Research
Students awarded prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships
Six engineering students won Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation, while another 10 engineering or science students received honorable mentions.
11th annual Undergraduate Research Conference to be held April 19
Almost 100 students will present their research and creative scholarship at the 11th annual Undergraduate Research Conference on Friday, April 19. Family, friends, those affiliated with the university, and the greater community are welcome to attend.
Students develop skills and build relationships through summer undergraduate research programs
The scholar's program is 10 weeks long, during the summer and ends with a multidisciplinary symposium where students present posters and abstracts. In 2013, six students will be funded and the symposium will be held on July 31.
Research team creates potential food source from non-food plants
This new development opens the door to the potential that food could be created from any plant, reducing the need for crops to be grown on valuable land that requires fertilizers, pesticides, and large amounts of water.
Day or night, driving while tired a leading cause of accidents
April is Distracted Driver Awareness month and research demonstrates that fatigue is the leading form of distracted driving resulting in crashes and near crashes.
Graduate student award-winning research documents road surfaces that quiet tire noise
A graduate student's award-winning research on the measurement of tire noise identifies quieting road surface treatments.
Expert in aging to discuss ways elderly stay sharp for 35th anniversary of Center of Gerontology
A distinguished scholar and nationally recognized expert in the field of aging and cognition with the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois will deliver the keynote lecture for the Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology's 35th anniversary.
Researchers find Salmonella to be more resilient than originally thought
Virginia Tech scientists have provided new evidence that biofilms -- bacteria that adhere to surfaces and build protective coatings -- are at work in the survival of the human pathogen Salmonella.
The subtle hallmarks of psychiatric illness can reveal themselves even remotely
Most people are so attuned to the nuances of social interaction that they can detect clues to mental illness while playing a strategy game with someone they have never met.
Virginia Tech study finds virus promising for prostate cancer treatment
Researchers at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine have discovered that a genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus, which harms chickens but not humans, kills prostate cancer cells of all kinds, including hormone-resistant cancer cells.
University awarded $1.59 million to pursue agricultural research in developing countries
Virginia Tech has won a total of $1.59 million for three federal contracts to continue agricultural research in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nepal. The awards represent a vote of confidence in development work that has been ongoing since 1993.
Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy market
"Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering. "Hydrogen is one of the most important biofuels of the future."
University sponsors symposium offering inside look at new developments in embedded security
The symposium at the Virginia Tech Research Center -- Arlington covered current directions in research and development related to secure and embedded systems. All sessions were also simulcast to Blacksburg.
Collaborations forged to create innovative solutions to children's health issues
Virginia Tech, Children's National Medical Center, and George Washington University have partnered in a unique program to create research breakthroughs in children's health.
Virginia Tech researchers unveil large robotic jellyfish that one day could patrol oceans
Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers have unveiled a life-like, autonomous robotic jellyfish the size and weight of a grown man, 5 foot 7 inches in length and weighing 170 pounds, as part of a U.S. Navy-funded project.
Virginia Tech partners on education effort with U.S. Navy research division Carderock
The Virginia Tech College of Engineering has signed five-year educational partnership agreement with the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division, allowing students to work directly with Navy engineers at naval facilities and research centers.
New study explores role of social responsibility in drug development
Management assistant professor Olga Bruyaka co-authored a new study that explores how social responsibility factors drive the development of "orphan drugs", which treat rare diseases.
Kathleen Alexander finds climate change likely to worsen public health threat of diarrheal disease in Botswana and other arid African countries
Dr. Kathleen Alexander's study, which is based on three decades of historical data, has important implications for arid countries around the world struggling with poverty and increasing health challenges.
Virginia Tech engineers explain physics of fluids some 100 years after original discovery
Sunghwan Jung is a fan of the 19th Century born John William Strutt III, also known as Lord Baron Rayleigh. An English physicist, Rayleigh, along with William Ramsay, discovered the gas argon, an achievement for which he earned the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904.
Laura Gambrel, Justin Lemkul receive 2013 Outstanding Dissertation Award
Two awards are given each year; one in science and engineering, the other in humanities and social sciences. The awards are based on originality of the idea, contributions to the field, presentation of the ideas, and the quality of writing.