UTAH STATE BLUE LIGHT HONORS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

To demonstrate pride in the many accomplishments of Utah State University faculty, staff and students, the Utah State Blue Pride Light will be turned on Monday, July 28, and the Carillon Bells will ring at 1:10 p.m. in the afternoon. Every four months the university designates a Blue Pride Light Night to recognize individuals for outstanding achievements.

Honorees this quarter are Utah State civil and environmental engineering professor David S. Bowles; Craig Johnson, professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning; Wayne Larsen, Utah State alum and pilot of the USU Wright Flyer; Utah State animal, dairy and veterinary sciences professor Kenneth L. White; and the USU Wright Flyer team.

Bowles was awarded the 2003 Governor’s Medal in Science and Technology in May for his work with dam safety risk assessment for the past 32 years. Bowles has served as director of the Utah Water Research Laboratory and has worked with numerous governments and private firms to reduce the severe risks associated with dam failure. Bowles has conducted risk assessments on more than 400 dams and provided other related services to countries worldwide, including England, Australia, Tunisia, Austria, Brazil and Saudi Arabia. His contributions are also local, such as his involvement with the Great Salt Lake flood mitigation and spillway evaluation.

Johnson, a professor landscape architecture and environmental planning, received the Jot D. Carpenter Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architects for his sustained and significant contribution to landscape architecture education. The award is named for Jot Carpenter, an educator and advocate for landscape architecture education. A faculty member in LAEP at Utah State for 36 years, Johnson has influenced the education of hundreds of landscape architects. He has received university teaching and advising awards five times and is the recipient of 14 professional awards. In 2002 he won the Wildlife Society’s Book of the Year Award for “Conservation Corridor Planning at the Landscape Level: Managing for Wildlife.”

Larsen, a Utah State alum and crop duster from Brigham City, piloted the USU Wright Flyer from its first flight in March in Wendover, Nev., until July when he flew the aircraft over historic Huffman Prairie Flying Field in Dayton, Ohio. Larsen became the first person to fly over the Wright brothers‚ test field since they had done so nearly 100 years ago.

Professor of animal, dairy and veterinary sciences Kenneth L. White and his colleagues at the University of Idaho became the first research team worldwide to clone a member of the horse family, a mule. The baby mule, Idaho Gem, was born May 4. It is the first clone of a hybrid animal. White is widely recognized as an expert on cattle cloning and brought cloning expertise to the team.

The USU Wright Flyer team saw dreams become reality as its aircraft, a futuristic replica of the Wright brothers‚ plane retraced the flights of the inventors of aviation in Dayton, Ohio, in July. After two years and more than 10,000 hours of hard work, faculty and students who worked on the project finally saw the aircraft take flight. The USU Wright Flyer started out as an idea that quickly came to fruition thanks to the help and support from many donors. The flyer is the brainchild of Utah State associate professor of industrial technology and education Dave Widauf and his retired colleague Charles Larsen. But it was through the many Utah State engineering students who dedicated themselves to the project that the USU Wright Flyer finally took flight. The students, mentored by Widauf and Larsen, saw to every aspect of the project. A group of mechanical engineering students designed the aircraft while a group of aviation maintenance students built the aircraft.

The Utah State Blue Pride Light atop Old Main lights the Cache Valley night sky as a symbol of Aggie tradition, heritage and pride. The outstanding professors, staff and students honored are a part of this heritage and contribute to the high quality of Utah State.

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