A West Virginia University physicist whose research focuses on whats happening in space has been appointed to a distinguished faculty position within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences .

Earl Scime , Robert C. Byrd Professor of Physics and chair of the WVU Department of Physics , has been named Eberly Distinguished Professor of Physics.

I have been fortunate to attract talented postdoctoral candidates and students to my research group, which has allowed me to build a nationally competitive program in plasma physics,Scime said.

I have also been fortunate to work in a department and college that value both excellent teaching and research,he added.Whatever success I have obtained as an individual is in no small part due to the support I have had in my career here at WVU .

Eberly Distinguished Professors are chosen based on numerous criteria, including the quality of their teaching and research, ability to secure outside funding and leadership activities at WVU . Funding is provided by an endowment from the Eberly Foundation. The gift is managed by the WVU Foundation .

Scime is deserving of the appointment, said Eberly Dean Mary Ellen Mazey .

Professor Scime is a gifted scientist, leader and mentor,she said.His research is internationally recognized, and his commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary research has strengthened the Department of Physics and created unique partnerships and opportunities for our students.

Scimes research program in experimental physics is one of the few in the world that incorporates both laboratory and space plasma physics and has been widely recognized both at WVU and in the plasma physics community.

Plasma physics looks at the characteristics, properties and applications of plasmas. In the plasma state, atoms are ionized so you have a mixture of ions and electrons. Examples of plasma are the sun, thermonuclear fusion experiments, certain metal-cutting torches and fluorescent lamps.

Scime and his research groupwhich includes postdoctoral students, graduate students and undergraduate studentscreate space-like conditions in the lab to study natural phenomena in space. His group also collaborates on a variety of space missions, including the TWINS mission to provide stereo imaging of Earths magnetosphere.

In addition to their space-related research, Scime and his group are exploring plasma-based techniques to gasify coal to create transportation fuels and are developing new diagnostics for thermonuclear fusion experiments.

As chair of the Department of Physics, Scime has supported the development of interdisciplinary research programs, including the WVNano Initiative and a new multidisciplinary astrophysics/radio astronomy research program involving WVU and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank . Additionally, he has mentored six Goldwater Scholars, recipients of the nations premier award for undergraduates pursuing careers in math, science or engineering.

Scime has received the Claude Worthington Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award, Outstanding Research and Outstanding Teacher Awards from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching, a NASA Group Achievement Award for his work with the IMAGE spacecraft team and a U.S. Department of Energy Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Research Grant. He has been elected to full membership in Commission H of the Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale.

He served as a U.S. Department of Energy Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory before joining the WVU faculty.