College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Welcome to the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics on behalf of its faculty, staff, and students. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is one of the four academic colleges at West Virginia State University. The College takes great pride in quality of its academic programs, faculty, and students.

About Our Academic Programs:

The College has four academic departments: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Physics (located in Hamblin and Wallace Halls). Its faculty and staff are committed to delivering quality up-to-date undergraduate programs in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics and a graduate program in Biotechnology as well as general education courses to all university undergraduate students in the areas of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. In addition, the College partners with WVU on 2+2 programs in Civil, Industrial, and Mechanical Engineering. We are excited about helping our students in becoming competent professionals, excellent researchers, and responsible citizens.  

About Our Faculty:

Our College is proud to have a very highly qualified and dedicated teaching and research faculty. In academic year 2014-15, our college faculty (92% of whom hold doctoral degrees in their respective fields) has published 34 research articles in various national and international journals. In the past five years, our faculty has secured over $27 million in grants and contracts from federal and state funding agencies (including grants secured in cooperation with the research programs of the WVSU Gus R. Douglass Land Grant Institute). Our faculty members conduct research on cancer, coronary artery disease, evolution, horticulture, genomics, natural products synthesis, acid mine drainage, embedded electronics systems, and classical mathematics (to name a few). Moreover, the College faculty is actively involved in programs designed for outreach to science and math teachers and students in the public schools of our service area.  Even while conducting innovative research, our faculty continues to give students the attention normally found only at small colleges.

About Our Students:

The College has a very vibrant student body. In classrooms and research activities, our students engage in critical and creative thinking, and hone their oral and written communication skills. Our students have the opportunity to participate in a number of undergraduate research programs. These programs include: Research Rookies scholarships (research program for freshmen and sophomores), NASA Space Grant Consortium scholarships (research program, generally for juniors and seniors), and Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) scholarships (an eight week summer research programs). Additionally, many of our students are paid stipends to work on ongoing research projects in the College.

In addition, the College has very active faculty-sponsored student clubs including: ACS (American Chemical Society) Club, DNA (biology students) Club, SPACE (Student Partnership for the Advancement of Cosmic Exploration) Club, and Math & CS Club.
 
Our College hosts two research symposia every year where students make either oral or poster presentations of their research. Our Annual Research Symposium is held at the end of April of each year. Our SURE Symposium is held in summer at the end of SURE program.

Last but not the least, our College is appreciative to to have a very hard-working staff. Mr. Doug Bright (Biology) and Ms. Elizabeth Keville (Chemistry) serve as lab managers. Ms. Glenna Curry, Mrs. Audrana Austin, and Mrs. Jeannie Starr are always available to help and welcome  faculty, students, and visitors.  


Naveed Zaman, Ph.D.
Interim Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Hamblin Hall 101
zamanna@wvstateu.edu
Phone: (304) 766-4248
Fax: (304) 766-4248

ACS (American Chemical Society) Club: 
The student members is a diverse group of students who want to advance science and science education in the area.  Any student who is interested in science can participate in community outreach and career development.  Outreach activities include trips to local schools and civic groups and career development involves seminars, professional meetings, and industrial visits.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Michael Fultz (304) 766-3106
Club President: Aaron Smith
 

DNA (Delta Nu Alpha) Club (Biology) This is a social organization for lovers of the outdoors (animals, plants, environment, and nature.)  Members have opportunities to participate in varied activities, such as spelunking and canoeing.  This group performs community service on and off campus.  Membership is open to all students.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Tim Ruhnke (304) 766-3210
Club President: Umer Rizwan

MATH/CS Club
A work in collaboration between the computer science and mathematics majors on campus, the Mathematics & Computer Science Club is dedicated to advancing education and research in the fields of Robotics, Applied & Classical Mathematics, Computer Science, and Innovation in the sciences. With active members from all tiers of interests and experience, we invite anyone willing to participate in on-campus projects, community service, and advanced one-to-one research amongst peers and professors.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sonya Armstrong (304) 766-3390
Club President: Danford Smith

SPACE Club
The purposes of this organization are the exploration of space-related topics and the enrichment of members on academic and research areas. The primary purpose of this club is to give educational options to those students who wish to have experiences related to space exploration and/or the space sciences and other topics that support space exploration, allowing students to have a direct influence on their own educational experience that would be most beneficial to them. The club wishes to inspire an interest in space-related topics among the WVSU campus, therefore increasing the number of research opportunities within the university. The club’s expansion will provide support to students in hopes of obtaining research and professional practices.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marek Krasnansky (304) 766-3257
Club Presidents: Umer Rizwan

The Mission of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

The West Virginia State University College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics exists, first to educate students so that they can understand, utilize, and improve upon scientific and mathematical principles and relate such principles to the rest of human knowledge; second, to promote scientific and mathematical literacy on the part of students of other colleges of the University; and third to utilize the expertise of its faculty in service to the state and to the people and institutions of the surrounding area.
 
By instruction and mentoring, the College will promote students’ motivation as well as knowledge and skills, and through research, the faculty will set an example to the students making it clear that knowledge is not just to be learned, but also to be created and advanced, by humankind’s efforts.
 
Its graduates are expected to have broad familiarity with the many fields of knowledge that have been promoted by humankind’s intellectual and creative skills, as well as a deep understanding of at least one of the areas of natural sciences or mathematics, along with a set of skills for probing such areas as to develop new knowledge, solve problems, and enjoy the satisfaction of the intellectual adventure.

NSM Student Council

Membership: The NSM Student Council consists two appointed (student) members and one liaison each from the existing College Student Clubs (currently, ACS club, the DNA club, the Math club, SPACE CLUB), and one graduate student representative. The membership is not very exclusive; any student who would like to get involved can become a member.  

The NSM Student Council exists to:

• assist and work with the dean in enhancing the academic and social experiences of College's students
• communicate students’ concerns and ideas to the dean
• promote student involvement in College activities and organizations
• coordinate (and lead) students' activities within the College.

The Council will meet at least once a month during the academic year.

• Sanjaya, “Developing Cost Effective Biological Removal Technology for Selenium and Nitrate from Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Wastewater from an Existing Power Generating Facility. DOE, $250,000.00”
• Sanjaya, Functional Characterization of Arabidopsis RmlC-like Cupins Superfamily. National Science Foundation (NSF), $300,000.00 (2016-2019).
• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2015-09260. CUCCAP: LEVERAGING APPLIED GENOMICS TO INCREASE DISEASE RESISTANCE IN CUCURBIT CROPS. (01 SEP 2015 - 31 AUG 2019) $6,515,655 (Research grant; as Co-PI for $300,000).
• Sanjaya, Engineering Photosynthetic Organisms for the Production of Renewable Energy, products and environmental Remediation, Department of Defense (DoD), $336,962 (2015-2017).

• Eya, J.C, USDA – Capacity Building Grant (01 Oct. 2015 - 31 Sept. 2018) No. 2011-38821-31130 ($295,663).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2015-06226. Phenomics for crop improvement: tools to create next generation plant breeders (01 SEP 2015 - AUG 2018), $299,940 (Research grant; as PI).

• Barbara E. Liedl, USDA NIFA Capacity Building Grant Program, 2012-38821-20049, Understanding Segregation Distortion and Reproductive Barriers Improves Breeders Ability to Transfer Traits from Wild Species to Cultivated, $299,734, 10/2012 - 9/2016

• Siddhartha Dasgupta, Michael Bomford and Barbara E. Liedl, USDA NIFA Capacity Building Grant Program, 2014-38821-22413, Developing a Comprehensive High Tunnel App as a New Tool for Building Capacity for Agricultural Extension at Two Appalachian 1890 Land Grant Institutions, $349,999, 10/2014 - 9/2017

• Rakesh Chandran, Jennifer O. Williams, Daniel, Frank, Mafuz Rahman, Mira Dqanilovich, Sheldon Owen, Barbara E. Liedl, S. Starcher, M.-B Bennett, M. Harman, USDA EIP, #2014-70006-22578, Extension Implementation Program in West Virginia, $169,000, 9/2014-8/2017

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2013-04053. Summer academy of plant breeding: A platform to develop minority workforce in molecular plant breeding (01 SEP 2013 - 31 AUG 2016), $120,000 (Higher Education grant; as Co-PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2013-03685. Diversifying the watermelon cultivar genetic base using genomic selection to improve nutraceutical traits and use them as parental lines (01 SEP 2013 - 31 AUG 2016), $444,346 (Research grant; as PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2012-02508. Genome-wide association mapping for improving nutraceutical traits in pumpkin and squash (01 SEP 2012 -31 AUG 2016), $299,832 (Research grant; as Co-PI).

• Eya, J.C, (14 Feb. 2014 - 14 Feb. 2015) DOD - Research and Education Program Grant No. W911NF-14-1-0122 ($156,336). 

• Eya, J.C, (1 Oct. 2011 - 30 Sept. 2015) USDA – Capacity Building Grant No. 2015-38821-24346 ($599,997).

• Doolarie Singh-Knights, Daisy Bailey, Barbara E. Liedl, and Cynthia Martel, Northeast Extension Risk Management Education (ERME), Growing Agritourism and Farm-Based Education in West Virginia - Managing Risks for Improved Income Diversification, $25,014, 7/2014 - 6/2015
• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2012-02617. Engaging students in global genomic research through CGIAR visits and independent next-generation sequencing projects (01 SEP 2012 - 31 AUG 2015), $299,811 (Higher Education grant; as PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2010-02247. Stories of crop evolution, biodiversity and domestication and methods of genomic assisted crop improvement for curricula development (01 SEP 2010 - 31 AUG 2014), $299,986 (Higher Education grant; as Co-PI).

• Ruhnke T.R, (2010- 2015) WVSU Faculty Coordinator, NSF EPSCoR RII, “Bionanotechnology for Public Security and Environmental Safety”

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2007-03349. BAC to genes: "Upgrading the genome core facility with robotics for use in integrating genomic research and education" (01 SEP 2007 - 31 AUG 2011), $199,936 (Higher Education grant; as Co-PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2007-03466. Syntenic analysis of cucurbit cultivar complex for widening genetic diversity and functional genomics of fruit quality and architecture (01 SEP 2007 - 31 AUG 2011), $499,762 (Research grant; as PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2005-03605. Physical mapping and eco-tilling for high-throughput allele mining of disease resistant and nutraceutical genes for pyramiding in sweet potato (15 SEP 2005 - 31 AUG 2010), $499,960 (Research grant; as Co-PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2004-02467. Understanding the simplicity of DNA sequence and jugglery of gene mapping: a new paradigm for biology education (01 SEP 2004 - 31 AUG 2008), $198,695 (Higher Education grant; as PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2004-02563. Use of functional genomics for pyramiding favorable allele combinations for enhancing the technology to produce seedless watermelon (01 SEP 2004 - 31 AUG 2009), $285,925 (Research grant; as PI).

• Reddy, U.K, USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2003-03965. Utilization of genomics for molecular breeding of high quality and disease resistant peppers (01 SEP 2003 - 31 AUG 2008), $299,647 (Research grant; as Co-PI).

• Barbara E. Liedl, Doolarie Singh-Knights and John E. Porter, WV Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant, Maximizing Profitability and Productivity for Sustainable Multiple Vegetable Crop Production in West Virginia High Tunnels, $16,000, 10/2014 - 9/2017. 

• Barbara E. Liedl, USDA NE SARE Professional Development Program, Enhancing Farm Viability and Profitability through Improved Specialty Crop Production and Handling, $16,633, 10/1/15 thru 9/30/16

• Barbara E. Liedl, USDA NE SARE Professional Development Program, Enhancing Farm Viability and Profitability through Improved Specialty Crop Production and Handling, $16,633, 10/1/15 thru 9/30/16

• Barbara E. Liedl, USDA NE SARE Professional Development Program, Enhancing Farm Viability and Profitability through Improved Specialty Crop Production and Handling, $16,663, 10/1/14 thru 9/30/15

• Barbara E. Liedl, USDA NE SARE Professional Development Program, Support for Sustaining family farms and their communities by building new capacity to enter and compete in locally accessible higher-value markets, $5,000, 10/1/13 thru 9/30/14

Research Symposium on Friday April 28, 2017

posted: April 10, 2017

The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will be hosting 22nd annual Research Day on Friday, April 28, 2017. The program will start at 8:30 in the morning in Hamblin Auditorium and features a keynote address by Dr. David Atkins (NASA JPL) and poster presentation from NASA Space Grant research scholarship students and WVSU Research Rookies. These presentation will be held on first floor of Hamblin Hall.

NASA SPACE Day on Friday April 28, 2017

posted: April 10, 2017

The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will be hosting NASA Space Day on Friday, April 28, 2017 from 10 am to 4pm. Interactive displays from NASA Langley and NASA IV&V facilities will be on campus. These activities are targeted for student and public. Students 4th graders and up have been invited and we expect to see over a 1000 visitors. Click here for a flyer. 

USDA-NIFA director visiting WVSU on Friday April 28, 2017

posted: April 10, 2017

Dr. Muquarrab A. Qureshi, Deputy Director, USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture will be visiting WVSU on April 28, 2017. In a specially arranged program in Hamblin Hall 107 (1:30-3:30pm), Dr. Qureshi will be listening to the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics researchers' presentations and then, will give a talk. We are looking forward to the visit.

Year 2017
 

• Levi A, Simmons AM, Massey L, Coffey J, Wechter WP, Jarret RL, Tadmor Y, Nimmakayala P, Reddy UK (2017) Genetic Diversity in the Desert Watermelon Citrullus colocynthis and its Relationship with Citrullus Species as Determined by High-frequency Oligonucleotides-targeting Active Gene Markers. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 142 (1):47-56. doi:10.21273/jashs03834-16

• Mengfan Li, Wei Li, Linwei Niu, Huihui Zhou, Genshe Chen, Feng Duan, “An Event-Related Potential-based Adaptive Model for Telepresence Control of Humanoid Robot Motion in an Environment with Cluster Obstacles”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Volume 64, Issue 2, pages 1696 – 1705, Feb. 2017.

• Levi A, Jarret R, Kousik S, Patrick Wechter W, Nimmakayala P, Reddy U Genetic Resources of Watermelon. In. Springer New York, New York, NY, pp 1-24. doi:10.1007/7397_2016_34

• Nimmakayala P, Saminathan T, Abburi VL, Yadav LK, Tomason Y, Levi A, Weng Y, Reddy UK Comparative Genomics of the Cucurbitaceae. In. Springer New York, New York, NY, pp 1-12. doi:10.1007/7397_2017_2

• Reddy UK, Nimmakayala P, Abburi VL, Reddy CVCM, Saminathan T, Percy RG, Yu JZ, Frelichowski J, Udall JA, Page JT, Zhang D, Shehzad T, Paterson AH (2017) Genome-wide divergence, haplotype distribution and population demographic histories for Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense as revealed by genome-anchored SNPs. Scientific Reports 7:41285. doi:10.1038/srep41285

Year 2016

• Nimmakayala P, Abburi VL, Saminathan T, Alaparthi SB, Almeida A, Davenport B, Nadimi M, Davidson J, Tonapi K, Yadav L, Malkaram S, Vajja G, Hankins G, Harris R, Park M, Choi D, Stommel J, Reddy UK (2016) Genome-wide Diversity and Association Mapping for Capsaicinoids and Fruit Weight in Capsicum annuum L. Scientific Reports 6:38081. doi:10.1038/srep38081

• Nimmakayala P, Tomason Y, Abburi VL, Rodríguez A, Saminathan T, Vajja VG, Salazar G, Panicker G, Levi A, Wechter W, McCreight J, Korol A, Ronin Y, Garcia-Mas J, Reddy U (2016) Genome-wide differentiation of various melon horticultural groups for use in GWAS for fruit firmness and construction of a high resolution genetic map. Frontiers in Plant Science 7 (1437). doi:10.3389/fpls.2016.01437

• Nimmakayala P, Abburi VL, Saminathan T, Almeida A, Davenport B, Davidson J, Reddy CM, Hankins G, Ebert A, Choi D, Stommel J, Reddy U (2016) Genome-wide divergence and linkage disequilibrium analyses for Capsicum baccatum revealed by genome-anchored single nucleotide polymorphisms. Frontiers in Plant Science 7 (1646). doi:10.3389/fpls.2016.01646

• Sridhar Vaddi, Venkatesan Thiruvengadam, Sunil Joshi, Jalali Sushil Kumar, Lakshmana Reddy, Dhoranalapalli Chinnappareddy, Padma Nimmakayala, Yan Tomason, Gopinath Vajja & Umesh K Reddy (2016) In silico mining of microsatellites and analysis of genetic diversity among inter and intra-generic aphids of the subfamily Aphidinae. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. doi: 10.1111/eea.12450

• Perla V, Nimmakayala P, Nadimi M, Alaparthi S, Hankins GR, Ebert AW, Reddy UK (2016) Vitamin C and reducing sugars in the world collection of Capsicum baccatum L. genotypes. Food Chemistry 202:189-198. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.01.135

• Timothy R. Ruhnke, Janine Caira, Allison Cox, "The cestode order Rhinebothriidea no longer family-less: A molecular phylogenetic investigation with erection of two new families and description of eight new species of Anthocephalum", Zootaxa. 2015 Jan 5;3904(1):51-81.

• Barney, R. J.  2016. Pachybrachis Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae) Endemic to Florida, Including a Description of Four New Species. The Coleopterist Bulletin 70(1): 1-22.

Year 2015

• Saminathan T., S.A. Malkaram, D. Patel, K. Taylor, A. Hass, P. Nimmakayala, D.H. Huber, and U.K. Reddy. 2015. Transcriptome Analysis of Invasive Plants in Response to Mineral Toxicity of Reclaimed Coal-Mine Soil in the Appalachian Region. Environmental Sci. Tech., 49(17):10320-9
• Saminathan T, Malkaram SA, Patel D, Taylor K, Hass A, Nimmakayala P, Huber DH, Reddy UK (2015) Transcriptome Analysis of Invasive Plants in Response to Mineral Toxicity of Reclaimed Coal-Mine Soil in the Appalachian Region. Environmental Science & Technology 49 (17):10320-10329. doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b01901
• Paris HS, Doron-Faigenboim A, Reddy UK, Donahoo R, Levi A (2015) Genetic relationships in Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin, squash, gourd) as viewed with high frequency oligonucleotide–targeting active gene (HFO–TAG) markers. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 62 (7):1095-1111. doi:10.1007/s10722-015-0218-6

• Linwei Niu, Gang Quan, “Peripheral-Conscious Scheduling for Weakly Hard Real-Time Systems”, International Journal of Embedded Systems, Volume 7, No. 1, page 11-25, 2015.

• Riley, E. G., and R. J. Barney.  2015.  Definition and revision of the viduatus species-group of North American Pachybrachis Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae).  The Coleopterist Bulletin 69(1): 25-59.

• Eya, J.C., Ukwuaba, V.O.,  Yossa, R. and Gannam , A.L. 2015. Interactive Effects of Dietary Lipid and Phenotypic Feed Efficiency on the Expression of Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genes Involved in the Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chainin Rainbow Trout. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 16: 7682-7706; doi:10.3390/ijms16047682.

• Eya, J.C., Ukwuaba, V.O., Yossa, R., Ashame, M.F., Pomeroy, C.F., Gannam, A.L. 2015. Growth performance and mitochondrial function in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed graded dietary lipid levels. Annals of Aquaculture and Research 2(1): 1006-1018.

• Singh N, Abburi V, Ramajayam D, Kumar R, Chandra R, Sharma K, Sharma J, Babu KD, Pal R, Mundewadikar D, Saminathan T, Cantrell R, Nimmakayala P, Reddy U (2015) Genetic diversity and association mapping of bacterial blight and other horticulturally important traits with microsatellite markers in pomegranate from India. Mol Genet Genomics:1-10. doi:10.1007/s00438

• Venkatesan T, Sridhar V, Tomason YR, Jalali SK, Behere GT, Shanthi RM, Kumar R, Vajja VG, Nimmakayala P, Reddy UK (2015) Use of expressed sequence tag microsatellite markers for population genetic research of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera Noctuidae) from India. The Canadian Entomologist FirstView 1-13. doi:4039/tce.215.47

• Anderson, N.O., P.D. Ascher, V. Fritz, C. Rohwer, S. Poppe, S. Yao, P. Johnson, and B.E. Liedl.  (2015). Chrysanthemum xhybridum Mammoth^TM ‘Dark Bronze Daisy’ Garden Chrysanthemum.  HortScience 50:1260-1264.

Year 2014

• Fine P., R. Paresh, A. Beriozkin, and A. Hass. 2014. Chelant-enhanced heavy metal uptake by Eucalyptus trees under controlled deficit irrigation. Sci Total Environ. 493: 995-1005.

• Hall, S. L., R. L. McCulley, R. J. Barney, and T. D. Phillips. 2014.  Does fungal endophyte infection improve tall fescue growth response to fire and water limitation? PLoS ONE 9(1): e86904. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086904

• Nimmakayala, P., Abburi VL, Abhishek bhandari, Lavanya Abburi, Venkata Gopinath Vajja, Rishi Reddy, Sridhar Malkaram, Pegadaraju Venkatramana, Asela Wijeratne, Yan. R. Tomason, Amnon Levi, Todd c. Wehner, and Reddy UK. 2014. Use of VeraCode 384-plex assays for watermelon diversity analysis and integrated genetic map of watermelon with single nucleotide polymorphisms and simple sequence repeats. Molecular Breeding, DOI 10.1007/s11032-014-0056-9.

• Qiushi Han, Linwei Niu, Gang Quan, Shaolei Ren, Shangping Ren, “Energy Efficient Fault-Tolerant Earliest Deadline First Scheduling for Hard Real-Time Systems”, Journal of Real-Time Systems：the International Journal of Time-Critical Computing Systems, Volume 50 Issue 5-6, pages 592-619, November, 2014.

• Eya, J.C.,  Nouaga, R.Y., Ashame, M.F., Pomeroy, C.F., Gannam, A.L. 2014. Effects of dietary lipid levels on mitochondrial gene expression in low and high-feed efficient families of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Journal of Fish Biology 84: 1708-1720.
• Linwei Niu, “Power-Low Scheduling for Real-Time Embedded Systems with QoS Constraints”, WIT Transactions on Engineering Sciences, Volume 87, page 389-395, 2014.
• Linwei Niu, “Energy-Efficient Scheduling for (m,k)-firm Real-Time Control Systems”, International Journal of Automation and Power Engineering, Volume 3 Issue 1, page 28-31, January 2014
• Bar-Tal, A., U. Yermiyahu, A. Ben-Gal, P. Fine, and A. Hass. 2014. Practices that simultaneously optimize water and nutrients use efficiency: Israeli experiences in fertigation and irrigation with treated waste water. p.209-241, In: The Links Between Fertilizers Use and Water Management. (P. Heffer, ed.) IFA/IWMI/IPNI Scientific Publication.

• Hass A., J.M. Gonzalez. 2014. Biochar. p. 95-124 In: Lopez-Valdez F. and Fernandez-Luqueno F. (Eds.), Fertilizers: components, uses in agriculture and environmental impacts.

• Reddy UK, Abburi L, Abburi VL, Saminathan T, Cantrell R, Vajja VG, Reddy R, Tomason YR, Levi A, Wehner TC, Nimmakayala P (2014) A Genome-Wide Scan of Selective Sweeps and Association Mapping of Fruit Traits Using Microsatellite Markers in Watermelon. Journal of Heredity. doi:10.1093/jhered/esu077

• Saminathan T, Nimmakayala P, Manohar S, Malkaram S, Almeida A, Cantrell R, Tomason Y, Abburi L, Rahman MA, Vajja VG, Khachane A, Kumar B, Rajasimha HK, Levi A, Wehner T, Reddy UK (2014) Differential gene expression and alternative splicing between diploid and tetraploid watermelon. Journal of Experimental Botany. doi:10.1093/jxb/eru486

• Padma Nimmakayala, Amnon Levi, Lavanya Abburi, Venkata Lakshmi Abburi, Yan R. Tomason, Thangasamy Saminathan, Venkata Gopinath Vajja,Sridhar Malkaram, Rishi Reddy, Todd C. Wehner, and Umesh K. Reddy 2014. Single nucleotide polymorphisms generated by genotyping by sequencing used to characterize genome-wide diversity, linkage disequilibrium and selection sweep for worldwide cultivated watermelon. BMC Genomics 2014,15:767 (Highly accessed)

• Reddy UK, Nimmakayala P, Levi A, Abburi VL, Saminathan T, Tomason YR, Vajja G, Reddy R, Abburi L, Wehner TC, Ronin Y, Korol A. 2014 High-Resolution Genetic Map for Understanding the Effect of Genome-Wide Recombination Rate on Nucleotide Diversity in Watermelon. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics.  doi: 10.1534/g3.114.012815.

•  Nimmakayala, P., Venkata l. Abburi, Lavanya Abburi, Suresh Babu Alaparthi, Robert Cantrell, Minkyu Park, Doil Choi, Gerald Hankins, Sridhar Malkaram and Reddy UK. 2014. Linkage disequilibrium and population structure analysis among Capsicum annuum L. cultivars for use in association mapping. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, DOI 10.1007/s00438-014-0827-3.

• Anderson, N.O., V. Fritz, C. Rohwer, S. Poppe, B.E. Liedl, S. Yao, P. Johnson, J. Reith-Rozell, L. Klossner and N. Eash.  (2014).  Chrysanthemum xhybridumMammoth^TM ‘Dark Pink Daisy’ Garden Chrysanthemum.  HortScience 49:1595-1599.

• Salisbury, T.B., Tomblin, J.K., Primerano, D.A., Boskovic, G., Fan, J., Mehmi, I., Fletcher, J., Santanam, N., Hurn, E., Morris, G.Z., Denvir, J. (2014) Endogenous aryl hydrocarbon receptor promotes basal and inducible expression of tumor necrosis factor target genes in MCF-7 cancer cells. Biochemical Pharmacology, 91:3, 390-399.

• Reddy, U. K., A. Almeida, V. L. Abburi, S. B. Alaparthi, Nimmakayala P et al., 2014. Identification of Gene-Specific Polymorphisms and Association with Capsaicin Pathway Metabolites in Capsicum annuum L Collections. PLoS ONE 9: e86393.

• Anderson, N.O., E. Gesick, V. Fritz, C. Rohwer, S. Yao, P. Johnson, S. Poppe, B.E. Liedl, L. Klossner, N. Eash, and J. Reith-Rozell.  (2014).  Mammoth^TMSeries Garden Chrysanthemum ‘Lavender Daisy’.  HortScience 49:1600-1604.

• Djanaguiraman M, Vara Prasad PV, Murugan M, Perumal R, Reddy UK (2014) Physiological differences among sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) genotypes under high temperature stress. Environmental and Experimental Botany 100, 43-54.

Year 2013

• Liedl, B.E., J.A. Labate, J.R. Stommel, A. Slade and C. Kole (eds).  (2013).  Genetics Genomics and Breeding of Tomato.  Genetics, Genomics and Breeding Series, Boca Raton, FL:  CRC Press.
• Barney, R. J., L. LeSage, and K. Savard. 2013. Pachybrachis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of Eastern Canada. ZooKeys 332: 95–175.  doi: 10.3897/zookeys.332.4753

• Tomason Y, Nimmakayala P, Levi A and Reddy UK. 2013. Map-based molecular diversity, linkage disequilibrium and association mapping of fruit traits in melon. Mol Breeding, 31(4): 829-841 (doi: 10.1007/s11032-013-9837-9).

• Umesh K. Reddy, Nischit Aryal, Nurul Islam-Faridi, Yan Tomason, Amnon Levi and Padma Nimmakayala. 2013. Cytomolecular characterization of rDNA distribution in various Citrullus species using fluorescent in situ hybridization. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. DOI 10.1007/s10722-013-9976-1.13.  

• Eya, J.C.,  Nouaga, R.Y., Ashame, M.F., Pomeroy, C.F., Gannam, A.L. 2013. Effects of dietary lipid levels on growth, feed utilization and mitochondrial function in low- and high- feed efficient families of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquaculture 416-417: 119-128.

• Ruhnke, T. R. and R. E. Workman. 2013. Two new species and a new phyllobothriid cestode genus from sharks of the genus Negaprion Whitley (Carcharhiniformes). Systematic Parasitology 85: 37-48.

• Levi A, Thies J A, Wechter P, Harrison HF, Simmons AM, Reddy UK, Nimmakayala P, and Fei Z. 2013. High frequency oligonucleotides: targeting active gene (HFO-TAG) markers revealed wide genetic diversity among Citrullus spp. accessions useful for enhancing disease or pest resistance in watermelon cultivars. Genet Resour and Crop Evol, 60, 427-440.

• Tomason Y, Nimmakayala P, Levi A and Reddy U.2013. Map-based molecular diversity, linkage disequilibrium and association mapping of fruit traits in melon. Mol Breeding (doi:10.1007/s11032-013-9837-9 ).16.   Hussain, A. J., Ali, J., Siddiq, E. A., Gupta, V. S., Reddy, U. K., and Ranjekar, P. K. (2012) Mapping of tms8 gene for temperature-sensitive genic male sterility (TGMS) in rice (Oryza sativa L.), Plant Breeding 131, 42-47.
  17.  

• Levi A, Thies J A, Wechter P, Harrison HF, Simmons AM, Reddy UK, Nimmakayala P, and Fei Z. 2013. High frequency oligonucleotides: targeting active gene (HFO-TAG) markers revealed wide genetic diversity among Citrullus spp. accessions useful for enhancing disease or pest resistance in watermelon cultivars. Genet Resour and Crop Evol, 60, 427-440.

  Year 2012 and Before

• Anderson, N.O., S. Poppe, P.D. Ascher, E. Gesick, S. Yao, D. Wildung, P. Johnson, V. Fritz, J. Hebal, L. Klossner, N. Eash, B.E. Liedl, and J. Reith-Rozell.  (2012).  Mammoth™ ‘Yellow Quill’ Garden Chrysanthemum.  HortScience 47(2):285-288.

• Debinski D. M., R. A. Moranz, J. T. Delaney, J. R. Miller, D. M. Engle, L. B. Winkler, D. A. McGranahan, R. J. Barney, J. C. Trager, A. L. Stephenson, and M. K. Gillespie. 2012. A cross-taxonomic comparison of insect responses to grassland management and land-use legacies. Ecosphere 2(12): Article 131. [doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES11-00226.1]

• Hall, S. L., R. L. McCulley, and R. J. Barney.  2012. Restoration of native warm season grassland species in a tall fescue pasture using prescribed fire and herbicides. Restoration Ecology 20(2):194-201.

• Hass A., J.M. Gonzalez, I.M. Lima, H.W. Godwin, J.J. Halvorson, and D.G. Boyer. 2012. Chicken Manure Biochar as Liming and Nutrient Source for acid Appalachian Soil. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41: 1096-1106.

• Eya, J.C., Ashame, M.F. Pomeroy, C.F., Manning, B.B. and Brian, B.C.  2012. Genetic variation in feed   consumption, growth, nutrient utilization efficiency and mitochondrial function within a farmed population of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Comparative   Biochemistry and Physiology Part B 163: 211-220.

• Guru J, Nimmakayala P, Zheng Y, Gouda K, Reddy U and Sunkar R. 2012. Characterization of the small RNA component of the transcriptome in leaves and fruits of four cucurbits revealed dynamic regulation of conserved and novel miRNAs. BMC Genomics, 13:329.

• Paterson AH, Wendel JF, Gundlach H, Guo H, Jenkins J, Jin D, Llewellyn D, Showmaker KC, Shu S, Udall J, Umesh K. Reddy et al 2012. The cotton genomes, their polyploidies, and the evolution of spinnable fibers. Nature. DOI:10.1038/nature11798

• Anderson, N.O., E. Gesick, P.D. Ascher, S. Poppe, S. Yao, D. Wildung, P. Johnson, V. Fritz, J. Hebal, L. Klossner, N. Eash, B.E. Liedl, and J. Reith-Rozell.  (2012).  Mammoth™ ‘Twilight Pink Daisy’ garden chrysanthemum.  HortScience.

• Ritchey K.D., L.D. Norton, A. Hass, J. M. Gonzalez, and J.D. Snuffer. 2012. Effects of selected soil conditioners on soil erosion, runoff, and rye growth. Soil and Water Conservation, 67(4): 264-274.

• Manohar S.,  Jagadeeswaran G., Nimmakayala P., Tomason Y.,  Almeida A., Sunkar R., Levi  A., Reddy UK. (2012) Dynamic regulation of novel and conserved miRNAs across various tissues of diverse Cucurbit species. Plant Mol. Biol. Rep ;31 335-343

• Atkinson, J., Kapralov, A.A., Yanamala, N., Tyurina, Y.Y., Amoscato, A.A., Pearce, L., Peterson, J., Huang, Z., Jiang, J., Samhan-Arias A.K., Maeda, A., Feng, W., Wasserloos, K., Belikova, N.A., Tyurin, V.A., Wang, H., Fletcher, J., Wang, Y., Vlasova, I.I., Klein-Seetharaman, J., Stoyanovsky, D.A., Bayir, H., Pitt, B.R., Epperly, M.W., Greenberger, J.S., Kagan, V.E. (2011) A mitochondria-targeted inhibitor of cytochrome c peroxidase mitigates radiation-induced death.Natural Communications, 2:497

• Hall, S. L. and R. J. Barney.  2011. Leaf Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Biodiversity within Isolated Remnant Grasslands in Kentucky State Nature Preserves. Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science 72(1): 24-38.

• Barney, R. J., S. M. Clark and E. G. Riley.  2011.  Annotated List of the Leaf Beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of Kentucky: Subfamily Cryptocephalinae.  Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science 72(1): 3-23.
   
  Barney, R. J. and S. L. Hall. 2011. New host plant records for selected Cryptocephaline leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Kentucky. The Coleopterists Bulletin 65(1): 15-19.

• Ruhnke, T.R.  2011 A monograph on the Phyllobothriidae.  Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum, 25: 1-208.

• Hass A., and W.R. Zobel. 2011.  Using soil E horizon in salvaged topsoil material - effect on soil texture. Soil Use and Management, 27(4): 470–479.

• Hass A., R.H. Loeppert, M.G. Messina, and T.D. Rogers. 2011. Determination of phosphate in selective extractions for soil iron oxides by the molybdenum blue method in an automated continuance flow injection system. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 42(14): 1619-1635.

• Dawei Li, Jordi Garcia-Mas, Juan Zalapa, Jack E Staub, Umesh K. Reddy, Xiaoming He, Zhenhui Gong, Yiqun Weng 2011. Syntenic Relationships between Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and Melon (C. melo L.) chromosomes as revealed by comparative genetic mapping. BMC Genomics 2011, 12:396

• Eya, J.C., Ashame, M.F. and Pomeroy, C.F. 2011:  Association of mitochondrial function with feed efficiency in rainbow trout: Diets and family effects. Aquaculture 321(1-2):71-84.

• Nimmakayala P, Vajja G, Gist R, Tomason YR, Levi A, Reddy UK. 2011. Effect of DNA methylation on molecular diversity of watermelon heirlooms and stability of methylation specific polymorphisms across the genealogies.  Euphytica. 177: 79-89.

• Reddy UK, Rong JK, Nimmakayala P, Vajja G, Rahman M, Yu JZ, Soliman K, Heller-Uszynska K,  Kilian A, and Paterson A.H. 2011. Use of DArT markers for integration into cotton reference map and anchoring to a RIL map. Genome 54(5): 349-359.

• Nimmakayala P, Faridi NI, Tomason YR, Lutz F, Levi A and U K. Reddy. 2011. Citrullus. (Book chapter). Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources, Vegetables. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg. Pages 59-66.

• Nimmakayala P, Jeong J, Tomason Y, Levi A, Ramasamy P, UK. Reddy.2010. Genetic reticulation and interrelationships among Citrullus species as revealed by joint analysis of shared AFLPs and species-specific SSR alleles. Plant Genetic Resources 8 (1): 16-25.25.  

• Nimmakayala P, Tomason Y, Jeong J, Vajja G, Levi A, Gibson P, UK. Reddy.2009. Molecular diversity in the Ukrainian melon collection as revealed by AFLPs and microsatellites. Plant Genetic Resources 7: 127-134.

• Research Rookies Program
• NASA Space Grant Consortium Scholaships (applications are accepted early in Fall semester; Aug. & Sept.; deadline varies)
• Summer Undergarduate Research Experience (SURE)

For details on these and other possible opportunities, contact the college dean.

The purpose of STEP to Success at West Virginia State University is to increase the number of graduates receiving baccalaureate degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) over a five-year period using grant funding provided by the National Science Foundation. According to Pew Research Center, over 60% of tomorrow’s high-wage, high-demand jobs will be in the STEM areas. The STEP to Success program will support this increase in graduates through focused recruiting, early academic support, and ongoing mentoring and student engagement.
 
STEP to Success has 10 concurrent initiatives to increase STEM enrollment at WVSU. These include a five-week, credit-bearing residential summer bridge program to address common deficiencies in mathematics, longitudinal learning communities to establish a system of major-oriented peer support, and peer-led supplemental instruction to improve student performance in freshman- and sophomore-level courses in the STEM programs. Ongoing mentoring and student engagement will build on the University’s prior success in placing students in undergraduate research positions and internships with university faculty and regional STEM-related employers.
 
The STEP to Success Program is expected to increase enrollment of first-time freshmen in STEM majors by 20% and increase year-to-year retention by 10 percentage points, producing 16 additional STEM graduates per year by the end of the five-year award period, including at least 10 per year from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

Dr. Michael Fultz
STEP to Success Project Director
217 Hamblin Hall
(304) 766-3106
mfultz@wvstateu.edu

Dr. Xiaohong Zhang
Supplemental Instruction Program Coordinator
717 Wallace Hall
(304) 766-3398
zhangxi@wvstateu.edu

The Summer Bridge Program at West Virginia State University is a free four-week program open to students registered at West Virginia State University with a declared major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. The Summer Bridge Program starts July 11, 2016 and provides students with an opportunity to have a head start on the college education, especially to provide a good background in mathematics. The major focus of the program is the opportunity to earn credit for MATH 119 (Algebraic Methods) – a prerequisite for many science classes. This is a full-time program. Although the focus of the program is math, students also participate in fun activities such as going to movies, fieldtrips, and more. 

All your costs including tuition, text books, accommodation and food are covered for the duration of the program. In addition, students who successfully complete the program will earn a stipend of $1000.

Dowload the APPLICATION     

Dr. Upali Karunathilake
Summer Math Bridge Program Coordinator
818 Wallace Hall
(304) 766-3244
ukarunathil@wvstateu.edu