(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection - Editor's Notes by Christina Myer)

There is a certain brand of engineering in Appalachia that gets a derogatory label across the rest of the country. And yet, those of us who live here know darned well that if we see a 1980 Chevette that has been converted into a hauler, complete with a water tank improvised out of a discarded road construction barrel, that thing is built to purpose and is likely doing its job very well. (No, I’ve never seen such a thing. But you all can picture it, can’t you?)

We figure out how to get things done with what we have on hand.

The same is true of researchers at West Virginia University, who for years now have been working from a discovery that there are rare earth elements in the acid mine drainage seeping out of our retired coal mines.

No longer just a waste product resulting in nasty orange water and stained hillsides, the drainage has potential.

So, last month WVU launched the Rare Earth Elements Initiative to bring together more researchers to expand the focus on rare earths and critical minerals and start the for-profit Mission Critical Materials, based on a decade of acid mine drainage/rare earth elements technology development.

It’s a triple win.

“WVU has been at the forefront of this work even before it became a national priority,” Vice Provost Mark Gavin said. “For a decade, we’ve been proving we can extract rare earths from acid mine drainage at coal sites. The WVU REE Initiative aims to double down on our work to emphasize we can produce these critical materials domestically, clean up legacy mining pollution and reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers.”

Earlier this year, WVU’s Mission Critical Materials partnered with REalloys Inc. to develop a domestic supply chain that can get the rare earth products extracted from mine waste to U.S. manufacturers with a specific focus on defense and energy infrastructure.

“We’re eager to continue connecting the University’s technology with industry partners and watch how WVU refines, evolves and advances its expertise in this future industry for our country,” said Mission Critical Materials CEO Steve Dunmead.

This is one field in which WVU is leading the world, and a reminder of the world-class research and WORK being done right here at home.

WVU gets more than $100 million annually in federal research dollars, as an R1 institution. Compare that with the California Institute of Technology or Johns Hopkins University, which get amounts approaching $3 billion annually.

Sure, we make do with what we have. We’re really good at it. But a look at the work being done through WVU’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, or the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute — to give just a couple of examples — shows the degree to which we put our home-grown work ethic toward solutions that could improve quality of life for everyone — far outside the Mountain State’s borders.

“By continuing to expand where and how rare earth elements can be recovered, WVU is not only advancing the science, we are shaping the future of the global rare earth elements landscape and positioning ourselves as a true leader in this space,” Gavin said.

Members of Congress, take note. THAT is worth scrambling for every federal research dollar you can get us.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com.