Eberly News

Earlier this week, three researchers from the University of Washington, Princeton University and Brown University were named 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics recipients, for revealing what the organization called “secrets of exotic matter.” But did you know that WVU is home to a number of experts in topology, materials science and condensed matter physics?

No, it isn’t about aliens. While the title of the upcoming documentary “little green men” suggests an extra-terrestrial theme, it actually features life in our own backyard.

Briefly, describe your career path.

Scientists are making new discoveries about a process that causes some of the most explosive events in the universe. At the same time, they are answering questions about Earth’s magnetosphere – the protective bubble around Earth that shields the planet from the sun’s constant barrage of superheated, electrically charged particles.

A global team of astronomers, including one from  West Virginia University, have for the first time detected repeating short-duration bursts of radio waves from an enigmatic source which is likely located well beyond the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. The findings indicate that these “fast radio bursts,” or FRBs, come from an extremely powerful object which occasionally produces multiple bursts in under a minute.