Marshall Undergraduate Students Awarded Summer Research Funds

Eleven Marshall University (MU) undergraduate students will conduct original scientific research by participating in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) beginning May 21 and continuing through July 27.

“We want students to know that research is not only for graduate students, but also for the undergraduates. This is the time when they start developing their research skills in preparation for grad school,” said Dr. Michael Norton, professor of chemistry at MU and director of the program.

Students will receive stipends totaling $4,000 each and supplies for their research for a period of 10 weeks uninterrupted by classes during the summer.

MU received the funds for SURE from West Virginia’s Research Challenge Fund (RCF) to advance research in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through the support of undergraduate research. The RCF is administered by the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCoR). This year, SURE will fund 10 MU research projects selected by the proposal evaluation committee.

This year, the MU SURE awardees and their projects are:

Charles Lowe of Gilbert (mathematics major), “Beta-Rayleigh Distribution in Reliability”

Christina Newsome of Dingess (chemistry major), “Isolation and identification of Insulin C-Peptide Binding Proteins”

Deborah Preston of Huntington (biology major), “Reversing Age-associated cardiac dysfunction”

Derek McKinney of Beckley (environmental science major), “Use of Substrate Mapping to Predict Bethnic Fish populations”

Jacob Kilgore of Kenova (chemistry major), “Organometallic Complexes”

Megan Neal of Shreve, Ohio, (biology major), “Cardioprotective value of Chronic acetaminophen in the Aorta”

Reema Patel of Scott Depot (biology major), and Mai-Lan Pham of Huntington (biomedical sciences major), “Role of PIWILA in Human Pancreatic Cancer”

Robert Gibson of Salt Rock (biology major), “Pokeweed Purification and Aptamer Development”

Samantha Newberry of Parkersburg (biotechnology major), “Phylogenetic Analysis of Black nose dace species”

Zachary Tackett of Chesapeake, Ohio, (biotechnolgoy major), “Resistance genes and proteins”

For more information, visit the SURE program’s website at www.marshall.edu/sure or contact Norton at Norton@marshall.edu.

Research, Technology Lead to Brighter Future

This op-ed commentary by Dr. Paul Hill, executive director of WVEPSCoR, appeared in the May 8, 2007, edition of the Charleston Gazette.


I RECENTLY had the opportunity to testify before the U.S. Congress on behalf of the National Science Foundation and NASA. My message to the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Representative Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va., was simple and direct:

Our nation must invest more in research and technology development.

We must utilize the resources in every state.

The decisions — and the future — are in our hands.

This is an important message here at home, too. Research and technology development are essential to our state and national security, as well as to our economic prosperity. For decades, the United States’ preeminence in science went unchallenged, but today’s world is very different and we face growing competition from around the globe. Every state needs to act immediately to ensure our research base continues to grow, and that we can provide opportunities for students across the country to become first-rate scientists and engineers.

Last fall, I was part of a delegation from West Virginia privileged to attend a meeting in Washington, D.C., of more than 800 of the nation’s top scientists and policymakers. The purpose of this special convocation was to discuss and respond to a report titled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.” Commissioned by Congress, the report concluded that our country’s world economic leadership will erode in the coming years if the United States does not proactively seek to improve the scientific and technological expertise of its workforce. Governor Joe Manchin addressed the gathering, strongly endorsing state-led initiatives to respond to global competitiveness and pledging to implement strategies both in West Virginia and with the National Governor’s Association.

During my recent Congressional testimony, I was pleased to tell the members of the subcommittee about the research renaissance underway in our state, and the role played by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

Congress created EPSCoR some 28 years ago to develop research infrastructure in states that traditionally received little federal funding for research. West Virginia was one of five charter states when the program began, and our state has benefited tremendously from its participation. With federal grants as a catalyst, we have been able to greatly expand our state’s research capacity.

Perhaps just as importantly, however, the success of the research initiatives enabled by EPSCoR funding has been the impetus for increasing the state’s investment in research. Several years ago, the West Virginia Legislature voted to dedicate a portion of the state’s racetrack video lottery revenue — approximately $4 million each year — to the Research Challenge Fund. This investment of state funds for research represented a major step forward for West Virginia, and is already beginning to show results. In just a few years, these Challenge Fund grants have generated more than $18 million in corporate and federal research grants, and several million dollars more in venture capital.

We are continuing to build on that momentum. Gov. Manchin and the Legislature provided a new line item in the state’s budget for next fiscal year. They set aside $10 million in additional funds to help build the research programs at West Virginia University and Marshall University. Again, this represents an unprecedented state investment in research infrastructure — an investment that will allow us to continue to grow our state’s capacity to compete in the new global economy. An additional advantage is that grants from the money in this fund will be linked to economic development goals, so we can ensure the initiatives undertaken contribute to the long-term quality of life for West Virginians.

The federal government also is addressing the competitiveness issue with renewed vigor. On April 25, the U.S. Senate passed the America COMPETES Act (S.761), a bipartisan legislative response to the recommendations in the Rising Above the Gathering Storm report. The bill, if passed by the House, will increase American investment in basic research and improve the teaching of math, science and engineering. Outstanding!

As a nation, we must continue this momentum to meet the challenges facing us. And in West Virginia, although we may not yet have the capacity to compete on the same level as states such as California (Silicon Valley) or North Carolina (Research Triangle), we can, and must, contribute to the national effort to step up our economic and intellectual leadership. Our future depends on it.

West Virginia Sets Aside Additional $10 Million for Research
Marks First Payment Toward Vision 2015 Plan


The West Virginia Legislature and Governor Joe Manchin III have set aside an additional $10 million in the state’s fiscal year 2008 budget for research. This new funding is in addition to the percentage of the state’s limited racetrack video lottery revenue currently designated for research—approximately $4 million each year.

According to Dr. Paul Hill, executive director of the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCoR), the $10 million in new funds will be used to build the research programs at Marshall University (MU) and West Virginia University (WVU).

“The money will be used to further the goals of the state’s Vision 2015 strategic plan for building research infrastructure,” said Hill. “We have focused initial resources on a program called Eminent Scholars Recruitment and Enhancement (ESRE), which will increase the doctoral level workforce at our two research universities. If we are able to do that in the short term, the long-term benefits for West Virginia’s economic future will be significant.”

Hill added that more scholars with demonstrated research competitiveness will be able to compete successfully for a larger share of federal and foundation research funds; increase their institutions’ volume of intellectual property creation, patenting and licensing; enhance the stature of MU and WVU as vibrant, world-class research institutions; attract other talented faculty and graduate students to West Virginia; foster new companies and create new collaborations with industry to commercialize technologies; and create economic opportunities and jobs for West Virginians.

Details about the Vision 2015 plan are available on the WVEPSCoR website at http://www.wvepscor.org/. For more information about the ESRE program, contact Dr. Jan Taylor, WVEPSCoR deputy director/senior research fellow at jtaylor@wvepscor.org or (304) 558-4128, ext. 251.

WVEPSCoR Director Testifies Before House Subcommittee

Dr. Paul L. Hill, executive director of West Virginia’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCoR), and Dr. Majid Jaraiedi, director of the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies on April 24, 2007.

Hill asked the committee for $125 million for the NSF EPSCoR program and $15 million for the NASA EPSCoR program for FY2008. He impressed upon Chairman Alan Mollohan (D-WV) the critical nature increases in research funding will be to America’s future as a world leader in scientific and technological development.

Using West Virginia as an example, Hill pointed out that continued support to the EPSCoR program would ultimately result in greater investment in research from other funding sources. He explained that the success of the EPSCoR grant program had spurred state investment in research, specifically state legislators voted to dedicate half of one percent of the state’s racetrack video lottery revenue to research—an amount that totals approximately $4 million per year.

Mollohan praised Hill for his work with WVEPSCoR, noting how important the program is to West Virginia.


Photo caption: Dr. Majid Jaraiedi, left, of the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, and Dr. Paul Hill of West Virginia EPSCoR, prepare to testify before Congress.

For more information, contact Ginny Painter, WVEPSCoR communications program manager.