The electrical grid faces a mounting barrage of threats that could trigger a butterfly effect – floods, superstorms, heat waves, cyberattacks, not to mention its own ballooning complexity and size – that the nation is unprepared to handle, according to one West Virginia University scientist.
Maintaining a sharp focus on the unique needs of rural, underrepresented West Virginia University students, the Office of Student Success welcomes its first cohort of Mountain Scholars this fall. The Mountain Scholars Program is designed to create a culture of support for incoming first-year students from rural areas of West Virginia as they work toward academic success while also preparing them for jobs in the Mountain State.
For as long as robots have existed, the fear of machines ousting humans for their jobs has persisted. But for this research project, West Virginia University engineers are deploying robots to help workers keep their jobs — by saving them from potential slips, falls and workplace hazards.
West Virginia University scientists have developed a way for extraplanetary rovers to use nonvisual information to maneuver over treacherous terrain. This will help to prevent future losses of expensive equipment like that of the Martian exploration rover Spirit, which ceased communications after its wheels became trapped in invisibly shifting sands in 2010.
For the fiscal year from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, WVU Foundation data shows 20,206 donors – including 9,360 alumni – made 39,347 gifts totaling $213.8 million. This total is second only to $270.1 million donated in fiscal year 2021. The gifts will benefit education, health care and prosperity to make a positive impact across the Mountain State and beyond for years to come.
The return of FallFest highlights a packed Welcome Week at West Virginia University which begins Thursday, Aug. 11, and continues through the start of the fall semester Wednesday, Aug. 17. New events include a pool party for all students at the Student Rec Center Aug. 13 and a service project to benefit the West Virginia United Way Collaborative during Monday Night Lights for first-year students Aug. 15.
West Virginia University’s FirstGen Initiatives are being awarded the First-gen Forward designation. The designation comes from the Center for First-Generation Student Success. With this designation, WVU has access to additional professional development opportunities, community-building experiences, research and resources to bolster WVU’s first-gen programming.
West Virginia University is sharing updated COVID-19 health and safety guidance as campuses across the WVU System prepare for the start of the 2022-23 academic year and the first day of fall semester classes Aug. 17.
A team from West Virginia University and the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium are taking the first steps toward opening the West Virginia Small Satellite Center of Excellence. The SmallSat Center will work with businesses and other organizations to develop West Virginia’s second small satellite and to help those partners offer services and products to clients who want to fly experiments out to low orbit.
A summer program at West Virginia University is providing research opportunities in neuroscience for undergraduate students from underrepresented and global communities, including Ukraine. By training undergraduate students who are interested in continuing their education and conducting state-of-the-art research, the program aims to meet the growing need for neuroscience graduate-level students with research experience.