Chad Baldwin called into the Weekday Wake-Up from Laramie on Wednesday, March 18 with his monthly report for the University of Wyoming. Baldwin discussed the recent budget decisions by the Wyoming legislature, publication on rare earth elements, scholarship to 100 students, partnership for safer roads and funding for the Conservation Professorship.

(0:00) And it’s time for the monthly report from the University of Wyoming. (0:03) Chad Baldwin joins us live from Laramie. (0:05) Chad, good morning.

(0:07) Is Laramie still there? (0:08) Is it blown away? (0:09) Do you still have anything there? (0:11) Well, yes, we’re intact. (0:14) I think Cheyenne got hit a little bit worse, (0:17) but it is spring break, so our students are gone. (0:19) So maybe you could you could say they got blown away a little bit.

(0:23) But that’s great. (0:25) I know we’re we’re we’re doing fine. (0:26) Good deal.

(0:27) We’re still smarting a little bit from that from that loss last night (0:30) and the NIT dug on it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:33) Yeah, that was a tough one.

(0:35) We just make our free throws. (0:36) We win, but oh, well. (0:37) Oh, well, I mean, that’s that’s next.

(0:40) There’s always next year, right? (0:42) There’s always next year. (0:43) That’s right. Yes.

(0:43) Well, Chad, appreciate your time as always. (0:45) Number of items that we can discuss today. (0:47) And of course, I think we first start right out of the gate (0:49) with the legislative session.

(0:51) And you and I talked about before and during the session in recent months. (0:54) Of course, the proposed budget cut to the University of Wyoming. (0:59) And at the end of the day, that really didn’t take place.

(1:01) And so now that it’s all said and done, what’s the university’s (1:04) thoughts on this afterwards now? (1:06) Well, I think, first of all, Duke, it’s just a great sense of appreciation. (1:11) I mean, I don’t think we have this outcome unless we have the strong (1:14) show of support that we saw across the state, really. (1:18) And you heard legislators talking about it.

(1:21) Just a great, I guess, a note of appreciation (1:24) for the university, for those who spoke up for Wyoming’s university. (1:29) And then the legislators who did the votes and did the work (1:34) to keep us intact, essentially our budget. (1:37) You know, it’s the same thing that we’re getting now in the current biennium.

(1:41) We’ll continue the next biennium with some enhancements (1:45) and including some pay raise funding, which all state employees got. (1:49) So I really appreciate it. (1:51) We do also know that in the budget bill, there were some language there (1:57) that directs us to do some searching for some more efficiencies, (2:02) looking at things like low enrollment programs.

(2:05) And we take that very seriously and we’ll follow through with that as well. (2:09) Yeah, the operational plan, as it’s called. (2:13) And so how do you see that process playing out (2:17) when you put that plan together? (2:19) Sure.

Much of this is something we do really kind of on an annual basis, (2:24) Duke, where we do look at low enrollment programs. (2:27) We’ll know, have a little more direction. (2:29) Our board of trustees meets next week.

(2:32) I think we’ll have a clear sort of this is exactly how we’re going to do this (2:37) by December 1st, which is when the when the report is due. (2:41) And we’ll have a good process to really, you know, (2:45) that looks at all the data and presents it and shows where here’s where, (2:51) you know, maybe we can we can tighten our belts a little bit more. (2:54) And and that’s so that will unfold over the next month.

(2:59) Speaking with Chad Baldwin this morning from the University of Wyoming, (3:02) let’s talk coal a little this morning. (3:04) Chad, UW researchers releasing this publication on rare earth elements (3:08) in Wyoming and Montana coal, specifically in the Powder River Basin. (3:12) So tell us more about this study that’s been released.

(3:15) Sure. You know, Duke, rare earths and critical minerals and all that. (3:20) That’s a it’s a big topic.

(3:22) We do have some of those in Wyoming, some, you know, that are being pursued (3:25) through, you know, mines specifically for those purposes. (3:30) But we know we have a lot of coal in Wyoming still. (3:33) And as we’ve talked about many times, we’re looking for different ways (3:36) to utilize that resource.

(3:38) And and now this particular research by research by our school of energy (3:42) resources, looking at our can you find rare earth elements (3:46) in the Powder River Basin coal and a whole team that’s that’s working on that. (3:54) And because you have some some situations where rare earth elements (3:57) are concentrated in these coal strata, they call them. (4:03) And maybe maybe we can, you know, meet the nation’s (4:08) needs for rare earths, along with with (4:11) getting out from the coal seams that we have in Wyoming.

(4:14) We’ve we have researchers looking at also from like coal ash. (4:18) Once coal is burned, are there rare earths in there? (4:20) This is more maybe on the front end of it. (4:23) And we just we are our school of energy resources is really fully deployed (4:30) to to maximize the the assets that we’ve been blessed with in Wyoming.

(4:35) And this is another example of that. (4:36) Well, Chad, as as we continue to move on here, I know that the scholarships, (4:41) in fact, the the UW University of Wyoming’s awarded the top scholarship (4:46) to 100 Wyoming students, high school students across the state, (4:49) including a handful from right here in Lincoln County (4:51) and Kemmerer, Cokeville and Starbody High Schools. (4:54) Yeah, you know, this is the premier scholarship (4:56) that we offered to Wyoming high school graduates.

(4:59) We do offer to 100 students every every year. (5:03) This will be for the you know, for the coming fall. (5:06) These are the top of the top here.

(5:08) I mean, the average score, 32, their average GPA in high school, three point nine seven. (5:15) I mean, this these are these are the students that universities (5:18) across the country are trying to recruit away from Wyoming. (5:21) And as you mentioned, I think we have C3 from Star Valley High School, (5:26) a couple from Kemmerer High School there and one from Cokeville.

(5:30) So, you know, good representation for Lincoln County (5:33) and really look forward to having these students be here this fall. (5:38) You know, we get a lot of a lot of talk these days about, well, you know, (5:41) the graduates of the student University of Wyoming, a lot of them leave the state. (5:46) And and and some do, but a lot stay.

(5:50) And this is an example where if we can keep a student (5:54) here at Wyoming’s university, there’s a much higher likelihood (5:58) they’re going to stay in Wyoming after after college graduation. (6:02) And if they were to go out of state to school. (6:04) And so it’s kind of a retention thing to do.

(6:07) Absolutely. So a shout out to Kemmerer High School’s Jacob Platt, (6:11) Owen C. Cokeville, Hudson, Hemerick and out of Star Valley High School. (6:15) Trace Clawson, Alex Tully and Miley Webb (6:18) being given that scholarship from the University of Wyoming.

(6:22) Chad, let’s talk about this partnership involving UW, (6:25) Range and YDOT to try and make Wyoming roads safer. (6:30) Yeah, this is really interesting, Duke. (6:33) We have along a lot of Wyoming highways.

(6:36) We have a lot of fiber optic cable that’s already been placed, you know, for (6:41) for technology purposes, for Internet access and that stuff across the state. (6:47) We have a researcher here at UW working with YDOT and this company called Range. (6:52) It’s the fiber optic company looking at can we can we use this (6:57) infrastructure to do a better job of of (7:02) putting out information about highway safety and highway conditions.

(7:07) And so this pilot project is getting underway. (7:09) They’re going to work on the section of highway north of Cheyenne, (7:12) where you’re looking at using these fiber optic cables and you get vibrations (7:17) and you sense and that’s so every time a vehicle drives by (7:21) or weather affects the road, the cable feels these vibrations, (7:24) record them and then send them to this computer, which is going to figure things (7:29) like traffic speed and congestion and icy conditions. (7:33) So then on top of that, that’s we’re going to really check with a (7:38) an AI based computer vision system using cameras and algorithms and all that (7:43) to to to kind of do the checks and balances for the fiber optic stuff.

(7:47) So anyway, this seems pretty crazy. (7:50) But, you know, as you know, I mean, we need all the help (7:54) we can get in Wyoming with with sometimes, although this this winter (7:57) hadn’t been too bad with highway conditions and helping us navigate those. (8:02) I suspect some of the Star Valley fans encountered some pretty nasty stuff (8:05) headed home from state basketball last weekend.

(8:08) And so, you know, it’s (8:11) just another example where, you know, the state’s university (8:14) working to make life in Wyoming better. (8:17) Chad Baldwin with University of Wyoming. (8:19) Chad, as always, appreciate your time.

(8:21) Anything we missed that you’d like to mention today? (8:24) Oh, Duke, I don’t think so. (8:26) Looking forward to finishing out the spring semester strong. (8:29) All right.

Perfect. (8:30) That’s Chad Baldwin from the University of Wyoming. (8:32) It’s all part of the weekday wake up this morning on SBI Radio.