Eberly News

Tagged with Research
WVU’s Eberly College announces 2019-2020 Outstanding Faculty Awards

WVU’s Eberly College announces 2019-2020 Outstanding Faculty Awards

Eberly News /

The Eberly College has named recipients for its 2019-2020 Outstanding Teacher, Researcher and Service awards.

New neuroscience research from West Virginia University has the potential to improve technologies used by the human body’s five senses, ranging from hearing aids to cameras. Gary Marsat, an assistant professor of neuroscience in the Department of Biology, has received the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award to study sensory systems, which process all the signals from the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and skin and delivers that information to the brain.

From electric fish to electronic gadgets

Eberly News /

New neuroscience research has the potential to improve technologies used by the human body’s five senses, ranging from hearing aids to cameras. Gary Marsat, an assistant professor of neuroscience in the Department of Biology, has received the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award to study sensory systems, which process all the signals from the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and skin and delivers that information to the brain.

A new chemical compound created by researchers at West Virginia University is lighting the way for renewable energy. The compound is a photosensitizer, meaning it promotes chemical reactions in the presence of light. It has many potential applications for improving the efficiency of modern technologies ranging from electricity-producing solar panels to cell phones. The study, published March 16 in Nature Chemistry, was conducted by researchers in Assistant Professor of Chemistry Carsten Milsmann’s lab with support from his National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Illuminating the future of renewable energy

Eberly News /

A new chemical compound created by researchers at WVU is lighting the way for renewable energy. The compound is a photosensitizer, meaning it promotes chemical reactions in the presence of light. It has many potential applications for improving the efficiency of modern technologies ranging from electricity-producing solar panels to cell phones. The study, published March 16 in Nature Chemistry, was conducted by researchers in Assistant Professor of Chemistry Carsten Milsmann’s lab with support from his National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Researchers across the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University have moved quickly to donate personal protective equipment from their laboratories to healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Putting gloves into the right hands

Eberly News /

WVU researchers donate protective gear to COVID-19 efforts

For teenagers with cystic fibrosis, maintaining a healthy weight can be a daily struggle. Any given day can include two to three hours of medical treatments, eating the caloric equivalent of a daily Thanksgiving meal to maintain nutrients and dealing with the stigmas of body image. A West Virginia University psychology student is trying to make life easier for those teens. Park Ridge, Illinois, native Kristine Durkin, a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student, is conducting a study to identify the factors that contribute to meeting their dietary recommendations.

Reaching the heart and soul of research

Eberly News /

For teenagers with cystic fibrosis, maintaining a healthy weight can be a daily struggle. Any given day can include two to three hours of medical treatments, eating the caloric equivalent of a daily Thanksgiving meal to maintain nutrients and dealing with the stigmas of body image. A WVU psychology student is trying to make life easier for those teens. Park Ridge, Illinois, native Kristine Durkin, a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student, is conducting a study to identify the factors that contribute to meeting their dietary recommendations.

West Virginia University Professor of Physics Paul Cassak is among a select group of scientists tackling grand challenges in space in a new series from the American Geophysical Union. In celebration of AGU’s centennial, the special series explores major research discoveries over the last century and where research is still needed to address fundamental questions in our understanding of Earth and the solar system. Cassak, in collaboration with University of Bergen physicist Michael Hesse, highlighted the past, present and future of magnetic reconnection research in a February 2020 article.

Celebrating the past, present and future of space science

Eberly News /

Professor of Physics Paul Cassak is among a select group of scientists tackling grand challenges in space in a new series from the American Geophysical Union.

Log cabins in West Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains have a story to tell: when people leave, the forest takes over. Researchers at West Virginia University are using tree-ring dating to determine not only when trees were cut down to build historic log buildings in the region but also what the forests were like before European immigrants arrived. This could help researchers shed light on when Native Americans abandoned the area and how their absence altered the landscape. Geography graduate student Kristen de Graauw and her mentor, Professor Amy Hessl, uncovered evidence of the significant growth of trees in what may have been a previously cleared area. That growth in the late 17th century coincided with the estimated timing of Native American population decreases following the arrival of European immigrants. This corroborated the hypothesis that a change in the land’s use caused forests to regrow, they explained.

If trees could talk

Eberly News /

Log cabins in West Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains have a story to tell: when people leave, the forest takes over.

For more than a decade, astronomers across the globe have wrestled with the perplexities of fast radio bursts — intense, unexplained cosmic flashes of energy, light years away, that pop for mere milliseconds. Despite the hundreds of records of these enigmatic sources, researchers have only pinpointed the precise location of four such bursts. Now there’s a fifth, detected by a team of international scientists that includes West Virginia University researchers. The finding, which relied on eight telescopes spanning locations from the United Kingdom to China, was published Monday (Jan. 6) in Nature.

In a nearby galaxy, a fast radio burst unravels more questions than answers

Eberly News /

For more than a decade, astronomers across the globe have wrestled with the perplexities of fast radio bursts — intense, unexplained cosmic flashes of energy, light years away, that pop for mere milliseconds. 

A West Virginia University history alumnus is the recipient of the nation’s top award for his dissertation research in Italian history. Luke Gramith (PhD History, ’19) received the 2019 Cappadocia Award from the Society for Italian Historical Studies in December.

Gaps in the Iron Curtain

Eberly News /

History alumnus Luke Gramith (PhD History, ’19) is the recipient of the nation’s top award for his dissertation research in Italian history.

West Virginia University geographers are linking the political and human rights issues at borders today to the legacies of foreign and domestic policy across the globe since World War I. Karen Culcasi and Cynthia Gorman, of the Department of Geology and Geography in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, have studied more than 100 years of international laws that have led, perhaps unintentionally, to the existing hostile climate for refugees.

Beyond borders

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Geographers link formation of international laws to refugee crisis