Drivers on winding West Virginia roads often encounter road damage caused by rockfalls, even if they aren’t present when the rocks tumble down the hillside. West Virginia University researchers hope to cut down on these events, as a pair of engineers have examined countermeasures considered useful in mitigating rockfalls, which can result in vehicle damage, traffic disruptions and injury or death to motorists.
Using what was once a waste product in the forestry industry, three researchers in the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design aim to improve the health of chickens while using less fossil fuel on farms.
While most people go years without needing the smoke detectors in their homes, they would never choose to get rid of a device that saves lives and prevents injury in the event of an emergency. But that’s often what happens to public health systems across the country. Dr. Christopher J. Martin, professor for the West Virginia University School of Public Health, calls it the “paradox of public health.”
A graphics processing unit computer cluster called “Dolly Sods” will enable researchers throughout the state to accelerate computational research in fields such as drug development, interstellar phenomena, biometrics, material design and business logistics and management. Blake Mertz, associate professor of chemistry at West Virginia University, is leading the project, recently funded by a $1.1 million National Science Foundation grant.
The amount in external funding for research and other sponsored programs at West Virginia University for fiscal year 2021 tops the previous year’s record by $8 million.
In a new study, Sunil Sharma, a researcher in WVU's School of Medicine, found that rural COVID patients who end up in an intensive care unit face a greater risk of death than their urban counterparts do. He also discovered that rural patients with COVID-linked acute respiratory distress syndrome are more likely to die than patients with ARDS that’s due to another cause.
West Virginia University will launch several projects and programs designed to address challenges facing rural Appalachia — everything from small-scale farming to supporting the state’s aging population.
Angie Macias, a doctoral student, and Matt Kasson, associate professor, are part of a National Geographic-funded project to study the fungal diversity associated with fungus-feeding millipedes.
A 39-foot customized Winnebago will serve as a medical clinic on wheels in even the most hard-to-reach areas of the state.
President Gordon Gee sent a letter to West Virginia University faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends on Monday, Nov. 8 to address concerns raised by his advisory role at the University of Austin noting this opportunity highlights how transformation across the WVU System can help lift all of higher education.