West Virginia University researchers are opening a new facility to capture valuable materials from a novel source – acid mine drainage from coal mining – turning the unwanted waste into critical components used in today’s technology-driven society.
West Virginia University has named Thomas Mauger to lead the WVU Eye Institute and serve as chair for the Department of Ophthalmology. He will also serve as associate dean for practice plan integration. Mauger is joined by his spouse, Carol Laxson, who will serve as assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and as the director of diabetic retinopathy screening and prevention.
A West Virginia University researcher, inspired by living in the Mountain State, is studying what works—and what doesn’t—in social and educational policies that affect children and families, particularly in rural areas.
Randy J. Nelson, the Hazel Ruby McQuain Chair for Neurological Research, will serve as the inaugural chair of the new Dept. of Neuroscience. He will direct basic science research in the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and its related programs.
A West Virginia University professor will use art therapy activities to determine how middle school students react to destroying their own art projects and to study how using art in the classroom can bolster students’ belief in themselves.
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.
Robert “Bob” Dailey, Davis-Michael Professor in the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences and coordinator of the Davis-Michael Scholars Program in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, will be recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science.
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.
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.
Through a new Scholar in Residence program at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Douglas Myers, an associate professor in the WVU School of Public Health, will serve as a primary liaison between the School and several local, regional and state partners. As a “guest researcher” with NIOSH, Myers will coordinate opportunities for faculty, students and researchers to collaborate and share ideas.