JUNE 2025

Team Mountaineers have once again demonstrated their engineering prowess, clinching second place while representing West Virginia University and the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources on the global stage at the 2025 University Rover Challenge.

According to WVU chemical engineer Yuxin Wang, assistant professor in the Statler College, 99% of the polypropylene in the world today will end up in a landfill. That’s true even though polypropylene has enormous potential for successful “upcycling.” Wang thinks he can help change that, thanks to a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy that will support his development of a new technology for polypropylene recovery that’s based on microwaves.

Xingbo Liu associate dean for research and Statler Endowed Chair of Engineering in the Statler College at WVU has been named a 2025 fellow of The Electrochemical Society — a prestigious recognition that highlights scientific contribution, innovation and lasting impact in the field of electrochemistry and its service to society.

Fundamentals of Engineering Director and Teaching Professor Lizzie Santiago and Teaching Assistant Professor Carter Hulcher have both been recognized as this year’s Thriving Engineers program award recipients.

The partnership between WVU Industrial Extension and Blenko Glass Company has been featured in the Heroes of American Manufacturing video series, an initiative from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to showcase the success stories of small and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States.

The University has released its Spring 2025 Dean’s and President’s lists, along with the complete list of spring semester graduates.

Our Alumni Who Inspire series is a program created to honor the alumni community of WVU and the Statler College. This month we’re honored to feature electrical engineering alumna Zahra Ronaghi and highlight her legacy.

A dedicated WVU alum and his wife are expanding support for engineering education and athletics with gifts totaling $175,000.

Dear friends and colleagues,  

I hope your summer has been filled with exciting adventures and enjoyable moments with family and friends! This month, we have inspiring and exciting updates to share with all of you.

In this issue of EngineeringWV Wired, we invite you to read about our Team Mountaineers, who have once again proven their skills on an international stage by demonstrating excellence in robotics and clinching second place at the 2025 University Rover Challenge. We were up against very skilled and reputable universities and remained in the top two in the world for a third consecutive year. Congratulations to the team and faculty advisor, Dr. Yu Gu.

In addition, we invite you to learn about the outstanding work of Yuxin Wang, assistant professor of chemical engineering. His research, supported by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, focuses on developing a new microwave technology for recovering polypropylene — aiming to reduce the amount of polypropylene waste that ends up in landfills.

We are grateful to our loyal alumni and friends for their unwavering support, which enables us to continue providing high-quality education, advancing cutting-edge research, providing scholarships for our students, upgrading and renovating our laboratories, and expanding experiential learning opportunities across the college.

I am excited about the outstanding achievements of our students, staff and faculty, and I look forward to celebrating even more successes from the Statler College community as the summer goes on!

Thank you!

Let's Go!

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Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources | West Virginia University
1374 Evansdale Drive | P.O. Box 6070 | Morgantown, WV 26506-6070
PHONE: 304.293.4821 | EMAIL: engineeringwv@mail.wvu.edu

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