Expert Pitches

A rare earthquake between Lewisburg and Beckley Monday (March 4) is only one of 25 that were larger than a magnitude 2.5 in the past 40 years, according to a West Virginia University expert. Because of its depth and location, Monday’s event is likely a natural occurrence unlike earthquakes of a similar magnitude in Braxton County in 2010-2011, said Jaime Toro, professor of geology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

West Virginia University professor Linda Alexander has focused her work on populations that have not benefitted equally from efforts in tobacco control, including tobacco cessation, education and prevention. This week, she joins researchers from around the world for “Tobacco Control for All: Addressing Smoking Disparities for Priority Populations” in San Francisco.

West Virginia University education expert Erin McHenry-Sorber believes SB451, which allows for charter schools and Education Savings Accounts, is “curious legislation” for West Virginia, a state that has, since 2007, underfunded its public education system, and had the deepest cuts of any state in the 2017-2018 academic year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Additionally, assistant professor Matthew Campbell notes that charter schools have lower standards for teachers, meaning those schools would house some of the least qualified teachers in the state.

The debate over SB 451, which promotes charter schools and vouchers in West Virginia, while offering teachers raises, has centered around choice and parents’ ability to send their children to school where they want. Passage of the bill in the state senate prompted an immediate response from teachers who voted to strike in the anniversary week of a landmark court decision which held education is a fundamental right. A West Virginia University expert believes the arguments miss an important provision of the bill — a “deceptively modest change” that would allow county school boards to increase property taxes with voter approval.

Experts at West Virginia University are available to provide insight and comment on President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union Address planned tomorrow (Feb. 5).

Anne Lofaso, a West Virginia University professor who specializes in labor law, believes the partial government shutdown violates the 5th and 13th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because many employees are being compelled to work without pay.

Biotechnology provides opportunities to restore native species that are threatened by insect pest or pathogen outbreaks. In some cases the resistant trees may be intentionally released into the wild where they could proliferate with minimal human intervention, thus raising issues that are fundamentally different from those encountered in agricultural biotechnology. More research is needed on the ability of the existing tree population to adapt and efforts to enhance resistance with biotechnology should be integrated with breeding programs for the target trees.

Several West Virginia University faculty, administrators and staff members will be available to comment on issues addressed by Gov. Jim Justice in his third State of the State address Wednesday (Jan. 9). These experts will be available after the speech and throughout the 84th legislative session.

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.

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.