Improving National Health
and Security
X-ray equipment to detect tumors earlier. A system to protect
military aircraft from missiles. These are technologies of the
future based on research being done today by Professor of Physics
Nancy Giles and her colleagues.
Giles, who specializes in solid-state physics, uses photoluminescence
spectroscopy to detect defects in materials such as laser crystals
and semiconductors. "People in this field are looking at
how to improve materials for the next generation of devices,"
she said.
In one research project, Giles and Larry Halliburton, chair of
the WVU Physics Department, are studying defects in laser crystals
used in defense countermeasures. Lasers produce infrared radiation,
and an improved laser crystal would enable the Air Force to equip
aircraft with infrared-blasting devices that could throw enemy
heat-seeking missiles off course.
Giles is employing the opposite end of the color spectrum in
a research project for the Office of Naval Research. She uses
ultraviolet radiation to identify impurities in materials created
by colleague Tom Myers. The new materials could lead to more
high-powered, durable electronic devices for the nation's fleet.
Another project, funded by the Department of Energy, involves
the study of cadmium-zinc-telluride as a new material for detecting
X-rays and gamma rays. This could improve the DOE's efforts to
monitor nuclear weapons proliferation. The material also has
applications in medicine, where scientists are exploring its
use in equipment to detect tumors earlier.
New Initiative to Combat
Obesity
In West Virginia, the prevalence of obesity has been among the
highest in the country in 14 of the past 15 years. Thanks to
federal funding approved last year, the WVU Health Sciences Center
is organizing a new center focusing on the problem.
"The new Center on Obesity at WVU will work with community
groups, schools, and medical professionals to find innovative
ways to reduce obesity and improve our health," said U.S.
Senator Robert C. Byrd.
Obesity has been associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer,
stroke, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, gallbladder disease,
respiratory disease, and arthritis. Researchers estimate that
325,000 deaths in the nation each year can be attributed to obesity.
"The Center on Obesity will allow us to target a problem
that is at the root of many of the health problems prevalent
in West Virginia," said Robert D'Alessandri, vice president
for health sciences at WVU. "We already have considerable
expertise in this area, and this funding will enable us to launch
efforts that promise to make a real difference on a statewide
scale."
Parent-Child Interactions
and Depression
Anxiety problems affect 15 million Americans every year. Taking
a scientific approach to a topic that has long fueled the work
of novelists, musicians, filmmakers, and other artists, a WVU
psychology professor has developed a study that aims to identify
styles of parent-child interaction that might be associated with
social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and depression.
The study by Tracy Morris, "Family Interactions and Social
Anxiety in Children," will explore how parent-child interactions
may influence whether a child develops anxious tendencies or
depression. Ninety-six children ages 9 to 12 and their families
will serve as subjects in the investigation.
The study is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of
Health.
Studying Roles of Juveniles
in Hate Crimes
With a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, sociologists
James Nolan and Carson Mencken are working with the FBI to collect
and analyze national data about juvenile involvement in hate
crimes.
"We will collect data and compile it here at WVU,"
said Nolan, who specializes in criminology and statistics. "Then
we will talk to experts to learn from the data what kind of influences
this project can have on policies at the national level."
Using five years of data from the National Incident-Based Reporting
System, Nolan and Mencken will examine hate crime incidents in
which juveniles were involved as victims or offenders. They hope
to determine who is committing crimes, what types of injuries
are being inflicted, where and when these hate crimes are likely
to happen, types of weapons being used, and how much time occurs
between the offense and an arrest.
Foresters Fight Fires, Increase
Profits
Researchers in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and
Consumer Sciences are looking for ways to combine forest fire
prevention with profit. A grant from the USDA Forest Service
is funding a project to inventory wood left over after harvest
in some of West Virginia's most fire-prone counties, and to develop
a marketing strategy for the logging residue.
"Wildland fires have always posed a significant threat to
the people and resources of West Virginia," said Bruce Anderson,
an assistant professor of wood science. In 2001, fire reportedly
destroyed 85,000 acres of West Virginia woodlands.
Byproducts of the logging process that remain on the ground—logs,
limbs, and treetops—can pose a fire threat, Anderson said.
Taking Native American Issues
to Heart
For more than 20 years she has worked with Native American children,
adolescents, and families. Still, Carol Markstrom sees much more
study ahead.
Markstrom, an associate professor of child development and family
studies and a member of the WVU Native American Studies Program,
is currently conducting research for a book titled "The
Significance of Coming-of-Age Ceremonies for Contemporary American
Indian Girls." The work documents the parallels found in
puberty ceremonies across Native American tribes and the implications
for positive youth development of contemporary adolescents.
She said her research has become a personal learning experience:
"It began as a scholarly activity, but quickly became a
personal experience of growth as my own worldview, beliefs, and
values were challenged through exposure to cultures and systems
of meaning that were viable and of high importance to Native
people."
Markstrom first worked with Native Americans as a student at
the University of Minnesota. She served as a family counselor
in tribal social service programs in South Dakota and an instructor
at the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe's community college.
She was recently invited to present a workshop, "Enhancing
the Learning Experience of the American Indian Child," at
the First Annual Conference on the Education of the American
Indian Child held in Arizona.