Science and Technology Notes

Archived from the West Virginia University Bridge Initiative

The Notes below were crafted by the West Virginia University Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology Policy, Leadership, and Communications to provide nonpartisan research information to the West Virginia Legislature and the public. These Notes are intended only for informational purposes and do not indicate support or opposition to a particular bill or policy approach. WV STeP has retained these Notes to ensure they are available for reference and does not have any affiliation with West Virginia University.

Economic Development

Large satellite dish antenna pointing toward the sky within a clear blue sky.

Satellite Broadband Accessibility in West Virginia

A woman working on a laptop at a desk surrounded by electronic components and wiring in a bright, industrial-like setting.

Advanced Manufacturing in West Virginia

Flooded parking lot with submerged cars, trees, and a shopping center in the background under a cloudy sky.

Flood Resilience and West Virginia

The Capitol building in Washington, D.C. with a blue sky and leafless trees in the foreground.

What are Regulatory Sandboxes?

Build Back Better

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Cloud Services and Government in West Virginia

Close-up of a large white satellite dish with a metal framework and a small white antenna structure against a clear blue sky.

Artificial Intelligence, Government Services, and West Virginia

Line drawing of the United States Capitol building in black and white.

Artificial Intelligence, Economic Development, and West Virginia

Education

Empty classroom with rows of old, worn desks and chairs in front of a bulletin board and cupboards.

Student Discipline in West Virginia

Energy

Multiple oil pumpjacks on a grassy field under a cloudy sky.

Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells in West Virginia

Industrial refinery at night with lit pipes and structures under a full moon.

Potential Lithium Production from Natural Gas in West Virginia

Illustration of a nuclear power plant with cooling towers, reactors, a crane, and surrounding green landscape.

Advanced Nuclear Power and West Virginia

An open-pit mining operation with large excavation machinery and conveyor belts for processing minerals, set in a rural landscape with fields and hills in the background.

Geothermal Energy on Abandoned Mine Lands

Hydrogen fuel storage tanks with a label reading "H₂ Hydrogen Power, Clean Energy of the Future."

Clean Hydrogen and West Virginia

Power lines and wind turbines in a rural landscape under a cloudy sky.

Electrical Grid Capacity and West Virginia

Sunset over a flat landscape with multiple power transmission towers and power lines, with a few scattered clouds in the sky.

Electrical Grid Resilience and West Virginia

Environment

Aerial view of a dense forest with tall evergreen trees.

Forest Carbon Markets in West Virginia

Image of a mountainous landscape with a large open-pit quarry, surrounded by green hills, a small lake, and a village in the distance under a cloudy sky.

Build Back Better

Former Mine Land Restoration in West Virginia

A large pile of crushed and discarded plastic water bottles and vitamin bottles in a recycling or waste facility.

Chemical Recycling in West Virginia

Aerial view of a construction site featuring a large, winding dirt road, an excavated area with visible mining or quarrying activity, and two small water ponds.

Build Back Better

West Virginia’s Mine Land Reclamation System

Construction site on a dirt road with a worker in a yellow safety vest standing near the edge of an excavated area and construction vehicles in the background.

Build Back Better

Former Mine Land Economic Development Policies in West Virginia

A construction worker walking beside a large mining truck inside a tunnel with overhead pipes and equipment.

Build Back Better

Perspectives of Former Coal Mine Land Owners on Development Opportunities in West Virginia

Open-pit mining excavation site with large machinery and winding conveyor belts, green trees in the foreground, wind turbines on the horizon.

Build Back Better

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 and West Virginia

Health

Hand holding a glass under a kitchen faucet with water pouring into it, over a beige sink.

PFAS and the Health of West Virginians

A pile of used syringes, vaccine vials, and medical supplies in black and white.

Syringe Service Programs and HIV Prevention in West Virginia

A man with short hair and facial hair holding onto a chain-link fence, looking through it on a sunny day.

Mental Hygiene and Incarceration in West Virginia

A hand holding a tick in a glass tube.

Lyme Disease in West Virginia

Black and white photo of a man with curly hair exhaling smoke against a dark background.

Youth Tobacco Use in West Virginia

Fresh vegetables including purple cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchinis, red and green bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and leafy greens arranged on a market stall.

Food Deserts and Food Insecurity in West Virginia

A person wearing blue gloves slicing cooked chicken on a white cutting board in a kitchen. There are multiple pieces of chicken, some diced, on the board.

Food Safety and Food Handler Permits in West Virginia

Red push pins marking the dates 11, 17, and 24 on a calendar for a month that starts on Sunday, with the 30th circled in red.

Roads to Wellness

Transportation and Medical Care Coordination in West Virginia

Empty hospital corridor with multiple empty hospital beds and medical equipment.

Roads to Wellness

Medical Personnel Shortage in West Virginia

A row of parked cars in an indoor parking garage with overhead lighting and no entry sign.

Roads to Wellness

West Virginia’s Healthcare Transport Networks

Hands typing on a laptop keyboard with a stethoscope resting on the wooden desk in the foreground.

Roads to Wellness

Telehealth for West Virginians in Rural Areas

A healthcare worker in blue scrubs and a mask helps an elderly woman in a blue blazer and a mask into a car that appears to be a drive-thru vaccination site.

Roads to Wellness

Medical Transportation Strategies in West Virginia