WV Higher Education Policy Commission to recognize scientific research grants tomorrow at Culture Center

Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research has announced winners of new scientific research grants.

The recipients of these awards will be formally recognized on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 at a luncheon beginning at noon at the West Virginia Culture Center in conjunction with Undergraduate Research Day at the State Capitol. Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Education and the Arts, will be at the luncheon tomorrow to present ceremonial checks to the winners. The Division of Science and Research administers state- and federal-level scientific research grants in West Virginia.

The following awards were made to faculty members at colleges and universities statewide.

Instrumentation Grants
This award funds scientific equipment for advanced undergraduate laboratories.

• Horng-Jyh Yang, West Virginia University Institute of Technology – Introduce the Refraction Microtremor (ReMi) Shear Wave Technique to Civil and Electrical Engineering Students at WVU Tech

• Dana Alloway, Concord University – Materials Science Instrumentation for Undergraduate Teaching and Research – Infrared Spectrometer Reflectance System & Programmable Spin Coater

• Theunis van Aardt, West Liberty University – Proposed NMR spectrometer update to improve Synthetic Organic Chemistry Instruction at West Liberty University

• Michael Fultz, West Virginia State University – Acquisition of a New GC at WVSU

• Laura Robertson, Shepherd University – Acquisition of a microfluidics system to assess size, quantity, and quality of DNA, RNA, and protein for use in undergraduate science education and research

• Jacquelyn Cole, Shepherd University – Liquid Chromatography Front-End for Quantitative LC/MS/MS in Proteomics and Metabolomics

• Michael Kirkpatrick, Wheeling Jesuit University – WJU Psychophysiology Lab Enhancement

Innovation Grant
This award is used for creative improvements to scientific equipment and facilities, curriculum, classroom instruction or delivery.

• Sher Hendrickson-Lambert, Shepherd University – Enhancement of undergraduate science education through creation of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Grants
These grants help colleges and universities provide summer research experiences to undergraduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

• Joseph Horzempa, West Liberty University – Training Opportunity for Pre-Professionals, Educators, and Researchers in undergraduate STEM investigations — “TOPPER”

• Keith Garbutt, West Virginia University – West Virginia University Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (WVU-SURE)

• Michael Norton, Marshall University- Marshall University Undergraduate Research Experience Program: SURE

• Colleen Nolan, Shepherd University – Shepherd Opportunity to Attract Research Students II (SOARS)

• Katherine Harper, West Virginia State University – WVSU SURE 2014

Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUII) Incubator Awards
This is a two-year award funded by the National Science Foundation Research Improvement Infrastructure grant. The PUI program is designed to foster stronger research and collaboration among primarily undergraduate institutions and community and technical colleges with the themes of bio nanotechnology, biology and biotechnology.

• Dr. Charlie Chen from Alderson Broaddus University. Dr. Chen has been awarded $100,000 for his project entitled “Active drug targeting of ovarian cancer by nanoparticles”.

• Dr. Timothy Corrigan of Concord University. Dr. Corrigan is receiving $125,000 for his project entitled “Incubaor: Study of the Fluorescence from Quantum Dots Coupled with Gold Nanoparticles”.

For more information about the Division of Science and Research, visit www.wvresearch.org.