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West Virginia awarded $20 million in scientific research funding from National Science Foundation
West Virginia has received more than $105 million in EPSCoR funding and co-funding since 2001 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia has been awarded a highly competitive, five-year $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) that will boost academic scientific research and upgrade infrastructure at West Virginia University (WVU), Marshall University (MU), West Virginia State University (WVSU) and Shepherd University. EPSCoR is facilitated by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science, Technology & Research (STaR). This funding establishes the WV Network for Functional Neuroscience and Transcriptomics (WV-NFNT), a statewide…
Continue ReadingHigher Education Policy Commission’s new state science and technology plan seeks to attract federal research dollars and high-tech industry to the Mountain State
CHARLESTON, WV – If West Virginia wants to attract the high-tech employers and federal research dollars it needs to diversify its economy, then the state must develop its science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) talent pipeline, expand the efforts of its research universities, encourage innovation, and help small businesses and high-tech companies grow. Those are the goals set out in Vision 2025: West Virginia Science & Technology Plan (S&T Plan), the strategic plan for science and research that was released today by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. “As West Virginia’s economy continues to shift and develop, our state must…
Continue ReadingFirst2 Network announces summer research experiences to benefit first-generation and underrepresented college freshmen in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, WV – Incoming college freshmen in West Virginia majoring in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields can gain hands-on research experience and faculty mentoring this summer. From June through August, First2 Network (First2) – a federal initiative within the state’s Higher Education Policy Commission – will offer immersive research experiences at eight partner sites including Green Bank Observatory, High Rocks Educational Corporation, Marshall University, University of Charleston, West Virginia University, West Virginia University Institute of Technology, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and West Virginia State University. Underrepresented students are the focus of this initiative, with an emphasis…
Continue ReadingWest Virginia’s 18th Undergraduate Research Day to feature over 70 virtual student presentations this Friday
CHARLESTON, W.VA. – College students from across West Virginia will present their research projects during Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol (URDC) this Friday, March 5. The event, which is typically held at the West Virginia State Capitol Building, will take place virtually this year with opportunities for viewers to interact with student presenters. “This is one of my favorite events each year. It’s an opportunity for our outstanding students to showcase their hard work to legislators, state leaders, and all of West Virginia,” said Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor for Higher Education. “I always leave Undergraduate Research Day…
Continue ReadingMetroNews: Columbia University neuroscientist explains studying the brain
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Dr. Carl Schoonover has a fascination with the human brain, and has been studying how people connect memories with certain odors. The problem: the brain is too difficult to study using lab instruments. “It’s been very difficult look at it,” the Columbia University neuroscientist said. “If you just take a brain out of a skull, even put it under a microscope, all you’re going to see is a gray, undifferentiated mass. There’s nothing really there for you.” Schoonover gave a lecture Thursday in Charleston to explain how humans have studied the brain dating back to second century…
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West Virginia University astrophysicist the focus of new documentary
Charleston, W.Va., April 19, 2017 – Early last year, a team of scientists detected gravitational waves in the universe – something that Albert Einstein predicted a hundred years prior in his theory of relativity. Dr. Sean McWilliams, from West Virginia University (WVU), was part of that team and is featured in a new video released by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s (HEPC) Division of Science and Research. In the two-minute video, McWilliams, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy in WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, shares how the detection of gravitational waves heightens scientists’ understanding of…
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West Virginia scientists present economic and community impact of research
Scientists at colleges and universities from across the state came together yesterday to discuss how their innovative research projects impact West Virginia’s communities and are contributing to economic growth. During the STEM Salon event, hosted by the Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research, four scientists gave brief presentations about their work. Representing Marshall University was Dr. Nadja Spitzer who spoke about her research into how exposure to silver nanoparticles could be affecting the brains of children and adults. Spitzer was awarded a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation for her research. She also spoke about…
Continue ReadingWest Virginia State University’s research on peppers featured in video series
Charleston, W.Va., Sept. 19, 2016 – Research into how peppers can be enhanced for greater nutritional benefit is the focus of a new video released recently by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s (HEPC) Division of Science and Research. Dr. Umesh Reddy and Dr. Padma Nimmakayala describe the work they are doing at West Virginia State University in the two-minute video which is part of an ongoing series about scientists from around the state. Dr. Jan Taylor, Director of the Division of Science and Research said, “Scientific research can lead West Virginia into a new economy, and this begins with…
Continue ReadingGazette-Mail: Canadian scientist talks crime scene science with sold out Culture Center crowd
Jennifer Gardy is a detective, but not the kind you’re imagining. Instead of a pistol and handcuffs, the tools of Gardy’s trade are microscopes and DNA gels. “I’m the microbe detective,” she likes to tell people. Gardy actually is a senior scientist with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and has an assistant professorship at the University of British Columbia. In her day job, she studies how diseases are spread through the world and tries to track down the next big breakouts before they happen. Sometimes she’s a television show host, too. She is an occasional host of Canada’s…
Continue ReadingChancellor Hill: Scientific discovery fuels minds, futures
This commentary appeared in the February 25, 2016 edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail. As a young boy growing up in rural West Virginia, I loved discovery. I was fascinated by the idea of putting two things together and getting something entirely new, how things worked and why frogs croaked in the spring. So I was drawn to science. Scientific research is profoundly fascinating. Something starts as an idea, and with analytical powers, deep study and experimental creation, you end up with a problem solved, questions answered or a discovery made. Students from across our state who are at the Capitol…
Continue ReadingHigher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research to host Bill Nye the Science Guy in West Virginia
Charleston, W.Va. – Bill Nye the Science Guy will be the next featured scientist in the Chancellor’s STEM Speaker Series lineup on November 19, organizers have announced. The series of events is organized by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research. Bill Nye has spent most of his life making science and technology entertaining and accessible. Combining his talents as a scientist, inventor, comedian and author, he has attracted adults and children to the wonders of science. Nye’s wit and enthusiasm have helped to garner 18 Emmy awards for his PBS/syndicated series Disney Presents Bill…
Continue ReadingGovernor Tomblin, Congressional delegation announce $20 million scientific research grant
State has received more than $60 million in EPSCoR funding since 2001 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, along with Representatives David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Evan Jenkins, today announced the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a highly-competitive $20 million grant to West Virginia’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to boost academic scientific research and upgrade infrastructure at West Virginia University (WVU), Marshall University (MU), West Virginia State University (WVSU) and other state institutions. EPSCoR is facilitated by the state Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and…
Continue ReadingWV 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.…
Continue Reading2013 STaR Symposium to feature NY Times columnist and Nova Science Now Host, David Pogue
Charleston, WV, September 18, 2013 – David Pogue, science author, New York Times columnist and host of PBS’s Nova Science Now, will be the keynote presenter at the 5th Biennial Science, Technology & Research (STaR) Symposium, to take place Oct. 22-23 at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, conference organizers announced today. Dr. Jan Taylor, director of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science & Research, said, “This year’s STaR Symposium theme, appropriate for an energy state like West Virginia, is The Evolution of Energy: From Scarcity to Abundance. We’ll look at the issues surrounding energy development…
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Jan Taylor: STEM education not just for kids (Daily Mail)
I believe that all kids are little scientists. This is especially evident when they ask all those “why” and “how” questions. By ensuring they continue to experience the fun and excitement of science as they grow older, we can create a new generation of scientists, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs who will, in turn, grow our state’s economy. But, is it possible to reignite a love of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in people who are a little older? We at the Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research believe it’s more than possible. The idea…
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