Author: Maya Kate Gilmore

The University of Wyoming Extension welcomes Audrey Peters as the new 4-H youth development educator serving Uinta County.

Few undergraduate students can say they’ve been the lead author on a research paper in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Even fewer can claim they’ve helped found a business. But pre-dental student Lucas Wall has done both.

The University of Wyoming welcomes Nicole “Nicki” Nimlos as a new statewide rangeland management specialist for UW Extension. Nimlos is one of two UW Extension range specialists and will fill a campus-based role. She will also serve as an assistant professor of rangeland ecology in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. 

The Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) and Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Wyoming have launched WyldFire, a new public-facing wildfire information platform designed to help Wyoming residents, landowners, public land managers, emergency services, utilities, and communities better understand wildfire risk across the state.

The University of Wyoming’s Department of Molecular Biology will host an upcoming seminar series featuring world-renowned biologist Dr. Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, who is president, chief scientific officer, and investigator at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

On Tuesday, June 30, the University of Wyoming’s Powell Research and Extension Center (PREC) will host its annual field day at 747 Road 9. The field day will contain two sessions, one designed for technical audiences and one designed for community audiences.

On Wednesday, July 1, the University of Wyoming’s Sheridan Research and Extension Center (ShREC) will host its annual field day at 663 Wyarno Road. The field day will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the center’s Wyarno R&E location.

The University of Wyoming Extension welcomes Tallie Miller as the new 4-H youth development educator serving Niobrara County.

The University of Wyoming Extension welcomes Erik Bailly as an agriculture and natural resources educator based in Sublette County. 

For those interested in connecting with local artists and agriculturalists, the University of Wyoming Extension will lead a free, self-guided Ag & Art tour this June. Two Albany County agricultural venues will host art and educational booths for attendees to explore.

For more than a decade, Jennifer “Jenny” Ingwerson-Niemann, a senior lecturer in the University of Wyoming’s Department of Animal Science, has served as UW’s only equine science instructor. For her dedication to hands-on education and the UW community, Ingwerson-Niemann is among 10 recipients of the 2026 John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award.

Owen Funk, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wyoming in the Department of Molecular Biology, was recently awarded a highly competitive National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pathway to Independence Grant. The five-year grant from the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) began March 2026.

The University of Wyoming Extension has re-opened its Plant Diagnostic Clinic, which assesses plant samples that may harbor diseases. Based in Laramie but serving communities statewide, the Plant Diagnostic Clinic supports county extension educators and community members by diagnosing possible diseases in any type of plant, including houseplants, turf, row crops, forages, and even trees.

For those interested in connecting with local artists and agriculturalists, the University of Wyoming Extension will lead a series of free self-guided Ag & Art tours from May through September. The first Ag & Art event takes place in Natrona County Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “We had a great season last year and are excited to bring this event to five counties this summer, kicking things off [in] Natrona County,” says Hailey Sorg, Wyoming’s Jay Kemmerer Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality (WORTH) Institute extension educator.

The University of Wyoming Extension welcomes Brenda Madrid and Rebecca Austin as 4-H youth development educators, both serving Laramie County.