April 2025 Grants and Awards
Uncovering the Effects of Nutritional Restriction on Oocyte Health and Embryonic Development in Beef Cattle
Principal Investigator:
Alan D. Ealy
Professor
School of Animal Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$7,500
Sponsor:
Virginia Agricultural Council
Role of Traumatic Brain Injury in the Progression of Parkinson's Disease
Principal Investigator:
Alicia M. Pickrell
Associate Professor
School of Neuroscience
College of Science
Total Anticipated:
$977,826
Sponsor:
United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
Grazing the Bar for Grassland Bird Conservation with Beef and Dairy Farms in MN, IA, WI, and VT
Principal Investigator:
Ashley A. Dayer
Associate Professor AY
Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation
College of Natural Resources and Environment
Total Anticipated:
$215,276
Sponsor:
National Audubon Society
QuarkNET Proposal
Principal Investigator:
Camillo Mariani
Professor AY
Department of Physics
College of Science
Total Anticipated:
$3,800
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation with University of Notre Dame
Validating In-Season Potassium Management Opportunities in Virginia Soybean
Principal Investigator:
Carrie C. Ortel
Assistant Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$47,000
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Optimizing Early Season Soybean Management in Virginia
Principal Investigator:
Carrie C. Ortel
Assistant Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$39,142
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
CAREER: Investigating Inversion in High Entropy Oxide Spinels- Unraveling Structural Dynamics for Advanced Materials Design
Principal Investigator:
Christina M. Rost
Assistant Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
Total Anticipated:
$796,552
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Energy-Aware Autonomy for an Unstructured Subsea Environment, Phase II
Principal Investigator:
Daniel J. Stilwell
Professor
Virginia Tech National Security Institute
Total Anticipated:
$1,800,000
Sponsor:
Office of Naval Research
Performance of Soybean Varieties with and Without Fungicide Applications in Virginia
Principal Investigator:
David B. Langston
Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$26,507
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Development and Expansion of Disease Management Decision-Making Tools Across Multiple Soybean Regions
Principal Investigator:
David B. Langston
Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$15,000
Sponsor:
University of Kentucky Research Foundation
Comparing "Old" vs. "New" Peanut Seed Treatment Fungicide Performance
Principal Investigator:
David B. Langston
Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$18,000
Sponsor:
Virginia Peanut Board
National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers Planning Grant Virginia Tech: Center for Digital Twin Research, Innovation, and Collaboration Hub (DT-RICH)
Principal Investigator:
Dan Sui
Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation
Office of Research and Innovation
Total Anticipated:
$20,000
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Improved Disease Management Support for Important Potato Diseases on the Eastern Shore
Principal Investigator:
Douglas S. Higgins
Assistant Professor
Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$5,490
Sponsor:
Virginia Irish Potato Board
Understanding the Potential Uses of Red Plastics in Protected Agriculture Systems
Principal Investigator:
Eric J. Stallknecht
Assistant Professor
Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$11,220
Sponsor:
Virginia Agricultural Council
Effect of Planting Date on Small Grain Silage Yield and Nutritional Quality
Principal Investigator:
Gonzalo Ferreira
Associate Professor
School of Animal Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$21,500
Sponsor:
Virginia Agricultural Council
Low-Cost, Double-Side Cooled Medium-Voltage Power Modules for Grid Application
Principal Investigator:
Guo Quan Lu
Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
Total Anticipated:
$360,000
Sponsor:
Office of Naval Research
Information Systems Management for the National Slow the Spread Program
Principal Investigator:
Howard M. Dodd
Research Associate
Department of Entomology
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$90,000
Sponsor:
United States Forest Service with Slow the Spread Foundation
Evaluation of Kudos OD for Vegetative Growth Management in Virginia-Type Peanuts
Principal Investigator:
Jacob C. Forehand
Associate Extension Specialist
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$14,633
Sponsor:
Virginia Peanut Board
On-Farm Investigation and Evaluation of Soybean Production Strategies for 2025
Principal Investigator:
James S. Reiter
Extension Agent
Southeast District Coop. Extension
Director of Cooperative Extension
Total Anticipated:
$11,250
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Granular Applications by Drones in Turf and Nursery Settings
Principal Investigator:
Jeffrey F. Derr
Professor and Director, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$15,000
Sponsor:
Virginia Agricultural Council
Integrated Virginia Research Training Centers in KUH (IGNITE KUH)
Principal Investigator:
John C. Chappell
Associate Professor
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Total Anticipated:
$43,132
Sponsor:
Department of Health and Human Services with University of Virginia Health System
Developing Biocontrol Consortia for Enhanced Soybean Productivity and Resilience Against Root-Knot, Soybean Cyst Nematodes, and Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens
Principal Investigator:
Jonathan D. Eisenback
Professor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$59,272
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center Soybean Research Support
Principal Investigator:
Joseph C. Oakes
Superintendent, Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$12,000
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
REVerse Engineering Using a Learned Inverse Model (REVELIO)
Principal Investigator:
Justin Kauffman
Research Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech National Security Institute
Total Anticipated:
$625,000
Sponsor:
United States Naval Surface Warfare Center
Identifying Mechanisms of Sensitization to PRMT5 Inhibition in CDKN2A/MTAP Null Pediatric Glioblastoma
Principal Investigator:
Kathleen M. Mulvaney
Assistant Professor
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Total Anticipated:
$50,000
Sponsor:
Childrens Cancer Foundation Inc.
Levels of Generic Escherichia Coli on Potatoes During Postharvest Handling
Principal Investigator:
Laura K. Strawn
Associate Professor
Department of Food Science and Technology
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$34,598.53
Sponsor:
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Does Sex of Newborn Pigs Affect Hematological and Blood Chemistry Measures?
Principal Investigator:
Mark J. Estienne
Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$8,000
Sponsor:
Virginia Pork Council, Inc.
Data Assimilation, Analysis and Fusion Across Modalities and Varying Latencies: Earth Orientation Parameters Estimation and Prediction and UTGPS Improvement
Principal Investigator:
Mark L. Psiaki
Assistant Professor
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
College of Engineering
Total Anticipated:
$117,374.34
Sponsor:
Computational Physics Inc.
Role of Traumatic Brain Injury in the Progression of Parkinson's Disease
Principal Investigator:
Matthew Buczynski
Assistant Professor
School of Neuroscience
College of Science
Total Anticipated:
$1,022,173
Sponsor:
United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
Weed Management in Soybean 2025
Principal Investigator:
Michael L. Flessner
Assistant Professor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$36,954
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Embodied Optimization for Decision-Making in Dynamic and Uncertain Environments
Principal Investigator:
Ming Jin
Assistant Professor AY
Department of Electrical and ComputerEngineering
College of Engineering
Total Anticipated:
$454,953
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Virginia Tech Middle School Experience (VT-MiX) Program
Principal Investigator:
Natalie L. Ferand
Assistant Professor
Office of Educational Research and Outreach
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$12,560
Sponsor:
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
Spirits Board GN0
Principal Investigator:
Nicholas Santantonio
Assistant Professor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$71,635
Sponsor:
Virginia Spirits Board
GenAI Enhanced Transformation
Principal Investigator:
Paul Wach
Research Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech National Security Institute
Total Anticipated:
$70,000
Sponsor:
United States Naval Surface Warfare Center
After the Cataclysm: Cryptic Degassing and Delayed Recovery in the Wake of Large Igneous Province Volcanism
Principal Investigator:
Pedro M. Monarrez
Assistant Professor
Department of Geosciences
College of Science
Total Anticipated:
$287,312
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
Collaborative Research: Responsible Engineering Across Cultures: Investigating the Effects of Culture and Education on Ethical Reasoning and Dispositions of Engineering Students
Principal Investigator:
Qin Zhu
Associate Professor
Department of Engineering Education
College of Engineering
Total Anticipated:
$401,135
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
In-Plant Testing of the Novel Methods of Separating Water-Based Inks and Stickies from Spent Paper Fibers
Principal Investigator:
Roe H. Yoon
University Distinguished Professor and Nicholas T. Camicia Professor
Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering
College of Engineering
Total Anticipated:
$525,972
Sponsor:
Department of Energy with the REMADE Institute
Investigating Tumor and Immune Cell Dysregulation for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases
Principal Investigator:
Shenglin Mei
Assistant Professor
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Total Anticipated:
$75,660.93
Sponsor:
Prostate Cancer Foundation
Family Focus Program Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Project
Principal Investigator:
Sonja T. Mitchell
Professional Lecturer
Southeast District Cooperative Extension
Director of Cooperative Extension
Total Anticipated:
$226,944.02
Sponsor:
Virginia Department of Social Services
Protecting Virginia Vegetable Crops from Pests Through Novel Biofumigation Approaches
Principal Investigator:
Steven L. Rideout
Professor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Total Anticipated:
$74,953.63
Sponsor:
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Cotton Incorporated Southeast Regional Project
Principal Investigator:
Timothy B. Bryant
Assistant Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$35,000
Sponsor:
Cotton Incorporated
Virginia Soybean Board
Principal Investigator:
Timothy B. Bryant
Assistant Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$17,506
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Workshop on Quantum Graph States: Bridging Classical Theory and Quantum Innovation
Principal Investigator:
Vito W. Scarola
Professor AY
Department of Physics
College of Science
Total Anticipated:
$34,288
Sponsor:
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Innovative Agronomic Practices to Improve Nutrient and Integrated Pest Management in Virginia Type Peanuts for the Upper Southeast Coastal Plain
Principal Investigator:
William H. Frame
Associate Professor
Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$28,230
Sponsor:
Virginia Peanut Board
In Vivo Production of Staphylococcus Aureus Extracellular Membrane Vesicles
Principal Investigator:
Xiaogang Wang
Assistant Professor
Veterinary Medical Research and Graduate Studies
College of Veterinary Medicine
Total Anticipated:
$201,250
Sponsor:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Monitoring Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) Progression and Soil Microbial Communities for Improved Soybean Disease Management
Principal Investigator:
Yuan Zeng
Assistant Professor
Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Agriculture Experiment Station
Total Anticipated:
$22,820
Sponsor:
Virginia Soybean Board
Activation of MitoAMPK to Mitigate Obesogenic Lipotoxicity in Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria
Principal Investigator:
Zhen Yan
Professor
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Total Anticipated:
$10,000
Sponsor:
American College of Sports Medicine Foundation