Eberly News

Tagged with Research
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

Eberly News /

Geographers link formation of international laws to refugee crisis

Ángel Tuninetti is a passionate advocate for the importance of the humanities in higher education and society. He has been named the 2019 Armand E. and Mary W. Singer Professorship in the humanities, recognizing his dedication and commitment to the study of the Spanish language and Latin American literature and cultures in West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

Tuninetti named 2019 Singer Professor in the Humanities

Eberly News /

Ángel Tuninetti is a passionate advocate for the importance of the humanities in higher education and society. 

Rocks may be the key to discovering life on Mars. When samples from the Mars 2020 expedition eventually make their way to Earth, the scientists of tomorrow will have a Mountaineer to thank. West Virginia University geologist Kathy Benison is representing the Mountain State as one of 10 scientists selected as a Return Sample Selection Participating Scientist for NASA’s Mars 2020 expedition. She is responsible for helping to select the rocks and sediments that will be gathered, or cached, by the Mars 2020 rover.

On a mission to Mars

Eberly News /

WVU geologist selected for NASA's Mars 2020 team

A group of students, studying everything from criminology to creative writing, are working together to make a difference and find purpose in their careers. A new Social Justice Research Fellowship in West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is empowering graduate students to connect their research to social justice issues.

Weaving social justice into graduate studies

Eberly News /

A group of students, studying everything from criminology to creative writing, are working together to make a difference and find purpose in their careers.

New research from West Virginia University is simplifying mass spectrometry experiments. While mass spectrometers require materials to be ionized, or gain an electrical charge, before they can be examined, a research team in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry has created an instrument that goes straight to the source. The vibrating sharp-edge spray ionization device, created by Assistant Professor Peng Li and his research group, is a small, rectangular piece of glass approximately 2.5 inches long and one inch wide that collects and ionizes samples on the spot.

Straight to the source

Eberly News /

WVU chemists lead the ‘charge’ with new molecular research tool

Melissa Blank

WVU receives CDC award to curb vaping and opioid abuse, improve health outcomes in West Virginia

Eberly News /

West Virginia University’s efforts to address chronic disease and substance abuse prevention, growing concerns related to vaping and youth mental health issues will be bolstered by funding from the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, awarded to the  West Virginia Prevention Research Center in the  School of Public Health.  

When concerns are expressed about distrust in science, they often focus on whether the public trusts research findings. A new study from West Virginia University, however, explores a different dimension of trust. Two researchers in WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences examined whether and how frequently researchers misrepresent their research accomplishments when applying for faculty jobs. The research team, led by Associate Professor of Political Science Trisha Phillips and Department of Sociology and Anthropology chair Lynne Cossman, collected all vitae submitted for faculty positions at a large research university for one year. The institution was intentionally unidentified to maintain confidentiality. After reviewing a 10% sample for accuracy, they discovered that of the 180 applicants whose vitae were analyzed, 141, or 78%, claimed to have at least one publication. Of these applicants with publications, 79, or 56%, listed at least one publication that was unverifiable or inaccurate in a self-promoting way.

WVU study reveals falsification issues in higher education hiring processes

Eberly News /

When concerns are expressed about distrust in science, they often focus on whether the public trusts research findings.