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Go Cougs Means

A better world, thanks to Washington State University

We face no shortage of big, global questions: Will it be possible to produce enough food to feed everyone in a warming world? Can infectious diseases be eliminated? Will there be enough water?

Washington State University is helping to find answers.     

Through research, education and outreach, and in collaboration with a range of partners, WSU is working on questions of the future, today.

As a key agricultural research center in the United States, WSU has improved crop strains to be more drought-resistant, less resource-intensive, more nutritious and more productive, in the Northwest and around the world.

“WSU is one of the leading institutions from the perspective of agriculture and climate change,” said Chad Kruger, director of both the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at WSU and the Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center. “We’ve been working on this a long time and have had success in changing the conversation in the agricultural community.”

Pond with sky reflected in it.

Assistant Professor Deepti Singh’s Climate Extremes Lab at WSU Vancouver analyzes observations and climate model simulations to better understand the mechanisms of heatwaves, droughts, heavy precipitation and wildfire. The lab examines how such extreme events are likely to change as the planet warms, and how those events could impact society and public health.

In recent weeks, scientists at WSU were the first in the United States to gain regulatory approval to introduce gene-edited pork into the human food chain. Gene editing using CRISPR, essentially a high-tech form of selective breeding, will allow producers to more quickly develop desirable traits for improved food production.

Resource issues usually involve multiple stakeholders, and WSU has long expertise bringing together public, private and nonprofit organizations focused on a common aim.  

“The goal is to improve the lives of people in our state, nation and world, and that requires collaboration and partnership,” noted Christopher Keane, WSU’s vice president for research.

For example, WSU hosts the State of Washington Water Research Center on its Pullman campus, part of a national network of water research institutes. For decades, the university and its many partners have evaluated long-term supply and demand for the Columbia River watershed, one of the largest in America.

The goal is to improve the lives of people in our state, nation and world, and that requires collaboration and partnership

Christopher Keane, WSU’s vice president for research.
WSU researcher working with dogs in Kenya.

WSU is also making significant headway against rabies in Africa. Each year an estimated 60,000 people die from rabies and in almost all cases, rabies is contracted from a dog bite. WSU and collaborators in Kenya and Tanzania are vaccinating dogs against rabies, a cost-effective and proven method to reduce the incidence of the disease.

WSU research helps feed the world and keep it safe and healthy

Christopher Keane, WSU’s vice president for research.

WSU’s Paul G. Allen School for Global Health is also teaming with global partners to solve the complex problem of antibiotic resistance – a major threat to human health.

WSU scientists have restored threatened species and are working to stop invasive species from spreading. They’re developing new solutions for cleaner energy and energy security. They’re advancing our understanding of pain and our treatment of addiction.

The common thread, said Keane: “WSU research helps feed the world and keep it safe and healthy.”

Our world is better,

now and in the future,

thanks to Washington State University.

More Go Cougs Means

Facing the challenge

At Washington State University, more than 60 departments are active in climate-related research, work that in many cases has been under way for decades.

Teaching outside the box

Chris Clarke uses TikTok to learn – and to teach. Explaining economics on TikTok has made Washington State University Assistant Professor Chris Clarke a bit famous.

Bringing science to life

A ball hurtles toward home plate. A batter swings. Contact. These are rituals of the ballpark. But to Professor Lloyd Smith and the researchers at Washington State University’s Sports Science Laboratory, they’re also matters of science.

Cougar Gold Marks 75 Years of Yum!

Enough cheese to satisfy loyal Cougs across the country. And enough to feed growing national acclaim for the sharp white cheddar in the iconic yellow-and-white can.

Our lives are better, thanks to WSU

Research at Washington State University affects the very rhythm of our days. WSU research and scholarship makes our sleep better, it makes the food we eat healthier, our water cleaner, the wine we drink more delicious. It improves our homes and our health.