News/Events

While automation has become the new normal in our everyday modern lives, it is also assisting scientists in making strides in analyzing large data sets. With decades of archival data from radio telescopes from around the world available in storage, astronomers at West Virginia University (WVU) are using automation and machine learning techniques to dig through mounds of archival data with the hopes of uncovering new clues about mysterious cosmic phenomena like Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). 

The first WVUniverse talk for the new year will be an 'explosive' one.

The final WVUniverse talk of 2025 will be held on December 12th and will feature Graham Doskoch, a graduate student in the West Virginia University (WVU) Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology.

Scientists know dark energy makes up about 70% of the universe and is responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion. Beyond that, little about it is certain, so WVU engineer Kevin Bandura is enhancing the calibration of radio telescopes that can tell astronomers about dark energy by measuring the “neutral hydrogen” in the universe, a simple form of hydrogen with no net electric charge.

WVUniverse presents "Mysterious, Marvelous Cryogeology" with special guest Caitlin Ahrens, PhD. 

The WVUniverse series is back with an exciting lineup of public talks, perfectly tailored for all ages.

Maura McLaughlin, Eberly Distinguished Professor and Chair in the West Virginia University Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The grant, Collaborative Research: Building the Next-Generation NANOGrav Pulsar Timing Array with the DSA-2000 was awarded to McLaughlin and team as part of the Windows on the Universe program at NSF.  The dedicated $313,000 will support multi-faceted research and training programs across the country, involving a new radio telescope array called the Deep Synoptic Array, or DSA-2000.

Abyss Halley, a doctoral student in the West Virginia University Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, has been named a 2025 Ruby Fellowship Scholar by the West Virginia University Foundation. 

The synergistic power of physics and astronomy was on full display this summer break as six undergraduate students from across the country came together for a comprehensive introduction to research projects like magnetosonic waves on Venus, CHIME outrigger instrumentation, hands on plasma experimentation, and pulsar science research.

A West Virginia University astrophysicist is among this year’s Sloan Fellows, scholars recognized as emerging leaders in science.