WVU Magazine

07/26/2025

Polypropylene is everywhere. The versatile and durable plastic resin is in medical supplies, car bumpers, toys and even shoe insoles. Up to now, most upcycling approaches have been costly and yielded minimal usable material.

However, West Virginia University researchers are using microwave technology to upcycle this plastic waste into valuable chemicals like propylene, which can be used to make a wide range of products from skincare to adhesives. ♻️

Read about this groundbreaking research in our Summer ‘25 issue!

Nontoxic and FDA approved, polypropylene helps nourish us, forming the basis for everything from our yogurt tubs to takeaway boxes to reusable coffee cups. It contains no Bisphenol-A, a chemical other plastics can release into food which has raised health concerns for its potential to alter hormonal...

07/25/2025

More than 150,000 veterans call West Virginia home, but many face unique and complex challenges when it comes to navigating benefits and accessing care. The West Virginia University College of Law Veterans Advocacy Clinic works hard to provide legal support to those who served.

Veteran and student attorney, Trevor Hinkle, reflects on how the clinic makes a difference, not just to individual veterans but communities across the state. Read now in the Summer '25 issue of WVU Magazine:

Trevor Hinkle is a WVU law student who is also a veteran of the 130th Airlift Wing, having served in Kuwait. He uses what he's learned and what he's learning to help other vets in the Veterans Advocacy Clinic.

07/24/2025

The Community Engagement Lab, a collaboration between the WVU Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and WVU Extension, is reimaging West Virginia. Students and faculty work directly with rural towns to transform challenges into opportunities.

Collaboration begins with listening and learning from residents, understanding their stories, their wants, needs and aspirations. Solutions are rooted in culture and reflect the spirit of the people.

By uplifting local voices, they are uprooting stereotypes and creating new narratives tied to the creativity and heritage of each place. Read more about how they work together to build futures shaped by the community itself in the Summer '25 issue of WVU Magazine. ⬇️

The Community Engagement Lab in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and WVU Extension brings the expertise of faculty and the energy of students to solve critical problems of design.

07/23/2025

A late-night study session turned into a pivotal moment for Omar Ibraheem. While cramming for a biology final, a job posting for Purpose2Action at the WVU Center for Community Engagement caught his attention.

Since then, Omar has been a passionate force in the CCE, showing that even small choices can lead to meaningful journeys. What began as a last-minute decision has grown to valuable experience and education with life-long impact.

Read more from the Summer '25 issue of WVU Magazine:

WVU is a Carnegie Community Engagement University, one of the first 100 higher education institutions to attain that ranking in 2010, and then was reaccredited in 2020. That classification means the Center and the University have committed to forming partnerships in the community and the exchange of...

07/22/2025

Jennifer Ours Williams visit to Egerton’s campus in Kenya revealed impactful connections to her past. While sharing WVU Extension materials and learning about local 4K Clubs, she discovered that Robert Maxwell, her mentor and former dean, had left a lasting legacy there. Years after his work, his influence continues to shape and inspire education across continents.

Ours Williams is continuing a more than 60-year-old legacy of partnership and leadership in WVU Magazine’s Summer ’25 issue. ⬇️

When Jennifer Ours Williams first set foot in Kenya, it felt like stepping into something vast — an experience that would be quietly, but undoubtedly, life-changing. Williams wasn’t expecting to spark a connection that would loop back across decades.

07/21/2025

Each season, when the WVU Men's Soccer Team steps onto the field, they're playing not just to win matches and entertain their fans, but to inspire the next generation of Mountaineers. Fueled by that dream, they took it a step further, developing a mentoring program with Brookhaven Elementary School.

Through soccer drills and encouragement, they’re helping kids build confidence, skills and a sense of belonging — ensuring no one is left on the sidelines.

The WVU Men’s Soccer Team has developed a mentoring program at Brookhaven Elementary School that teaches kids values such as teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship.

07/20/2025

🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️ Walk Through to Awareness 🧠💙
Colon cancer is often silent — but WV PICCS is making sure the message gets loud.

With the Strollin’ Colon, staff are hitting the road across West Virginia, inviting folks to step inside a larger-than-life inflatable colon to learn what a healthy colon looks like, how polyps form, and how cancer develops.

“It’s the perfect icebreaker,” said Eason. “People are curious, and that curiosity opens the door to real, life-saving conversations.”

📍 Education that walks the walk — literally.

https://go.wvu.edu/4g9pj

07/19/2025

“When caught early in stages one and two, colorectal cancer patients have a good prognosis. In the later stages, it’s still a highly treatable and an often-curable cancer with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. That’s why screening is so important.”

Read how early colorectal cancer detection saves lives in WVU Magazine’s Summer ’25 issue.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the incident rate for colorectal cancer in West Virginia is 44.3 per 100,000 people while the national figure is 36.4 per 100,000 people. It’s also the fourth-most-common cancer among men and women combined in the Mountain State.

07/18/2025

With firsthand knowledge of the barriers veterans face, WVU student attorney Trevor Hinkle turned his challenges into motivation — helping lead a clinic that’s delivered more than $500,000 in back pay and millions more in future benefits. This mission-driven legal team at WVU Law’s Veterans Advocacy Clinic is making an impact one veteran, one family, one case at a time.

Trevor Hinkle is a WVU law student who is also a veteran of the 130th Airlift Wing, having served in Kuwait. He uses what he's learned and what he's learning to help other vets in the Veterans Advocacy Clinic.

07/17/2025

“Right now, most propylene is made using energy-heavy methods,” said professor Srinivas Palanki.

West Virginia University researchers are using microwave tech to upcycle plastic waste into valuable chemicals like propylene, cutting down on energy use and emissions while giving U.S. industries a cleaner edge. ♻️⚡

Read about this groundbreaking research in our Summer ‘25 issue.

Nontoxic and FDA approved, polypropylene helps nourish us, forming the basis for everything from our yogurt tubs to takeaway boxes to reusable coffee cups. It contains no Bisphenol-A, a chemical other plastics can release into food which has raised health concerns for its potential to alter hormonal...

07/16/2025

“This connection that we have in Morgantown with our public schools and WVU — it's priceless.” — Brookhaven principal Sara Kane. In the heart of Morgantown, continues to build remarkable partnerships with its community and the rest of the world.

Read how these partnerships exemplify WVU’s dedication to community empowerment, service to humanity in WVU Magazine’s Summer ’25 issue.

The WVU Men’s Soccer Team has developed a mentoring program at Brookhaven Elementary School that teaches kids values such as teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship.

07/15/2025

After disappearing from the state in the late 1800s due to overhunting and deforestation, elk are finding their footing again, thanks to collaborative efforts between researchers and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

Now, wildlife professor Amy Welsh and graduate student Adam Cook are digging deep into the herd’s genetic diversity, working to secure a sustainable future for these majestic animals.

“It has really important implications about the future sustainability of these populations,” Cook said. “Because when you lose diversity, you can get inbreeding, loss of fitness and population shrinking.”

WVU research is helping these animals reclaim their place in Appalachia. 🌄

Elk disappeared from West Virginia more than a century ago. They roamed the forests of the eastern United States prior to European colonization but were extirpated from the region by the late 1800s due to hunting and logging. In 2016, the WVDNR brought 24 elk from a herd in Kentucky’s Land Between...