CWU Student To Present Hay Research At 'SOURCE'

May 13, 2004

Contact: Molly E. Fortin (509-963-1493/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail: fortinm@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash.-- Rebekah LaBar, a senior geography major at Central Washington University, has investigated the long-term effects of drought on the Kittitas Valley hay crop. With guidance from Dr. Anthony Abbott, CWU geography professor, she looked into the possibility that short-term drought effects are over-exaggerated and that wetter years and irrigation result in a greater crop yield, compensating for drought-year losses.

In a research abstract, titled "A long-term balance between drought and wet years for hay crops in east central WA," she noted, "Climate plays an important role in the growth and development of high-quality timothy hay in the Kittitas Valley... Both municipal and irrigation water for Washington state come from several reservoirs in the Cascade mountains. When this mountain water supply for a year is forecast to be less than 75 percent of normal, water cuts are made that eventually affect annual crops in eastern Washington."

LaBar will present her research findings as part of the ninth CWU Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE), Thursday, May 20 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Science Building on the Ellensburg campus.

"I believe that undergraduate research at Central is what sets us apart from some of larger institutions in this area," Dr. Andrew Piacsek, director of the CWU office of undergraduate research, said. "We have a high faculty to student ratio, and because we don't have Ph.D. students and many departments don't have masters programs, the undergraduates get the faculty's full attention and receive direct guidance on research."

SOURCE annually provides CWU undergraduate students with atypical opportunities to present the results of their faculty-mentored research projects.

"This year is the largest, most diverse SOURCE we've put on," Piacsek said. "Students from 20 academic departments submitted 112 abstracts, which is about a 10-percent increase from last year."

SOURCE will also feature a free, public keynote presentation by noted physicist and author Dr. Lawrence Krauss, speaking on "Scientific Ignorance as a Way of Life: Science vs. Science Fiction, from the laboratory to the nation's capital" at 11 a.m. in Science 147. Krauss' visit is made possible, in part, by the CWU offices of the president, provost and graduate studies and research.

Krauss, chair of the physics department at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, has authored several books, including "The Physics of Star Trek." He's also recognized as a leading researcher in the field of modern cosmology - the acceleration of the expansion of the universe.

"He was selected based on fact that he is a well-known speaker and author on the issue of public understanding of science," Piacsek said. "It seems to me that Dr. Krauss is the successor of Carl Sagan."

A banquet celebrating SOURCE and recognizing select students with excellent research papers will be held at 6:30 p.m.. in the Cesar Chavez Theatre, at which time faculty members will also be honored for their mentorship of student research.

For more information, to reserve a ticket, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation call (509) 963-2835, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143.

SOURCE is sponsored by TIAA-CREF, D & M Coffee, Stonebreaker Designs and the CWU offices of student affairs and enrollment management and undergraduate research.