Eberly News

A team of West Virginia University researchers is exploring whether the heat deep beneath northern West Virginia can be harnessed for large-scale heating and cooling endeavors.

Anurag Srivastava and Shikha Sharma identify National Science Foundation funding as a possible key to protecting the power grid and lowering heating bills in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program, offering fellowships to students and recent graduates interested in building international relationships.

WVU maintains a site license for ArcGIS software, managed by the Department of Geology and Geography and the West Virginia GIS Technical Center. “This is a phenomenal step forward in giving our students access to the same technology used by leading researchers and industry professionals,” said Aaron Maxwell, director of the West Virginia GIS Technical Center. “Students can now build critical geospatial skills that will give them a competitive edge in their future careers.”

Four promising West Virginia University doctoral students are continuing their academic journeys with support from the Ruby Scholars Graduate Fellows program. This year’s fellows are Ayers Aguiar, Abyss Halley, Damon LeMaster and Dylan Nice. Each student will receive a $34,000 stipend, a $2,000 travel grant and a tuition waiver to allow them to advance their research at WVU.

Long before flash floods damaged communities in Ohio and Marion counties this month, West Virginia University researchers were studying community resilience in flood-devastated areas of the state. The toolkit they developed will help communities better prepare for such emergencies and recover quicker.

Fifty-five 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.

Kathleen Benison, professor in the Department of Geology and Geography, has been elected to the Geological Society of America Council, a leadership body that steers and guides this international organization of over 18,000 geologists.

Three Eberly College graduates will spend an immersive summer abroad studying foreign languages as recipients of the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship. A love for travel and global learning led Ella Dietz to major in international studies and pursue minors in political science and Russian studies. She will travel to Kyrgyzstan. Wyatt Gaines is an international studies major with minors in conservation ecology and geographic information science. Gaines first traveled to Japan as part of the Model United Nations and then again for a 10-month exchange program at Kansai Gaidai University. Christelle Temple graduated with a degree in public relations and minors in leadership and creative writing, she will return to Tanzania to study Swahili.

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.