MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) selected graduate student Mikal Dufor
('19) as an SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program award recipient for 2025-2026.
Dufor's doctoral study will be funded through an arrangement between the SREB,
the state of West Virginia, and West Virginia University for three years.
Over the past year, physics and astronomy faculty at West Virginia University have proven their commitment to innovation and excellence through their research, teaching, and service.
Finding new materials
for future technologies can take years of slow, expensive experiments. However,
scientists are now turning to powerful computers and smart data to speed things
up. In a recent study, a collaborative team of researchers including Subhasish Mandal, assistant professor in condensed matter physics, used
advanced simulations and machine learning to search for rare and promising
quantum materials known as altermagnets.
These advances open the door to faster breakthroughs in electronics, energy,
and beyond.
Her research journey began through the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, where she studied bright pulses from the Crab pulsar, a neutron star. At WVU, she worked with Duncan Lorimer to analyze millisecond pulsar data in globular clusters and presented findings at several conferences, including at the Green Bank Observatory. In 2024, Halley collaborated with Emmanuel Fonseca to study how a coronal mass ejection affected pulsar timing and presented this work at the 2025 International Pulsar Timing Array meeting at the California Institute of Technology.
Morgantown, WV — Summer 2025 was one for the books in the West Virginia University Department of Physics
and Astronomy! We welcomed new team members, made progress on important research,
and took some well-earned breaks. Students, staff, and faculty traveled across
the country and around the world… some for work, some for rest. Here are a few
highlights from our summer!
In addition to the science program, Jason E. Ybarra, director of the WVU Planetarium and Observatory and teaching assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, premiered a new film titled Cosmic Clocks. Developed and produced by Ybarra with support from University students Jordan O’Kelley, Susie Paine, and Jackson Taylor, as well as GWAC Scientific Computations Specialist Joseph Glaser, the film explores the foundations of pulsar timing. Isabela Rodriguez Ortiz, a participant in our 2024 Astrophysics Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) program, developed the Spanish language version of the film. The premiere took place at Glendale Community College Planetarium in partnership with the WVU....
