Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Andrew Dacks, assistant professor of neuroscience in the Department of Biology , received a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research at West Virginia University on the effects of serotonin in fruit flies. Dacks and his team of researchers will study how serotonin affects different cells in the olfactory system of fruit flies and how those systems could apply to other systems as well.

An award-winning teacher and researcher who has served in several leadership roles at West Virginia University will guide the College of Education and Human Services as interim dean, an appointment that will likely encompass the next academic year.

Ann Pancake will teach courses in Appalachian literature, environmental criticism and other subjects related to her writing and research. She will also contribute to the WVU Humanities Center Community Affiliates program but will devote the bulk of her time to writing about her native state.

An interactive sculpture on display at West Virginia University’s Evansdale Library illustrates the structure and function of a particular enzyme and can charge your smartphone.

An international team of astronomers, which includes Duncan Lorimer, West Virginia University professor of physics and astronomy, has tested Einstein’s theory using three stars orbiting each other: a neutron star and two white dwarfs. Their findings, published in “Nature”, prove that Einstein’s theory still passes the test in such extreme conditions.

Is there life on Mars? One WVU researcher is discovering ways to improve the search for life on the desert planet. Kathleen Benison, professor in the Department of Geology and Geography, has received a two-year grant from NASA’s Astrobiology Program to study modern and fossil microorganisms trapped in halite and gypsum from acid salt lakes.

In the first quarter of 2019, the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources will take delivery on a Concept Laser Mlab 200R machine, valued at more than $250,000. The direct metal laser melting – or DMLM – machine use lasers to melt layers of fine metal powder and create complex geometries with incredible precision directly from a digital CAD file.

Kaylynn Coates, a doctoral student in the West Virginia University Department of Biology, has received a grant from the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium to study how serotonin neurons are regulated in the brain.

An incoming freshman who found his career path while taking care of his grandfather is the first recipient of the Jim and Gerry Cox Endowed Academic Scholarship. Bradley Bordelon, who moved to West Virginia from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and a recent Nicholas County High School graduate, is a direct admit in West Virginia University’s nursing program; he plans to minor in Spanish.

New Mountaineer Brennan Lawless is off to a fast start as a West Virginia University freshman. The Daniels native attended New Student Orientation on June 4, and won an award at National History Day just a week later. Lawless finished second in the nation for his individual documentary “Books, Bombs, and Barricades: The Kanawha County Textbook War and West Virginia’s Role in the Rise of Educational Conservatism.”