Statler College students selected for West Virginia Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellows Program

Mohammed Tamim Zaki and Taylor Stump were selected for the 2023 West Virginia Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellows Program. (Submitted photos)

Two students from the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, have been selected for the 2023 West Virginia Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellows Program, which is part of West Virginia University’s Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology Policy, Leadership, and Communications. 

Story by Brittany Furbee, Communications Specialist

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Fellows in the WV S&T Policy Graduate Fellows Program receive a $1,500 stipend and will gain experience in providing non-partisan, evidence-based assistance to policymakers on science and technology policy issues affecting West Virginia. They will also increase their awareness and engagement with public policymaking processes and gain an understanding of whether a career in science and technology policy is right for them. 

Mohammed Tamim Zaki, a civil engineering doctoral student and graduate research assistant for the Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. was selected for the fellowship due to his research on carbon capture and resource recovery efforts that could benefit rural communities in West Virginia.  

“Many poultry farms in the state use their waste as fertilizer in pastures and corn fields because these are rich in nutrients,” explained Tamim Zaki. “However, these wastes are also rich in carbon, a valuable resource that remains unused. My research assesses the environmental and economic impacts of implementing technologies that can use these wastes to generate clean energy and sequester carbon in addition to using as fertilizer for farming.”  

Tamim Zaki hopes that his research and his participation in the fellowship program will help spearhead the development of a waste-to-resource conversion facility in West Virginia. This type of facility could benefit many rural regions throughout the state by establishing synergistic opportunities between farming communities that lack financial resources and nearby industries for their economic development, while also facilitating the states decarbonization efforts. 

“Engineers are often engaged in developing novel technologies that can benefit 
society through environmental protection and economic development,” said Tamim Zaki. “However, policy makers may not always have a complete understanding of such technologies, which could result in challenges when introducing them to certain communities. As an environmental engineer, I believe it is my responsibility to help bridge the gap between technology and policymaking.” 

Taylor Stump, a biomedical engineering doctoral student and graduate research assistant for the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, was selected for the fellowship due to his research on hearing prosthetics and bioelectric medicine.  

“The focus of my work is using electrochemical tests to characterize the performance of our neural interface designs and improving the materials, fabrication and integration techniques to make them robust tools for new therapies and neuroscience research,” explained Stump. “The neural interfaces that we are fabricating will be a big step towards treating autoimmune diseases and restoring hearing to those who cannot use a cochlear implant.”  

Stump’s technology will help stimulate nerves in the ear as a type of neurotherapy. The same technology has been used to restore bodily movement for people with prosthetics by using an interface to stimulate nerves in order to move a prosthetic limb and restore the sense of touch to the area.  

For Stump, participating in this fellowship will help him implement his ideas and make a positive impact on people suffering from hearing loss.  

“I look forward to learning valuable data analysis skills to communicate complex ideas and how to implement them in a logical, meaningful manner,” said Stump. “Being able to communicate effectively is a very important aspect of my research and this fellowship will help me learn valuable skills in both communication and policy development and implementation.”  

Both students will complete up to 100 hours of work during the spring semester as members of the second cohort of the WV S&T Policy Graduate Fellows Program, which was launched in 2021.  

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