Tag: Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

WVU Gets $5M from 1964 Graduate and His Wife

West Virginia University says a 1964 graduate and his wife are giving the school $5 million.

Most will go to the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources for scholarships, faculty fellowships and a faculty chair.

Verl Purdy earned a WVU degree in chemical engineering and later earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He worked in management for several major chemical companies then founded an agricultural data analysis and marketing company that he sold in 2010.

The Poca native is currently president of Cadrillion Capital.

Purdy says WVU gave him the opportunity to go from one-room elementary school to first-generation college graduate and his career.

The remaining $1 million will be split between the College of Business and Economics and WVU Athletics for the golf program.

WVU Studies Probability of Mine Explosions, Fires

West Virginia University is creating a model to determine the probability of coal mine fires and explosions.

The university’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is creating the model. The 15-month study will also delve into the roles of moisture and rock and coal dust.

Experiments will be conducted at a combustion laboratory at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

The Alpha Foundation awarded the project a $150,000 grant.

The foundation was formed in 2011 in an agreement with federal justice officials and the U.S. attorney’s office. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. purchased Massey Energy Inc. in 2011. Massey owned the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia where 29 men died in a 2010 explosion.

Alpha agreed to form the foundation and fund $48 million in mine safety projects.

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