THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Monday February 9, 2015
Volume 127, Issue 90
www.THEDAONLINE.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WVU
To celebrate West Virginia University’s 148th birthday, President E. Gordon Gee presented a towering cake to those attending the men’s basketball game against Baylor. Doyle Maurer/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
University honors passing of Middleton, Ph.D. candidate by kendall snee staff writer @dailyathenaeum
On Jan. 19, West Virginia University lost an important alumnus. Mark Gerald Middleton passed at the Cleveland Clinic as a result of complications following a stroke. Middleton was most noted for his graduate research assistance at the WVU Regional Research Institute. Middleton was also a Ph.D. candidate in human and community development. Middleton graduated from WVU with a Master of Arts in Applied Sociology. In his spare time, Middleton ran his company, Middleton Mouth Bow Harps, based on the production and distribution of blue grass mouth bows. These bows are an in-
strument in resemblance to an archery bow, held below the chin, and either picked or played with a reed. Middleton was also actively involved in the Boy Scouts of America. He was a scoutmaster, Tri Valley District Eagle Board of Review chairman and summer camp director. Many of Middleton’s colleagues attended the ceremony on Oglebay Plaza Friday morning, including Caleb Stair, a regional assistant at the RRI. “The first time I met Mark was when I was struggling through my first project and he took me to the side and said, ‘Look I have all the stuff that you need to get done, just take my stuff and give it to your supervisor and it will be fine.’ And I did and I got a pat on my back from my supervisor,” Stair said. “Mark got me
through my first project. He was a great guy and he will be truly missed at RRI.” Stair wasn’t the only one who had known Middleton as an advisor and friend. Many people came forward to compliment Middleton on his ongoing roles as a mentor. “I can just say that I learned a lot from Mark,” said Elahm Erfanian, fellow PHD candidate. “Mark was super, super helpful. Almost like a father. Mark always answered all of the questions we had. We’re going to miss him.” Even outside of the workplace, Middleton made his presence known, always with a kind word or piece of advice. Or in the case of Juan Thomas Syago, a WVU gradu-
see PASSING on PAGE 2
Askar Salikhov/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Family, friends and students gather together in memory of Mark Middleton Friday at the Oglebay Plaza.
Oglebay Institute names WVU WVU prof., leader in physics, was first to observe fast radio bursts alumna new president by caroline peters staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Oglebay Institute recently named West Virginia University alumna Danielle Cross McCracken its president. “It was a real honor. I have been an active member of the institute for many years since I came back to the area,” McCracken said. “Later on I went to get my master’s degree at WVU when I was working fulltime here. I’ve stayed in many capacities active.” Obglebay Institute is a nonprofit organization that promotes arts, nature and culture. Six of the institute’s facilities operate in Wheeling, W.Va., including the Mansion Museum, The Glass Museum, The Stifel Fine Arts Center, The Schrader Environmen-
The Intelligencer
tal Education Center and the School of Dance. McCracken is leaving the Wheeling Country Day School after serving as the director of advancement for five years. McCracken will have her first day of work at Oglebay Feb. 9.
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RUNAWAY DOROTHY
INSIDE
Band performs at Schmitt’s Saloon, stops by The DA A&E PAGE 3
SHOWERS
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 5 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Connection: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 8, 9
McCracken served in the advancement office at West Liberty University. She has also worked as director of community relations at Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center. At WVU, McCracken studied journalism in her undergrad and later received her master’s degree in public administration. “I have had amazing experiences at WVU both as an undergraduate and graduate student. Personally, I’ve developed lifelong friendships that I still enjoy today,” McCracken said. “I have had so many wonderful classes in both the school of journalism and public administration that gave me real-world experiences. The faculty was excellent and able to bring
see McCRACKEN on PAGE 2
by jennifer skinner staff writer @dailyathenaeum
Just as extragalactic radio waves travel billions of light-years before colliding with Earth, one West Virginia University professor traveled across the ocean and between multiple countries before traveling down country roads. Duncan Lorimer, a professor of astronomy and physics, made a scientific breakthrough in 2007 when he and his team of researchers discovered the first fast radio burst— a groundbreaking phenomenon for astronomers across the world. Fast radio bursts— colloquially dubbed “Lorimer bursts” — are huge, celestial pulses of energetic ra-
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SAVING YOUR MONEY Commentary: One columnist discusses how being an R.A. can help in saving money OPINION PAGE 4
The new Aspire Atlantis tank Huge clouds of vapor without any hassles.
dio waves that last thousandths of a second and travel billions of light-years before colliding with Earth. According to astronomers, these bursts are the first of their kind to be observed in real time. “We really weren’t looking for them. We just found these things by accident,” Lorimer said. “As a scientist, that’s what you really like. It’s like solving puzzles.” Astronomers, including Lorimer, are still researching the origins and effects of these mysterious energy pulses in space. “Hopefully that won’t be the case forever. I think in the next few years there will be a breakthrough,” Lorimer said. “If these things pan out, they could be the next cosmic rulers.
The pulsars themselves— we’re continuing to find them. I hope that in my lifetime, we’ll find all of them in the galaxy.” The transient radio sources, discovered by Lorimer and his team of researchers, are incredibly difficult to detect and even more challenging to explain. Could they be flares in local stars, or maybe they are glimpses of distant stars collapsing? “The chances of finding these things are quite small. We know of about ten dozen bursts,” he said. “They only happen once and you get one chance to see them. We haven’t got anything else to associate them with.” Lorimer’s impact on as-
see PROFESSOR on PAGE 2
MAN HANDLED No. 15 WVU falls to Baylor 87-69 Saturday SPORTS PAGE 7
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