Eberly News

For Amy Hessl, professor of geography at West Virginia University, the past can predict the future. Hessl is a dendrochronologist, a scientist who unravels climate histories and trends through the study of tree ring growth patterns. So when wildfires engulfed the Los Angeles, California area in January 2025, resulting in dozens of deaths and tens of thousands of destroyed structures, Hessl wasn’t taken aback. In fact, she said, ongoing warm air temperatures and variable precipitation – which can be presumed from her studies of climate history trends — will lead to even more extreme fires in the future.

In an empty studio room of the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia, Princeton Middle School students wriggle neon-colored ropes that coil and arc to the amusement of the youngsters. It’s not all fun and games, though it looks that way from the smiles and giggles. The students are getting lessons on gravitational waves and wave frequencies, courtesy of Science Behind the Sport at West Virginia University. It’s just one of many STEM-related activities for students from all across the Mountain State on NASA Day, sponsored by the student with science experiment NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium at WVU.

Katy Goodrich, an assistant professor in the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, was honored with a Big 12 Conference Faculty of the Year Award for her groundbreaking work in plasma and space physics. This prestigious award recognizes faculty from all 16 of the Big 12 institutions who have demonstrated incredible work, diversity of research breakthroughs and educational opportunities for their university.

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.

Amy Hessl, a WVU geography professor, is exploring how tree rings reveal past extreme space weather, with support from the National Science Foundation. Using tree ring records that document historic increases in atmospheric radiocarbon from rare "Miyake events" — massive solar energetic particle events that can disrupt satellite communication — Hessl studies how such storms could impact modern technology.

Photo credit: Science.org

In June, research ethicist Trisha Phillips held a training session with a group of West Virginia University students.

“I asked what they’d learned from the reading,” Phillips recalled. “One student raised their hand and said, ‘I hadn’t understood that there are authorship standards and norms,’ such as guidelines determining the order in which names of authors of an academic paper are listed.

“The student thought that was entirely up to their advisor. For them to know there are standardized practices was empowering. It helped them understand how research is done, what it means to be listed as an author.”

That’s what it’s all about for Phillips. As a scholar, she focuses on research misconduct and norms or best practices, and she teaches political science at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. In her role at the WVU Research Office, Phillips promotes research integrity at the University.

A West Virginia University biologist is studying why some animals can regenerate while others cannot and has identified the genes that play a role in the process. 

Christopher Arnold, assistant professor of biology at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, will explore how genes establishing animal body plans — the structure of organs and tissues — also set the stage for regenerative abilities. 

His research could provide insight into human development and disease, leading to enhanced understanding of factors underlying tissue regeneration and inspiring novel approaches to improving human health.

Researchers at West Virginia University are working to ensure small landowners and local communities, instead of large corporations, profit from the ability of Central Appalachian forests to remove greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A West Virginia University researcher says Tuesday’s (July 23) surprise hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park’s Biscuit Basin doesn’t mean a larger eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano is imminent. The explosion, captured on video by park visitors, launched debris into the air and damaged the boardwalk, but no one was injured.