Eberly News

Articles for the month of July 2020

Patrice Harris

Justice appoints Patrice Harris, reappoints two others to WVU Board of Governors

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A three-time West Virginia University graduate who has completed her term as the first African-American woman president of the American Medical Association will join the WVU Board of Governors.

Just as nerve cells don’t work in isolation when we think, speak or move, scientists don’t work alone when they study the nervous system. A new center at West Virginia University—the Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education—will help researchers from different departments collaborate in a similar way. By teaming up, the researchers will use their unique skillsets and backgrounds to make neuroscience discoveries that might take much longer otherwise.

New center for neuroscience research brings together faculty, students across WVU

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Just as nerve cells don’t work in isolation when we think, speak or move, scientists don’t work alone when they study the nervous system. WVU's new Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education will help researchers from different departments collaborate in a similar way. By teaming up, the researchers will use their unique skillsets and backgrounds to make neuroscience discoveries that might take much longer otherwise.

Like many college students, Jada Taylor was unsure about which major would the best fit for her – until she found philosophy. Along the way, pursuing a philosophy degree has not only prepared her for her future career but helped her make important life decisions, such as choosing to become vegan and low waste.

From classroom to kitchen: Philosophy student launches reading group on veganism

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With the support of several philosophy faculty, junior Jada Taylor has launched a virtual reading group with philosophy faculty exploring the ethics of veganism.

A West Virginia University physicist has created an exact mathematical formula to explain the gravitational wave signals that have been observed from colliding black holes, which serve as a key validation of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. While scientists usually interpret the signals from gravitational waves by comparing them to computer simulations, in 2019, Sean McWilliams offered a more accurate and efficient method for the calculations and interpretations.

Uncovering the invisible universe

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Physicist Sean McWilliams has created an exact mathematical formula to explain the gravitational wave signals that have been observed from colliding black holes, which serve as a key validation of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Experts agree that a solid math foundation opens doors for future possibilities, yet improvement in math outcomes has proven an elusive target for states across the country. Innovation is necessary, and the Mountain State is poised to lead the way. With the aid of a six-year, $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to the West Virginia University College of Education and Human Services, educators and researchers will work together to improve math teaching and learning through developing teacher leaders in secondary schools (grades six through 12) across West Virginia.

New solutions in math teaching and learning

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Experts agree that a solid math foundation opens doors for future possibilities, yet improvement in math outcomes has proven an elusive target for states across the country. Innovation is necessary, and the Mountain State is poised to lead the way.

A new portal created at West Virginia University is increasing access to surface and groundwater water quality data from shale gas regions around the state to inform stakeholders about trends in water quality. The West Virginia Water Quality Impact Portal allows people to investigate water quality in shale gas regions of West Virginia. It contains data for more than 1.3 million surface and ground water samples from 14 counties where most Marcellus Shale gas development has occurred. Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the portal’s data was gathered from federal and state agencies, including the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Center, as well as local nonprofit organizations.

Quenching the need for water quality data in West Virginia

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A new portal created in the Department of Geology and Geography is increasing access to surface and groundwater water quality data from shale gas regions around the state to inform stakeholders about trends in water quality.

An important breakthrough in how we can understand dead star collisions and the expansion of the universe has been made by an international team that includes researchers with the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology at West Virginia University. They have discovered an unusual pulsar – one of deep space’s magnetized spinning neutron-star ‘lighthouses’ that emits highly focused radio waves from its magnetic poles. The newly discovered pulsar (known as PSR J1913+1102) is part of a binary system – which means that it is locked in a fiercely tight orbit with another neutron star. The research has been published in Nature.

How colliding neutron stars could shed light on universal mysteries

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An important breakthrough in how we can understand dead star collisions and the expansion of the universe has been made by an international team that includes researchers from the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Uncovering what drives the evolution of new animals is key for understanding the history of life on Earth. West Virginia University geologist James Lamsdell is embarking on this exploration as a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award. One of those evolutionary drivers is how animals adapt to unfamiliar environments. In his new project, Lamsdell will use fossil records to study how arthropods, such as crustaceans and horseshoe crabs as well as extinct species like sea scorpions and trilobites, have adapted to new environments by changing the speed or timing of their development to reshape their adult forms. He will also examine whether these changes in their development alter the speed at which their evolution occurs.

The fossil detective

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Uncovering what drives the evolution of new animals is key for understanding the history of life on Earth. Geologist James Lamsdell is embarking on this exploration as a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award.