West Virginia University will be well represented later this month as more than three dozen undergraduate and graduate students and their research professors will share aspects of their work at a prestigious event in Charleston where the director of the National Science Foundation, U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller and a representative of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be featured participants.

The fourth biennial STaR Symposium and 87th annual meeting of the West Virginia Academy of Science will be held April 20-21 at West Virginia State University in Institute. The event allows university and college faculty members, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, policymakers and members of the high-tech business community to share ideas, collaborate and learn how to transform their own research into economic development.

The event is open to all university and college faculty members, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, policymakers and members of the high-tech business community to share ideas, collaborate and learn how to transform research into economic development.

The program will consist of four panel presentations including: biotechnology start-up success stories; transforming discovery into a successful product; government and private groups available to help; and research funding opportunities within West Virginia.

Each panel will include expert speakers in those fields and will be moderated by Lindsay Emery from WVU’s Office of Research and Economic Development; Anne Barth from TechConnectWV; Charlotte Weber from the Robert C. Byrd Institute of Advanced Flexible Manufacturing; and Jan Taylor from the Commission’s Division of Science and Research.

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission through the Division of Science and Research, along with the WVAS, is co-sponsoring the event. The West Virginia University Research Corp. is also a co-sponsor.

Event information, including a detailed agenda and registration information, is available at www.wvresearch.org. The early registration deadline ends April 10, but registration will be available at the event. Presenters were chosen after submitting abstracts of their work.

Oral presentations will cover the work of these WVU researchers and their topics:

  • Ryan M. Williams, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences and Letha J. Sooter, WVNano Initiative and Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences: In vitro selection of DNA molecular recognition elements for the pesticide atrazine.
  • Brian C. Train, Nissa M. Thomsen and Dr. Gannett, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences; and Vorasit Vongsutilers, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand: Investigation of the Z-DNA binding protein mediated B-/Z-DNA transition through the use of C8-arylguanine modified oligonucleotides
  • Hillen, Taylor and Kuhlman, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; and Dinc and Gray, Civil and Environmental Engineering: Spray cooling experiments for Monte Carlo simulation model.
  • Pujya Wagle Gautam and Assistant Professor Jennifer Weidhaas, Civil and Environmental Engineering: Spatial relationship between the trichloroethylene degrading bacteria Dehalcooccoides sp., sulphate reducers and methanogens during reductive dechlorination.
  • Jinlong Yan, Mingjiazhi and Nianqiang Wu, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: PH3 poisoning effect on Ni/YSZ cermet solid oxide fuel cell anode.
  • Anveeksh Koneru, Mingjia Zhi and Nianqiang Wu, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Electrospun La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 nanofibers for high temperature electrochemical carbon monoxide sensor.
  • Aaron Costa, Aaron Deneau, Carla Feragotti, Stewart Harvin, Enmanuel Madera, Jeremy Pepper, Darius Reynolds, Caleb Rice, Alex Squires, Miranda Straub, Nathan Weese, and Kuhlman, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Electrostatically enhanced fluidized beds in microgravity.
  • Charles Z. Walburn and Leslie C. Hopkinson, Civil and Environmental Engineering: Quantifying near-streambank turbulence through a storm event.
  • Engin Ciftyurek, Katarzyna Sabolsky and Edward M. Sabolsky, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Degradation of platinum thin films electrodes for high-temperature MEMs applications.
  • Phil Gansor, Chunchuanxu, John Zondlo, Katarzyna Sabolsky and Edward Sabolsky, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: An H2S-tolerant Ni/GDC anode with a GDC barrier layer

WVU representatives having research posters presented and their topics include:

  • Jason R. Healy and Rae Matsumoto, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, along with colleagues from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy: Pharmacological characterization of novel opioid agents intended to reduce chronic tolerance.
  • Kailey Imlay, Department of Biology; Ryan M. Williams and Sooter, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences: Isolation of molecular recognition elements against Exotoxin A for application in toxin detection.
  • Amanda Kulick, Pre-forensics; Williams, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Sooter: In Vitro selection of PETN molecular recognition elements using capillary electrophoresis
  • Amruta Manke and Yon Rojanasakul, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences; Cerasela Zoica Dinu, Department of Chemical Engineering; and colleagues of the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health: Novel synthetic cardiac glycosides for anti-cancer therapy.
  • Joshua Mullenax, Pratrick Browning, Wade Huebsch and Edward Sabolsky, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Electrochemical and mechanical evaluation of multifunctional lithium ion batteries.
  • Jose Escobar and Ismail Celik, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Faster simulations for pollutant predictions using detailed chemistry.
  • Sergio Escobar, S. Raju Pakalapati and Celik, Mechanical Engineering: Numerical study of rotating detonation combustion for stationary power generation
  • Vijay Manickam, Celik, Jerry Mason, Pakkalapatiof, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Quantification of mixing in two fluid micro-channels for biomedical applications.
  • Devan M. Basil, Department of Community Medicine, and colleagues from West Liberty University: Correlations between zinc intake and taste perception of zinc sulfate solution.
  • Devan Basil, Community Medicine, and colleagues from West Liberty University: Correlations between a zinc specific food frequency questionnaire, zinc taste test, and a novel visual analog scale.
  • Sean Abel and Professor Leslie Hopkinson, Civil and Environmental Engineering: Characterizing near-boundary turbulence following stream restoration of varying intensity.
  • Bahar Noorbakhsh and Rae Matsumoto, Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, and colleagues from the University of Mississippi: Pharmacological characterization of sigma-2 receptor compounds: putative aids in the treatment of cocaine abuse and addiction.

-WVU-

gg/04/09/12

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