Washington State Magazine

06/24/2026

Kevin Peterson (’76 Arch.) is a big-picture transportation architect. His international reputation encompasses transit systems and urban design in every continent but Antarctica. And he credits two professors—Jack Jackson and Bob Patton—with launching his career.

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2026/04/24/designs-that-move-millions/

06/24/2026

Kevin Peterson studied the London Underground, the world’s oldest metro, as part of a Washington State University architecture study abroad program in England in 1974.

Sixteen years later, Peterson (’76 Arch.) returned to London in a lead architectural role establishing station layouts for the Jubilee Line Extension, the first major improvement to the London Underground since World War II.

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2026/04/24/designs-that-move-millions/

06/23/2026

Cougar Yacht Club: “You don’t have to be an alum. All you need is crimson in your heart and a boat in your moorage."

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2026/04/24/the-can-do-coug-commodore/

06/22/2026

What the Cougar Yacht Club lacks in physical assets, it makes up for in spirit. Cougar spirit. Especially when cruising on Lake Washington past Husky Stadium.

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2026/04/24/the-can-do-coug-commodore/

06/22/2026

Meet Nicole Marie Sobottke (’11 Nat. Res. Sci.), the first woman and youngest commodore in the history of the Cougar Yacht Club, a group of sailors with a simple mission: “To promote Cougar spirit by connecting alumni and friends to Washington State University through their interest in boating and to raise the image and awareness of WSU in waterfront communities.”

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2026/04/24/the-can-do-coug-commodore/

06/22/2026

“We’re not stuffy. We’re very welcoming. We get out there on the water, and we just share our love for the Cougs. We just enjoy being Cougars and being boaters."

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2026/04/24/the-can-do-coug-commodore/

Washington State University alum Nicole Marie Sobottke helms the Cougar Yacht Club.

06/17/2026

From the archives: "Fire knows no boundaries. When we have these predictions of above-average fire seasons, we spend time coordinating with state, county, and local fire departments so they’re aware of what we’re thinking. We’re doing everything we can to be ready to deal with whatever fire comes."

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2015/08/16/in-the-usfs-hot-seat/

06/17/2026

From the archives: It’s no secret that wildfires are on the rise throughout the western United States. Come summer, the plumes of gray-brown smoke seem to arrive weeks earlier and often linger well into fall. The smoke irritates sinuses, clings to clothes, and despite your efforts, seeps into homes and cars like an ever-present smoldering campfire.

On those haze-filled days, people often wonder, “Is it safe for the kids to play outside? To hold a neighborhood BBQ? What about those with asthma or other respiratory problems?”

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2018/04/27/in-the-hazy-days-of-summer/

06/17/2026

In case you missed it: Wildland firefighters spend their summers steeped in woodsmoke.

To measure woodsmoke exposure, a Washington State University–led team has developed a low-cost, self-administered test for firefighters. It could be a game changer not only for the thousands of people who fight wildfires each year but others exposed to chronic smoke conditions or high doses over a short period of time.

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2025/08/07/a-personal-smoke-detector/

06/17/2026

From the archives: Flames ripped through the pines and brush in the Dishman Hills west of Spokane Valley in July 2008. A dry wind pushed the fire up a hill, hotter and faster, and straight into a new development of expensive homes, destroying 13 of them and burning 1,200 acres.

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2011/07/29/when-wildfire-comes-to-town/