Four promising West Virginia University doctoral students are continuing their academic journeys with support from the Ruby Scholars Graduate Fellows program.

This year’s fellows are Ayers Aguiar, Abyss Halley, Damon LeMaster and Dylan Nice. Each student will receive a $34,000 stipend, a $2,000 travel grant and a tuition waiver to allow them to advance their research at WVU.

Established in 2011 by the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust, the fellowship provides financial support that allows incoming doctoral-level scholars to dedicate themselves fully to expanding their studies and using their research to benefit the people of WVU, the nation and the world.

Since the Ruby Fellows program’s inception, a total of 57 students have received financial support to continue their research at the University.

“Each year, we are excited to welcome a new cohort of exceptional scholars to WVU through the support of the Ruby Fellows program,” Paul Kreider, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, said. “This year’s fellows are stellar examples of the innovative and dedicated students who become true changemakers in society. I look forward to watching their success.”

Ayers Aguiar

Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Ayers Aguiar earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science with a geographic information system certification from the University of Maine at Farmington. His appreciation for environmental complexity led him to pursue graduate studies in environmental microbial ecology at WVU.

“My appreciation for the outdoors started with camping during Cub Scouts events and exploring the backyard at home, where it felt as if another world full of hidden value was being opened up,” Aguiar said.

Aguiar was selected for a highly competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he independently designed experiments and developed detailed protocols to study toxin production in aquatic microorganisms. He also gained professional experience as a quality assurance lab technician at Oakhurst Dairy and later as a manufacturing chemist at Abbott Diagnostics. These roles sharpened his technical, communication and collaboration skills while reinforcing his commitment to graduate research.

At WVU, Aguiar plans to work with Ember Morrissey to study plant-microbe interactions and soil microbiology. He aims to uncover deeper ecological questions and expand his research skills.

“I am excited to work alongside experts at WVU to unearth knowledge that could have a potential to benefit our society,” he said.

Abyss Halley

Abyss Halley, from Atlanta, Georgia, earned an associate degree in physical sciences from Montgomery County Community College in Philadelphia before graduating from WVU with a bachelor’s degree in physics.

“I realized who I am and decided to be that on purpose, instead of letting societal or financial pressures dictate my path — that’s why I think it worked,” Halley said.

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.

“I want to contribute something new and very meaningful to this grand endeavor that is science,” Halley said. “Every contribution is important, but I want to have this body of work and this book that I can put in my office that I wrote that says, ‘This is what I did for humanity.’”

After completing a PhD at WVU, she aims to pursue postdoctoral research at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory or the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Long-term, Halley said she hopes to teach physics and astronomy at a rural community college.

Damon LeMaster

Damon LeMaster, from Sissonville, developed a deep appreciation for nature growing up in one of the most biodiverse regions in the country. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental microbiology from WVU, where he completed a year-long research apprenticeship in Morrissey’s lab, studying how grazing intensity and soil properties affect soil stability on West Virginia cattle farms.

“I think soil runs the world with agriculture and ecosystems,” LeMaster said. “To best understand our forest ecosystems and grasslands, I think it is best to start with the soil because it is the foundation.”

Through the WVU Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, LeMaster continued in the Morrissey lab to explore how fertilizer treatments impact arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in bioenergy crops. He conducted fieldwork across 18 farms, analyzing how plant biodiversity and soil traits shape microbial communities. His work has been presented three times at the undergraduate level and at a 2023 international meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America.

“Every soil sample and measurement I take is a pixel that I am able to have a better resolution of, for my home and for the ecosystem,” he added.

Now pursuing a PhD with James Thompson at WVU, LeMaster aims to apply soil and ecological science to improve the relationships between plants, microbes, animals and people in working ecosystems.

Dylan Nice

Dylan Nice, from Proctor, grew up fascinated by the industrial facilities that shaped his rural community. That early curiosity led him to WVU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.

“If my professor hadn’t reached out to me to join her research team, I would probably have just finished my bachelor’s and gone into industry without research experience,” Nice said.

As an undergraduate researcher in Yuhe Tian’s lab, he explored machine learning-aided process design. Nice also gained hands-on industry experience as a production engineering intern at Westlake Chemical in Natrium, where he worked in a unit that purified caustic solution from low-purity cell liquor. Through this, he deepened his understanding of real-world chemical processing systems.

“Getting a PhD is what is going to allow me to pursue a position as a teaching professor in the future, which is currently what I desire to do,” he said.

Now working toward his doctorate, Nice is focused on advancing process safety, efficiency and environmental sustainability in the chemical industry, driven by a strong desire to make a meaningful impact in West Virginia and similar industrial communities.

The Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust established the Ruby Scholars Graduate Fellows program in memory of its namesake. Hazel Ruby McQuain was involved in philanthropic giving to support WVU for more than 20 years before she died at the age of 93 in 2002. One of her many gifts includes an $8 million gift toward the construction of J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, which is named after her late husband.

The Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust recently contributed $50 million to the WVU Cancer Institute for a new state-of-the-art cancer hospital in Morgantown.

McQuain’s gifts and those from the Trust were made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.