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A glimpse of a future at Virginia Tech
A glimpse of a future at Virginia Tech

William E. Lavery Professor Kathleen Alexander and other Virginia Tech faculty and students welcomed minority high school students from Louisa County, Virginia, to campus for tours and discussions about their future academic and professional opportunities after completing high school. Eight of the students, along with their teachers, will join Alexander in Botswana, where she is merging wildlife conservation with community health and economic development.

Date: Apr 27, 2023
Graduate wouldn't trade his CNRE experience for anything
Graduate wouldn't trade his CNRE experience for anything

Transfer student Nathan Ferguson will graduate this spring from the College of Natural Resources and Environment, with dual majors in Wildlife Conservation and Fisheries Conservation with a human dimension's focus. "The level of involvement I've been able to get as an undergrad has been truly remarkable," said Ferguson.

Date: Apr 26, 2023
Students get their feet wet as biodiversity conservationists
Students get their feet wet as biodiversity conservationists

Students taking the biodiversity conservation minor capstone course have the opportunity to get out of the classroom and into the wetlands to do real-world conservation work.

Date: Apr 19, 2023
A person in a wetsuit stands in a stream.
Class of 2023: Austin Holloway named Outstanding Senior for the College of Natural Resources and Environment

Holloway, a first-generation college student, had numerous field and research experiences, including building stream habitats and doing tagging for eastern hellbenders

Date: Apr 18, 2023
A deer in a field. Photo courtesy Krista Timney.
Wildlife experts investigate spread of ‘zombie deer disease’

Deer afflicted with chronic wasting disease — also frequently referred to as “zombie deer disease” — will appear abnormally thin, move sluggishly, and salivate excessively. The disease is contagious and always fatal. Virginia Tech wildlife health expert Luis Escobar will be leading a study of transmission of CWD among Virginia's white-tailed deer population. He talks about the disease, what the study will do and how it is being funded.

Date: Apr 14, 2023
The 2023 Graduate School award winners. While several honorees could not attend the reception, College of Natural Resources and Environment master's student of the year Darby McPhail attended via phone (Dr. Marcella Kelly is holding the phone with McPhail in this photo).
Graduate students, mentors honored at annual Graduate Education Week awards reception

The Graduate School recognized award-winning master's and doctoral degree students and faculty mentors at the annual event held during Graduate Education Week 2023.

Date: Apr 12, 2023
A bird with orange and brown feathers is perched on a reed.
NASA grant to fund critical research on sea-level rise in Virginia

A collaborative research team will seek to understand how rising sea levels will impact coastal communities, merging social science with geospatial information to help Virginia communities adapt to a changing landscape.

Date: Mar 29, 2023
President of Botswana's presentation on Virginia Tech's campus
President of Botswana's presentation on Virginia Tech's campus

March 21, 2023 - His Excellency Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, President of Botswana, gives his public presentation, “Merging Conservation, Democracy, and Sustainable Development in Botswana,” in Squires Student Center.

Date: Mar 28, 2023
A student crouches on the ground, holding a clipboard, and looking at a machine with a slanting metal ramp supporting a shrink-wrapped stack of cardboard boxes.
College of Natural Resources and Environment focused on infrastructure upgrades to power experiential learning and research

Dean Paul Winistorfer recently illuminated how human, financial, and physical capital converge to create a culture of excellence in the college and championed the infrastructure improvements that are the keys to future success.

Date: Mar 24, 2023
A group of people gathered around a table, with one individual standing to take notes at a notepad on an easel.
Expanded perspectives give greater voice to invasive species working group

The Invasive Species Working Group is crowdsourcing resources and expertise to tackle global invasion species that are reshaping ecosystems, disrupting economies, and causing disease, costing an estimated $1.3 trillion globally each year.

Date: Mar 23, 2023
A man speaks at a podium
Botswana president committed to conservation and sustainability

Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi visited the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus Tuesday. In meetings with university leadership and in a discussion in front of a packed ballroom, the mutually beneficial collaboration between Botswana and Virginia Tech was highlighted.

Date: Mar 21, 2023
President of Botswana visits Virginia Tech with message of conservation and partnership
President of Botswana visits Virginia Tech with message of conservation and partnership

The president of the Republic of Botswana visited Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus on Tuesday, March 21. His Excellency Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi accepted an invitation from Virginia Tech President Tim Sands to visit campus and gave a public presentation, “Merging Conservation, Democracy, and Sustainable Development in Botswana,” in Squires Student Center.

Date: Mar 21, 2023
Two mongoose lay on a clean cloth the rear bed of a pickup truck with medical equipment nearby, as a group of people stand in a semi-circle observing wildlife veterinarian techniques.
Kathleen Alexander brings a One Health vision to conservation efforts in Botswana

Alexander makes a global impact merging wildlife conservation with community health and economic development in Botswana.

Date: Mar 17, 2023
Studying diseases in humans and wildlife
Studying diseases in humans and wildlife

Professor Kathleen Alexander's research in Botswana explores factors that influence the spread of diseases. Understanding how diseases infect and spread between humans and wildlife within the environment is crucial for public health on a global scale.

Date: Mar 16, 2023
Botswana president visits with Virginia Tech professor
President of Botswana to speak at Virginia Tech

Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi will deliver a public presentation on Tuesday and meet privately with Virginia Tech President Tim Sands.

Date: Mar 15, 2023
A person smiles in front of a dark green tree.
College of Natural Resources and Environment names new director of alumni relations

Tara Nepper, previously assistant director of alumni relations in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said she is excited to build bridges with an alumni base that is working to solve the critical challenges of today.

Date: Mar 10, 2023
Bill Hopkins  holds a hellbender salamander while scuba diving in the water.
A career built on science and service

In April, Bill Hopkins will lead a roundtable discussion sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where he will present a 30-year conservation plan for the species in Virginia that he authored in 2022.

Date: Mar 06, 2023
A person with glasses looks down at a tray that has a collection of dead mice on it.
Luis Escobar receives NSF CAREER award to study disease transmission among wildlife and across geographic scales

With the National Science Foundation award, Escobar will research the disease ecology and biogeography of hantavirus to better understand disease transmission between species and to humans.

Date: Feb 27, 2023
A large shark swims in the ocean.
Sharks, spatial data, and a conservation success story

Researchers in the College of Natural Resources and the Environment contribute to research aligning fisheries management with shark and ray conservation.

Date: Jan 23, 2023
The first group of Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows are as follows (top row, left): Daniel Smith, Blake Caldwell, and Olalla Prado-Nóvoa . (Bottom row, left) Xue Zhao, Harsimran Kaur, and Abdelkafar Alkishe.
First group of Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows selected

The highly competitive program selected postdoctoral researchers who are working with Virginia Tech faculty mentors on projects ranging from rapid detection for foodborne pathogens to 5G to human energetics and obesity investigations.

Date: Jan 19, 2023
A person stands next to a tree.
Andrew Ickes joins College of Natural Resources and Environment as assistant dean of advancement

A 2011 alumnus, Ickes brings an extensive background in fundraising and development to the role.

Date: Dec 19, 2022
Five children and a college student sit in a circle on the grass. The students are holding or touch paper plates with round, flat pieces of clay, each with an animal footprint.
Wildlife Viewing Club spotlights future career opportunities for local elementary school students

Graduate students from the College of Natural Resources and Environment are preparing the next generation of conservationists by teaching local elementary students about wildlife and engaging them in hands-on learning experiences.

Date: Dec 02, 2022
A snapshot of native wildlife research
A snapshot of native wildlife research

Professor Marcella Kelly in the College of Natural Resources and Environment and undergraduate students in The Wildlife Society at Virginia Tech conduct research on native wildlife around Mountain Lake. Each fall, students place non-invasive camera traps (motion-triggered digital cameras) on trails and use the recorded images to study bear, coyote, and bobcat populations.

Date: Nov 30, 2022
Yellow dump truck loading minerals copper, silver, gold, and other at mining quarry.
Virginia Tech experts tapped to explore the impact of gold mining in Virginia 

William Hopkins and Robert Bodnar were part of a technical team that recommended that the Virginia General Assembly and state agencies update state laws and regulations to protect against the potential environmental and health impacts of gold mining.

Date: Nov 28, 2022
Bird perches on the edge of a bird feeder consisting of four tree branches forming a square that borders a flat area covered with nuts.
Virginia Tech researchers will investigate how bird feeding influences humans and birds

Ashley Dayer of the College of Natural Resources and Environment and Dana Hawley of the College of Science are leading a multifaceted project funded by the National Science Foundation to study the effects of bird feeding.

Date: Nov 15, 2022
Virginia Tech Ph.D. students gather with faculty as part of the Global Change Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Programs.
Global Change Center expands commitment to innovative graduate education

With membership spanning 20 institutions across the United States and Canada, Virginia Tech's Global Change Center joined ANGLES, a network of higher education professionals dedicated to graduate student leadership development centered in sustainability, environmental, and societal issues.

Date: Nov 14, 2022
Confronting barriers in conservation
Confronting barriers in conservation

Graduate student Sharon Dorsey studies the federally endangered piping plover, which nest on barrier islands in New York. The beaches where she conducts research were once segregated. Dorsey shares her experience as a researcher and a racial minority in the field of conservation.

Date: Oct 13, 2022
At left, Jennifer McQuiston,  Jake Liang, and Sue VandeWoude. Photo courtesy of CeZAP.
Fralin Life Sciences Institute sponsors inaugural Infectious Disease Symposium

The Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Anthropod-Borne Pathogens will host the symposium on Friday, Oct. 7, with keynote speakers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes for Health, and One Health Institute.

Date: Oct 05, 2022
Advising Center Assistant Director Dana McGuire sits at a table and talks with a female student in her office.
CNRE’s Advising Center: A one-stop shop for recruitment, advising, and employment

The College of Natural Resources and Environment’s 8-year-old Advising Center is making a significant impact in setting students up for success in college and future careers.

Date: Oct 03, 2022
A man wearing a surgical gown, gloves, goggles, and headlamp holds a bat while a masked female student feeds it with a plastic dropper.
Studying vampire bats to predict the next pandemic

Supported by the National Science Foundation, the team will examine how geography, population traits, and climate change affect the spread of infectious disease from vampire bats to other species, and propose new models for predicting when and where wildlife virus transmission might occur in the future.

Date: Sep 26, 2022
A group of people stand in the edge of a forested area with mountains in the background.
Fall Forestry and Wildlife Field Tours flourish in the commonwealth

Virginia forest landowners are invited to participate in fall networking and educational tours to learn more about sustainably managing natural resources.

Date: Sep 15, 2022
Professor Dean Stauffer
Dean Stauffer honored with emeritus status

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1983, Stauffer made significant contributions to bird conservation through his work in the United States, Mexico, and South America, focusing on habitat requirements of migratory birds as well as grouse and quail.

Date: Sep 12, 2022
Rosa Williams stands in front of a sign with “3M.”
Trying out potential careers from packaging to conservation

Students in the College of Natural Resources and Environment are getting a head start on career success through summer internships.

Date: Aug 18, 2022
Cheatham hall
Four new faculty members join the College of Natural Resources and Environment

The new faculty are Haldre Rogers and Elizabeth "Beth" Nyboer in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Junghwan Kim in the Department of Geography, and Eduardo Molina in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials.

Date: Aug 15, 2022
VTTI interns pictured at Virginia Smart Road Bridge
Six grants from the Office of Undergraduate Research create new work and learning opportunities for students

The grants created a range of opportunities for students, from exploring the video game Minecraft as a teaching tool to creating training materials for researchers working with marginalized communities. More than 70 undergrads participated, with the aim that faculty will be able to scale up programs to include more in the future.

Date: Aug 05, 2022
Student Julia Coan searches for green salamanders with a flashlight.
Summer research projects empower wildlife conservation students to make an impact in their field

Students in the College of Natural Resources and Environment are making new and helpful discoveries about pinesnakes, green salamanders, and minnows.

Date: Aug 01, 2022
Six faculty win seed funding for new projects
Six faculty win seed funding for new projects

The Junior Faculty Program from the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science is one example of ways the university's investment institutes help build new research programs and nurture collaboration.

Date: Jul 01, 2022
A child smiling in the Celestial Garden exhibit
High-tech exhibits wow Smithsonian visitors at the third ACCelerate Festival

Twelve ACC schools showed off Interactive projects at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History during the festival of creativity and innovation organized by Virginia Tech's Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology.

Date: Apr 19, 2022
Josh Turner, Caleb Turner, and Dale Turner stand together in front of pine trees
Some roots take hold: Forestry and conservation families continue to shape their legacies at Virginia Tech

Current Hokies Caleb Turner and Lily Martin are part of their family legacies in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.

Date: Mar 29, 2022
A Caribbean reef shark is swimming along the sea floor. In the distance are blue and yellow fish.
Taking pulse: Researcher addresses knowledge gaps in shark and ray research

Francesco Ferretti, an assistant professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, polled an international team of scientists and practitioners to take a pulse of the greatest issues that are present in shark research, marine conservation, and fisheries science.

Date: Mar 09, 2022
Woman carrying a spotting scope on a tripod over her shoulder while walking along a beach
Finding paths and breaking down barriers: Stories celebrating women in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment

The College of Natural Resources and Environment is celebrating 100 years of women at Virginia Tech by sharing the stories of three women in the college — a student, a professor, and an alumna — who are finding their paths and leading the way for others in their fields.

Date: Feb 09, 2022
Three students look down at a small GPS device held in the middle student’s hand
Small gifts lead to big impacts: Unique effort supports learning and spurs classroom innovation

Faculty Instructional Grants in the College of Natural Resources and Environment incorporate donor support to provide tools and technologies that enhance hands-on learning experiences across all departments.

Date: Feb 08, 2022
Four people stand around a table with animal skulls on it.
Bones, feathers, and fins: How Virginia Tech’s natural history collection helps prepare the next generation of conservationists

The Virginia Tech natural history collection gives wildlife conservation students hands-on experiences learning to identify animal species.

Date: Dec 21, 2021
A pink and yellow bird stands in the water with it's large wings stretched out.
Virginia Tech researcher tackles restoring the Florida Everglades with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

During the past century, the Florida Everglades has been facing habitat loss, declining biodiversity, and an ecological collapse. Jeff Walters, the Harold Bailey professor of biological sciences and Global Change Center affiliate, is working with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to restore the Florida Everglades.

Date: Nov 23, 2021
Two people stand in a field of dense green plants.
From camera traps to tank tracks: Hokies manage conservation work on military landscapes

The Conservation Management Institute works with the military to protect threatened and endangered animals and plants while preserving critical conservation landscapes.

Date: Oct 20, 2021
A light blue background with a white stick person and white text "Virtual Kids' Tech Univeristy"
Kids’ Tech University registration opens on Oct. 18

Kids' Tech University aims to inspire the future generation of scientists by bridging the gap between kids and experts in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Date: Oct 07, 2021
Cassie Krause service puppies
Training dogs for a cause

Cassie Krause, a 2010 graduate of the College of Natural Resources and Environment, trains puppies to be service dogs for veterans with disabilities — a job that allows her to combine her love of animals and her desire to contribute to a greater cause.

Date: Oct 06, 2021
Baby turtles on a beach, with people in the background.
From hatchlings to loggerheads: A Hokie spends the summer aiding and rehabilitating sea turtles

A student in the College of Natural Resources and Environment spent the summer helping threatened sea turtles in North Carolina.

Date: Oct 04, 2021
Propagating mussel power to purify Virginia's freshwater
Propagating mussel power to purify Virginia's freshwater

The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center at Virginia Tech is a cooperative research and propagation facility to restore and recover endangered freshwater mollusks in Virginia and adjacent states.

Date: Aug 26, 2021
Close up of a lemur with light and dark coloration. It is hanging from a branch and eating a leaf.
Choosy lemurs choose sumac: how Hokie researchers are working to feed lemurs far from home

Wildlife and forestry researchers in the College of Natural Resources and Environment are answering the call to help feed residents of the Duke Lemur Center.

Date: Aug 16, 2021
Composite of two head shots, one of a man and one of a woman
College of Natural Resources and Environment welcomes new faculty members

Elizabeth Hunter has recently joined the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and the Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Eranga Galappaththi will join the Department of Geography.

Date: Aug 12, 2021
Gabrielle Mountain
College of Natural Resources and Environment welcomes new director of alumni relations

Gabrielle Mountain is tasked with planning, promoting, and executing alumni engagement programming to meet institutional advancement goals.

Date: Aug 03, 2021
Hutton Program brings budding marine biologists to campus
Hutton Program brings budding marine biologists to campus

The Hutton Program, a pilot program partnering with the College of Natural Resources and Environment and the American Fisheries Society, is enlightening high-school students about career opportunities in fisheries professions through first-hand experience.

Date: Jul 27, 2021
Adult black bar at the edge of the forest
Bear’s-eye view: Cameras on black bears provide research and outreach opportunities

Researchers in the College of Natural Resources and Environment are gaining a closer look at our elusive neighbors by putting collars mounted with small video cameras on bears to record their day-to-day activities.

Date: Jul 22, 2021
Close up of a pair of hands holding and measuring a freshwater mussel, with a mesh bag full of mussels in the background
From mollusks to mountaintops: Working with federal agencies to make strides in conservation science

The College of Natural Resources and Environment partners with several federal agencies to serve Virginia and the nation while providing students with unique learning opportunities.

Date: Jul 15, 2021
Bear Cam View
Bear Cam View

Researchers at Virginia Tech, led by Professor Marcella Kelly of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, have placed collars counted with cameras on black bears. The cameras are providing windows--like this video of a bear overturning rocks while foraging--into the day-to-day moments of a bear's life.

Date: Jul 06, 2021
A group of about 25 banded mongooses relaxing in the shade
Mongoose in the city: How landscape can impact disease transmission in Botswana

Researchers are using genetic tools on banded mongooses to better understand how and why animal behavior changes in proximity to human development and how that change can impact infectious disease spread.

Date: Jun 29, 2021
A great white shark under water
Virginia Tech professor and Discovery Channel team up on a great white shark research expedition in the Mediterranean

Led by Assistant Professor Francesco Ferretti, the team is seeking to become the first to tag a Mediterranean great white shark, one of the most endangered and least known white shark populations globally.

Date: Jun 15, 2021
An amazing ecosystem engineer in Southwest Virginia
An amazing ecosystem engineer in Southwest Virginia

<div><div>Faculty and students from the College of Natural Resources and Environment are gaining a better understanding of the bluehead chub and uncovering their secrets just may be the key to conservation efforts.</div></div>

Date: Jun 03, 2021
Underwater shot of several small fish. One holds a pebble in its mouth.
The amazing ecosystem engineer of Southwest Virginia: the bluehead chub

Fish conservation and engineering researchers will use a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to decipher the nest-building secrets of the bluehead chub.

Date: Jun 03, 2021
Kathleen Alexander
Kathleen Alexander named William E. Lavery Professor

Alexander, who has a robust research and outreach program based in Botswana, has garnered a significant international reputation as an expert in human and wildlife health.

Date: Jun 02, 2021
Gwyneth Martin, a senior in marine fish conservation, participated in this year’s Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellowship (FURF) even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. She is standing in front of a bright green tree with a black mask on and a shirt with flower species on it. Photo courtesy of Gwyneth Martin.
Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellow investigates microplastics in local fish

Virginia Tech senior and marine fish conservation major Gwyneth Martin is studying microplastics and their frequency in freshwater fish as part of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute’s Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Date: May 25, 2021
Bull Run River
Freshwater salt pollution threatens ecosystem health and human water security

One in eight people on the planet lack access to clean water, and drivers of freshwater salt pollution such as de-icers on roads and parking lots, water softeners, and wastewater and industrial discharges further threaten freshwater ecosystem health and human water security. Researchers from Virginia Tech have recently published their findings on salt pollution in Nature Sustainability.

Date: Apr 19, 2021
A young woman wearing glasses, a face covering, and latex gloves looks down at a female cardinal she is holding in one hand
Under her wing: Wildlife student applies experience to rehabilitating birds

Wildlife conservation major Haley Olsen-Hodges, the staff naturalist at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, brings extensive experience working with birds and other animals to the classroom.

Date: Apr 09, 2021
With illustrations from her children's book in-hand, Amelia Schmidt stands near the Duck Pond.
Inspired by nature preserve, sophomore writes, illustrates, and publishes children's book for honors course

Through words and illustrations, Amelia Schmidt strives to educate today’s youth on the importance of collaboration and preserving the environment through the publication of a children’s book.

Date: Apr 06, 2021
Screen shot of an online Zoom meeting with 20 participants, including students and professionals.
College’s Leadership Institute takes its winter trip on the (digital) road

Instead of their traditional trip to Richmond and Washington, D.C., over winter break, the College of Natural Resources and Environment’s Leadership Institute students connected virtually with conservation leaders from around the country.

Date: Mar 23, 2021
Tree-covered mountains surround an ocean cove
Biodiversity, fishing, and the environment: thinking globally to protect our oceans

Researchers estimate that 90 percent of the ocean’s biodiversity could be preserved by strategically protecting just 21 percent of the ocean, and that protecting high-priority areas would have significant ramifications for critically endangered ocean species.

Date: Mar 17, 2021
CNRE student finds great joy in helping wildlife
CNRE student finds great joy in helping wildlife

Haley Olsen-Hodges, a wildlife conservation major at the College of Natural Resources and Environment, currently works with wildlife at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center — an experience she wants to use as a jumping-off point to help wildlife on a much broader scale.

Date: Mar 11, 2021
Close up of a forest stream, with water flowing over rocks
What can stream quality tell us about quality of life?

Researchers are using stream quality data to find new insights into the interactions between the health of our natural spaces and human well-being.

Date: Mar 04, 2021
Close up of a small yellow and gray bird on a thin branch
Coffee for the birds: connecting bird-watchers with shade-grown coffee

Researchers from Virginia Tech, Cornell University, and Columbia University examined ways to improve awareness of coffee grown in a way that protects bird habitat.

Date: Mar 02, 2021
A dirt trail through a thick forest
Pathways minors tackle the challenges of the future

New minors in the College of Natural Resources and Environment target students interested in global natural resources challenges.

Date: Feb 12, 2021
Exterior of a building, with trees and a sign reading Cheatham Hall.
Three faculty members join the College of Natural Resources and Environment

Willandia Chaves, Brett Jesmer, and Patrick Corey Green join the college’s faculty in the 2020-21 academic year.

Date: Jan 11, 2021
Maryam Kamran wearing a face covering
College of Natural Resources and Environment welcomes new director of inclusion and diversity

The hiring of Maryam Kamran reflects the college’s commitment to fostering greater representation in the fields of natural and environmental sciences.

Date: Jan 07, 2021
William Hopkins wearing a face covering
William Hopkins receives Virginia’s highest faculty honor

Hopkins, professor of wildlife in the College of Natural Resources, has been selected to receive a 2021 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education and Dominion Power.

Date: Dec 11, 2020
Side-by-side images of a young man and a young woman wearing face coverings.
Leaping lemurs and hidden hellbenders: Class of 2020 graduates get up close to wildlife

Giovanni Walters and Margot Breiner each got valuable hands-on experience outside the classroom while to completing their degrees in wildlife conservation.

Date: Dec 08, 2020
Paul Winistorfer wearing a face covering
College of Natural Resources and Environment dean shares vision of a dynamic future with the Board of Visitors

Dean Paul M. Winistorfer, who believes the next five years will be the most dynamic in the history of the college, shared some of the programs and initiatives that give the college a distinctive competitive advantage among national peers.

Date: Nov 19, 2020
The funded projects this year will address food-borne pathogen microbes (left), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (middle), and the tick that causes Lyme Disease. Illustration courtesy of Alex Crookshanks for Virginia Tech.
The Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens announces team-building pilot grant awards

Funded by the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, 10 interdisciplinary research teams were awarded team-building pilot grant awards to tackle some of these complex zoonotic and vector-borne emerging infectious disease problems.

Date: Nov 16, 2020
A puma standing in a grassy area with mountains in the background
What does the fox say to a puma? Predators form an unusual coexistence in the central Chilean Andes

While pumas and foxes overlapped significantly where they lived and what time they were active, researchers found the predators had little overlap in what they were eating.

Date: Nov 12, 2020
The Kids' Tech University logo. Illustration courtesy of Alex Crookshanks.
Virtual but still interactive: Kids' Tech University returns to Virginia Tech

In a normal year, the program creates a "university feel" by including children in an interactive STEM sessions in a university classroom. But this year, the program will be hosted through Zoom and will mail packets of materials for hands-on activities.

Date: Oct 22, 2020
Mammalogy Class Utilizes Outdoor Spaces To Study Carnivores
Mammalogy Class Utilizes Outdoor Spaces To Study Carnivores

Students in Professor Kevin Hamed's mammalogy class get an in-person look at identifying features of carnivorous mammals while utilizing outdoor spaces to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Date: Oct 21, 2020
Joy Flowers, a Virginia Tech student, observes specimens during an outdoor mammalogy lab taught by Kevin Hamed, associate professor of wildlife conservation. Photo by Ryan Young for Virginia Tech.
Wildlife courses, in-person and virtual, spark new energy during pandemic

Interacting with Kevin Hamed, collegiate assistant professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, from a safe distance, makes all of the difference for Emma Weaver, a senior who is majoring in wildlife conservation.

Date: Oct 08, 2020
Researchers co-locating to Steger Hall
Researchers co-locate to Steger Hall at the Fralin Life Sciences Institute to tackle infectious diseases and rapid environmental change

The Fralin Life Sciences Institute is co-locating researchers from across three colleges at Virginia Tech to Steger Hall to make an impact at the interface of infectious disease and the environment.

Date: Aug 27, 2020
Close-up view of a reticulated flatwood salamander
Collaboration with U.S. Air Force helps restore, protect endangered salamander

Reticulated flatwoods salamander larvae successfully developed after being placed into two ponds in Florida where the species hadn’t been seen in over a decade.

Date: Aug 25, 2020
A commercial fishing vessel on the open sea.
One fish, two fish: merging marine animal tracking with fishing fleet movements

During the inaugural “Fish and Ships” workshop researchers brainstormed ways to merge different data sets to address critical questions about human impacts on ocean biodiversity and sustainability.

Date: Aug 19, 2020
Biomedial researchers Kristin Eden and Irving Coy Allen at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Animal Model Research for Veterinarians Ph.D. training program awarded NIH grant

The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is among a relatively small group of veterinary colleges awarded a T32 grant to train post-D.V.M. veterinarians in biomedical research.

Date: Aug 11, 2020
William Hopkins
William Hopkins named associate executive director of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute

In his new role, Hopkins will assist Matt Hulver, executive director, and his leadership team as they develop and implement the vision and strategic directions for the Fralin Life Sciences Institute to tackle grand life science challenges at the interface of the environment and the human condition.

Date: Aug 11, 2020
X.J. Meng
Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens to tackle infectious diseases

The center will be administratively established as an institute-level center in the Fralin Life Science Institute and will include faculty participants from at least seven colleges and more than 25 departments on campus.

Date: Jul 27, 2020
Luis Escobar stands against a wooden deck railing with trees in the background
Preliminary study suggests tuberculosis vaccine may be limiting COVID-19 deaths

New research suggests that Bacille Calmette-Guérin, a tuberculosis vaccine routinely given to children in countries with high tuberculosis rates, might play a significant role in mitigating mortality rates from COVID-19.

Date: Jul 10, 2020
Group with various shapes and sizes of gray seal.
Virginia Tech researchers study catastrophic disease events in marine mammals

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, people are beginning to understand the ways in which infectious diseases can devastate life. But disease outbreaks are not confined to just humans or to life on land.

Date: Jun 18, 2020
Two men wearing waders and holding fishing nets stand knee-deep in a stream. One facing the other while holding up a cellphone.
Natural resources faculty use innovation and engagement to adapt to new online education space

“We want to encourage [our students] that we’ll all get through this, so 30 years from now they’ll be telling their kids about the time when they had to watch their professor stumbling around in a creek trying to catch a fish.”

Date: Jun 10, 2020
A researcher places a sample on a microscope.
Seed funding for junior faculty launches new projects

Awards from the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science support new interdisciplinary projects, ranging from wireless charging for unmanned vehicles to the effects of microplastics on fish.

Date: Apr 27, 2020
Several banded mongoose resting together.
Banded mongoose study reveals how behavior and landscape interactions influence the spread of infectious disease

Researchers observed banded mongoose in several different environments in Botswana, gaining insight into the spread of a novel tuberculosis pathogen that is transmitted through olfactory communication behaviors.

Date: Mar 12, 2020
Bee Downtown founder and CEO Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, who is holding up a frame that is covered in honeycombs. She is standing in between two brightly painted beehive boxes, one depicting a partly cloudy sky, and the other depicting honeycombs. Courtesy: Bee Downtown.
Canceled: Innovative conservationist and business entrepreneur to present public lecture in Blacksburg on March 20

Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, a fourth-generation beekeeper and founder and CEO of Bee Downtown, is featured as part of the public Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings some of the world’s leading scholars to Blacksburg to discuss critical environmental and societal issues in an open forum.

Date: Mar 10, 2020
Grace Davis, a graduate student in HNFE led co-led the "Your Research in a Nutshell" session with Maddy Grupper (not pictured), a graduate student in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. Photo courtesy of Alex Freeze.
ComSciCon returns to Virginia Tech

On Feb. 27 and 28, graduate students and communicators came together to strengthen their science communication abilities at the second annual ComSciCon–Virginia Tech.

Date: Mar 05, 2020

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