WVU a Leader
in Organic Farming
WVU is one of the nation's leaders in the field of organic farming
systems research, according to a recent report by the Organic
Farming Research Foundation.
The report ranked WVU's Organic Research Project in the top five efforts in the field, along with Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota, and North Carolina.
The Organic Research Project at WVU, developed by faculty in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences and WVU Extension, conducts scientifically sound research to provide best-practice recommendations for West Virginia's organic farmers and home gardeners.
Libraries
Increase Collection
WVU Libraries has grown its collection by about 26 million volumes.
This feat is being accomplished through joining the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium Inc., or PALCI, a group of more than 50 academic libraries in the Keystone State with a reciprocal lending and borrowing agreement. WVU and Rutgers University were the first institutions outside of Pennsylvania to be invited to participate.
PALCI enables students, faculty, and staff of a member institution to use a Web site to concurrently search the holdings of all participating colleges and universities. After finding a particular title, users can request the book be sent to a library on their campus.
For students, faculty, and staff at WVU, the agreement means quick and easy access to collections at schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Drexel University, and dozens of others.
Forensics
Gets $4 Million Infusion
WVU's landmark Forensic Identification Program continues to grow
in prestige as it attracts students.
Capitol Hill made a case for the credibility of the program in January when Senator Robert C. Byrd announced that $4 million was being earmarked to continue its training and research initiatives.
"The events of September 11, 2001, and the ongoing war on terrorism have bolstered the need for highly trained forensic specialists," Byrd said.
Evaluating
West Virginia's Bridges
Over the river and through the woods . . .
Not much thought is given to what actually gets one over the river to grandma's house, but bridges are an integral part of the nation's infrastructure. In West Virginia alone, there are some 6,500 bridges—made of everything from wood to steel. WVU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH), have undertaken a project to evaluate the state's 100 weathering steel bridges.
Weathering steel is created by combining traditional steel with copper, phosphorus, chromium, and silicon. This combination significantly increases the corrosion resistance of the steel. As a result, weathering steel is typically not painted, which provides substantial cost savings to the DOH. For this reason, weathering steel is becoming the material of choice for new steel bridges in the state, especially with growing environmental concerns and regulations regarding painted structures.
The DOH has initiated a research project to ensure that the weathering steel bridges are performing as intended, and that there are no corrosion problems resulting from the use of nonpainted steel.
"These bridges will be evaluated through on-site visits and categorized so that general trends can be identified," said Dr. Karl Barth, professor of civil and environmental engineering at WVU and lead researcher on the project.
After the evaluation is complete, the team will submit a final report of their findings to the DOH. If necessary the team will continue to work with the DOH to create guidelines for future use of weathering steel.
Environmental
Research Center Launched
The WVU Research Corporation has announced an award of $225,000
to help create an Environmental Research Center (ERC).
The center's first goal will be to investigate water issues. The ERC will tap the expertise of researchers in the West Virginia Water Research Institute, Natural Resource Analysis Center, National Mine Land Reclamation Center, Appalachian Hardwood Center, and faculty in several WVU colleges.
The award was made under the Research Corporation's Program to Stimulate Interdisciplinary Research.
"Federal agencies that fund research look for teams of experts who can attack complex problems from multiple angles," said John Weete, president of the Research Corporation and vice president for research and economic development at WVU. "This is especially true in water and land management, where ecology, biology, hydrology, soil science, geology, civil and environmental engineering, and numerous other disciplines are involved."
"Instead of looking at an individual tract of land or an individual stream, federal agencies are focusing their efforts at the watershed level," Ronald Fortney, research professor in the Depart of Civil and Environmental Engineering explained. "WVU has made inroads in research at the watershed level. By building on our experience and diverse expertise, WVU is the key player in West Virginia and through the work of this center can become a key player nationally in addressing water and land management issues."
Workers Are
Leaving WV
West Virginia is a net exporter of workers to other states, according
to a new study issued by the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic
Research.
The report contains extensive data and analysis of West Virginia's county commuting flows from Census 2000.
"A large share of our residents cross state lines to work, particularly to jobs located in nearby metropolitan areas concentrated in Virginia and Maryland," said George Hammond, acting director of the bureau.
According to the report, in 2000 West Virginia sent 80,679 residents to other states to work. In contrast, West Virginia jobs drew 55,982 workers from other states. West Virginia imported the most workers from Ohio, while sending the most residents from the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands to jobs in Virginia and Maryland.
"The commuting patterns in the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands likely reflect the attractive living environment and cost-of-living advantages in those regions relative to the larger core cities in Virginia and Maryland," Hammond said.
Chemistry
Department Receives Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter
A gift from Dow Chemical is aiding experimentation in WVU's C.
Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry.
The Union Carbide Corporation Technical Center donated a Model 1281 Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter to the WVU Foundation in October.
The calorimeter is used for certain heat measurements that are critical in the mining and chemical industries, and is the industry standard for heat of combustion determinations.
"The Parr Bomb Calorimeter donated from Dow Chemical Co. will be used in research and especially in teaching," said Harry Finklea, chair of the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. "The bomb calorimetry experiment is an integral part of the laboratory in our physical chemistry courses."
Improving
Wildlife Habitat at Fort Necessity
A WVU researcher will make the Fort Necessity National Battlefield
in Farmington, Pennsylvania, a more habitable place for wildlife,
thanks to a $100,000 grant from the National Park Service.
Jim Anderson, an assistant professor of wildlife and fisheries resources in WVU's Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences, will develop and implement a habitat management plan for woodcock at the historic site.
"The goal of this project is to evaluate and restore a wet meadow area dominated by an invasive exotic plant species called Tartartian honeysuckle," Anderson said.
"While the variety of honeysuckle isn't necessarily a poor habitat for woodcock, it does crowd out native tree and shrub species that are better suited to the needs of the woodland bird," he noted.
"The National Park Service is dedicated to controlling exotic species if they interfere with natural processes or natural habitats, disrupt the accurate presentation of cultural landscapes, or hamper the management of their lands," Anderson explained.
While other wildlife species will benefit from the restoration of the landscape, woodcock have been chosen to receive special attention in the study.
"The species has declined more than 45 percent in the past 50 years," Anderson said.
After conducting wildlife and plant surveys, Anderson and his team will develop and test strategies to remove the honeysuckle. This will be followed by the development of a management plan for woodcock habitats in the battlefield area.
WVU to Boost
Forest Products Industry
U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd announced that WVU has joined an
elite group of land-grant institutions that house Centers for
Wood Utilization Research. Byrd secured $500,000 for the Division
of Forestry in WVU's Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry,
and Consumer Sciences for this important initiative.
"West Virginia's forests have provided jobs and economic prosperity for the state for many years but additional resources and opportunities remain untapped. I am pleased to have obtained funding to ensure WVU's inclusion in this project, which will work to identify and promote sustained economic growth for the state's wood products industries," Byrd said.
The Centers for Wood Utilization Research were established to generate the new knowledge and technologies needed to maintain a vigorous and competitive domestic forest products industry based on sustainable use of the nation's forest resources.
"As a part of this initiative, we will be able to examine global competitiveness, help develop engineered wood products and wood-plastic hybrids, and create value-added uses for wood residues from logging and production processes," said Joe McNeel, director of the Division of Forestry. The overarching goal for the division will be "to improve the economy, profitability, and potential of the West Virginia wood products industry."