Paul Cassak and Duncan Lorimer, associate professors of physics, will use more than $600,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for space research.

Cassak is studying magnetic reconnection. It is a critical process in physics, in which magnetic energy in space is converted into other forms of energy. The research will also study how fusion creates more sustainable energy.

Lorimer, who recently received a Cottrell Scholar Award, is using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope to prepare a statistical analysis of how many pulsars exist in the Milky Way galaxy.

Read the full story at West Virginia Public Broadcasting.