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Nearly 50 years after the passage of the federal Coal Mine Safety and Health Act, significant occupational dangers for coal miners remain. As the anniversary of the Sago Mine Disaster approaches, and on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Farmington Mine Disaster, Michael McCawley from the West Virginia University School of Public Health notes black lung cases are on the rise and silicosis diagnoses persist. His research has been inspired by these and other mine tragedies in an effort to make coal mines safe and healthy places to work.

The cultural stigma related to mental illness and those seeking mental health services is pervasive. Suicide tends to rate as the second or third highest cause of death for student-athletes, according to Robert Hilliard, a West Virginia University doctoral student. Hilliard is using an NCAA grant to examine the role that stigma plays in student-athletes’ attitudes toward seeking help for mental health services.

West Virginia University physics and astronomy professors are part of a national Department of Energy research team that actively shape research policy in their field. Earl Scime notes that while thermonuclear energy is the major focus of plasma physics, there are other benefits from the research. Scime is one of seven scientists who will organize the first phase of a strategic plan to further plasma physics research in a new facility for testing materials to be used in fusion reactors.

For some, strength training and conditioning might look intimidating. For others, it might be a way to relieve stress. For graduate assistants Jarrod Burton and Billy Cedar it’s their passion and future career plan. Both Burton and Cedar are working as strength and conditioning coaches with student-athletes from high school to collegiate levels, focusing on helping them train and reach their own goals.

The Startup Engine houses WVU’s first startup accelerator program, and is designed to attract, select and accelerate startup businesses focused on the sectors and industries identified in the West Virginia Forward report, helping those startups to hone their ideas, access seed capital, develop mentor relationships and partner with existing businesses.

The origins of the rolling hills and valleys of West Virginia is detailed in a new book by two West Virginia University professors, Joseph Lebold and Christopher Wilkinson. “Roadside Geology of West Virginia” will lead you through the state’s wild and wonderful landscape.

More than 2,600 West Virginia University students are expected to graduate in two ceremonies.

WVU and local community organizations will honor the brave Americans who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor and those who survived “the date which will live in infamy.”

A Celebration of West Virginia University and West Virginia Authors, hosted by Karen Diaz, Dean of WVU Libraries

The West Virginia Public Education Collaborative will host its third annual West Virginia Legislators’ Forum Tuesday, Dec. 4 in Morgantown to convene legislators, policy experts, corporate leaders and educational practitioners on education and the economy.