WVU welcomes the public to Research Week 2026

The innovation and rigor of WVU research draws neuroscience students like Sachiko Price, who uses organisms called planaria to study topics like cellular regeneration. Throughout the second week in April, Research Week events will celebrate WVU discovery and innovation and are open to the public and media. (WVU Photo/Matt Sunday)

WHAT: West Virginia Universitywill celebrate its renewed status as a top-tier R1-level research institution during the eighth annual Research Week.

WHEN: April 6-11

WHERE: Morgantown campuses and online

NOTES: Since 2019, the University has hosted Research Week each spring to spotlight and support student and faculty research and inform the community about WVU innovation and discovery.

Melanie Page, associate vice president for creative and scholarly activities at the Research Office, said, "Research Week is a way for us all to pause and celebrate the tremendous amount of work that goes into being an R1 university and to say 'thank you' to everyone who makes it possible."

Among this year's happenings will be discussions and presentations about science storytelling, literacy and playfulness, and AI and the law, along with exhibits of student work, a graduate student thesis competition and other events.

See the full Research Week schedule.

Highlights include:

• "An Evening with John M. Barry: Science, Storytelling and the Public Good," from 7-8 p.m. Monday (April 6).

Online: Register here.

Join New York Times bestselling author and historian John M. Barry for a Zoom presentation on the power of storytelling to shape public understanding, inform policy and influence how science is understood in public. Presented by the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, WVU School of Public Health and WVU Reed School of Media Public Interest Communications Research Laboratory.

• "The 3MT Grand Finale," from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday (April 7).

Downtown Campus, Mountainlair Ballrooms, 1550 University Ave., Morgantown

The Office of Graduate Education and Life presents the 3MT competition, which challenges graduate students to explain their work in one slide and three minutes. Vote for the crowd favorite.

• "Engaging in Playful Research: Connections, Collaborations, and Considerations," from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday (April 8).

Online: Join the Zoom presentation.

The WVU College of Applied Human Sciences presents Courtney Shimek, the 2025 CAHS Outstanding Research Award Winner, discussing her research on the confluence between literacy and play in elementary school classrooms, literacy teacher education and children's literature.

• "2026 Spring Research Symposium," from 1-7:30 p.m. April 9.

Downtown Campus, Mountainlair, 1550 University Ave., Morgantown

Presented by the WVU Office of Undergraduate Research, the Eberly College and the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media, the annual WVU Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium recognizes the individuals who support research and creative work.

• "W. Va. Law Review Symposium: Artificial Intelligence in the Legal Profession," from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. April 10.

WVU College of Law, Fitzsimmons Event Hall, 101 Law School Drive, Morgantown

The WVU College of Law brings together legal scholars and technical experts to explore how advances in artificial intelligence are shaping the future of law.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Shauna Johnson
Executive Director of Strategic Communications
WVU Strategic Communications and Marketing
304-293-8302; [email protected]

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