Physics student awarded scholarship for work on combating global warming

The solution to global warming may lie under the sea.

Adam Jozwick, a West Virginia University physics student, was recently awarded a $10,000 National Consortium for Measure and Signatures Intelligence Research (NCMR) Program Scholarship for his work on predicting methods of relocating greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to subsurface layers of the Earth—a process that could help alleviate global warming.

The scholarship, supported by the National Science Foundation, will assist Jozwick with tuition, textbooks, room and board.

The WVU student has been collaborating with Martin Ferer, a professor in the Department of Physics in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, and with scientists and engineers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to develop realistic models of carbon dioxide storage below the Earth’s surface.

Ferer and Jozwick analyze the sub-surface fracture networks and determine if injected CO2 will bubble to the surface in the future.

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing greenhouse gases. Jozwick’s goal is to develop a method that will allow the injected CO2 to dissolve and mix with underground chemicals, and eventually mineralize into the Earth’s sub-layers. The result could permanently alleviate the strain of greenhouse gases on the environment.

The NETL website, http://www.netl.doe.gov/newsroom/features/08-2007.html, says that with the development of the right sub-surface fracture network, “It is likely that we would run out of coal before we run out of places to store the CO2 its combustion creates.”

In 2005, the United States emitted 6.1 billion tons of CO2 (see NETL article).

“The solution to global warming will require a number of methods to reduce greenhouse gases in our atmosphere,” Ferer explained. “One promising approach is the stable underground storage of these gases, which Norway has successfully utilized for decades to store carbon dioxide under the floor of the North Sea.”

Ferer earned a bachelor’s from the University of Detroit in 1966 and a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1972.

The WVU professor develops fine-scale models of complex phenomena relevant to applied problems. He has published various articles on topics including the injection of CO2 into porous media saturated with seawater.

“Since I started working with Dr. Ferer last January, I have learned the importance of computers in modern physics and how to use physical laws to create realistic models,” Jozwick said.

Jozwick, a native of Doddridge County, is expected to graduate in May 2008 with a bachelor’s in physics from WVU. He hopes to attend graduate school in the future.


Caption: WVU student Adam Jozwick (right) is collaborating with Martin Ferer, a professor in the University's Department of Physics, to develop realistic models of carbon dioxide storage below the Earth's surface. Jozwick was recently awarded a $10,000 scholarship for his work. Photo by Katie Kline.

Marshall Forensic Science Center Receives $2 Million Grant

Marshall University is set to benefit from more than $2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Justice for initiatives at the Marshall University Forensic Science Center (MUFSC). The funding will support the continued development of MUFSC as a working model forensic laboratory and a resource for the national forensic community.

Marshall University officials were notified by the Department of Justice recently that they would receive funding for two competitive grant applications that university officials submitted earlier this year to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Because of previous federal support U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd has secured since Fiscal Year 1998, the Center is now in a competitive posture at the national level to obtain additional grant funding. The grant awards will help fund the Center’s education and training agenda and will help expand upon MU’s efforts to establish the National Institute of Forensic Science Education and Training.

“The grant funding not only helps train practicing DNA analysts and crime scene investigators, but also will help prepare the next generation of forensic scientists to meet ever-evolving challenges for the justice system,” said Dr. Terry Fenger, MUFSC director.

One grant of $1.5 million will be used toward funding MUFSC’s DNA training courses that are endorsed by the NIJ. An additional grant of $510,974 will help MUFSC, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), provide courses in the areas of crime scene investigation, crime scene photography, impression evidence analysis, and additional relevant courses.

“The availability of Marshall’s Crime Scene House provides the FBI and MU with a unique setting to conduct a variety of mock crime scene exercises which benefit forensic scientists and investigators from state and local law enforcement agencies from across the country,” Fenger added.

The MUFSC is dedicated to providing the highest quality forensic analysis. The Center has a unique relationship with the West Virginia State Police as the first university to partner with a state crime laboratory on developing and maintaining a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database, the DNA database for convicted offenders. Through MUFSC’s master of science degree program, students have access to state-of-the-art equipment, as well as a top-notch faculty. The MUFSC employs one of the most skilled DNA workforces in the country, consisting predominantly of the Center’s forensic science graduates.