Eberly News

Backed by $5.9 million in National Science Foundation funding, West Virginia University researchers are using stars that function like celestial clocks to search for spacetime ripples known as gravitational waves. The sources of those ripples could be supermassive black holes. They could be “cosmic strings” — cracks in the universe that have only been theorized. They could even be reverberations from the Big Bang. “Or there could be a huge surprise,” said Maura McLaughlin, Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy and recipient of the Shaw Prize in Astronomy.

West Virginia University Libraries has selected two Eberly College undergraduate students as 2026 Robert F. Munn Library Scholars Award recipients: Noah Haak, a senior majoring in political science; and Camryn Morgan, a senior double-majoring in English and philosophy.

Martinez, a junior English major minoring in Art History with an emphasis in professional writing and editing, learned about the Rare Book Room through friends who had positive experiences also working with the History Center. As someone who has always loved libraries, Bonnie was drawn to the Rare Book Room and channeled that curiosity into their capstone project.

With support from the Department of English and the Department of Geology and Geography, the Humanities Center welcomed Dr. Dustin Edwards to our campus on April 9. In his presentation, Edwards tracked the policy developments, financial arrangements, and energy configurations that have paved the way for the rapid construction of hyperscale AI data centers in the U.S.

Fowler, a research assistant professor at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the WVU Center for Kinetic Plasma Physics, said MAVEN’s observations advance scientists’ understanding of how the sun interacts with the solar system and especially with unmagnetized bodies like comets, Saturn’s moon Titan, Venus and Mars.

Thirty-eight 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. 

For many graduates from WVU’s online programs, attending the 2026 commencement signifies the culmination of years of balancing classes, full-time work, and real-life responsibilities. Eberly College students in communication studies, social work, and the regent's online programs reflect on their experiences

For Eberly graduates Dionne and Trey Redden, earning college degrees was proof to themselves that it’s never too late to start again. After years spent balancing careers and family responsibilities, the siblings accomplished their academic goals and celebrated together on May 17 as they sat side by side in the Hope Coliseum and crossed the commencement stage one after the other.

Only the seventh Udall Scholarship recipient in University history, WVU Eberly College junior Colin Street, a triple major in political science, environmental and energy resources management and multidisciplinary studies, joins an elite group of scholars dedicated to leadership, public service and issues related to the environment. 

Approximately 900 Eberly College students will graduate in Spring 2026. Meet some of our graduates from across Eberly disciplines.