NIRDT (Nerd it?) making big strides in digital tech at Wichita State | Commentary

Since our beginnings in 1895, the success of Wichita State University has been inextricably linked to its ability to respond to the people and challenges of the communities we serve.

As another academic year starts, and we celebrate the achievements and growth of our university over the past 126 years, we cannot do so without sharing the accolades with all of Shocker Nation.

Our status as our state’s only urban public research university drives our purpose, and it’s a promise to all Kansans that Wichita State is steadfastly committed to our community.

It all starts with conversations. We listen to the people in our community to understand their challenges and stresses. Then we do what an urban public research university ought to do: We innovate solutions.

When our community was struck by COVID-19, there were no fast and accessible means to test, quarantine and treat patients. Wichita State saw this as an opportunity for innovation, and we established the Molecular Diagnostics Lab to help keep our state open for business during the worst days of the pandemic. The MDL continues to be a facility that can process thousands of COVID-19 tests per day with results in less than 24 hours.

As our nation looks for solutions to issues around crime and justice, Wichita State’s School of Criminal Justice and our National Institute for Research and Digital Transformation lent its support to address that concern, partnering with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in creating the National Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Excellence on WSU’s Innovation Campus.

The ATF recognized WSU’s leadership in the field of digital transformation and was eager to partner with us.

The Center of Excellence will be a model for the use of crime gun intelligence in supporting law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. It will serve as a home for the National Crime Gun Intelligence Governing Board.

Businesses in our community told us they needed to innovate, digitize and optimize processes and systems.

Through WSU’s NIRDT, we’ve fostered partnerships that will disrupt, transform and create efficiencies for entire industries. NetApp and Deloitte’s Smart Factory @ Wichita — both of which have homes on the Innovation Campus — are fueling advancements in manufacturing and digital efficiencies; and NIRDT is working on research to drive those efforts.

As Wichita State’s Innovation Campus becomes the front door for advanced manufacturing and digitization, local industries and companies will reap the benefits of that proximity.

And with a nod toward WSU’s emerging dominance in these fields, the U.S. Department of Economic Development recently awarded the university more than $51 million to aid in the rapid development and adoption of emerging smart manufacturing technologies for south Kansas.

We’re also answering employers’ calls for an agile future-ready workforce, one that is digitally literate and prepared for the manufacturing floors and offices of tomorrow.

Our students receive education in relevant curriculum that will make them essential to the growth and prosperity of Kansas businesses.

This is what we do at Wichita State. We’re an urban public research institution that puts our resources and research into solving real problems. Our roots are firmly planted in Wichita, and it’s a privilege to be part of the synergy that fuels the growth of our community.

I encourage everyone to learn more about what Wichita State is doing for the people of our communities. Visit our website at www.wichita.edu.

Even better, visit our campus: Take a drive through the Innovation Campus, dine at Braeburn Square, visit the Ulrich Museum of Art, and attend an athletic or fine arts event.

We are all, proudly, Shocker Nation.

Go Shockers.

Rick Muma is president of Wichita State University.