WVU Research Milestones Vol 2 - 2011 by WVU Research

RESEARCH MILESTONES

Summer 2011

he student and faculty researchers of West Virginia University continued their pursuit of new knowledge in diverse fields of study from energy to medicine over the first six months of 2011.

Securing grant funds, conducting leading edge studies, and serving as an honest broker of science-based facts for private industries and government officials, WVU continued to raise its stature as a research enterprise with national impact. Here is a brief recounting of recent highlights. For more information or to see other stories visit http://research.wvu.edu/

WVU GEOLOGY PROFESSOR RESEARCHES MASS EXTINCTION

EXPLORING THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNICATION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS New collaborative research from three different departments found that students who use social networking sites with their parents are lonelier. The authors of the article, which appeared in “Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking,” are Amy Gentzler, assistant professor of psychology; Ann Oberhauser, professor of geography and director of the Center for Women’s Studies; David Westerman, assistant professor of communication studies; and

New information about a mass extinction that decimated ocean life 360 million years ago is giving researchers further insight into long-term predatorprey relationships.

Danielle Nadorff, a graduate teaching assistant who has recently earned her Ph.D. in psychology. Their research shows that young adults who communicate with their parents through social networking sites are more likely to be anxiously attached and

What was bad for fish was good for the fish’s food, according to a paper

lonely, and to report a higher level of conflict with their parents. Anxious

published in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.” Researchers

attachment is characterized by trouble with separation and attempts to keep

from West Virginia University, the University of Chicago and Ohio State

other people close in order to avoid that separation.

University found that the mass extinction, known as the Hangenberg event, produced a “natural experiment” in the fossil record with results that mirror modern observations about predator-prey relationships. “The effects of predation not only cause individual species to either adapt or go extinct, predation can also cause entire groups of organisms to either adapt or go extinct,” said study co-author Thomas Kammer, Eberly College Centennial Professor of Geology.

ARTS & SCIENCES 2

generation of effective face and eye detection techniques that can lead

RESEARCHING BIOMETRICS IN CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS The Center for Identification Technology Research at WVU received a $50,000 award from the Office of Naval Research for a project titled “Ascertaining Identity within Human Networks in Night Environment.” “This award will increase WVU researchers’ capabilities of human recognition in challenging environments,” said Bojan Cukic, principal investigator and director of CITeR. Face recognition technology is severely hindered when the human face is blocked by sunglasses, or obstructed by tinted and reflective coated windows. In this project, researchers will address the limitations of current biometric technologies. The main goal of this project is to design a new

to recognition of images of partially concealed faces in a wide range of operational conditions, such as in darkness.

STRENGTHENING AMERICA’S BIOMETRIC SECURITY A $100,000 award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help WVU biometric researchers evaluate and reduce vulnerabilities in biometric security systems. The award is for a project titled, “Evaluation of Anti-Spoofing Approaches for Fingerprint Biometric Recognition Systems.” Arun Ross, an associate professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, is the principal investigator. Spoofing is the process by which a fake biometric trait, such as a fake fingerprint generated using PlayDoh, gelatin or latex, is used to circumvent the security offered by a biometric system. These “fake” artifacts can undermine the operation of a biometric system and create security risks. Biometric researchers have started developing anti-spoofing technology, which can either detect spoofing attempts or make it difficult for an impostor to spoof a biometric trait. In this project, WVU’s research team, in collaboration with Clarkson University, will develop a scientific framework that will allow them to evaluate the effectiveness of these anti-spoofing algorithms and to make assessments of a system’s biometric vulnerability.

BIOMETRICS & SECURITY

ARIES is intended to use sound science and research to enable continued development of the region’s energy resources in a safe and environmentally protective way. In addition to WVU and Virginia Tech, ARIES participants include: University of Kentucky, Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PRODUCING AND USING APPALACHIA’S ENERGY RESOURCES WVU RESEARCHERS JOIN ARIES CONSORTIUM

WVU TEAMS WITH DNR ON $1.3M PROJECT AIMED AT REBUILDING TROUT STREAMS, IMPROVING WATER QUALITY West Virginia University scientists will work with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources to study brook trout populations and improve water quality in streams. Researcher Paul Kinder says habitats have been damaged over the years by clear-cutting of timber, railroad construction and acid precipitation. WVU’s past research creates a foundation for the new work. Other projects helped lead to routine use of limestone to stabilize pH and mitigate acid mine drainage.

A team of WVU experts is part of a new consortium of major research universities formed to analyze the environmental impacts of producing and using Appalachia’s energy resources. WVU researchers are lending their expertise to the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Sciences — a consortium of seven major universities led by the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech with support from private industry. Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the WVU-based West Virginia Water Research Institute, said the consortium, called ARIES, will help study upstream and downstream issues related to the energy sector. The WVU faculty team includes Todd Petty, Wildlife and Fisheries Resources; Mike Strager, Resource Management; Jeff Skousen and Louis McDonald, Plant and Soil Science, all in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design; and Vlad Kecojevic, John Quaranta and Leslie Hopkinson from the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

ENVIRONMENTAL 6

DEVELOPING MAPS TO PROTECT BIRDS FROM WIND TURBINES DISCOVERING WAYS TO CONTROL POLLUTION IN MONONGAHELA RIVER WVU, through research, reason and cooperation from coal companies, demonstrated how “a little science goes a long way” in correcting a potential water quality issue without costing jobs or increasing anyone’s electricity or sewage rates. When the Monongahela River experienced a rise in levels of Total Dissolved Solids –inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter WVU experts joined with the coal industry to create, organize and implement a voluntary, non-regulatory solution. WVU’s Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of WVU’s Water Research Institute and his team went to work by performing a study of the upper Mon and its major tributaries and making key recommendations. High levels of TDS are not generally considered a primary pollutant in that it is not usually associated with health effects. However, it is used as an indication of aesthetic characteristics of drinking water and as an indicator of the presence of a broad array of chemical contaminants.

ENVIRONMENTAL 8

Two West Virginia University researchers are attempting to protect the eastern population of North America’s golden eagles amid increasing interest in developing wind power. Wind power has posed particular challenges because of the impact the towering wind turbines have on birds in flight. Todd Katzner and Phil Turk are interested in shielding the birds and their habitat. The goal of their research is to develop highresolution maps depicting migration corridors and areas of habitat in regions where there is a high potential for wind development. Golden eagles breed in northeastern Canada and winter in the central and southern Appalachians.

GOLDEN EAGLE RETURNS HOME AFTER RECUPERATING AT TUFTS Officials from the State of Connecticut’s Department

golden eagle was found in

WVU MEASURING MAPPING ‘GREEN’ SOILS’ ABILITY DEMAND TO ABSORB RADIATION WVU experts are studying the demand

Amenia, NY, near the New

for certified and “green” wood

York/Connecticut border, by

products in the building industry of the

As Japan struggles with damages

snowmobilers in the woods in

Appalachian region. David DeVallance

to nuclear plants, a WVU

early February. The bird had

develops products from wood and

research center is providing

sustained multiple puncture

various waste materials to produce

important information on the

wounds on its left leg, which

sustainable materials for building and

ability of soil to mitigate nuclear

are believed to have been

other uses. With funding from Rural

contamination. The Geospatial

caused by an animal it was

Action, an Ohio-based organization

Research Unit is examining the

trying to capture. Prior to

that seeks to foster social, economic

soils of Pacific Coast states to

release, the golden eagle will

and environmental justice, DeVallance,

determine their ability to trap

be outfitted with a GPS-GSM

along with Shawn Grushecky of

airborne radiation in the event

telemetry unit and a tracking

WVU’s Appalachian Hardwood Center,

that it drifts from Japan to the

band by Todd Katzner, Ph.D.,

will look at the level of use of certified

U.S. They also are determining

a research assistant professor.

wood products in the construction

locations of soils that can

of affordable housing in states in the

transfer trapped radioactivity into

Appalachian region.

vegetation. The work was reported

of Environmental Protection, Sharon Audobon Center and West Virginia University released a rare golden eagle from Mohawk State Forest in Goshen, Conn. The

in the Washington Examiner.

DESIGNING AND BUILDING ECO FRIENDLY VEHICLES A team of WVU students and their four-door General Motors stock vehicle are

STUDYING WVU LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION IN APPALACHIA

competing in the EcoCAR Challenge, a three-year competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), General Motors and others, building on

WVU is taking part in a study of Appalachia’s food systems and what’s needed

the 19-year history of the DOE’s advanced vehicle technology competitions.

to help more people eat local, healthy foods. WVU is working with Virginia

The competition provides engineering students with the opportunity to design

Tech and North Carolina State on the study to find out what barriers prevent

and build environmentally friendly vehicles that demonstrate new technologies,

more local foods from being distributed in central Appalachian communities

while maintaining the goal of reducing environmental dangers. Sixteen schools

in WV, VA., and NC. The goal for the project is to assess food security, or the

compete in the EcoCAR Next Challenge competition, 13 of which hail from

ability for all people to have enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life

the U.S., while three others come from Canada. Each competition phase

according to Cheryl Brown, a WVU Associate Professor in Agricultural and

runs three years, and the WVU team is in the third year. The first year of the

Resource Economics.

competition involves designing the car, the second year installing the design and the third year is used to refine the model and pass required inspections. WVU’s car will be judged in June at the final phase of the EcoCAR competition.

ENVIRONMENTAL 12

SEARCHING FOR CLEANER AFFORDABLE FUELS WITH CHINA

RESEARCHING ANSWERS FOR EFFECTIVE CARBON STORAGE In its worldwide search for transportation fuel, China is turning to WVU for

WVU geologist Amy Weislogel studies grains of sand for a living. As a

cleaner, affordable, domestic options. A team led by WVU chemical engineer

sedimentary geologist, she has worked in Montana, the Gulf Coast and

Elliot Kennel will conduct experiments to convert biomass and coal to

provinces in China examining grains of sand in geologic formations to help

transportation fuel under a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy

explain the earth’s dynamic history and trace the location and the age of

(DOE) and using equipment donated by the Lu’an Group, a Chinese energy

ancient mountains. Weislogel’s work, mapping ancient windblown dune

business enterprise. China has one of the world’s fastest-growing automotive

deposits or the sand channels of ancient river beds, can play a major role in

markets. According to the Energy Information Administration’s International

helping an energy-challenged world continue to use one of its most abundant

Energy Outlook 2010, car sales in China surged by nearly 50 percent in 2009

natural resources by helping locate potential underground storage sites

while sales through 2010 were expected to slow to 7 to 10 percent. Experts

for carbon dioxide produced from burning coal and other fossil fuels — a

predict the growing demand will strain world oil markets. “China plans to use

process known as carbon sequestration. She will team with WVU Geology

coal-to-liquids technology to lessen its dependence on foreign oil,” said Jerald

and Geography Department colleague Timothy Carr to evaluate potential

Fletcher, director of WVU’s US-China Energy Center. “Dr. Kennel’s project is

carbon sequestration sites in China as a part of the recently signed US-

interesting because it will help China develop technologies that are intended to

China Clean Energy Research Initiative that is being led by WVU as part of its

lessen coal’s environmental impact.”

Advanced Energy Initiative. Weislogel joined the WVU Geology and Geography Department in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences last year after teaching at the University of Alabama. A native of Erie, Pa., she first came to West Virginia for a rafting trip as a college student.

ENERGY 14

LEADING THE WAY FOR ELECTRIFICATION OF AMERICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MOTORWAYS

The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) at WVU was the largest recipient of federal underwriting for the education and training of motorway electrification. President Barack Obama called for intensified efforts to lessen U.S. dependency on petroleum in his State of the Union address. But to do that, the American public needs to adopt a new favorite vehicle. NAFTC trains technicians, first responders and instructors across the country in all applications and functions of alternative fuels. Most recently, the focus has been on EV training according to executive director Al Ebron. For Ebron, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear that EVs and a variety of alternative fuel vehicles are the future for the United States.

ENERGY 16

PARTNERING INTERNATIONALLY TO SHARE AND LEARN ABOUT NATURAL GAS A delegation from Poland visited WVU to learn about the natural gas industry and build the foundation of new partnerships. Poland recently discovered its own natural gas reserves encased in shale rock, much like the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia, and a delegation visited the National Research Center for Coal and Energy to learn the do’s and don’ts of developing it. “It’s not easy, as you know,” said Marek Konarzewski, who works in public affairs for the U.S. Embassy of Poland. “There are very many things at stake, environmental concerns and so forth, so first we’d like to know how to proceed and not to repeat some mistakes.” This trip was an introduction for representatives from two polish universities and members of the polish government to West Virginia University and its energy programs. The delegation’s aim is to collaborate with WVU on new technology and training.

INVESTIGATING A GEOTHERMAL ENERGY FUTURE FOR WEST VIRGINIA

TAKING TO THE AIR TO GET THE FACTS ON COAL EXTRACTION

A Google-funded study, which found enormous geothermal potential in West

private industry and industry associations all have the unbiased scientific

Virginia, is reinvigorating the push to develop the resource in the coal state.

information they need to make informed and responsible decisions about the

Coal-dependent West Virginia could become the first state outside of the

future of the energy business in West Virginia. Using global positioning, a twin-

American West to tap its geothermal resources to generate energy, according

engine aircraft, and a laser-oriented data collection and analysis system known

to researchers ramping up their work on hot-rock mining. State geologist

as LiDAR that is so sensitive it can detect the height of a basketball sitting in

Michael Hohn and Brian Anderson, an assistant professor of chemical

a vacant parking lot from thousands of feet, WVU experts are flying over West

engineering at West Virginia University (WVU), are leading the reinvigorated

Virginia’s coal fields to gather facts about topography, hydrology, geology

charge to “mine” the state’s renewable energy resource after a landmark study

and other factors affected by mountaintop, surface and underground mining.

last year found subterranean temperatures to be significantly higher than once

“This is important information for the coal industry to have and it is critical

thought.

information for environmental regulators to have,” Paul Kinder, a research

WVU researchers are taking to the Mountain State skies to gather and share critical data about coal mining so that lawmakers, government regulators,

scientist with the Analysis Center explained.

ENERGY 18

ENERGY RESEARCH TAKES MANY FORMS IN WVU’S ADVANCED ENERGY INITIATIVE

MAP OF KING COAL HIGHWAY

Innovating processes to convert coal to crude oil Energy research takes many forms in WVU’s Advanced Energy Initiative. Some projects create entirely new processes, while others simply improve processes already in use. Elliot Kennel’s Carbon Products Group is doing some of both. Entirely new is the group’s process for converting coal to crude oil. “What we’re doing is very simple: regarding coal as solid crude oil,” said Kennel, a chemical engineer in WVU’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. “And we’re asking how can we get that in shape so an American refinery can process it with a minimum of time, energy and money. We want to convert it to a liquid. Once it flows, refineries in Texas and Canada can handle it.”

Understanding policy implications of Marcellus drilling The expansion of West Virginia’s natural gas industry could open up new

FINDING NEW WAYS TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF HIGHWAY PROJECTS

battlefronts in the courtroom over the protection of property rights, health and the environment. Some of the legal uncertainty may result from the failure so

natural resources law at WVU said surface owners successfully made a similar

WVU researchers were awarded a grant to reduce the potential harm of highway projects on the environment.

argument against strip mining several decades ago. “It was technology that

The National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board has

made the difference,” McGinley said. “You would have to have been a swami,

awarded a $360,000 grant to the WVU Environmental Research Center. The

a fortuneteller, to figure out these sorts of developments would happen, and

center is assisting the state Division of Highways and other agencies in the

the same is true with Marcellus.” McGinley said courts in every coal-producing

planning of highway projects. WVU says researchers will focus on the 65-mile

state but Kentucky agreed with surface owners and required coal companies to

Coalfields Expressway, which would run from Beckley southwest to the Virginia

renegotiate for the ability to strip mine. In Kentucky, voters eventually amended

state line, and the King Coal Highway. The 95-mile King Coal Highway would

their constitution to do the same thing.

run from Bluefield to Williamson, where it will join the Tolsia Highway.

far of state lawmakers to settle questions about how to regulate drilling in the Marcellus shale. Patrick McGinley, an environmental lawyer who teaches

ENERGY 20

ENGINEERING 21

USING TRIBOLOGY TO FORGE PARTNERSHIPS Researchers from the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at WVU are interacting with colleagues in Europe to share and learn about tribology – a branch of mechanical engineering that focuses on how the surfaces of two or more bodies in relative motion interact. Aaron Kessman, a doctoral student in

MINING THE MOON: WVU FINISHES THIRD IN ITS FIRST LUNABOTICS COMPETITION

mechanical engineering, attended a hybrid materials conference in Strasbourg, France with a support award from the National Science Foundation. The conference brought together some of the world’s top scientists and engineers. Kessman presented two papers on his research on nanotribology of mesoporous hybrid coatings. Kessman is working on the development of coatings that are both resistant to wear and are non-wetting. Applications for such a coating include the glass used in displays and touch panels, making them easier to clean.

A team of students from the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources competed in their first Lunabotics Competition sponsored by NASA.

Bottom: Photo of Tribology Lab. Courtesy: Argonne National Laboratory

Despite getting a late start in their planning, the team finished third in the mining competition, third in the bandwidth efficiency competition and earned honorable mention recognition for team spirit and innovative design. “For us, the competition comprised a semester of design and preparation,” said Powsiri Klinkhachorn, professor of computer science and electrical engineering who served as the team’s advisor. “The field of competitors was whittled down through a series of deadlines for documentation submittals, proof of operation and, ultimately, traveling to Kennedy Space Center for the competition.” The international competition challenged 46 teams of students to design and build a remote controlled or autonomous excavator called a lunabot, to determine which could collect the most simulated lunar soil within 15 minutes. The complexities of the challenge include the abrasive characteristics of the simulant, the weight and size limitations of the lunabot and the ability to control the lunabot from a remote control center.

ENGINEERING 22

Producing results in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis WVU took part in the clinical trials of “VX-770”, which is designed to treat the faulty gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a life-shortening disease, where a defective gene causes thick mucus to build up in the lungs and pancreas. Patients have difficulty digesting food, and suffer frequent, serious lung infections. There is no cure; only treatment for symptoms. But, a new drug being studied, “VX-770”, is showing promise to treat the cause of the disease and the symptoms. “So we were actually one of the sites to do the clinical trial,” said Dr. Kathy Moffett, director of the WVU Cystic Fibrosis Center. “It has shown, in the preliminary evaluation, that patients who were on the study drug, compared to those who were on placebo, had a 10 percent increase in their lung function. This

Exploring links between active, passive smoking and breast cancer risks Women who have in any way been exposed to tobacco smoke for extended periods during their lives are more likely to get breast cancer, according to WVU research. Dr. Juhua Luo of West Virginia University and Dr. Karen Margolis of the HealthPartners Research Foundation in Minneapolis say postmenopausal women who smoke have up to a 16 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who have never smoked. The increased risk for former smokers is 9 percent, Luo says.

Using video games to help patients Researchers at WVU are using video games to help patients with their rehabilitation who’ve suffered from nervous system trauma. The plan is to use the XBOX Kinect motion capture system to study how the brain controls movement. Researchers aren’t only using it to make rehab more fun, but they’ll use it to help better understand what happens when parts of the brain are affected by something like a stroke or spinal

Helping lung cancer patients avoid hospital visits The WVU School of Nursing is using more than $300,000 in grant money to help out lung cancer patients. The National Cancer Institute has given the school of nursing $366,000 for a pilot study to monitor lung cancer patients at home after they get out of the hospital. Nurse researchers say the goal is to keep folks from having multiple hospital visits.

cord damage. “We can take this knowledge and we can design treatment that is specific for the patient. We can look at the patient movement, how it’s different from health movement, and then learn something about how the brain has changed,” says researcher, Dr. Valeriya Gritsenko. About 50 people will be in the study. It’s expected to start in the next few months.

is a phenomenal result.”

HEALTH 24

WAGING WAR ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $4.7 million to WVU over five years for prevention strategies as part of a national campaign against obesity. The work can help improve children’s lives and help them live longer. Fifteen percent of the state’s ninth- through 12th-graders are overweight, with another 17 percent considered obese. WVU’s research will focus on families with children in school-based and Head Start or pre-kindergarten settings in Kanawha and Monongalia counties.

PARTNERING WITH A SPINOUT COMPANY ON CANCER RESEARCH The newest research in the fight against cancer is coming from a partnership between WVU and Protea Biosciences. “The cancer cell is still a little bit of a black box,” said Protea C.E.O. Steve Turner. “We need to fully understand what it produces and how that affects its ability to be resistant to treatment.” Protea developed the tool to take the lid off that black box, the LAESI machine. It looks at cancer cells on the molecular level and shows how cancer that’s responding to treatment, like chemotherapy, is different from cancer that rejects it. “Our group of scientists are very excited about the level this will take our research to,” said Laura Gibson with the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. “It’s going to let us look at cancer cells in a really new and innovative way, dig in quickly and deeply into the things that are different between a cancer cell and a normal cell.”

CREATING NEW TESTS TO DETECT ALZHEIMER’S A skin test to detect Alzheimer’s has been developed at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute at WVU. With the prick of a finger, it detects defective enzymes involved with memory function that are found in both brain and skin cells. Test results proved 98% accurate at detecting Alzheimer’s, says Daniel Alkon, MD, the institute’s scientific director. The researchers discovered that low doses of the chemotherapy drug bryostatin reactivate the defective enzymes. “We can actually rewire broken connections in the brain and restore memory,” says Alkon. “That’s extraordinarily exciting because it could be used to reverse the dreadful consequences of many brain diseases.”

PREVENTING CYBER BULLYING The WVU Department of Psychology has conducted the second survey in the world to date about college students who are bullied by someone via technology. The findings were reported in March 2011 at the American Psychology and Law Society international conference in Miami, Fl. Cyber bullying is repeated and intentional bullying using mediums of technology, such as the Internet and cell phones. Psychology Professor William Fremouw has been overseeing research done by one of his graduate students, Allison Schenk.

HEALTH 26

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE Nanotechnology is the study of materials at their smallest levels to advance research in fields from electronics to medicine.

PURSUING RESEARCH ON PLASMON RESONANCE WVU’s Scott Cushing will continue his love for nanotechnology research in graduate school as a result of an award from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The WVU Goldwater Scholar from Charleston, a physics major, will receive

Nanotechnology research is happening at West Virginia University. Nanoscale

three-year’s pay and more freedom in his research. Cushing is focusing on

materials can’t be seen by the naked eye. They’re studied for use in the field of

surface plasmon resonance. Surface plasmons are electromagnetic waves

nanotechnology, and at West Virginia University and other universities across

that propagate on the surface of material in a direction parallel to the metal/

the state; it’s a hot area of research. “The average person should know about

dieelectric interface. When the surface plasmons are excited in nanoscale

nanoscience because there’s very little in the future that is not going to touch

shapes, they are referred to as localized surface plasmons.

them that won’t involve nano in some way,” said Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, West Virginia University researcher. “So everything from your electronics to medicine to the environment, you’re going to be called upon to make decisions and you really need to understand what nano is, and how it affects your life.” Leslie-Pelecky is the head of an initiative known as WVNano, a program that focuses on stimulating research in nanoscience.

NANOTECH 28

THE ROBERT C. BYRD PROFESSORSHIP HONORS

KEY WVU RESEARCH OFFICE CONTACTS

Yon Rojanasakul helps cure cancer. Arun

Curt M. Peterson

Richard Bajura

Abraham Ross helps make the nation

Vice President for Research &

Director, National Research Center

safer.

Economic Development

for Coal and Energy

Both are internationally recognized West

304-293-3449

304-293-2867 X5401

Virginia University researchers who were

curt.peterson@mail.wvu.edu

richard.bajura@mail.wvu.edu

during an investiture ceremony. Through

Mridul Gautam

Russ Lorince

his leadership and vision, Byrd tirelessly

Interim Associate VP for Research

Director, Economic Development

supported key research initiatives,

& Economic

Tel: 304-293-4806

encouraged excellence and helped

Development

russ.lorince@mail.wvu.edu

honored as Robert C. Byrd Professors

thousands of young people pursue higher education opportunities nationwide.

Tel: 304-293-5913 mridul.gautam@mail.wvu.edu

Alan Martin Associate Vice President, Office of

The Byrd professorships were established in 2004 by the WVU Research Corp. to recognize WVU faculty for outstanding achievement and distinction

Joe Kozuch