Eberly College Magazine Spring 2012 by West Virginia University-Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

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C o l l e g e o f A r t s & S c i e n c e s S p r i n g 2 0 1 2 o

T H E V i s i n

Dear Alumni and Friends, When we talk about visionaries we usually refer to someone else a Carl Sagan, Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ronald Dahl, or Marie Curie. We rarely look to ourselves. And when someone mentions an organizational vision statement, you might begin to feel disconnected, but you shouldn’t. When you came to WVU you had a vision, a vision of yourself as a college-educated professional. While here you cultivated that vision by immersing yourself in critical thought and creative expression. You nurtured that vision by surrounding yourself with like-minded and opposing viewpoints, challenging yourself and others around you. You focused your mind on the problems of the day, and discussed their solutions. You studied, and studied, and studied some more: as the provost likes to say to incoming freshmen, “until your brains fall out.” Today you have created careers, businesses, families, and homes; you’ve forged new paths in your work and personal lives, solving problems along the way. Just like you, the College has a vision. And like yours, it is a carefully constructed plan. The College is a living thing. It needs fresh ideas, new perspectives, challenges, and vistas to keep it vibrant. When we talk about mission and vision, all we are really saying is that we need to take stock of the life of the College; we need to acknowledge where we have succeeded and where we can do better. It’s a way to keep ourselves on track. This edition expresses our vision for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. It focuses on the five pillars, or five promises, that the College is making to its students, the state, the nation, the world, and to you personally through the strategic plan. You will see our commitment to this motto in all of the stories in this issue; whether it is a focus on emerging programs like behavioral neuroscience, outreach and service to the state by our faculty, or national attention on our excellent researchers. We want you to stay connected. You are part of the life of the College, and you are part of our 2020 vision. That means we need you to take stock, too. What has your degree been worth to you? Where can you plug yourself into the 2020 Vision Statement? What is the College doing that really matters to you? Are you passionate about firstgeneration students having the means to attend college, research that may lead to new inventions and commercial opportunities, and programs that serve the state and its residents? Whatever moves you, we have a way for you to become involved and make a difference here at WVU. We promise that with your help your College will be locally focused to meet the needs of our state and region, nationally prominent to attract excellent scholars and resources, and globally engaged to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future. Best,

Robert H. Jones, PhD Dean

Administration James P. Clements, PhD, President, West Virginia University Michele Wheatly, PhD, Provost Robert Jones, PhD, Dean Joan Gorham, EdD, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs Fred King, PhD, Associate Dean, Graduate Studies Asuntina Levelle, JD, Associate Dean, Financial Planning and Management Katherine Karraker, PhD, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies L. Christopher Plein, PhD, Associate Dean, School of Applied Social Sciences Katie Stores, PhD, Interim Assistant Dean for Research Bonnie Fisher, Director of Development Editorial Staff Rebecca Herod, Executive Editor Devon Copeland, Co-executive Editor Kathy Deweese, University Editor Art Direction & DESIGN Angela Caudill Forrest Conroy Graham Curry Carly Goodman Chris Schwer Contributing Editors Sam Ameri, PhD Jerry Carr, Jr. Tony Dobies Suronda Gonzalez, PhD Jared Lathrop Amanda McBean Christine Schussler Shikha Sharma, PhD Dan Shrensky David Welsh Ashley Wells Photography M.G. Ellis, Senior Photojournalist Brian Persinger, Senior Photojournalist Jake Lambuth, Student Photographer Scott Lituchy, Multimedia Producer Todd Lotocha, Student Photographer Chris Schwer, Multimedia Specialist Cover ART Forrest Conroy Change of Address WVU Foundation PO Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26507-1650 wvuf@wvuf.org Visit our website AT eberly.wvu.edu

Contents IN THIS ISSUE

2 Around the College 6 Vox Populi 6 Culture and Language across the Curriculum 8 Bridging the Gap between Biology and Behavior 10 A Meeting of the Minds

12 The Ten Year Plan 16 Drilling into the Issue 20 Fast and Flexible: The Social Worker’s Network

22 Working the Scene

Citizen Soldier: Transitioning from Combat to Course Work

26 Citizen Soldier 32 New and Notable

32 Game On 34 Rinse, Reuse, ‘Precycle’ 36 How do you say…forward thinking?

38 Awards and Honors 38 Cracking the Code on What Triggers Alzheimer’s 40 A Match Made in Almost Heaven 43 From Arithmatic to Compounds

Game On Look for the WiSE logo on articles and read about the women who are contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce. To learn more, visit wisewomen.wvu.edu

Look for the Research edition of Eberly in the fall. If you would like to access archival editions of the magazine, go to eberly.wvu.edu and select the Alumni link.

Cracking the Code on What Triggers Alzheimer’s WVU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. West Virginia University is governed by the West Virginia University Board of Governors and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.

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Around the College WVU Religious Studies Scholar Contributes to The Jewish Annotated New Testament Photo by Brian Persinger generally consult only the book that is sacred

Fifty leading Jewish scholars, including WVU Religious Studies Professor Aaron

to them. What has been left out is a Jewish

Gale, PhD, have collaborated on a new

perspective on the New Testament; a book

edition of the Bible.

Jews do not consider holy but which, given its influence and literary excellence,

The Jewish Annotated New

some say no Jew should ignore.

Testament, which was edited by Amy-

Gale joined the Religious Studies faculty

Jill Levine, a Jewish Studies professor at Vanderbilt University and Brandeis

in 2000, and has served as the program’s

University Professor Marc Zvi Brettler,

coordinator since 2004. Some of his popular

includes notes and explanatory essays.

courses include Introduction to World Religions, History of

Gale, whose research specialty is the Gospel of Matthew and its relationship

Christianity, Studies in

to early Judaism, edited the Book of

Christian Scriptures,

Matthew for the volume.

Good and Evil in the

Jewish scholars have typically been

Tanakh. While curious Jews and Christians

Biblical World, and the

involved only with editions of the Old

consult all sorts of editions, without regard

Faiths of Abraham.

Testament, which Jews call the Hebrew

to editor, Christian scholars produce editions

Bible or, using a Hebrew acronym, the

of both sacred books, while Jewish editors

Read the full New York Times article about The Jewish Annotated New Testament at nyti.ms/yYGXog.

Rural Studies Series Comes to WVU Press Press. “I hope this series will be the

agriculture, rural populations and economies,

partnered with the Rural Sociological

cornerstone of a broader list in sociology

natural resources and the environment; rural

Society to become its new publisher

and American studies.”

poverty and health; and livelihood strategies.

West Virginia University Press has

of the long-running Rural Studies Series. The first book through

The books speak to a broad readership,

Society, established in

including scholars from various fields, policy

1937, is a professional

makers, and the general public.

the new partnership, Rural

social science association

America in a Globalizing

that promotes the

board of directors, and WVU Press pursue

World, edited by Conner

generation, application, and

book ideas, solicit book proposals, and

Bailey, Leif Jensen, and

dissemination of sociological

evaluate proposals and book manuscripts.

The Rural Studies series editor, its

Elizabeth Ransom, is set to be published. A

knowledge. Its Rural Studies Series was

All book manuscripts are put through a

“decennial volume,” the book will review the

created to promote the scholarly analysis

thorough peer review process. The series

state of rural scholarship. Three such volumes

of rural social issues.

seeks manuscripts on a wide range of

have been published so far.

For more than two decades, the series

topics of interest to a broad readership.

has played a vital role in publishing high-

Scholars from all social sciences are

Press to move into the social sciences

quality scholarship aimed at improving

encouraged to submit book proposals.

with a small but established list and an

the lives of rural populations. This series

For more information,

enthusiastic sponsoring organization,”

deals with issues of community and rural

visit wvupressonline.com.

said Carrie Mullen, director of WVU

social organization; the social dimensions of

“This is a great opportunity for WVU

The Rural Sociological

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Does Bad Blood in Baseball Equal Bigger Ratings? Photo by M.G. Ellis because we need a hero to cheer and a

Rivalries in baseball are as old as the game itself, perhaps the most famous

villain to jeer. To this end, bad blood

being the more than 100 years of vitriol

absolutely boosts ratings because it

between the New York Yankees and

gives the action some context.” In his mass media course,

Boston Red Sox. Indeed, the historical significance of both clubs, combined with

Bowman covers a number of hot-

their “healthy” rivalry and major media

button issues that highlight the

markets (1st and 5th, respectively), makes

importance of “teachable moments.”

for appealing television coverage.

An avid entertainment technology fan, Bowman’s recent publications explore

Shift to coverage of small-market baseball, such as the St. Louis Cardinals

the popularity of video games not

and the Cincinnati Reds. Both teams

only as a leisure activity, but as a place

have history. They were founded in 1882

for community discourse, a training

and share 15 World Series titles and 25

“baseball’s best rivalry.” During the

ground for human interaction, and a

National League pennants between them.

game, a player confrontation led to a

space for observational and experiential

Yet, they sit in small markets (18th and

bench-clearing brawl, player and manager

learning.

27th, respectively) and as a result their

ejections, and a concussion that ended the

games apparently lack major television

career of Cardinals

market appeal.

catcher Jason

Could picking a fight, or focusing on

LaRue. Using the

“bad blood” be the best way to increase

video as a stepping-

baseball viewership in smaller television

off-point, Bowman’s

markets? That is the question posed by

central question

researcher Nicholas Bowman, PhD, assistant

was “might Major

professor of communication studies at West

League Baseball

Virginia University. In October, Bowman

be able to boost

and colleagues from four other universities

sagging ratings with

discussed the theme “Mediating Baseball,”

bad blood?”

for in Media res, an online forum for

“There is no consensus on the

dialogue among scholars and the general

debate, but there is a general agreement

public about contemporary approaches to

that spectator sports overall are really

how media is studied.

a ‘media sport’—a hybrid of athletic

Bowman analyzed a video segment of the August 2010 broadcast between the Cardinals and the Reds, a pairing that ESPN’s David Schoenfield declared

View the full conversation on “Mediating Baseball” and watch footage of the August 2010 brawl at delivr.com/1djd8_nfc.

competition and a heavily produced media event,” Bowman said. “Like other forms of entertainment media, drama is key to enjoyment

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Around the College

Hawley Montgomery-Downs, PhD, presents “Top Ten Mysteries of Sleep: Solved,” at a Science on Tap event.

Desperately Seeking. . .A Good Night’s Sleep Do moms sleep. . .as their babies get older? A research study being

sleep,” Montgomery-Downs said.

“Right now, even when it’s ‘dad’s turn’ the woman is still waking up.”

Her research now is evaluating

Study participants’ behavior, sleep

Downs, PhD, and her team of students

whether sleep and daytime functioning

patterns, and reaction times are monitored

in the Department of Psychology’s Sleep

improve as children age. She is

in a number of ways including the use of a

Research Lab is examining the effects of

reconducting the study, this time with

wristwatch-like device called an actigraph

sleep disruption on first-time moms with

mothers of older children to determine

they wear for one week that senses

infants six months to two years old.

the impact women’s sleep cycles have on

sleeping patterns and movements. After

their ability to function during the day,

the week is up, participants spend a day in

on the sleeping habits of first-time

and whether their sleep cycles ever fully

the WVU Sleep Lab where they take four

mothers evaluated the sleep that moms

recover post-partum.

naps, spaced two hours apart.

conducted by Hawley Montgomery-

Montgomery-Downs’ initial study

get when their child is newborn to

Lack of quality sleep cycles,

Montgomery-Downs and her

12 weeks old. What she found was

Montgomery-Downs said, cause women

researchers have found that even when

that the mothers’ quality of sleep was

to have similar reaction time impairment

children start sleeping longer and better

compromised. The women all received

as a person who is intoxicated. Poor sleep

and parents return to work, caretaker

about 7.2 fragmented hours of sleep,

is also more likely to cause or trigger

functioning is actually decreasing.

and it took most women 10.5 hours to

anxiety and mental health issues, such as

get that 7.2 hours of rest.

post-partum depression.

“To get through one proper sleep

sleep cycles because of interrupted

“We have to be creative in the

“Most people consider the postpartum phase to be about three weeks, but it actually lasts about two years,” she said.

cycle, it takes about 90 minutes of

techniques we use to solve this. We need

“Responsible science can inform public

uninterrupted rest. Even though they

to have cultural acceptance for at-risk

policy. Major mental health implications

may technically be sleeping more hours,

women who might need extra caretakers

are at stake here, and the policy of when

mothers of newborns to 12-week-old

in the home to help with the child at

caretakers return to work needs to be

children are likely not having proper

night,” she said.

evaluated and changed.”

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Award-Winning Political Cartoonist Visits WVU

Political cartoons have the ability to educate, persuade, and mobilize in a unique way. That’s why when Erin Cassese, assistant professor of political science, was looking for a captivating speaker to visit Adam Zyglis the department, she thought of her former classmate Adam Zyglis. Zyglis, an award-winning staff cartoonist for the Buffalo (N.Y.) News, visited the University in October to discuss his work. “I contacted Adam because he is both an artist and a scholar,” Cassese said. “His work offers important insights into

media and politics, and he provides a fresh perspective on these topics as one of the nation’s few full-time political cartoonists. “I thought his work had the potential to interest a wide range of students across a variety of majors.” Zyglis’s cartoons are internationally syndicated and have appeared in a number of publications around the world, including the Washington Post, USA Today, The New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. In his spare time he has done freelance work in book illustration and storyboarding. His

work has also appeared magazines such as The Week, Time, and MAD Magazine. In 2004, he graduated from the Canisius College Honors Program summa cum laude, with a major in computer science, a minor in math, and a concentration in studio arts. In 2003, he was honored with a first-place national award from the Associated Collegiate Press and the Universal Press Syndicate. He placed second in the 2004 John Locher Memorial Award, and was a finalist in the 2003 Charles M. Schulz Award. In 2006, he won third place for editorial cartoons in the 2007 National Headliner Awards.

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The New Internationalism:

Culture and Language across the Curriculum By Suronda Gonzalez, PhD, Photo by Jonathan Cohen

ou know those core requirements that all undergraduates have to fulfill— the ones we all complained about? I know I’ve heard it asked, and I too have asked it more than once, “When will I ever have to use ‘X’ in my career? While most of us could easily make some justification about the abstract benefits of improving our mathematical and scientific skills, or our knowledge of the “belles lettres,” it may be a bit more difficult to explain how any particular disciplinary area or skill may be directly relevant to another subject or activity. For more than two Suronda Gonzalez, PhD decades the “reading/writing at many institutions. In making it part of across the curriculum” movement and the requirements for entry (or as a necessity later the “science across the curriculum” for high school graduation), institutions movement have attempted to integrate an only reinforce an attitude that language undergraduate learning experience that is study at the postsecondary level is irrelevant often obscured by disciplinary boundaries. unless a student is majoring or minoring in In other words, these movements strive a foreign language. to underscore the interconnectedness of Language study becomes part of a otherwise seemingly separate and isolated checklist that, once complete, is tossed subject areas. The whole idea of a core aside by students and institutions alike. curriculum is, after all, to produce wellIronically, this happens despite the fact rounded graduates. that entering students (and their parents) Foreign language requirements, unforexpect a quality education to prepare them tunately, are still too often isolated from students’ majors. In fact, several institutions for a global workforce and increasingly interconnected world. They may anticipate have done away with “foreign language” continuing the study of foreign language to as a university-wide requirement, allowing achieve some degree of actual proficiency, schools or majors to determine the necesbut instead they are often neither required sity for the language for their students. In nor encouraged to do so. essence, “foreign language” has been reIn 1991, I departed West Virginia duced to a simple admissions requirement

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to enter a doctoral program in women’s history at Binghamton University. I hadn’t realized it, but while at WVU I had always engaged in cross-disciplinary work that spanned a variety of fields. Upon entering Binghamton, I realized how “disciplined” I was becoming as I focused narrowly on history as my area of specialization. I believed I had left behind my study of language as I pursued topics related to US social welfare history at the turn of the twentieth century. Soon, however, I discovered a newly created and innovative Languages across the Curriculum program that had been embraced by my mentors. I accepted a student position with the program, and I began to learn about ways to integrate what had before seemed like disparate paths— foreign language and the study of US history. Rather than focusing on language learning, I realized I could learn by focusing on language use. Today, I’m the director of the program. We boldly assert our long-term goal of establishing “a campuswide expectation that students will be able to make meaningful use of any language they know in any class at any level anywhere in the university curriculum.” We ask our colleagues and students why they aren’t making more use of their foreign language knowledge. I mean, after all, suffering through those grammar sessions about the subjunctive should be worth something, right? Or, if you’re a heritage learner, meaning that you learned a language other than English in your home or community, we ask why you’re not finding a place for your bilingual skills in your studies. Most often, I’m met with a blank stare, so I move to questions about “meaningful use.” Do you think you could read a headline in “insert

language here?” Could you locate some newspapers from “insert country name here” through the Internet or the library’s database? Do you think it could be beneficial for you to know how various languages (and cultures) conceptualize “fill in the blank here with a key term from your area of study?” The answer is nearly always a resounding “yes.” Students enter college with an attitude that understanding different languages and cultures are important for their careers and for the future of the United States. Too often, academic institutions don’t capitalize on that interest. One of my colleagues from another institution argues that students don’t incorporate languages into their studies because they’re told they can’t. I argue that they’re never told that they can. Once students are encouraged to do so, they’ll often try it out. The most recent statistics from our program show that half of all students who participate would be willing to try to use their language in another class of their own accord. At Binghamton University, we’ve had 20 years of support to develop our Languages across the Curriculum Program. I’ve worked for the program for almost 15 years. The work has done far more than encourage me to expand my language abilities. Working for Languages across the Curriculum has been the fundamental force shaping my teaching and learning philosophies. My work, my students, and my colleagues have taught me that the principles we espouse are not only capable of producing intellectual and personal transformation, but that they also can, over time, transform our institutions. Despite the title of our program, “Languages across the Curriculum” (and the more recently created “Cultures and Languages across the Curriculum” movement), we are as much about encouraging critical thinking as meaningful language use. Students use their basic knowledge of a foreign language to find materials in other languages. Often, these authentic cultural sources (newspaper articles, commercials, and websites) reflect perspectives that expand knowledge of a given issue. Our methods foster engagement and curiosity

about the many layers of meaning embedded within a concept. Faculty members who participate empower students to push the boundaries of even the faculty member’s knowledge. Such programs represent a “flipping of the classroom” in that they empower students to be collaborators in the production of knowledge. Those who take up the challenge are those who are familiar with the unpredictability and fluidity of culture and who are comfortable mucking around in the complexity and ambiguity of a text. By implication, the approach is crossdisciplinary. Cultures and Languages across the Curriculum-centered instructors are often innovators in their classrooms and in their research. They empower learners to become interpreters and to discover their unique voice. In this way, CLAC strategies can be a democratizing force in the classroom. Exploring the globe highlights regional and local differences. Students who participate begin to realize that what they see from a more international or even global perspective enriches their understanding of the local and the regional. Students begin to look at their own environments with new questions. Students carry these new questions/ perspectives into new classrooms, and across their undergraduate experience. Most recent statistics show that more than 50 percent of participating students plan to use their language in another course, of their own accord. If allowed, they can transform the curriculum through their questions. To be sure, it isn’t easy for the instructor. This happened to me as I taught a 180-student course related to immigration and ethnicity in the United States. International students in the course had wildly different questions about the material than did students who had attended US schools. At times, we were able to examine the reasons behind the different questions to explore the historical and cultural forces shaping both groups. Practitioners must be flexible and responsive to such important moments. Upon graduation, these professionals carry new questions/perspectives into their communities.

Students are some of the most ardent supports of these methods/programs. They often recruit new professors by describing how the curriculum intersects with our goals. These programs are most well positioned to foment broader institutional change when there is strong support at both ends of the institution. Students are a vital part of growing the program. Rather than being a specialized program, or an offshoot of the curriculum, CLAC programs are at the foundation of the curriculum. Working in a this environment for the majority of my professional career has pushed me to think about the ways the entire curriculum should be able to articulate its “meaningful use” for students to connect with the power of our general education requirements. As our programs work to bridge disciplinary divides, there’s been a parallel movement to broaden meanings of “international” so that they are not the sole responsibility of the study abroad and international student and scholar offices. Internationalization of an institution must be the responsibility of every division. We are all part of the movement to globalize our campus. Suronda Gonzalez is the director of both the Global Studies Minor Program and the Languages across the Curriculum Program at the State University of New York at Binghamton. The Languages across the Curriculum Program is a world language instruction program that allows students to apply their language skills and intercultural knowledge to a wide range of academic subjects. Gonzalez began her career at SUNY Binghamton in 1999 as the program’s assistant director before taking over the program in 2001. She also was an instructor in the history department in 2005. While attending WVU, Gonzalez double majored in Spanish and international studies with a concentration on Western Europe. She graduated in 1987 and went on to complete a certificate in women’s studies and a master’s degree in liberal studies in 1991. Her oral history project focused on the experiences of Spanish immigrant women in Harrison County, West Virginia. Gonzalez received her PhD in US history in 2005 from SUNY Binghamton.

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Behavioral neuroscience:

Bridging the Gap between Biology and Behavior By Amanda McBean, Photo by Brian Persinger

uring a recent visit to the Student Health office, my doctor asked what I was studying in school. I responded by saying I was a psychology graduate student. She knew there were quite a few programs within the Department of Psychology at WVU, so I told her I was in the newest program—behavioral neuroscience. Her eyes lit up with interest and she asked more about it. I said I was in my second year, and that I was one of two graduate students who comprise the inaugural behavioral neuroscience graduate student class. Then, pleading ignorance, she wanted to verify that behavioral neuroscience meant studying both biology and behavior. When I confirmed her belief, she blurted out, “Well, isn’t that what we should have been studying all along?!” Of course I laughed. But she was right. What good is it if we only study biology and behavior separately and have no understanding of how they interact? Behavioral neuroscience is a field with a specific intention to fill this gap. It examines the biological bases of behavior and provides a well-needed bridge between the field of neuroscience, which studies the biology of the brain, and the field of psychology, which studies the behavior of people. It was this dual mindset that appealed to me. I always enjoyed the “hard core” science, but I love painting a more complete picture by studying how this relates to human behavior. I entered the behavioral neuroscience program in August 2010, after earning my bachelor of science degree from WVU in May. During my undergraduate studies I intended to go to medical school. I wanted to become a psychiatrist and work

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with patients with sleep disorders. In fact, during my senior year, I applied to medical schools in the United States and Canada; this program was the only graduate school program to which I applied. However, the more I found out about this program, the more I realized my interests lie on the research side of sleep disorders, not on the clinical side. By the time I received my acceptance, this program had already become my top choice, and what I once thought would be a difficult decision to make became a no brainer (no pun intended). I am in the unique position of being with the program since its 2010 inception. Many people questioned my choice to join a new, not yet fully established program. However, that was one of the aspects that drew me to it—the fact that I would play a role in the development and early success of a program still in its infancy. Since beginning grad school, I have assumed the role of one of the “senior” students in the program. It’s a role that has not always been easy, especially in my first year when I was just learning the ropes myself. However, it’s a role I’ve embraced and ultimately enjoyed because, despite the service commitments it entails and the “guinea pig” role I sometimes play, it comes with benefits and experiences I could not have otherwise gotten so early in my training. I have had the opportunity, as a graduate student representative of my program, to meet and dine with prestigious neuroscience researchers who are invited guest speakers at WVU. I also have served as the student representative on our training committee for the second year in a row—a spot usually reserved for third- and

fourth-year students. I have participated in training committee meetings where the direction of the program has been established, a behavioral analysis emphasis has been added, and even witnessed the creation of my preliminary exams (a slightly terrifying experience). This year is also the third consecutive year that the committee has conducted a faculty search, which means I’ve been actively involved in two of these search committees. Through this experience I have gone over countless faculty applications and been a part of meetings with current faculty where I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t— valuable information for when I go on the job market. It also means I have witnessed and contributed to the program’s growth. When the program officially began, it consisted of just two faculty and two graduate students. It nearly doubled in size this year, and we expect continued rapid growth that will approach full capacity by the time I graduate. Our most recent faculty addition, Dr. Steven Kinsey, was hired last year and is conducting research on the effects of stress and the endocannabinoid system on behavior and the immune system. Dr. Kinsey joins Drs. Hawley Montgomery-Downs and Miranda Reed to comprise the core behavioral neuroscience faculty. Our program’s coordinator, Dr. Montgomery-Downs, is conducting research on postpartum sleep disturbances. Research in the sleep lab also has examined sleep disordered breathing in a pediatric population. I am one of three graduate students who are part of the sleep lab this year, with my own research looking at disruption of the circadian rhythm (the internal 24-hour biological clock that helps

Amanda McBean studies circadian rhythm disruption among new mothers.

control our sleep-wake cycle) among new mothers. Dr. Reed, who was hired in 2010, is conducting research on the molecular and behavioral basis of memory loss. The lab uses animal models of Alzheimer’s disease and behavioral analysis techniques. One of the major strengths of this new program is its interdisciplinary nature. As the behavioral neuroscience field attempts to bridge gaps in research between disciplines, our program similarly attempts to bridge gaps in research between WVU departments. This is done through collaboration and interaction with students and faculties in departments both within and outside of psychology. All of the faculty members in our program are also members of the Center for Neuroscience, which integrates all neuroscience research across WVU. Forty WVU laboratories are members of the Center, and the members’ research falls into four main categories: sensory neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, and neural injury. The members of the Center are very interactive and participate, along with trainees, in regularly scheduled scientific meetings and social interactions where recent breakthroughs and topics in neuroscience research are discussed.

My brief stint in this program has been rich with opportunities and learning experiences. The program is much more research-oriented than other programs in the Psychology Department, which means my course load is somewhat lighter than other graduate students. This provides me with more time to spend conducting studies, securing external funding to support my research, and publishing manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. The extra time set aside for these activities is invaluable as I build my resume with the intention of pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship and a more heavily research-oriented career in academia upon graduation. Since our program is still new and relatively small, we experience a unique sort of camaraderie and teamwork. Everyone in the program, both faculty and graduate students alike, wants it to succeed and everyone is working toward that same goal by excelling in their individual research areas. We are all playing some role in choosing who is hired and what graduate students are accepted, and it is fun to watch the program grow. I am excited to be a part of this period of growth for the next few years and see the direction we take and the research that comes out of our labs.

Amanda McBean was born and raised in Canada. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the WVU cross country and track and field teams. In 2007, she ran on the cross country team that won the first-ever Big East title in any women’s sport at the University— that year WVU went on to a top 10 finish at the NCAA Tournament. In 2010, McBean earned her bachelor of science in animal and veterinary sciences with a minor in psychology from WVU. She is a second-year doctoral candidate in the behavioral neuroscience program in the Department of Psychology. She works with Hawley Montgomery-Downs, PhD, in her state-of-the-art sleep laboratory conducting research on sleep in the postpartum period. She defended her master’s thesis last spring which examined circadian rhythm disruption among new mothers and how it related to their mood, anxiety, and stress levels. She plans to continue this line of research; looking at possible ways to improve the sleep and mental health of new mothers by reducing their circadian rhythm disruption. She continues to be an avid runner, living and training with many of her former teammates.

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A Meeting of the Minds By Jerry Carr Jr., Photo by Brian Persinger

n 2010, I had the experience

or the benefits and excitement of

of a lifetime. I was one of 75

scientific and mathematic study. I

controlling this phenomenon, which has

graduate delegates chosen from US institutions to attend the 60 th annual

made the decision to go back to school

been observed in space, with the aim of

when I realized that in spite of all the

duplicating it. My research, alongside

Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates.

good I could do as a teacher and

my mentor and advisor Dr. Earl Scime,

During this gathering in Germany,

an organizer, I still felt as though I

has implications in space propulsion and

59 Nobel Laureates from the fields

lacked the full background needed to

in materials processing. Some practical

of chemistry, physiology, medicine,

best serve young people.

applications of this research include

and physics gave presentations on

After graduating from Georgia Tech,

sterilizing medical instruments using

current and future topics in their

I was accepted as a doctoral student in

heat and UV radiation of a plasma and

respective disciplines. To be one of the

the WVU Physics Department, where

creating computer chips with plasma

675 young researchers from 68 countries

I specialize in plasma physics. I am

etching. I look forward to our continued

interacting up close and personally with

working toward my goals to advance

work in our newly renovated, cutting-

these scientists, and exchanging ideas in

scientific discovery and to dispel

edge facility, White Hall.

meetings and over dinner, was incredible.

ignorance that may have impeded

As for the Nobel Laureates

But how did I get there?

progress. Using my PhD training, I want

conference, connecting and networking

Since the age of 14, I have engaged

to expose our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bright minds to

with other researchers proved invaluable

in community involvement and

experiences that will ignite passion and

to me. While I was thrilled for the

development through mathematics

lead to identification and development

opportunity, I was concerned about a

and the sciences. I am impassioned

of future scientists, particularly targeting

number of self-perceived challenges.

to increase scientific literacy in

at-risk populations.

The meeting lasted for only six days;

underrepresented populations. Before becoming a physicist, I

I explore the science behind

At the University, I work with helicon

would there be enough time? Would

plasmas, exploring double layers and ion

I be able to relate effectively to these

worked in youth development for

heating using laser induced florescence

giants in their fields? Would there be

11 years, and I gained insight on

diagnostics. A double layer is a special

generational or even cultural gaps that

deficiencies within the education

region of plasma where particles undergo

might inhibit communication?

system. I am especially concerned

acceleration from a potential field.

with the disconnect between the

These parallel sheets of opposing charge

allayed as I found that among the

scientific community and students

accelerate ions and electrons in opposite

objectives of the Lindau Meeting

in the populations where hands-on

directions. Using the diagnostic as our

is to bring science to a rebuilding

influence is desperately needed. In my

â&#x20AC;&#x153;radar gun,â&#x20AC;? we can observe ion beams

community (in this case post-World

experience, no one was available to talk

in our laboratory reaching speeds in the

War II Germany). By bringing

to youngsters about STEM professions

order of 20,000 mph.

scientists to engage students, the

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

Thankfully, my fears were quickly

Jerry Carr Jr., represents the next generation of leaders in the field of physics.

conference organizers are able to give

(but lovely) quarters, we all took the

leave your comfort zone and meet on

locals a chance to participate and

opportunity to mingle with the hundreds

common ground with researchers from

benefit. The impact on the region itself

of delegates. We represent the next

other disciplines is critical to solving

has been transformative. I want to be a

generation of scientific leadership.

a number of the challenges facing

part of bringing a similar initiative to

I have worked with the Spallation

humanity. I count myself lucky to have

some of the communities where I have

Neutron Source, a unique accelerator-

seen firsthand the benefits of sharing

served in West Virginia; Dorchester,

based neutron source in Oak Ridge,

different scientific perspectives on a

Massachusetts; and my hometown of

Tennessee, that provides the most

national and global scale.

Detroit, Michigan.

intense pulsed neutron beams in

In Lindau, I shared close quarters

the world for scientific research and

with three roommates and, having only

industrial development. I have also

three keys for four guys, I got to know

worked with WVNano, the West

my roommates quickly and developed

Virginia initiative for nanoscience and

a good rapport. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to be less than

nanotechnology research.

cordial when someone has control over

My experiences with both

whether you can get into your room at

organizations emphasize the importance

the end of the night.

of what was reflected during my time

Rather than remain within cramped

in Lindauâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that taking the time to

Jerry Carr Jr., is a plasma physics doctoral student at WVU. He graduated with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree and highest honors in physics from Georgia Tech in 2007, and studied electrical engineering, computer science and brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and plans to complete his PhD in December 2012. He would like to acknowledge the support he received from the WV Space Grant and the Southern Regional Education Board.

eberly.wvu.edu

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THE

YEAR PLAN By Rebecca Herod

LOCALLY FOCUSED, NATIONALLY PROMINENT, GLOBALLY ENGAGED

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The Eberly College, in keeping needed to invent their own career path. important real-world experiences. with WVU’s continuing rise in national We will partner with the WVU Office Scholarship will lead our charge recognition, is bursting at the seams of Career Services to engage students in toward ever-higher quality and relevance these days. It is hard to make it through the career planning process early. And to tomorrow’s world. Key indicators a week without hearing about another we will redouble our efforts to provide of progress include the numbers internationally significant of PhD students publication, grant, award, completing degrees, PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYERS WHO WANT or accolade. All this activity research grants and COLLEGES TO “PLACE MORE EMPHASIS” is fuel for our aspirational contracts, publications, ON ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES goals for 2020. Those goals and national recognition Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World include five key areas in of our faculty and student • Science and technology.....................................................70% which we will focus our scholarship. We also want • Global issues.................................................................... 67% resources and energies to to continue, and indeed • The role of the United States in the world............................ 57% create the strongest and grow, our success in placing • Cultural diversity in the United States and other countries..... 57% best Eberly College yet—a master’s and PhD graduates • Civic knowledge, participation, and engagement.................. 52% College, not just ready in a variety of positions to meet the needs of the across the spectrum of the Intellectual and Practical Skills future, but also leading and public and private sectors. • Written and oral communication.........................................89% • Critical thinking and analytic reasoning...............................81% innovating as it delivers on To meet these • Complex problem solving...................................................75% the landgrant mission in the challenges, the College • Teamwork skills in diverse groups.......................................71% twenty-first century. is investing in research • Creativity and innovation....................................................70% According to “Raising facilities, enriching • Information literacy........................................................... 68% the Bar: Employers’ Views graduate student learning, • Quantitative reasoning....................................................... 63% on College Learning in and increasing graduate the Wake of the Economic student enrollment. Each Personal and Social Responsibility Downturn,” a survey of year, we will invest several • Ethical decision making......................................................75% employers conducted for million dollars to buy • Intercultural competence (teamwork in diverse groups)......... 71% • Intercultural knowledge (global issues)................................ 67% the American Association new equipment, renovate • Civic knowledge, participation, and engagement.................. 52% of Colleges and Universities research labs, and secure From “Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn” and published in 2010, US cutting-edge technologies— employers want universities including a supercomputer, Ensuring our students meet these essential learning outcomes will to place more emphasis on clean rooms to develop make us a go-to place for employers seeking qualified candidates. essential learning outcomes. nanotechnology, and The assets that they are looking for align teachers the training and technologies imaging technologies that can show us fully with Eberly’s liberal arts philosophy, needed to create a first-class learning the structure of individual molecules. We a philosophy that gives undergraduates environment. A key aspirational goal for plan to increase the number of fellowships the tools to compete in the job markets of undergraduate education is to ensure and assistantships, increase stipends to today and tomorrow. We will track student that every student has a hands-on, outlevels comparable to the departments progress between the beginning and end of-the-classroom learning experience of peer institutions, and add innovative of degree programs to demonstrate that such as an internship, fieldwork, study training programs that our graduates will our student body makes measurable gains abroad, service learning, or research. need in today’s fast-paced multitasking in their understanding of the values of a This will require the marshaling of world. Our efforts will ensure that we not liberal arts education, critical thinking, and resources to support research, travel, only increase the graduate pool, but also communication skills. and other costs of ensuring access to compete for the best and most promising As the College develops new curricula and programs, we will add course modules Read more about Eberly College for Arts and Sciences’ and out-of-the-classroom experiences that 2020 Strategic Plan for the Future and the process and help students maximize the value of their people behind it at eberly.strategicplan.wvu.edu undergraduate degree and build skills eberly.wvu.edu

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KATHERINE BOMKAMP

ARWEN STEWART

a political science major, was named one of Glamour magazine’s “21 Amazing Young Women” for developing a prosthetic device that aims to alleviate phantom pain in the world’s millions of amputees. The distinction is given to young women across the country who are changing the world through service and innovation.

is an international studies major and participant in the Critical Language Scholarship Program offered by the US Department of State.

NAMRATHA GUDEMARANAHALLI a biology and psychology major, is intrigued by the complex and integrated workings of the human brain. She is one of nine students chosen nationwide for the National Health Institutes Undergraduate Scholarship Program.

ELI RODGERS-MELNICK

graduate candidates. By 2020, we plan to increase the number of master’s and doctoral degrees by more than 20 percent. The Eberly College has many programs aimed at building a better life for the citizens of West Virginia and our region. In 2010, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recognized the scope and success of WVU’s impact by selecting the University for the 2010 Community Engagement Classification. This honor put WVU in the six percent of all US higher education institutions—and the only institution in West Virginia—that Carnegie recognizes for high-quality, high-impact engagement. Our faculty and students are truly transforming peoples’ lives, as can be seen in the stories in this, and past editions of Eberly. Just a few examples of some of our unique community partnerships include the Community Design Team, the Behavior Analysis Teacher Training Program, and the Institute for Math Learning. We will strive to increase the number of these partnerships, with a

specific focus on healthy communities and healthy choices in the next ten years. And though we have a strong local and regional focus in our outreach programs, we aim to expand our successes to reach a national and international audience. Indeed, most everything we do in outreach, research, and teaching is aimed at building global perspectives and connections. Our goals cannot be reached if we do not continue to attract and retain the best and brightest students, faculty, and staff, and provide them with the facilities they need to succeed. Therefore, part of our investments will be used to build a welcoming, diverse, and collaborative environment in which people can develop successful and personally rewarding careers. By 2020, we hope to add two new academic buildings, and complete major renovations to three existing buildings, White, Chemistry Research, and Hodges halls. We also plan to add staffing adequate to meet the demands for student advising, instruction, research, outreach, and administration using

a doctoral candidate in biology, was invited to the Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. This is an honor annually reserved for fewer than 100 graduate students worldwide. He is the second WVU student in two years to attend the event.

comparisons with peer institutions and surveys of staff perceptions of the work environment. Those surveys are one tool that will help us be the best place to work: providing resources, mentoring, and continuing education opportunities for our employees. The Eberly College is already a vibrant community of scholars, students, and staff but we can do more to foster and grow a diverse culture. In the coming decade, we will continue to refine the things we do best. Through the development of excellent and diverse faculty, students, and programs, the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will fulfill its mission to: • Lead West Virginia University’s emergence as one of the nation’s premier institutions of higher education; • Strengthen existing successes in learning and discovery, and build academic programs for tomorrow; and • Enhance the well-being of the citizens of West Virginia, as well as our region, nation, and world.

WVU RANKS 5 TH ON AARP’S “BEST EMPLOYERS FOR WORKERS OVER 50” LIST, A MEASURABLE INDICATOR OF OUR EFFORTS TO MAKE WVU AND THE EBERLY COLLEGE THE BEST PLACE TO WORK.

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

Faculty members in the Eberly College submitted 212 research proposals, received $15.9 million in external funding, produced 550 peer-reviewed publications, and had seven new patent applications in 2010.

Retention of students from freshman to sophomore year—83 percent in 2010—was well above the national average of 76 percent reported by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems for the latest year of complete data (2009).

Three English faculty members received significant recognition; Pat Connor had three paper sessions at the International Medieval Congress dedicated to him, Mary Ann Samyn received WVU’s Caperton Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing, and Mark Brazaitis received the University of Notre Dame’s Richard Sullivan Prize for his collection of short stories.

The University was named as one of the top 20 research institutions at which to work in 2011, according to The Scientist.

The college is increasing the size of its faculty. Fourteen new positions were added in fall 2010, and 11 more in fall 2011; nine percent of Eberly’s faculty positions are endowed.

The College boasts national rankings in psychology, forensic and investigative science, public administration, creative writing, and communication studies.

The WVU Debate Team, advised by faculty in the Department of Political Science, finished 10th in the annual national competition.

REASONS TO BE PROUD OF THE EBERLY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The Eberly College implemented a new doctoral specialization in behavioral neuroscience, a minor in Japanese studies, and a graduate program in forensic and investigative science. Additionally, gerontology and nonprofit management certificate programs are now offered entirely online.

A multidisciplinary team of faculty from the Eberly College successfully submitted and received a National Science Foundation ADVANCE Grant in the amount of $3.2 million to promote participation and leadership by women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

11.

The first group of international dual-degree master’s candidates in the Central and Eastern European Studies Atlantis Grant Program graduated from the program. Currently, 21 students from the three participating universities are enrolled.

12. 15.

10.

Justin Legleiter, assistant professor in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and an Alzheimer’s Association New Investigator Research Grant, one of approximately 45 internationally awarded. Read more about his work on page 38.

The $2.5 million planetarium complex in the newly renovated White Hall will open this Summer.

Chatman Neely, senior lecturer and off-campus MSW coordinator for the WVU Division of Social Work’s Wheeling campus, was named 2011 West Virginia Social Worker of the Year.

13.

The Department of Philosophy’s Ethics Bowl team qualified for the 17th National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition. The team qualified for the national competition by placing among the top three teams in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl Competition.

14.

Associate Professor Jim Nolan received the 2010 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) West Virginia Professor of the Year Award. eberly.wvu.edu

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Dr lling into the

Issue

In October, West Virginia University announced its Marcellus Shale Initiative that would bring together industry experts to study development of the Marcellus shale natural gas field. Through the project, experts are examining how the Marcellus reserve can be developed with minimal environmental impact. Eberly asked Sam Ameri, PhD, chair of the WVU Department of Natural Gas and Engineering, and Shikha Sharma, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geography, to share their Marcellus-related research and offer some insight from engineering and geochemist perspectives. Here’s what they had to say.

Marcellus Shale Offers Economic Development, Clean Energy By Sam Ameri

West Virginia has a rich history of oil and natural gas production. In 1771, George Washington acquired 250 acres in what is now West Virginia because “it contained an oil and gas spring.” (From Where It All Began: The Story of the People and Places Where the Oil and Gas Industry Began: West Virginia and Southeastern Ohio By David McKain and Bernard L. Allen (1994).)

In 1916, the West Virginia University School of Mines offered its first course in petroleum engineering. Fast-forward to 2012. The industry is thriving, and West Virginia University 16

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remains the only academic institution in the state offering degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering. The Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (PNGE)—with which I have been affiliated for more than 30 years—furnishes industry with petroleum and natural gas engineers, develops new extraction technologies, and provides industry with expert technical services. We are entering a golden age of natural-gas use, which is fantastic news for our state and its people. With innovative breakthroughs in fracturing and drilling technology, massive homegrown natural gas reserves can be brought to the surface. The production of more than 100 years’ worth of inexpensive natural gas is clearly in sight. Shale gas is the gold rush of this century. West Virginians are sitting right on top of the Marcellus shale. This gas field spans 95,000 square miles, and has as many productive layers of gas-bearing formations as Saudi Arabia has oil fields. I

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

believe that the Marcellus could potentially be the second-largest natural gas field in the world. It offers excellent career opportunities to our graduates; prosperity for our state; and abundant, affordable, clean energy for our nation’s future. To understand the Marcellus shale, it is important to have a basic understanding of its geology and the technologies that have facilitated its development. The Marcellus shale gas field consists of shale formations/layers that are from 40 to 100 feet thick and located about a mile (depending on the location) beneath the surface. The field extends throughout most of the Appalachian Basin, spreading across southern New York, Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and West Virginia. The formation tapers off in the bordering states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Sweet spots and largest concentrations of drilling production are in the northeastern portion of the field. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic

fracturing have been the prime technological drivers for the growing importance of shale gas, but these technologies pose unique challenges for determining optimum development strategies. Research is the key to unlocking vast quantities of natural gas that were once considered too difficult to produce. Consequently, every faculty member in our department is actively engaged in research relating to the Marcellus and other shale formations. We recently established a Marcellus Shale Laboratory, with state-ofthe-art equipment and technology, and are excited about the opportunity this facility will provide to enhance our research and development efforts. PNGE’s shale-related research involves both laboratory investigations and computer modeling to develop a better understanding of shale and the impact of horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fractures on gas recovery efficiency. Researchers also are investigating the use of artificial intelligence, data mining, and smart software for modeling shale and other unconventional hydrocarbonbearing formations. We also are researching optimum techniques for extracting the liquid-rich gas that is widely found in the northwestern part of the Marcellus shale.

the world. I am proud of our strong job placement rate and know that my colleagues are equally pleased about the many opportunities that have opened for our graduates in recent years. In addition to jobs for engineering graduates, shale gas development offers great opportunities for other high-paying jobs. Opportunities exist in such areas as construction; equipment manufacturing, service, and repair; water management; well servicing; legal, accounting, and other professional services; and others. There is no doubt that the Marcellus shale offers great promise for our long-term economic prosperity in West Virginia. Industry experts believe that we have not come close to realizing the economic potential of this resource, and won’t for many years. As technology continues to improve, efficiency will as well. I believe that in 20 years, natural gas will be the second-largest fuel used to power the cars that we drive, and that there will be natural gas vehicles and filling stations everywhere. In addition, several companies are currently considering West Virginia as the location for a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker. These plants convert ethane, a byproduct of Marcellus shale gas drilling, into a vital ingredient for the plastics industry. The project would create up to 10,000 “Natural gas is an abundant, inexpensive construction energy resource that will help us fuel our economy for decades to come.” jobs, hundreds of permanent positions, As an academic department, our primary and a major boost to the state’s economy. goal is to educate petroleum and natural The icing on the cake is the Utica shale gas engineers. Due to the rapid increase gas field, another huge shale formation that in shale gas production—not only in the is actually located beneath the Marcellus. Marcellus but also all over the world—our Many in industry believe it may offer student enrollment has increased greatly. even greater potential for long-term Technological changes have also led us to development than the Marcellus. place special emphasis on the Marcellus shale Natural gas is an abundant, inexpensive in our graduate research program. energy resource that will help us fuel our As a teacher, I gain a great deal of economy for decades to come, and it is exciting pleasure from working with our students, to witness its growth in shale gas-rich West who are some of the best and brightest Virginia. I personally believe it is a very good from West Virginia, the nation, and thing for our state and its people. The need

for bright petroleum and natural gas engineers and geologists to meet the energy demands of West Virginia and the nation is on a steep rise. It is exciting to be involved at this time of rapid technological change, and I look forward to a bright energy future for our state and nation.

About Sam Ameri, PhD Samuel Ameri, professor & chair of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering Department at West Virginia University, has more than 30 years of distinguished service in both industry and academia. Ameri has in-depth experience in fossil energy areas, particularly natural gas and oil extraction. As a researcher, he has developed a high-quality research program in the area of oil and gas recovery and compiled an outstanding record of publications across a wide spectrum of oil and gas issues. Ameri has been active in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). His participation includes being the co-general chair of SPE Eastern Regional Conference and Exhibition 2000, serving on the SPE Education & Accreditation Committee, SPE Continuing Education Committee, and the Eastern Regional SPE Technical Conference Program Committees. Other roles he has held include the chair of Department Heads of Petroleum Engineering Schools in U.S.A. He has served on the SPE Cedric K. Ferguson Medal Committee, and the Northern West Virginia Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering from WVU.

eberly.wvu.edu

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Let’s Make Sure We Understand the Impact on Water Quality

generated in a shallow subsurface. However, all methane is not isotopically the same. By Shikha Sharma Depending on how and where methane is In August 2011, the Secretary of Energy formed, it can have very different carbon Advisory Board’s Shale Gas Production and hydrogen isotope signatures. This gives Subcommittee released its 90-day interim us the ability to know if it comes from report outlining measures that can be taken hydrofracking releases or some other source. to reduce the environmental impact and The preliminary results from our improve the safety of shale gas production. ongoing studies show the promise of As a stable isotope geochemist, my our approach to understanding sources research program focuses on both those of contaminants in groundwaters and aspects of Marcellus shale gas development surface waters including dissolved in Appalachia. methane. One of the key factors I believe with proper drilling and controlling the gas production potential monitoring practices in place, shale gas can of shale deposits is determining what be produced with minimal environmental type of kerogen we’re dealing with. impact and prove to be a tremendous Kerogen is the naturally occurring, resource for our economy. solid, organic matter that occurs in source I have three graduate students using rocks and can yield oil upon heating. stable isotopes (such as carbon, hydrogen, There are three types of kerogens; type I, and oxygen) to understand the sources and consisting of mainly algal and amorphous fates of different contaminants related to kerogen and highly likely to generate shale gas drilling. Our group is interested oil; type II, mixed terrestrial and marine in developing geochemical tools for source material that can generate waxy characterizing surface waters, coal mine oil; and type III, woody terrestrial source waters, groundwater aquifers, and flowback material that typically generates gas. We waters in areas of shale gas drilling in West can determine the type through common Virginia and Pennsylvania. laboratory and petrological tests. As the debate over hydrofracking in However, there are a number of factors regions of Marcellus shale drilling grows, a that need to be considered when examining number of residents near drilling fields are the matter, particularly the environment. concerned that the process will taint their As a scientist, it is my job to stay focused on drinking water with methane. the scientific perspective of this study while Some of these concerns, although staying neutral on the political and social legitimate, are not necessary because issues associated with it. environmentally conscious drilling can It is important to understand the role alleviate these issues. My research, which of these processes because they control how covers the origins of methane gas in the much gas can be generated from a formation Monongahela River watershed and other and its quality. I am interested in using different geochemical “…there are a number of factors that approaches to need to be considered when examining the matter, particularly the environment.” understand the primary biological areas of the region, has shown that dissolved and geochemical processes that control methane gas already exists in groundwater the variation in type, distribution, and where there is no shale gas drilling. concentration of total organic carbon The sources of methane gas can preserved in Marcellus shale. include active or inactive deep coal mines, It is also important to understand landfills, gas storage fields or microbial gas exactly how much methane exists in the 18

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groundwater now and what sources it comes from, so that unbiased decisions can be made regarding the potential and real impacts of hydrofracking on our water sources in the future.

About Shikha Sharma, PhD Shikha Sharma joined WVU’s Department of Geology and Geography as an assistant professor in 2010. She previously worked for the University of Wyoming as an associate director. Sharma completed her studies at Lucknow University in Lucknow, India. After graduating, she went to the University of Erlangen in Germany for an Academic Exchange Fellowship from 2000 to 2002. From there, she came to the United States and joined Iowa State University as a post-doctoral associate. Sharma’s current research bridges the fields of low-temperature stable isotope geochemistry, environment, energy, water resources, and ecology. She is interested in understanding the environmental impact of climatic, biological, and geochemical processes on biogeochemical cycles of major elements using stable isotopes. Her efforts revolve around a variety of issues related to the “carbon-water-energy” nexus. Sharma is part of WVU’s ADVANCE and WiSE initiative to encourage and mentor women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 2011, she was one of eight women to receive a $15,000 grant through the University’s $3.2 million National Science Foundation ADVANCE Grant.

WVU President Jim Clements, 2011 State of the University Address “The opportunities and challenges of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, and in the future the Utica Shale, presents one of the most significant issues West Virginia will address in our lifetimes. As a land-grant university, it is our fundamental responsibility to be part of this process through the education, research, and service expertise that we have to offer. We have many disciplines where our expertise provides objective analysis and science. We must use this expertise to help our society.

The governor and other state leaders have declared that the responsible development of shale gas in West Virginia is critical to the economic development and well-being of our state. And so we are establishing a Marcellus Gas Shale Initiative to serve as a clearinghouse for the wide range of expertise and intellectual power that our faculty, staff, and students have to offer from many different disciplines.”

Meet Tim Carr, Eberly’s Resident Expert Tim Carr, the Marshall Miller Professor of Geology at West Virginia University, is the president-elect of the Council of Energy Research and Education Leaders, and is the interim director of a Marcellus shale roundtable at WVU. Prior to coming to WVU, Carr worked for the Kansas Geological Survey as chief of the Energy Research Section and as senior scientist for the Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas. He was also codirector of the Energy Research Center and courtesy professor in the University of Kansas

Department of Geology. His experience includes 13 years with Atlantic Richfield, where he worked in a number of research, operations, and management positions. At ARCO, Carr was involved in both exploration and development projects in locations including Alaska, the North Sea, East Greenland, California, and Kansas. Carr has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin, a master’s in geology from Texas Tech University and a doctorate in geology from the University of Wisconsin.

REFRESH YOUR MEMORY Read about Tim Carr’s research on geologic sequestration in the summer 2011 edition of Eberly (pg. 10). The online archive edition is at eberly.wvu.edu/alumni/publications

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Carly Costello, MSW graduate assistant; Erica Chico-Martin, administrative secretary; Jacki Englehardt, coordinator; Danielle Graunke, Children’s Home Society mentoring and volunteer coordinator and MSW candidate; Kurt Schmidt, Children’s Home Society site manager. CHS uses Englehardt’s listserv to post positions and find qualified MSW graduates for employment.

fast and flexible: The Social Worker’s Social Network By Rebecca Herod, Photo by Chris Schwer Social workers must complete an average of 25 credits of continuing education annually in order to maintain their license to practice—a tough thing to do if you are a rural practitioner in West Virginia. Enter Jacki Englehardt. 20

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Englehardt is responsible for the Division of Social Work’s Professional and Community Education Program. The Program offers or sponsors 60 to 70 continuing education courses each year, along with an annual Summer Institute on Aging Conference. Courses are offered all over the state and are concentrated in the fall or spring semesters. “Our program allows us to respond to emerging topics that our current courses may not cover,” Englehardt said. “It is much easier to create a continuing education opportunity than it is to have

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

a new academic course created and vetted through the academic approval process. Continuing education allows us to be flexible and to respond immediately to the needs of state practitioners.” Based on a survey she conducted, emerging topics of interest for practitioners include workshops on self-care to prevent professional burnout, veterans’ issues, hoarding, specific clinical techniques, mental illness, and instruction on Medicare and Medicaid open enrollment. West Virginia social workers also reported increasing interest in immigration law. Englehardt is

partnering with Jim Friedberg of the West Virginia University College of Law to offer Immigration Law 101 for Social Workers. A social worker is often the first person people talk to about their immigration issues. Friedberg will draw on his experience from his work with the WVU Immigration Law Clinic to discuss how the federal immigration system is structured and the kinds of problems social work clients are likely to face regarding residency status, deportation, benefits, agency communication, domestic violence, and other pertinent areas. Following a workshop like this, social workers are able to identify broad areas of federal law that affect immigrants and their families; define categories of immigrant statuses; identify immigrant eligibility for government services; identify federal protections that are available to immigrant victims of domestic violence; define terminology common to immigrant law issues; and identify resources to assist immigrants in their communities. While all faculty members from the Division of Social Work share their expertise through Englehardt’s program, a number of the workshops’ instructors come from the professional community and departments across the University. For instance, Religious Studies professor Jane Donovan teaches an “Introduction to World Religions for Helping Professionals;” professor James Nolan from the Division of Sociology and Anthropology educates social service practitioners on how to recognize, report, and respond to hate crimes; Jane Riffe from WVU Extension regularly presents on ethical practice and counseling techniques; and Diane Williams, from WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities, presents social workers with information on the recognition, diagnoses, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

Englehardt is taking advantage of technology to keep state social service organizations and practitioners apprised of available course offerings and job opportunities. Approximately 2,135 social workers, counselors, and nurses from West

has used the board orientation materials provided by the program extensively and reports that the grant writing workshop was “worth its weight in gold.” “Since taking that class I have written four grants and received all four,” she said. That financial support has allowed Feola to expand activities for the program, which serves the 19 percent of adults—or one in five—reading below a fourth-grade level in Upshur County. Last year she was able to support 27 student activities. “The more connected participants stay, the better result they have,” Feola said. “When you can’t read, even the simplest tasks become impossible; shopping for groceries, getting a prescription, helping your children with their homework. Having these grant resources has been invaluable to our mission.” Training leaders to act as administrators within the social work field is another goal of the Professional and Community Education Program. “During school, most social work students take a direct practice curriculum. They are not trained to be managers and administrators, they are trained to be in the field doing social work with individuals, couples and families,” Englehardt said. “Continuing education allows them to gain critical management skills necessary to lead and supervise programs.” In the world of Facebook and Twitter, a listserv may seem like a low-tech option, but Englehardt’s work to connect West Virginia social workers with education opportunities and jobs is paying dividends to students, alumni, practitioners, the vulnerable populations that they serve, and social service agencies around the state.

“It is much easier to create a continuing education opportunity than it is to have a new academic course created and vetted through the academic approval process…” Virginia and other states are members of her e-mail listserv network. “When Jacki joined the faculty and took on this program it was losing money,” said Chris Plein, associate dean of the School of Applied Social Sciences and interim chair of the Division of Social Work. “It is now solvent and we attribute that to her excellent management, particularly her ability to connect folks all over the state and give them exactly what they need in terms of continuing education opportunities.” In addition to individual courses, the Professional and Community Education Program offers a nonprofit management certificate and is developing a gerontology certificate. Both require 100 hours of course work. Linda Feola, director of the Literacy Volunteers of Upshur County, was one of the first participants to complete the nonprofit management certificate program. “When working, it is hard to have large blocks of time available away from your work site. These classes were user friendly,” Feola said. “The programs were within easy driving distance or were grouped together at institutes. The lengths of the classes were effective and concise.” Feola is the only paid staff member of Literacy Volunteers of Upshur County and says the certificate program was vital to her improved leadership skills. She

For more information, visit

socialwork.wvu.edu/ce.

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Working

By Devon Copeland, Photos courtesy of Beth Dunton/Virginia Beach Police Department

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

Ask Dade Chisler what he does for a living and his answer sounds remarkably like a catchy tagline— “CSI, without the leather pants and stilettos.” Those three letters have become synonymous in pop culture with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a whodunit procedural where the crimes are gruesome, the clothes are fashionably sleek, and the technology at times borders on futuristic. In reality, careers in crime scene investigation are a lot less glamorous and a lot more time consuming. But those aren’t the only differences between the CBS television hit that has produced two spin-offs and the decades-old career field that CNN Money recently dubbed one of the top ten DeAnna Wallace, Kayti Wildman, and Dade Chisler. fastest growing in the country. While millions of viewers tune in every week to watch one already encountered “the CSI effect” and its influence on career of three iterations of CSI, the hundreds of police officers who placements, court cases, college curriculum, laboratory loads, and make up the Virginia Beach Police Department know to count victims’ expectations. on the agency’s crime scene unit to do its best to help them They even admit it played a role—a small one—in guiding catch their guy. them toward a career in forensic and investigative science. But And with three West Virginia their reasons for pursuing their line University alumni in the Tidewaterof work also reflect the strengths and area unit as evidence, the Forensic demands of the career: strong math Student Achievement: and Investigative Science Program and science skills, a desire to help During the summer of 2011, 32 is gaining traction as a nationally people, and a keen attention to detail. Forensic and Investigative Science renowned program for its rigorous “My interest was kind of piqued students completed their internships at federal, state, and local forensic and high-quality curriculum that by CSI,” said Chisler, a Blacksville, laboratories and crime scene units. All excels in preparing its graduates for an West Virginia native who initially undergraduate students are required to increasingly competitive job market. considered a career in mechanical have completed 420 internship hours in order to graduate. The placements The trio, Dade Chisler, BS ’08; engineering. He joined the Virginia of students by state are as follows: DeAnna Wallace, BS ’08 and MS Beach crime scene unit in 2009. ’10; and Kayti Wildman, BS ’11, “It was the hit show that people New York: 1 West Virginia: 7 serve as ambassadors of the Program were watching and I thought it would Wisconsin: 1 Maryland: 6 and exemplary examples of “what be the better opportunity for me to Delaware: 1 Pennsylvania: 6 works” by beating out dozens of help and interact with the public.” North Carolina: 1 Virginia: 4 candidates in three separate national The facilities, curriculum, and Georgia: 1 Florida: 2 hiring searches for their posts in faculty proved to be the perfect Kentucky: 1 Texas: 1 Virginia Beach. trifecta of an education for the And that suits them all just fine. PROMISE Scholar. “Even my boss has joked that we’re “We had so much access to taking over,” said Wallace, when equipment and we had tons of talking about the three WVU grads all clocking in at the Virginia opportunities to get hands-on experience at WVU,” he said. Beach police department. “They had high goals for all of us. They pushed us because Still in the early phases of their careers the three have they knew what we were capable of.” eberly.wvu.edu

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Top 10 TV Crime Lab Myths 1. Crime labs can gather, prepare, test, and have results from DNA and other forensic tests within a few hours. 2. A suspect will sit in an interrogation room wearing the same clothes he wore during the crime—and conclusive test results arrive just as you sit down to question him. 3. Crime scene investigators follow cases from start to finish and conclude investigations within a few days. 4. Crime scene investigators are directly involved with the investigation, raids, and arrests. 5. Crime scene investigators can get DNA evidence from any surface.

Since the program’s inception in 1999, its rigor has attracted and retained students like Chisler, Wallace, and Wildman who truly excel in math and science. Within each of the program’s areas of emphasis is a required minimum of 53 hours of math and science credits composed of 16 hours in chemistry, 12 hours in biology, eight hours in physics, eight hours in calculus, three hours in pharmacy, three hours in statistics, and three hours in biochemistry. When students aren’t hitting the books, they’re using professional-level laboratory equipment, thanks to gifts from companies including Cogent System, Nikon, and Afix Tracker; or working through a mock case in the Crime Scene Training Complex. “They really have their stuff together,” said Wallace, of Moundsville, West Virginia. “WVU has so much equipment and it just keeps growing over the years.” In 2010, the US Secret Service donated an infrared spectrometer and microscope to help students analyze evidence found at crime scene investigations, like fibers, paint chips, and polymers and substances used in counterfeit activity, like ink. When the Virginia Beach Police Department’s crime scene unit supervisor and the department’s human resources coordinator came to WVU in November 2010, Chisler said he didn’t bother to mask his Mountaineer pride as he accompanied the visitors along their tour of the program’s facilities. “They were astounded,” he said. “We got an awesome education here and the word is getting out among the forensic science community. It couldn’t come at a better time.” David Durham, director of the Career Services Center at WVU, said his staff has seen an uptick in interest in forensic science careers. He said more recruiters have expressed interest in participating in University career fairs, with agencies from police 24

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

6. DNA analyses provide two results: Yes, he did it, or no, he didn’t do it. 7. Crime scene investigators cannot only pull up DNA, but they can tell whether it came from tears, saliva, and sweat or cremated remains. 8. Everyone is in a DNA database. 9. When a DNA match is indicated, crime lab computers flash big red letters declaring a “99 percent match,” and a driver’s license photo for good measure. 10. Crime scene investigators conduct DNA testing while munching snacks or joking with colleagues. Source: Tim Kupferschmid, Sorenson Forensics

departments in Arizona and other states acknowledging that the Forensic Program is on their radars. “We send out some general feelers,” he said. “But they tend to find us. They do their homework.” “If you would have asked me four years ago, whether we’d see these kind of numbers, I would have said no way.” Wallace, a first-generation college student who’s been with the Virginia Beach crime scene unit for a little more than a year, said the program’s more than 400-hour internship requirement was key to preparing her for a future in forensics. She interned for a police department in Greensboro, North Carolina where she called her adjustment to real-life crime scene work “seamless.” “I feel like I really lucked out,” she said. “In Greensboro they practically let me work a scene as if I worked there, as if I were one of the staff.” Wildman, a fingerprint examiner with the unit, and the

Cracking Down on Crime, One Camp at a Time After a successful debut last summer, the Forensic and Investigative Science Program will again offer two, one-weeklong day camps for middle and high school students. The camps run June 11-15 for students in 7th through 9th grades and June 18-22 for students in 10th through 12th grades. The camp fee is $280, which includes lunch daily and a T-shirt. If more than one student from a family wishes to attend, it is $280 for the first student and $260 for each additional sibling.

newest Mountaineer in Virginia Beach with less The deadline to register is June 1. than a year under her belt, agreed. Visit forensics.wvu.edu/summer-camp-2012 for more “My internship really opened my eyes,” information, or contact Tina Moroose at (304) 293-5346. the Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native said. You don’t have a clue until you work your internship.” Wildman say as real-life investigators, they measure their “reward” The internships helped erase any preconceived notions they in terms of a bigger picture. had about the risks and rewards of working in forensic science. For “Every case is different. When you get a fingerprint or DNA instance, while CSI investigators on television are involved in every hit it’s rewarding,” Wallace said. “I feel very challenged and aspect of a case, Chisler, Wallace, and Wildman play much more rewarded at the same time.” compartmentalized roles. Chisler said there is one thing that the television shows do capture: They also said that on CSI, investigators find the DNA match the satisfaction of giving victims and their families some peace. each time, while in reality lab results can take weeks and months to “We’re seeing people in some of their worst moments,” he said. receive and it’s difficult to get a good fingerprint sample. Their houses have been broken into or one of their loved ones has “We do the wide range from car larcenies to homicide,” been murdered. They just want to know what happened. said Wildman. “Matching DNA and fingerprints are tricky “We don’t get a lot of money. We don’t get a lot of fame. because if someone isn’t in our database system, we’re not But when we can wrap a case and get that closure for a going to get a match.” family, that’s the reward.” Even though on television, agents wrap up their cases neatly in an hour and they look good while doing it, Wallace, Chisler, and

Cogent Systems Laboratory

Oglebay Hall

The Cogent Systems Laboratory in Oglebay Hall houses a state of the art Automated Fingerprint Identification System of 24 workstations and a teaching station. Of the 24 student workstations, half are ten-print stations and the other are latent print stations. In addition there are three live-scan devices for electronically capturing ten-prints. The teaching station has both a ten-print and latent workstation. The lab was made possible by a generous gift from Ming Hsieh and his company, Cogent.

The LEED-certified Oglebay Hall includes a microscopy lab with several different types of microscopes, which teaches students how to analyze trace evidence, hairs, fibers, and other evidence collected from crime scenes. The building also houses a instrument lab with several analytical scientific instruments for the analysis of metals, explosives, drugs, and toxicological evidence.

Ming Hsieh Hall Ming Hsieh Hall consists of four general purpose classrooms fitted with the University’s new standard technology, including retractable projector screens, DVD and VHS players, and an AMX touch-screen panel that controls all the audio-visual effects in each classroom. California businessman Ming Hsieh and his company donated $5.5 million to the Program. The gift helped fund construction of the building and created the Program’s first endowed professorships.

Crime Scene Training Complex With three crime scene houses and a forensic garage for vehicle processing, WVU has the largest crime scene training complex in the world. The Crime Scene Training Complex is used to prepare mock crime scenes so forensic and investigative science majors can learn processing techniques in a controlled environment. Outdoor sand beds are used for collection of shoe print evidence, and two 20’ x 10’ grave sites allow for simulated recovery of human remains. Students also have access to a fire-training facilities and a large shooting range with indoor and outdoor ranges. eberly.wvu.edu

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“It may sound weird, but the Army provides a very structured lifestyle. In many ways it’s easier than civilian life.”—Alex Guacheta-Shay Guacheta-Shay had been stationed for 15 months in the Iraqi province of Diyala at Forward Operating Base War Horse before heading back to the United States. Domestic life and matriculating into the student population, he said, presented a new set of difficulties. During the spring 2010 semester he participated in the veteran-specific Orientation 293 and English 101 classes. The orientation class is designed around the needs of former soldiers, who require specific information about how their payments from the GI Bill work, along with other information pertinent to military personnel. “That orientation gives us a much better opportunity to network, and the open atmosphere of the class allows us to share relevant information and personal experiences,” Guacheta-Shay said. The veterans-specific English 101 course design resonated with him. “As a 25-yearold former Army medic, I would have been uncomfortable taking that class with 17- and 18-year-old freshmen,” he said. “I’m older and my world view is different, my experiences are so different. I don’t think I would have been able to relate to traditional freshmen like I did to the other veterans.” In addition to the Orientation and English courses, the WVU Veterans office offers sections of Adventure WV, Theater 101, and ULib 101. In Terry Miller, the University has an active veterans advocate whose office helps solve financial aid and VA education benefit issues, class absences due to military 28

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responsibilities, deployment issues, and other matters. He said there are a number of factors, including veterans’ sensitivity to their surroundings, that must be considered when helping them transition to student life. “The problem is that soldiers overseas are in constant danger, and that affects their behavior and concentration once they return,” Miller said. There are no front lines in the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, leaving every deployed soldier in immediate danger when they are in those countries, Miller said. They are constantly on guard and aware of everything around them. The hypersensitivity they develop stays with them when they return to the States, even though it is no longer necessary. This makes it incredibly difficult for them to pay attention to what professors are saying in classes, because they are so focused on what the other students are doing or saying and every little detail of the surrounding environment. “They react to each sound, movement, who is around them (who is there to support, who might be there to harm),” Miller said. The veteran-specific classes allow soldiers to participate in smaller classes and interact with others who understand what they are going through. “Giving these students the option to attend classes with other veterans during their first semester eliminates some of these outside influences and allows them to better concentrate on learning.” The welcoming atmosphere is in

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

keeping with WVU’s 2020 Strategic Plan for the Future, which emphasizes diversity and inclusion. WVU’s goal, an initiative of WVU President Jim Clements, is to attract more veteran employees and recruit and retain more veteran students. Following a visit to Morgantown and the WVU campus from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen in 2010, Clements was selected to attend the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference. He was one of 39 participants for the forum, a US Department of Defense program for some of the nation’s top leaders interested in increasing their knowledge of the military and national defense issues. Guacheta-Shay acknowledges that returning soldiers have a dramatically different and better college experience now than they ever have before. There are more opportunities and services in place, which is one of the reasons he chose to come to

Quick Facts WVU uses several platforms to recruit prospective veteran employees. The University has partnered with the Employer Partnership of the Armed Forces to advertise jobs across the country and around the world. The next step is to develop a mobile app so that soldiers can access critical information on WVU and Morgantown, such as health care, employment opportunities, family and social networks, and education, wherever they are deployed. Also, WVU’s Human Resources Division offers a summit each year to further make outreach to veterans a priority on campus and off. WVU has hosted “Veterans’ Summits,” which offer networking opportunities for veterans at WVU and in the community and guest speakers on a variety of topics, including WVU research related to veterans’ health.

Alex Guacheta-Shay, Candice Matelski, and Jake Lambuth represent a diverse group of veterans on campus.

WVU in the first place. The University provides many services to veterans, including their own advisers, and attempts to make their adjustments to university life easier. For Guacheta-Shay, his choice was also sentimental. “It was just West Virginia. I wanted to be home,” said the Beckley native. The University provided the services and academic programs that he needed, and he said the cost of living is manageable with his payouts from the GI Bill. The Post-9/11 Bill pays directly to the school and provides compensation for tuition, books, some tutoring, and a $1,300 monthly stipend for living expenses. To maintain these payouts, veterans must

remain enrolled full-time and pass all of their classes. WVU also participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which helps students with tuition and fees associated with education programs that may exceed the Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition benefit. For its efforts, in 2011 WVU earned mention on G.I.Jobs’ list of “military friendly schools” for the third straight year. Jake Lambuth, a Houston native, enjoys being part of WVU’s veterans community as both a student and employee. A senior majoring in chemistry, Lambuth transitioned from active duty in the US Navy to a sergeant’s rank in the US Army reserves. Lambuth said many of his fraternity brothers

in Tau Kappa Epsilon are veterans, and he has made other connections with vets through WVU’s Student Veterans Group and his job as a photographer for WVU University Relations/News. “There’s a large community of veterans here—more than I thought,” he said. Lambuth said he compares notes with veteran friends at other institutions, which makes him appreciate being at WVU. “I hear from several friends who have nothing but complaints—paperwork not getting done or transitional issues,” he said. “I have two friends who did not transition well—they felt there was no help for them—and they returned to active duty. They didn’t feel like they were meant to be eberly.wvu.edu

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WVU Researchers Collaborate

on Project ROVER By David Welsh

“Although there is significant interest in service dogs for veterans to aid in readjustment, the focus has not been on employment.” Man’s best friend may also be a veteran’s best therapy. Faced with statistics from a 2011 report on the needs of veterans returning to the labor force that showed a higherthan-average unemployment rate and a threefold increase in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over the last decade, a team of West Virginia University researchers and an area nonprofit are partnering with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to see if dogs can help veterans both recover and return to the workforce. “Although there is significant interest in service dogs for veterans to aid in readjustment, the focus has not been on employment,” said Matt Wilson, project leader and interim director of the Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design. “There is a resounding lack of empirical evidence documenting whether the provision of service dogs is of therapeutic benefit for persons with PTSD— other than the generally accepted, positive effects of human-animal companionship,” Wilson continued. The institute has provided $273,202 to allow the WVU-led team to collaborate on Project ROVER, Returning Our Veterans to Employment and Reintegration. Project ROVER is a component of a larger NIOSH initiative related to total worker health and its focus on veterans. 30

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The Project ROVER team will examine the therapeutic benefits of service dogs that are trained to provide physical and psychological assistance to veterans, and determine the impact of this assistance on the veterans’ ability to cope with PTSD symptoms and function effectively in the workplace. Clarksburg resident Clay Rankin, a Hearts of Gold volunteer and combat veteran of the first Gulf War who also completed multiple tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, will help provide a personal perspective. His own return to work was facilitated by the acquisition of Harley, a mobility and psychological assistance dog. Rankin has served as an Army Wounded Warrior liaison, has assisted in the placement of service dogs with veterans and is on the Board of Directors for Patriot Paws, the organization that provided Harley. “Clay will be invaluable in providing perspectives on the surveys, focus groups, literature review, and the various contexts and tasks for the laboratorybased clinical case studies,” Wilson said. WVU and Hearts of Gold are collaborating with the PTSD Rehabilitation Program staff at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg on the development of the project. Key to that collaboration has been Joseph R. Scotti, a clinical psychologist in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Scotti has more than 30 years of research experience and clinical work with people who have a range of psychiatric disorders, primarily PTSD and developmental disabilities.

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

He recently completed a major survey of 1,100 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to identify service-related psychological, physiological, functional and social issues, and testified before the US Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on his findings. Scotti will provide research consultation to Project ROVER. Richard T. Gross, a clinical psychologist in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry at the Chestnut Ridge Center, also will provide expertise in clinical psychology and behavior analysis. Anne Foreman, a WVU doctoral candidate in psychology and certified professional dog trainer, is one of the instructors of the University’s service dog training courses. Foreman has a master of science degree in psychology from WVU. Megan Maxwell, owner of Pet Behavior Change in State College, Pennsylvania, earned her master’s and doctorate in psychology and will provide consultation in animal behavior, training procedures, and research design for the project. The project team will work with two NIOSH scientists to conduct the research. Lindsay Parenti, MS, a board-certified behavior analyst and certified dog trainer, is a NIOSH research fellow, and Oliver Wirth, PhD, a research psychologist, is the NIOSH Project officer on the ROVER project. Both are graduates of the behavior analysis program in the WVU Department of Psychology.

Listen to army veteran and chemistry senior Jake Lambuth discuss his military background and his experience choosing and attending WVU.

there. I have absolutely no complaints.” Though Guacheta-Shay said at times he regrets leaving the service for his studies, he’s working toward a medical degree so that he can return to the military and help his fellow soldiers on the battlefield as a knowledgeable doctor. “It is key to realize that an Army medic sees and does things that most people would not be able to handle,” he said. Even given the difficult nature of the job, Guacheta-Shay insists that being a medic is the best job in the Army, because “they can go anywhere.” “Medics are stationed at every base around the world, from Hawaii to the Middle East. Being an Army medic allows people to gain intense real-world experience in crisis situations that often puts them on a level with medical personnel in the United

States who have more education.” Although Candice Matelski is still getting used to the fact that she’s typically the oldest student in her classes and the only mom, she echoed the sentiment shared by Guacheta-Shay and Lambuth. She’s pursuing a graduate degree in speech pathology in the College of Human Resources and Education and said she hopes to see WVU’s commitment to veterans continue to grow. The campus already has around 1,000 veteran students and employees. “This is the third year in a row we’ve received the G.I. Jobs designation. Other schools are also asking the same questions and starting their own initiatives,” she said. “I’d like the goal at WVU not to just be a school that supports veterans but to be the best in supporting veterans. I want us to set

a standard for others to follow.” Terry Miller estimates that the veteran community at WVU brought in about $6.8 million to the University and the local economy in the 2009-2010 academic year. “These classes are also attractive to veterans who are looking at different schools,” he said. “The fact that WVU provides so many resources for veterans and is continuing to expand them could mean the difference when they are deciding where they want to go to college. “This group tends to be motivated. They are leaders who have the proven ability to work under stressful situations. They are team oriented. They bring a different perspective to discussion in classrooms and across campus.”

“I’d like the goal at WVU not to just be a school that supports veterans but to be the best in supporting veterans. I want us to set a standard for others to follow.”—Candice Matelski eberly.wvu.edu

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Associate Professor of English Sandy Baldwin and graduate student Ben Myers.

GAME ON By Jared Lathrop, Photo by M.G. Ellis

Legendary lost cities, ancient secret societies, underground tombs, and provocative plot twists—these aren’t the makings of a new Dan Brown novel, and it’s not the synopsis of an Indiana Jones film franchise reboot. It’s the premise for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, a popular Playstation 3 video game that sold more than 3.8 million copies worldwide when it was released last fall. Though reviewers hailed the visuals and technical game play, one key element sold casual and avid gamers on the action-adventure platform game.

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

New & Notable

The story. Today’s gamers are looking for a more substantial, cinematic story—a number of best-selling titles use a nonlinear storyline and subplots. Eberly College English professors Sandy Baldwin and Brian Ballentine this past semester introduced “Humanities Computing—Narrative and Video Game Design,” a new course that taps into student interest in a growing career field as video games become more “mainstream.” “These days the gaming industry is bigger than film,” Baldwin said. “Games like Modern Warfare and Halo find a large part of their audiences with college students, so we’re harnessing that interest and combining it with narrative theory.” In the class, which recently finished its first run, students explored how narrative theory informs the design and play of video games. Video games, especially those that contain rich layers of storytelling, provide a dynamic context for exploring narrative frameworks. In turn, Ballentine said video game genres provide students a unique opportunity to design their own narratives and put theory into practice. “Students are captivated by computer gaming,” he said. “This course combines their interest in gaming, with academic concepts like critical thinking and rhetorical analysis. Students create and document the overall vision of their projects and these experiences transfer well to any career in

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professional and technical writing, not just gaming.” Although students do not need a technical background for the course, they worked in groups to design a fully functioning text-based video game. Each group was responsible for one level of the game, which includes developing the narrative for both plot and character design. Students blogged about their experiences and presented progress reports every few weeks. “If you describe your experience with a computer game, you’ll describe things like characters, stories, reading, writing, and dialogue,” Baldwin said when interviewed by WVUToday in the fall. “These are things people deal with in English

“These days the gaming industry is bigger than film.” departments. We talk about how to tell a story and develop characters. “Writing for a computer game can mean a lot of different things. There’s Halo and then there’s Angry Birds. There’s World of Warcraft but there’s also Tetris. It’s really diverse.” This course has officially been added into the Professional Writing and Editing curriculum and students can choose between it and Multimedia Writing. Ballentine said so far he has every reason to believe the course will be a popular addition to the program.

bit.ly/I5sXP3

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Visit evivestation.com to learn more about Evive Station. Visit wecan.wvu.edu to learn more about the WVU Office of Sustainability.

By Jared Lathrop, Photos by David Lewetag II

Every movement begins with a vision. And recycling is no different. What started as a theory by Plato in 400 B.C. has since been reincarnated hundreds of times over the years, evolving based on demand through pre-industrial times, to World War II, to now. But although “reduce, reuse, recycle” has become a common mantra, the statistics still leave much to be desired. According to Food and Water Watch, Americans spent $10.6 billion on bottled water in 2009, paying approximately 1,000 times the cost of tap water, although nearly half of all bottled water actually comes from municipal tap water sources.

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

Moreover, manufacturing bottled water in the United States used the energy equivalent of 32 and 54 million barrels of oil respectively to produce and transport plastic water bottles in 2007. Approximately 75 percent of the empty plastic bottles find their way to landfills, lakes, streams, and oceans, where they may never fully decompose. Three WVU alumni believe that it’s time to overhaul the model with a little “precycling.” Tom Petrini and Stephen Jacob, graduates of the College of Business and Economics, and Blake Barnes, an Eberly College alum, have formed Evive Station, a free health and wellness kiosk that cleans reusable bottles and fills them with cold, filtered water in one minute. The company, which also is led by Penn State graduate Jason Yablinsky and John Carroll University graduate Lacy Caric, employs 25 people and aims to educate the public and potential Evive Station users, about how harmful bottled water is and why Evive Station makes being sustainable convenient. “When you recycle you are taking a high grade product and reducing it to a lower grade product that cannot be recycled again,” said Barnes, Evive Station’s business development manager.

New & Notable

“If you have leftover waste that cannot be created into something directly from an interactive touch panel at Evive Station. new then you really aren’t helping the environment. Our company is Evive Station officially launched in April, with the Pittsburghworking to eliminate the wasted product before it happens.” Hence the based company choosing WVU as the pilot site for the project. company’s aim to “preTwo stations are in cycle” by eliminating the Mountainlair that third step. and two in the “While completStudent Recreation ing my MBA at Center. Duquesne University As the company in 2007, I attended a expands, Evive Stasustainability confertions will be located ence,” said Petrini, at colleges, universithe company’s CEO. ties, businesses, and “While waiting for fitness centers. Stephen Jacobs, Jason Yablinsky, Thomas Petrini, Lacy Caric, and Blake Barnes my flight back home Students can I realized an empty bottle could be carried through airport security, track their water usage through both their online profile, and but an issue existed as to where someone could sanitize and fill on the Evive Station touch screen. Users will be informed of their bottle on the go.” how many gallons of water they have consumed via the staPetrini began to brainstorm ways to make water available and to tions and approximately how many plastic water bottles they appeal to consumers, especially college students, who he said typihave kept out of landfills across the nation. cally have a water bottle tucked in their backpacks. Although Petrini’s idea took years to form from its original He said he realized that if he provided a free water bottle to concept to the now fully functioning Evive Station, the idea to users, it could be refilled at convenient locations with highly use West Virginia University as the location to premiere this new filtered/chilled water and daily multivitamins. The question then and innovative technology wasn’t a hard decision to make at all. became how to make it profitable. The answer was advertising. “As most of our team are graduates of WVU we wanted to When customers receives an Evive Station “Smart Bottle,” give back to our alma mater,” Barnes said. “Strategically, WVU they complete a demographic survey listing their “likes,” is a diverse school, dedicated to and highly recognized for its similar to Facebook. Evive Station maintains this information, constant innovation in many of its programs. and every time a customer fills the bottle, they view targeted “Clement Solomon in the WVU Sustainability Office has advertisements on the Evive Station screen. The Smart Bottle been a champion for Evive Station from the beginning, and the will be integrated into social media sites, including Facebook, Evive Station aligns well with the waste reduction efforts led by so that users can get coupons and share them with friends Solomon through the WeCan program.”

how the evive station works:

2. When users approach the Evive Station, they scan

1. To obtain a free double-walled stainless steel bottle,

3. While the Evive Station is cleaning the bottle and

users complete a short demographic profile. This profile is used to select relevant advertisements, and helps sponsors know who is viewing the ads. Users’ personal information is not shared with sponsors. The information Evive Station shares is anonymous.

their bottle, enter a four digit pin, and insert the bottle into the cleaning and filling chamber.

filling it with ice-cold water, users are presented with some targeted content, ranging from product advertisements to job placement opportunities, which are shown on a 32” high-definition monitor. A multivitamin is dispensed when users retrieve their bottle. Find Evive Station on Facebook

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How do you say…

By Jared Lathrop, Photos by Brian Persinger & Todd Latocha

“forward thinking?” Janice Spleth

Take one look around Chitwood Hall, and you’ll find what you’re looking for in Spanish, French, Chinese, and half a dozen other languages. That’s because the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics is in the midst of its very own Renaissance. The program’s evolution comes not on the heels of its new name announcement last September, instead pre-dating the change as the program presses on in its effort to embody what a world language department in the new millennium should be. A community where professors fulfill their scholarly mission to their discipline, that grows based on the desires and needs of its students, and that garners national recognition for its initiatives. A Different Type of Language Lab

Faculty members in the Department conduct laboratory research regularly to better understand the history of different cultures. Their laboratories are the expressions, civilizations, and literature of other countries and languages.

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Pablo Garcia

For instance, Assistant Professor Pablo Garcia has been researching Colonial Latin American literature since 2003. Garcia is a member of the Folgers Institute, a center for advanced study and research in the humanities, which is sponsored by the Folger Shakespeare Library and a consortium of 40 universities in the United States. Next year he will attend a research seminar at the institute. “Participants in this advanced research seminar will be reading and discussing primary and secondary sources in the literature of discovery,” he said. “Then we will engage in discussions on a number of theoretical, critical, and historiographical reflections and philosophical interpretations regarding the history of early modern New World encounters.” Janice Spleth, Armand E. and Mary W. Singer Professor in the Humanities, has been a member of the African Literature Association (ALA) since 1982. She has coedited a volume of its annual Interdisciplinary Dimensions of African Literature. “Through my research I have sought to make an academic space for an African perspective among those world views traditionally represented in the curriculum,”

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

Stacy Fint

the French professor said. “My books and articles help draw attention to what these truly extraordinary writers have contributed to the human story, making their literature more accessible to students and scholars.” Spleth, who served as the ALA president during the 2010-2011 year, is still very involved in organization events. As a past president, she helped plan the April 2012 meeting at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, on “Human Rights, Literature, and the Visual Arts in Africa and the Diaspora.” Her publications include two books and several articles on the Senegalese poetstatesman Léopold Sédar Senghor, and her scholarship on Central African literature appears in the French Literature Series, The Literary Griot, Matatu, Research in African Literatures, and Studies in Twentieth Century Literature. Kathleen McNerney’s research has taken her deep into the works of Mercè Rodoreda, a world-renowned Catalan novelist. The Spanish professor has been compiling a complete annotated bibliography of more than 400 entries over the past two years.

She said the Department and the University have been very supportive as she took on the project. “West Virginia University awarded me a sabbatical year to work on this bibliography,” McNerney said. “But the staff from the Interlibrary Loan Service at the Wise Library also worked tirelessly to make articles and books available to me during my preparatory and follow-up time in Morgantown, and the West Virginia Humanities Council gave me a grant to help with travel expenses.” The book, which will also include critiques of Rodoreda’s works by other authors, as well as unpublished papers, is due out next year. No Minor Feat

Over the past year, the Department has launched a new minor in Japanese studies and a new Italian major. With the increasing popularity of the College’s Multidisciplinary Studies Degree, students can round out their degree with a Japanese Studies minor, said Program Coordinator Asako No. She said that enrollment in upperdivision Japanese language courses have seen double-digit increases. Last May, the Italian Studies program graduated its first two students, exactly one year after the program’s creation, and five years after an Italian minor was established in the Department. The major, one of few in the country, exposes students to business, tourism, fashion, and design among other subjects through the lens of Italian culture and society. “Since I started working at WVU ten years ago, the Italian Studies Program has been expanding in many different directions,” said Anastella Vester, Italian Studies coordinator. “I have since developed three new courses for the program; Italian instructor Beatrice

Malvisi has also developed three new courses. We have an excellent student organization, Circolo italiano, and many students interested in declaring Italian Studies as their major. “The minor has been very successful. There are reasonable grounds for assuming that, once students become aware of the major as incoming freshmen and the program is established, ten or more Italian Studies majors, on average, would be graduated per year.” In Good Company

In the fall, the University’s Intensive English Program received national accreditation from the Consortium of University and College Intensive English Programs (UCIEP). “WVU’s program is one of only 72 institutions, public and private, whose intensive English programs are accredited by UCIEP, marking the 31-year-old

The Consortium of University and College Intensive English Programs advances professional standards and quality instruction in intensive English programs at universities and colleges in the United States. “Membership in the UCIEP demonstrates to applicants, their parents, and other institutions that we are concerned with issues that affect international education,” said Stacy Fint, IEP Director. Member programs are committed to the consortium’s effort to ensure that students receive the highest quality intensive English instruction from trained, professional teachers. Each program undergoes a rigorous application process, including a site visit by an external reviewer, before being accepted. Fint had to submit a thorough study of the program for it to be considered. Every five years each program must submit a

“Membership in the UCIEP demonstrates to applicants, their parents, and other institutions that we are concerned with issues that affect international education.”—Stacy Fint program as one of the best in the country,” said Dean Robert Jones, The program, which is housed in the World Languages Department, originally focused on preparing Japanese students for enrollment at the University but has since grown to host nearly 250 students from 15 countries. Once students complete the IEP coursework and pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), they may apply to WVU to become undergraduate or graduate students or return, with English skills, to universities in their home countries.

New & Notable

substantial self-study document to an evaluation committee, which reviews it to verify that the program continues to meet the standards of UCIEP. The program is expected to grow with the new accreditation showing the value of what the IEP has to offer. This accreditation, the University’s IEP founder Takeko Minami said, reflects the value of the program. “The IEP is giving to the state of West Virginia much needed exposure to the rest of the world.”

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Justin Legleiter

By Christine Schussler, Photos by Brian Persinger

An estimated

5.4 million people in the United States

are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that figure is growing at an alarming rate. Researchers and health providers predict that by 2050, a person will be diagnosed with the disease every 33 seconds. Justin Legleiter, assistant professor in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, is doing his part to help turn back the clock on the effects of a disease that robs people of their memories, perception, and cognitive skills. He’s decoding how nanoscale molecular mechanisms may trigger neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s. In 2011, Legleiter was awarded a $400,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program, and a $99,592 New Investigator Research Grant from the Alzheimer’s Association, two prestigious awards that acknowledged the complexity and value of the research he’s pursuing. His work demonstrating the possible connections between mechanical changes in cells to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, could potentially lead to therapeutic strategies. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, killing more Americans than diabetes, and more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2011 Facts and Figures report. “As we age, significant alterations in our cellular structure—with implications for cellular mechanics—occur,” Legleiter said. “Postmitotic cells, such as neurons, are particularly susceptible to agerelated changes, and aging is the primary risk factor associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disorder.” 38

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Awards & Honors

Legleiter studies the physical changes of a cell’s surface as it interacts with beta-amyloid peptide.

The National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program is its most prestigious award supporting junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Similarly, the Alzheimer’s Association’s New Investigator Research Grant is reserved for researchers who have earned their doctoral degrees within the last ten years and whose research helps identify new treatment strategies and further knowledge of brain health and disease prevention. Legleiter expects to publish some of his research findings this spring. Legleiter works with WVU chemistry students to unravel information on the betaamyloid peptide, which is found deposited in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. It is composed of 39-43 amino acids. “One of the major hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of deposits of the beta-amyloid peptide in the brain,” Legleiter said. “These deposits are composed of smaller beta-amyloid peptide aggregates often termed fibrils and

oligomers, which are thought to play an important role in Alzheimer’s.” Legleiter believes his team’s research could provide a detailed understanding of how changes in cellular surface properties associated with aging influence betaamyloid peptide binding to the cell, which can lead to peptide aggregation and its related toxicity. “While it is unclear how beta-amyloid peptide aggregates are toxic, the initial interaction of it with the surface of a cell represents a fundamental step in Alzheimer’s disease pathology,” he said. “The goal of our research is to try to understand the physical changes of a cell’s surface that facilitate this initial interaction with the betaamyloid peptide.” Legleiter will incorporate the research models that he and his lab group use into the courses he teaches and use part of the National Science Foundation funding to reduce the teaching load of his graduate students—allowing them more time to focus on research. His proposal also reaches out to the future teaching corps for the region. Legleiter has set aside funds to provide meaningful research experience to pre-

service science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers, with a particular focus on pre-service teachers planning on careers teaching high school in Appalachia. The pre-service teachers will be recruited from among education graduate students at WVU, who are interested in teaching science. The students will have the opportunity to create lesson plans that can be translated directly into the classroom from research activities. “By providing this opportunity, I believe that these teachers in training will be able to infuse the excitement of discovery not only in their education but also in their future classrooms,” he said. Justin Legleiter earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Murray State University and a doctoral degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He has conducted postdoctoral work as a fellow in neurology/biophysics at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. Legleiter joined the Chemistry Department faculty as an assistant professor in 2008. eberly.wvu.edu

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“I love faculty, staff, and students. But I am excited about the fact that I’m finally going to graduate and design my life.”—Nancy Lohmann

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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

Awards & Honors

By Christine Schussler, Photo by Jake Lambuth

More than 30 years ago, Nancy Lohmann went out on a limb and joined her husband Roger in applying for positions at West Virginia University’s then—School of Social Work. At the urging of the School’s interim dean, the couple agreed to interviews in Morgantown. But Lohmann’s first impression of Morgantown was anything but ideal, as a series of errors including a flight delayed by bad weather had her all but ready to turn back around. By the next day, with a clearer head and after her round of interviews, Nancy Lohmann knew she was home. “I liked the mix of research and teaching,” Lohmann said. “We were expected to publish, but teaching was valued and the environment here provided the kind of relationship with students you want to have.” In December, she retired with emerita status from WVU, satisfied with a long career that had proven to be a perfect fit for her and her family. “We’ve been offered positions elsewhere,” she said. “But we’ve continued to stay here because we know how much impact we could have here, and it was a wonderful place to raise our children.” Lohmann’s impact has meant wearing many hats at WVU since joining the social work faculty in 1977 as an associate professor. In the early 1980s, while serving as dean of the School, Lohmann was able to successfully navigate it through some accreditation challenges. It was also during that time that full-time

graduate student enrollment doubled. In addition, external grant funding doubled and the continuing education program expanded from serving 300 people a year to nearly 1,000 each year. A two-time winner of a University Outstanding Faculty Award, Lohmann juggled administrative positions with teaching honors courses on human diversity and publishing more than 30 articles and books, most of which she wrote with her husband. She is the co-editor of Rural Social Work Practice (2005), co-author of Social Administration (2002) and co-editor of Transitions of Aging(1980). In her classroom, her colleagues and students said, Nancy Lohmann harnessed a strong passion for research that she used to prepare students for life as social work practitioners. “There are a lot of frustrations that come with a career in social work, but there are also a lot of rewards,” said Chris Plein, associate dean for the School of Applied Social Sciences. “As a teacher, Nancy deftly guided her students in understanding that addressing injustices in society and providing a voice to those in need is not easy, but it makes such a difference.” While her former students said she could be a “tough teacher,” ultimately they said they recognized Lohmann wanted to make it clear just how necessary research is for budding practitioners.

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No Role Too Big Nancy Lohmann has served in a number of different capacities since coming to WVU in 1977. In addition to being an associate professor of social work and dean of the School of Social Work, she has worked as: • Assistant Vice President for Faculty Development • Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research • Associate Provost for Academic Affairs • Senior Associate Provost for Academic Affairs • Senior Advisor to the Provost • Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Administration and Finance • Director of the Division of Social Work’s Beatrice Ruth Burgess Center

“She wanted us to have a conceptual and methodological understanding of the social science research process and wanted us to see the practicality of analysis, evaluation, and implementation of the basic research concepts, designs, and processes,” said Trisha Gyurke, director of employment at WVU. “She did this well.” As senior advisor to the former Provost Gerald Lang, Lohmann led the 2007 committee charged with creating

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a new transportation and parking plan for the University. The committee recommended several strategies, including creating a new position to guide transportation and parking initiatives at WVU in collaboration with city and county transit officials. During her tenure as the director of the Beatrice Ruth Burgess Center, she was vocal in supporting the Summer Institute on Aging, an annual conference in Morgantown that covers aging policy and services.

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Magazine

“Even when her path led her to University-level administration, her continued commitment to our program and to arming future social workers with the knowledge and skillset they’ll need out in the world was evident,” Plein said. “She will always be welcome in the classrooms of Knapp Hall.” Roger Lohmann, who retired last May from the Division of Social Work and is now an emeritus professor, said the couple has always been grateful for their experience at the University. “At a time when many dual-career couples were forced to live and work hundreds of miles apart, WVU enabled us—and several other academic couples here—the opportunity to pursue our individual careers and still keep our household and family intact,” he said. “It’s been a real demonstration of the West Virginia, Appalachian, commitment to the family.” When Nancy Lohmann visits campus these days, she said she pleasures in a leisurely walk to Woodburn and watching students bustle around. Her retirement, she said, has been bittersweet, but it’s time for another chapter in her life. “I love faculty, staff, and students. But I am excited about the fact that I’m finally going to graduate and design my life. As much as I loved my time here, I’m looking forward to the next 30 years.”

Awards & Honors

From Arithmetic to Compounds By Tony Dobies, Photos by Brian Persinger

Only five West Virginia University students are majoring in both chemistry and math. Two of them are now Goldwater Scholars, acknowledging their achievement and encouraging them to keep at it. Sophomore Tonia Ahmed and junior Jessica Carr bring the number of WVU’s Goldwater Scholars to 35. WVU has had at least one Goldwater Scholar in each of the past 20 years, except for 2008 and 2001, and has had two 10 times. “We are so proud of these students,” said President Jim Clements. “Being named a Goldwater Scholar puts them in the ranks of the best young scientists in the nation. Their achievement reflects their hard work and dedication as students, as well as excellent mentorship from exceptional faculty and staff here at WVU.” Ahmed and Carr are two of 282 sophomore and junior mathematics, science and engineering majors from across the United States selected from 1,123 applications, and the only West Virginia

residents, to win a Goldwater Scholarship this year. Ahmed, a Morgantown native, had a jump start on her research career. Prior to even starting her freshman year at WVU, she was already working in a University lab. She took a WVU organic chemistry class during her senior year of high school and immediately fell in love with the field. Afterwards, she asked the professor if she could join a University lab. In that lab, she worked to extract bio fuels from different wood products and corn. When she officially started at WVU, she didn’t stay in the dorms because she lives in town, meaning she didn’t necessarily get the usual freshman-year experience, but that was OK with her. But last summer, she studied at the California Institute of Technology, working on research with other students—and lived in the dorms. “I’ve spent a lot of my time doing research. Ever since the summer after my senior year of high school, I started doing research at WVU,” she said. “The thing that helped me the

most was that I was able to take organic chemistry at WVU in my senior year.” More recently, she has researched carbonhydrogen bond activation in the fuels that we use on a daily basis. She is trying to find a way to break the hydrocarbon bonds and find other products, which would be useful in the pharmacy industry. She started this research at Cal Tech and continued it over the last semester and a half at WVU with chemist Michael Shi. When she finishes with her education, she wants to continue in that same setting as a research professor who teaches organic and inorganic chemistry. “That way, I’m conducting my own research, it’s my own ideas and I can influence other graduate students and guide them to do the same thing,” she said. “Being a Goldwater Scholar definitely gives me a leg up to get into a better grad school, and it’s also a bit of a confidence boost in your ability.” Ahmed, who will begin taking graduatelevel courses in the fall, found out about the honor online while looking at the Goldwater website. She saw her name just minutes before receiving the mailed package from the organization. “This honor really satisfied my concerns of, ‘am I good enough?’ They selected me from a lot of candidates. I should be able to do it,” she said. Carr, a Fairmont native, opened up her mailbox on March 30 to a large white envelope. She knew exactly what it was.

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A year ago, she received a not-so-similar smaller envelope in the mail from the Goldwater Foundation saying she wasn’t a recipient. This year, however, was different. “I was so excited about it that I gave myself a paper cut trying to open it,” Carr said, laughing. “My first emotion was relief, because I had so much pent up excitement and nervousness. Everyone I talked to told me, ‘now you can go to just about any graduate school you want,’ and that’s when I took a step back and realized what it all meant.” Carr started as a chemistry major with the intention to become a pharmacist. However, she wanted more experience in her undergraduate classes and decided to scrap that career path and double major in chemistry and math. She will attend graduate school for research. “I have a lot of determination to succeed in everything I do. I’m driven by finding the most challenging thing and trying to be the best at it,” Carr said. “Initially that’s what got me involved most in the chemistry major. It was challenging and takes a lot of patience.” She hopes to work in a government

lab or private industry in the future doing environmental chemistry, which will allow her to lead her own research team. Currently, she is working on researching materials that have applications in both medicine and catalysis, the latter of which can control pollution and the long-term effects it has on the environment. Last summer, Carr had a summer internship with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in which she participated in a project involving radioactivity. She worked on developing an analytical technique for environmental samples to try to determine what and how much radioactive chemicals are in environmental samples. Carr became interested in research in the summer prior to her sophomore year during an internship in China. Later that year, she joined the lab of WVU physicist James Lewis—one that she has worked at since. In addition, Carr is also the vice president of the WVU Habitat for Humanity student organization. “I grew up on a small farm, and I’ve always had an interest in being outdoors and

playing in the dirt. That allowed me to start thinking of questions about why things are the way they are. In high school, I didn’t particularly enjoy chemistry as a subject, but when I saw where it could go, I think it meshed with my interests.” The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is the most prestigious undergraduate award of its type and recognizes the commitment and potential each winner has to make a significant contribution to science. WVU was the only University in the state to have a Goldwater Scholar this year. The scholarship pays tribute to the former Arizona senator’s 56 years of service and leadership to the United States as both soldier and statesman through an endowed recognition program that encourages outstanding students to pursue careers as advanced scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Each scholarship covers the cost of undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to $7,500 annually.

Your Legacy is Personal Dr. Mohindar S. Seehra has spent the past 42 years at WVU immersed in the world of physics, supervising and directing the research of more than 60 graduate and postdoctoral students. His former students talk about the professor whose push made them better. Professor Seehra’s push continues today as he settles into his new physics research office in the renovated White Hall. Last summer, Professor Seehra realized that though his commitment to research was just as strong today as ever, he and his peers were nearing retirement. But, he had an idea. To make sure

his dedication to the pursuit of research excellence would be instilled in future generations of WVU physics students, he created the Dr. Mohindar S. Seehra Research Award. This award recognizes the publishing success of a physics doctoral student each year. Perhaps, Professor Seehra’s smartest idea though was using a distribution from his IRA to make a tax-free charitable gift to endow his fund. Individuals age 701/2 or older are required by law to take minimum distributions from their IRA and, in Professor Seehra’s case, this option was the perfect fit for taking his idea and turning it into action.

Make a special gift today and plant seeds for tomorrow’s future. For more information on how you can contribute to the Eberly College through your will, living trust or IRA, contact Bonnie McBee Fisher, Director of Development, at 304.293.4611 or bonnie.fisher@mail.wvu.edu 44

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Goldwater Scholar and NSF Fellowship recipient Scott Cushing shares his excitement about the newly renovated White Hall at the April 13, 2012 celebration of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s completion. Cushingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research, with Drs. Alan Bristow and Nick Wu, is focused on surface plasmon resonances and light-harvesting materials. These can be used in the creation of biological sensors, nanoscale circuitry, and other items that can be utilized in national defense, including explosives and anthrax detection.

Look for the fall Research issue of Eberly in your mailbox in November 2012.