Eberly News

Tagged with Research
The first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in West Virginia on December 14. As doses are administered, researchers from the West Virginia University Public Interest Communication Research Lab are focused on making sure West Virginians get timely, accurate and scientifically sound information related to the vaccine.

WVU researchers inform COVID-19 vaccine communication

Eberly News /

The first shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in West Virginia on December 14. As doses are administered, researchers from the WVU Public Interest Communication Research Lab are focused on making sure West Virginians get timely, accurate and scientifically sound information related to the vaccine.

Rural residents often lack internet access – but how do West Virginians compare? Do West Virginians put off expensive medical care more or less than the average American? A first-of-its-kind survey produced by the Survey Research Center and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University is helping answer questions like these by making statewide socioeconomic data publicly available. The West Virginia Social Survey focuses on the most prevalent challenges faced by West Virginia residents. It will produce state-specific reports on issues like internet access, the economy, health, crime, volunteering, religion and more, which can help inform policymakers. Most social surveys are conducted nationally. A typical random sample of average American adults includes 1,000 to 2,000 individuals from all over the U.S. While these surveys are useful for informing the public about national trends, they are less helpful for learning about specific states, especially those with smaller populations, like West Virginia.

Filling in the blanks

Eberly News /

A first-of-its-kind survey produced by the Survey Research Center and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at WVU is examining the most pressing challenges facing West Virginians by making statewide socioeconomic data publicly available.

New racial justice grants awarded by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences support research for social justice initiatives that will engage with the community. Two projects received funding: one focused on poetry and creative writing workshops and the second on studying racial disparities in vaccination rates. The faculty leading these projects hail from both the Eberly College and the School of Public Health.

Eberly College announces racial justice grant recipients

Eberly News /

New racial justice grants awarded by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences support research for social justice initiatives that will engage with the community.

A team of West Virginia University physics and astronomy students helped create a new radio camera for the Green Bank Telescope, the first of its kind in the U.S. This upgrade to Pocahontas County’s Green Bank Telescope is a critical advancement for astrophysics research, especially galaxy mapping. Because of the sensitivity of the camera’s receiver, astronomers can now map galaxies seven times faster. The project was many years in the making, starting in 2013.

WVU students lead upgrades to Green Bank Telescope

Eberly News /

A team of WVU physics and astronomy students helped create a new radio camera for the Green Bank Telescope, the first of its kind in the U.S.

Scientists have long debated the respiratory workings of sea scorpions, but a new discovery by a West Virginia University geologist concludes that these largely aquatic extinct arthropods breathed air on land. James Lamsdell dug into the curious case of a 340 million-year-old sea scorpion, or eurypterid, originally from France that had been preserved at a Glasgow, Scotland museum for the last 30 years. An assistant professor of geology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Lamsdell had read about the “strange specimen” 25 years ago while conducting his doctoral studies. Existing research suggested it would occasionally go on land.

Coming up for air

Eberly News /

Scientists have long debated the respiratory workings of sea scorpions, but a new discovery by a WVU geologist concludes that these largely aquatic extinct arthropods breathed air on land.

Pesky, yet dangerous ticks are no longer latching exclusively onto hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. Milder winters and disrupted habitats have driven them out of the woods, with Lyme disease cases in the United States tripling since the late 1990s. Now researchers at West Virginia University are working toward a vaccine that prevents humans from contracting the tick-borne illness that afflicts more than 300,000 Americans a year.

Ticked off

Eberly News /

Pesky, yet dangerous ticks are no longer latching exclusively onto hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. Milder winters and disrupted habitats have driven them out of the woods, with Lyme disease cases in the United States tripling since the late 1990s. Now researchers at WVU are working toward a vaccine that prevents humans from contracting the tick-borne illness that afflicts more than 300,000 Americans a year.

Just as nerve cells don’t work in isolation when we think, speak or move, scientists don’t work alone when they study the nervous system. A new center at West Virginia University—the Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education—will help researchers from different departments collaborate in a similar way. By teaming up, the researchers will use their unique skillsets and backgrounds to make neuroscience discoveries that might take much longer otherwise.

New center for neuroscience research brings together faculty, students across WVU

Eberly News /

Just as nerve cells don’t work in isolation when we think, speak or move, scientists don’t work alone when they study the nervous system. WVU's new Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education will help researchers from different departments collaborate in a similar way. By teaming up, the researchers will use their unique skillsets and backgrounds to make neuroscience discoveries that might take much longer otherwise.

A West Virginia University physicist has created an exact mathematical formula to explain the gravitational wave signals that have been observed from colliding black holes, which serve as a key validation of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. While scientists usually interpret the signals from gravitational waves by comparing them to computer simulations, in 2019, Sean McWilliams offered a more accurate and efficient method for the calculations and interpretations.

Uncovering the invisible universe

Eberly News /

Physicist Sean McWilliams has created an exact mathematical formula to explain the gravitational wave signals that have been observed from colliding black holes, which serve as a key validation of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Experts agree that a solid math foundation opens doors for future possibilities, yet improvement in math outcomes has proven an elusive target for states across the country. Innovation is necessary, and the Mountain State is poised to lead the way. With the aid of a six-year, $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to the West Virginia University College of Education and Human Services, educators and researchers will work together to improve math teaching and learning through developing teacher leaders in secondary schools (grades six through 12) across West Virginia.

New solutions in math teaching and learning

Eberly News /

Experts agree that a solid math foundation opens doors for future possibilities, yet improvement in math outcomes has proven an elusive target for states across the country. Innovation is necessary, and the Mountain State is poised to lead the way.

A new portal created at West Virginia University is increasing access to surface and groundwater water quality data from shale gas regions around the state to inform stakeholders about trends in water quality. The West Virginia Water Quality Impact Portal allows people to investigate water quality in shale gas regions of West Virginia. It contains data for more than 1.3 million surface and ground water samples from 14 counties where most Marcellus Shale gas development has occurred. Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the portal’s data was gathered from federal and state agencies, including the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Center, as well as local nonprofit organizations.

Quenching the need for water quality data in West Virginia

Eberly News /

A new portal created in the Department of Geology and Geography is increasing access to surface and groundwater water quality data from shale gas regions around the state to inform stakeholders about trends in water quality.