Eberly News

Articles for the month of June 2020

Known for their brilliant colors and captivating scents, orchids are a favorite household plant. But many types of orchids are endangered due to constant threats from invasive species and habitat loss driven by climate change.

Since few resources are available to protect these endangered species, one West Virginia University biology student is developing new ways to sustain them.

Love orchids? Thank their fungus.

Since few resources are available to protect these orchids, one biology student is developing new ways to sustain them.

West Virginia University’s Duncan Lorimer might be the godfather of the fast radio burst, but a pair of international students has taken exploring these mysterious cosmic flashes to a new level.

In 2007, Lorimer was credited for helping discover fast radio bursts - intense, unexplained pulses of energy, light years away, that pop for mere milliseconds. Ever since, only around 100 have been spotted.

But astronomers knew there were more out there. One major obstacle to new discoveries came in the form of researchers having to manually read data plots, recorded by satellite imaging, for hours on end.

Signals from deep space

West Virginia University’s  Duncan Lorimer might be the godfather of the fast radio burst, but a pair of international students has taken exploring these mysterious cosmic flashes to a new level.

Four years after the disastrous flooding in southern West Virginia, new research from West Virginia University’s Department of Geology and Geography highlights the role faith-based groups and other community organizations have played in the relief and recovery efforts. 

In summer 2017, Assistant Professors of Geography Jamie Shinn and Martina Angela Caretta in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences interviewed 21 Greenbrier County residents and members of relief organizations to understand the lasting effects of flooding in their communities.

Finding renewal in the aftermath of floods

Four years after the disastrous flooding in southern West Virginia, new research from the Department of Geology and Geography highlights the role faith-based groups and other community organizations have played in the relief and recovery efforts.

Costa Rica is known around the world over for its rainforests, coffee and beaches. But despite Costa Rica's reputation for safety and its recent economic growth, criminals use its strategic location for smuggling activities.

A team of U.S. forensic science experts, led by two professors from Costa Rica, aim to fix that. 

A new international and multidisciplinary partnership between West Virginia University’s Department of Forensic and Investigative Science and the Costa Rican government is working to build the country’s capacity for law enforcement, forensic laboratories and legal medicine – and lifting it up as a model for better criminal justice practices across Central America.

Overcoming crime in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is known around the world for its rainforests, coffee and beaches. But despite Costa Rica's reputation for safety and its recent economic growth, criminals use its strategic location for smuggling activities. A team of U.S. forensic science experts, led by two WVU professors from Costa Rica, aim to fix that.

Amelia Jones

English student to connect underserved students with academic resources as Newman Civic Fellow

English major Amelia Jones is a student who has devoted much of her college career to community-engaged leadership. She will continue her work helping connect disadvantaged students with educational resources as WVU's 2020 Newman Civic Fellow.

The coronavirus has driven us indoors and separated us from coworkers, friends and loved ones. That’s nothing really new for Sara Loftus, a West Virginia University geography doctoral student who is studying how to build an online community.

Finding community in digital spaces

The coronavirus has driven us indoors and separated us from coworkers, friends and loved ones. That’s nothing really new for Sara Loftus, a geography doctoral student who is studying how to build an online community.

Nonstop family time during the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified challenges for parents caring for young children around the clock.  

Using research-backed therapies that she helped pioneer, a West Virginia University psychology professor has quick relief strategies for parents struggling with child misbehavior during the lockdown. 

Cheryl McNeil’s Cooperation Chart is a tool parents and caregivers can use to help communicate with their children about their behaviors, using praises and warnings to identify positive and negative actions, respectively.

WVU psychologist shares quick relief for parents struggling with child behavior during COVID-19 pandemic

Nonstop family time during the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified challenges for parents caring for young children around the clock. Using research-backed therapies that she helped pioneer, a psychology professor has quick relief strategies for parents struggling with child misbehavior during the lockdown.