Eberly News

Articles for the month of December 2018

The world’s forests are on a fast food diet of carbon dioxide, which is currently causing them to grow faster. But a researcher at West Virginia University, along with an international team of scientists, finds evidence suggesting that forest growth may soon peak as the trees deplete nitrogen in the soil over longer growing seasons. West Virginia’s wildlands are a “canary in the coal mine for climate change” because of the forests’ biodiversity, which, along with rich soils and abundant rainfall, make them among the strongest forests globally, according to Brenden McNeil, an associate professor of geography at WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. The state’s forests have been resilient to a barrage of logging and acid rain in the 19th and 20th centuries but are now exhibiting symptoms of declining health because of climate change.

New research suggests forests, like humans, require a balanced diet

Eberly News /

The world’s forests are on a fast food diet of carbon dioxide, which is currently causing them to grow faster. But a researcher at  West Virginia University, along with an international team of scientists, finds evidence suggesting that forest growth may soon peak as the trees deplete nitrogen in the soil over longer growing seasons. 

For Tyler Brewster, an Inwood, West Virginia, native and political science major, joining the Student Government Association was his first priority when he came to West Virginia University as a freshman. He has since served as an intern, a senator and a legislative director.

Meet the Grads: Tyler Brewster

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North Canton, Ohio, native Aaron Brake first came to West Virginia University as a forensic and investigative science major. However, after completing a research project rooted in statistical nature, Brake decided to make the jump to industrial math and statistics, which he completed in two and a half years.

Meet the Grads: Aaron Brake

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Students from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will walk across the stage on Saturday, Dec. 15 as they graduate from West Virginia University, ready to take on the world.

An unprecedented two scholars from West Virginia University have received the top fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Katherine Aaslestad and Tamba M’Bayo, both professors in the Department of History, will each receive $60,000 for the 2019-2020 academic year to conduct research for their respective book projects.

WVU history faculty earn prestigious NEH fellowships

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An unprecedented two scholars from West Virginia University have received the top fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Kristyn Lizbinski, a Drums, Pennsylvania, native and doctoral student studying biology at West Virginia University, spent her WVU career studying the olfactory system of insects in Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Andrew Dacks’ lab. Lizbinski’s research on the way neurons communicate was published in eNeuro this fall, and she was awarded the first prize in DRVision and Interstellate’s 2017 Neuroscience Travel Award for a 3D microscopy image of her research.

Meet the Grads: Kristyn Lizbinski

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Looking back on her career at West Virginia University, Elizabeth Young, a Charleston, West Virginia, native reflects on memories of her adventures competing on the rowing team, walking through the snow blanketed campus and the lifelong friendships she created along the way. Her passion for history led her to double major in history and geography and obtain a minor in French. In summer 2018, the Gilman Scholarship sent Young on a four-week study abroad trip to Montpellier, France, where she was able to practice her French language speaking skills.

Meet the Grads: Elizabeth Young

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Researchers from West Virginia University have received $1.34 million to develop machine-learning software for the U.S. Department of Energy. The researchers, James Lewis and Aldo Romero from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will lead a team from WVU, University of Southern California and Kitware, Inc. to develop new machine-learning tools for advancing chemical and materials science discoveries on the nation’s future high-speed computing platforms.

WVU physicists awarded $1.34 million to develop machine-learning software

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Researchers from West Virginia University have received $1.34 million to develop machine-learning software for the U.S. Department of Energy.