Buckhannon, W.Va. — Dr. Joanna Webb ‘07, associate professor of chemistry and the program’s department chair and West Virginia Wesleyan College, has been awarded a SURE Grant from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Division of Science and Research. The three-year award totals $105,600 and will pay stipends for Wesleyan undergraduate students who pursue summer research projects.

The grant also allows for summer travel funds so that students can present their research findings at regional and national scientific meetings. Faculty members in biology and environmental science, chemistry and biochemistry, mathematics, and physics and engineering will serve as mentors.

This is the second major grant award received by Wesleyan within the past 18 months.  Last year, the college was awarded a four-year grant in the amount of $240,000 for undergraduate science research from the Maier Foundation.

The combined grant programs will allow more than 45 Wesleyan students the opportunity to pursue exciting research projects each of the next three summers.

“Research is where topics from class truly start to click,” noted Webb. “These grant opportunities allow our students to stay on campus to focus on research during the summer in a one-on-one setting with a faculty member. This becomes a summer job and helps students learn from their experiences and decide on their future career path in scientific fields.”

“Our graduates who have participated in summer research are now pursuing medical school or other medical-related professional schools as well as doctorates at major research universities across the nation,” Webb added. “The research opportunities available at Wesleyan are one of the great benefits and attributes here, which contributes to our extremely high placement rates.”