent ’63, Blackfoot, June 25, 2016

Roger Samson ’67, Boise, Nov. 30, 2016

Charles Peck ’60, Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo., May 22, 2016

Richard Simpson ’63, Woodbridge, Va., Nov. 21, 2016

William Betts ’68, Weiser, Dec. 24, 2016

Joann (Glasby) Wood ’60, Farmington, N.M., Feb. 19, 2015

Willis Walker ’63, Yakima, Wash., June 4, 2015

Frederick Cottrell III ’68, Boise, Aug. 24, 2016

Robert Yost ’60, Coeur d’Alene, Sept. 28, 2016

Palmer Chase ’64, ’66, Lewiston, Aug. 18, 2016

John Foltz ’68, Spokane, Wash., June 11, 2016

Ronald Buder ’61, Carson City, Nev., Aug. 4, 2016

Maurice Hoffman ’64, Lewiston, Dec. 16, 2016

Gene Harris ’68, ’74, Greensboro, N.C., April 21, 2015

Frank Gatewood Jr. ’61, Vancouver, Wash., March 29, 2016

Paul Jauregui ’64, ’68, Boise, Dec. 31, 2016

Velda (Vawter) Hogaboam ’68, ’73, Lewiston, Nov. 24, 2016

Theodor Stoltenberg ’64, ’66, Georgetown, Texas, April 26, 2015

Kenneth Hollingsworth ’68, Coeur d’Alene, June 11, 2016

Clark Adams ’60, Chico, Calif., Aug. 3, 2016 Dianne (Kenaga) Darce ’60, Tigard, Ore., June 23, 2016 Bill Davidson ’60, Pocatello, March 3, 2016 Gilbert Dunn ’60, Meadview, Ariz., Sept. 30, 2016 Jack George ’60, Richland, Wash., Oct. 18, 2016 Sue (George) Hollenbaugh ’60, Boise, Sept. 14, 2016 Virginia (Hale) Janke ’60, Longview, Wash., June 26, 2016

Gary Kleinkopf ’61, ’64, Scottsdale, Ariz., June 25, 2016 Richard Nustad ’61, Kennewick, Wash., Feb. 25, 2016 Helen (Shaff) Sauer ’61, Walla Walla, Wash., July 30, 2016

Arthur Coffing ’65, Fairfax, Va., Oct. 24, 2016 Judith (Stuebbe) Dunn ’65, Arvada, Colo., Aug. 14, 2016

Floyd Kelly Jr. ’68, Casper, Wyo., Oct. 31, 2016 Donald Waller ’68, Grass Valley, Calif., Aug. 26, 2016

’70s Phoebe (Manchester) Peterson ’70, Coeur d’Alene, July 14, 2016 Edwin Ward ’70, Billings, Mont., July 28, 2016 Rodney Woodward ’70, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 27, 2016 William Frederiksen ’71, Dubois, July 26, 2016 Betsy (Hightower) Gaylord ’71, Yelm, Wash., June 6, 2016 Ronald Hagadone ’71, Meridian, Dec. 19, 2016 Gerald Helgeson ’71, Boise, Sept. 2, 2016 Paul Hendrickson ’71, Garfield, Wash., Nov. 16, 2016 Ray Laborde ’71, Ridgecrest, Calif., June 18, 2016 Alvin Luke ’71, Boise, Oct. 18, 2016 Ronald Lyda ’71, Lewiston, Dec. 4, 2016 Brenda (Williams) Bruce ’72, Eagle, Dec. 4, 2016 Valerie (Sedlak) Elliott ’72, Olympia, Wash., Aug. 29, 2016 Jane Harvey ’72, ’93, Lewiston, Oct. 7, 2016 Kathleen (Larsen) Holbrook ’72, Rupert, Nov. 4, 2016 Glenn Miles ’72, Boise, Nov. 15, 2016 Kenneth Ray ’72, Clarkston, Wash., Nov. 16, 2016

Nancy (Freson) Jacobs ’65, Red Bluff, Calif., Oct. 8, 2016

Clifford Wood ’68, ’73, Middlesex Centre, Ontario, Sept. 15, 2016

Philip Lamprecht ’65, Pocatello, Aug. 6, 2016

Michael Carosella ’69, Spokane, Wash., Aug. 4, 2016

David Vanengelen ’72, Twin Falls, Jan. 9, 2017

Charles Potter ’65, Titusville, Fla., Oct. 27, 2016

Thomas Fairchild ’69, ’71, ’72, Moscow, July 30, 2016

Gary Curtis ’73, ’75, Sandy, Ore., Nov. 30, 2016

Thomas Collins ’62, Goodyear, Ariz., Oct. 1, 2016

Jay Shafer ’65, ’72, Lewiston, Jan. 18, 2017

Emil Fattu Jr. ’69, Kellogg, Oct. 21, 2016

Janet (Gamble) Lang ’73, ’76, Boise, Nov. 22, 2016

James Flores ’62, Lewiston, Jan. 22, 2017

Ronald Sloan ’65, Mountain Home, March 17, 2015

Stephen James ’69, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 1, 2016

Susan (Riceci) Storey ’73, Lewiston, Jan. 3, 2017

Sally (Haseltin) Harris ’62, Portland, Ore., Oct. 20, 2016

Robert Weisel Jr. ’65, ’69, Spokane, Wash., June 10, 2016

Craig Stirnweis ’69, Dallas, Texas, July 31, 2016

Robert Veal ’73, Plano, Texas, Jan. 16, 2017

Robert Messenger ’62, Cedaredge, Colo., Dec. 2, 2015

Harold Willis ’65, Star, April 7, 2016

John Zapp ’69, Boise, Sept. 11, 2016

Dennis Zemke ’73, Burley, July 25, 2016

Judy (Brownlee) Stokes ’61, Boise, Aug. 31, 2016 Catherine (Waggoner) Stout ’61, Southern Pines, N.C., Dec. 12, 2016 Douglas Benjamin ’62, Post Falls, Sept. 3, 2016

William Teska ’72, Tacoma, Wash., June 25, 2016

ALUMNI | CLASS NOTES 55

ALUMNI CLASS NOTES

uidaho.edu/alumni/get-involved

Wilamena (Seydel) Berg ’74, Post Falls, July 9, 2016

Brian Brown ’79, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 8, 2016

Kelly Fanning ’86, Parma, Oct. 8, 2016

Ruland Sparks ’95, ’96, Rupert, Sept. 24, 2016

Roger Goodman Sr. ’74, Blackfoot, June 17, 2016

Patricia (Kaufman) Wirth ’79, Vancouver, Wash., Nov. 17, 2016

Cathy Loney ’86, Moscow, Dec. 12, 2016

Tena (Smith) Foster ’97, Spokane, Wash., Oct. 16, 2016

Jacqulyn (LeGresley) Haight ’74, Lewiston, July 12, 2016

’80s

Mary Pastor ’86, Moscow, Sept. 8, 2016

Joy (Irwin) Roeper ’97, Lewiston, Jan. 1, 2017

Suzanne (Riedesel) Rinehart ’86, Caldwell, Dec. 28, 2016

Kevin Davis ’98, St. Maries, Jan. 28, 2016

Dave Faltings ’87, Boise, June 9, 2016

Thomas Nield ’98, Pocatello, Sept. 2, 2015

Brent Richardson ’87, Orofino, Nov. 22, 2016

Brent Price ’98, Idaho Falls, Nov. 25, 2016

David Andersen ’88, Salem, Ore., Jan. 15, 2017

’00s

Robert Hook ’74, Moscow, Jan. 16, 2017 Melisa (Kinyon) Knutz ’74, Fort Mohave, Ariz., Dec. 17, 2016 Adah Whittaker ’74, Bonners Ferry, Dec. 5, 2016 Michael Widdison ’74, South Jordan, Utah, Sept. 16, 2016 Wesley Wilhite ’74, ’92, Kuna, June 14, 2016 Lewis Hill Jr. ’75, Escondido, Calif., Sept. 1, 2015 John Hofmann ’75, Pine Grove, Calif., Sept. 20, 2016 Roy Reisenauer ’75, Moscow, Dec. 16, 2016 Cynthia (Huguenin) Samms ’75, ’83, Coeur d’Alene, Oct. 1, 2016 David Liddle ’76, Boise, June 27, 2016 Michael Peterson ’76, Rehoboth Beach, Del., Sept. 3, 2016 Mary (Carlson) Hathaway ’77, Hayden, Sept. 2, 2016 Robert Klatt ’77, Sandpoint, Aug. 27, 2016 Ronald Larson ’77, Bonners Ferry, Sept. 30, 2016 Tianna (Evans) Stanek ’77, Maple Valley, Wash., Nov. 4, 2016 John Acuff ’78, Viola, Nov. 9, 2016 Ivadell (Green) Chamberlain ’78, Moscow, Sept. 7, 2016

Paul Bicknese ’80, Fruitland, July 18, 2016 Carl Bloomsburg ’80, ’85, Kennewick, Wash., Aug. 2, 2016 Peter Dirkmaat ’80, Shelley, Feb. 9, 2015 Jonica Keel ’80, Seattle, Wash., Oct. 27, 2016 John Lowe ’80, Centennial, Colo., Dec. 26, 2016

Terry Mainprize ’88, Germantown, Md., March 17, 2015 Kathleen Trombley ’88, Protem, Mo., July 30, 2016

Mark Willig ’02, Grangeville, Dec. 30, 2016

Chris Saraidaridis ’80, ’81, Seattle, Wash., March 26, 2016

Delmis Sonneson ’89, Puyallup, Wash., Sept. 12, 2016

Shawn Hicks ’03, Sandpoint, July 19, 2016

Rocky Smith ’81, Melba, July 4, 2016

’90s

Clement Potelunas, Jr. ’04, ’10, Idaho Falls, Jan. 7, 2017

Orange “Oran” Marshall Jr. ’80, Champaign, Ill., Nov. 25, 2016

Sara Grace ’82, Claymont, Del., Oct. 5, 2016 Russell Hansen ’82, Monroe, Wash., April 2, 2016 Isabel (Lauterbach) Miller ’82, Moscow, Jan. 26, 2016 Shelly (Torrey) Young ’82, Covington, Va., Jan. 9, 2017 Bernita (Miller) Henry ’83, Meridian, June 25, 2016 David Smith ’83, Meridian, Dec. 17, 2016 Ray Williams ’83, Idaho Falls, Sept. 16, 2016 Cheryl (Davenport) Breeden ’84, ’87, Coeur d’Alene, Oct. 2, 2016

Christopher Cole ’90, Superior, Mont., July 6, 2016 Jennifer Henage ’90, Coeur d’Alene, Dec. 29, 2016 Bradley Teed ’90, Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 10, 2017 Michael Peterson ’91, Scottsdale, Ariz., Nov. 23, 2016 Carol Towne ’91, Palouse, Wash., Jan. 3, 2017 Charles Archer ’92, Spokane, Wash., Dec. 1, 2016 Amelia (Collins) Armitage ’92, Ocean Shores, Wash., Nov. 5, 2016

Dehryl Dennis ’84, Boise, Jan. 8, 2017

Ronald Hill ’92, St. Maries, Dec. 5, 2016

Thomas Collins ’78, Goodyear, Ariz., Oct. 1, 2016

George Healas ’84, Everett, Wash., July 9, 2016

Kenneth Mason ’93, Meridian, Oct. 19, 2016

Gerald McCabe ’78, Boise, Oct. 5, 2016

Steven Trimble ’84, Boise, Nov. 13, 2016

Jeff Hinz ’94, Post Falls, July 20, 2016

Gary Moss ’78, St. Maries, Nov. 6, 2016

Gary Barr ’85, South Jordan, Utah, Aug. 28, 2016

Nathan Huettig ’94, Lyman, S.C., Jan. 5, 2017

Patricia (Aldrich) Musselman ’78, Coeur d’Alene, July 5, 2016

Linda (Kolsky) Nelson ’85, Cascade, Aug. 4, 2016

James Martin ’94, Kendrick, Nov. 27, 2016

David Southwick ’78, Idaho Falls, March 10, 2016

Kevan Smith ’85, Boise, Dec. 23, 2016

Glen Pritchett ’94, San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 12, 2016

Teresa (Nauman) Clampitt ’78, Troy, Jan. 5, 2017

56 IDAHO | SPRING 2017

Pamela Palmer ’00, Walla Walla, Wash., Aug. 27, 2016

Jann Marson Jr. ’06, Portland, Ore., Dec. 17, 2016 Nataliya Plesha ’06, ’08, Willington, Conn., July 21, 2016 Larry Prescott ’07, Rexburg, Oct. 29, 2016 Dawn Wilson ’07, Boise, Dec. 29, 2016 Marcus Fowler ’08, Uniontown, Wash., Nov. 12, 2016

’10s Anabel (Michele) Malmquist ’10, Scottsbluff, Neb., Jan. 27, 2016 Jodie Ficca ’11, Spokane, Wash., Aug. 18, 2016 Robert Ramsay ’12, Moscow, Aug. 4, 2016 Chelsie Cayford ’13, Boise, Jan. 11, 2017 Kyle Stoneman ’13, Fruitland, Sept. 6, 2016

Photo by Melissa Hartley

RE-IMAGINING THE WORLD University of Idaho graphic design graduate Cody Muir strives to find the spark in even the most mundane aspects of life.

“I love the way illustration allows me to tell a story,” said Muir, 22, of Moscow, who graduated in December 2016 from the College of Art and Architecture.

Before graduation, Muir was hired to illustrate the three covers of this issue of Here We Have Idaho. His work has been featured in several publications on campus and throughout the Pacific Northwest. He has worked closely with the UI Sustainability Center to promote energy efficiency and volunteer work. His illustration in the student-run Blot magazine captured how people engage socially through video games and other digital spaces.

“My hope for the future is to get more established in the editorial field, working for magazines and companies,” he said. “Art tends to be stronger when it’s in response to something. The editorial field is a great way of doing that, because it’s tied to stories that people care about.”

Read more about Muir at uidaho.edu/magazine.

57

Moscow, ID 83844-3232

$30 Million

Why are these Vandals so excited?

$16 M

Our new home for court sports, lectures, concerts and community events is taking shape!

IDAHO ARENA ARENA: OUR PLATFORM FOR SUCCESS n Idaho State Board of Education approved the

arena’s Planning & Design phase n Architects and builders are submitting proposals n We’ve met more than half our fundraising goal!

Learn more about Idaho's signature wood-engineered project at uidaho.edu/idahoarena or contact michaelcperry@uidaho.edu 208-885-1029.