Eberly News

Recognized as champions for justice, civil rights and world peace, four West Virginia University undergraduate students are the recipients of the prestigious 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship. Selected by the Center for Black Culture based on an essay and letters of recommendation, Tysa James, Janelle LaBarbera, Cheyenne Torres and Gabrielle Williams were honored at the annual MLK Unity Breakfast on Jan. 18 in the Mountainlair Ballrooms.

As a national and international leader in forensic and investigative science programs, Glen Jackson, Ming Hsieh Distinguished Professor of Forensic and Investigative Science, says the University is racing to shape the future of the field.

Thirty-seven graduates were inducted as lifelong members into the WVU Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a national honor society that recognizes outstanding achievement in the liberal arts and sciences and champions freedom of thought.

Every year, students from across Eberly College are selected as Outstanding Seniors and Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistants. Eberly Scholars are also chosen annually for a monetary award to help offset the cost of their education as they work to achieve their academic goals. Read about all three groups below.

The evidence traces back to the University of Costa Rica. That’s where Luis Arroyo, a research assistant, met Tatiana Trejos, who was wrapping up her degree in chemistry. They became close friends, found common interests and fell in love. That love for each other – and unraveling truth through science – eventually led them from the “world’s happiest country” to the Mountain State.

Before the existence of procedural crime dramas like “Bones” and the “CSI” franchise, Tatiana Trejos took on an internship at the Costa Rican Department of Forensic Science. Forensics in popular culture hadn’t hit its peak and Trejos had little idea of what she was getting into.

Eight West Virginia University graduate students from across the U.S. and beyond are engaging in meaningful research as they complete their degrees with support from WVU Foundation scholarships.

Tatiana Trejos, assistant professor in the West Virginia University Department of Forensic and Investigative Science, and graduate student Meghan Prusinowski have developed a one-of-a-kind method that can help piece together a crime scene by literally piecing the evidence together. Or not.

Discoveries by West Virginia University forensic scientists about how gunshot residue behaves on skin, hair and fabric will allow crime scene investigators to catch up to the proliferation of new, eco-friendly types of ammunition and make faster, more informed decisions at crime scenes and in forensic laboratories.