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Curious Conversations, a Research Podcast

"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life.  

Produced and hosted by Travis Williams, assistant director of marketing and communications for the Office of Research and Innovation, episodes feature university researchers sharing their expertise, motivations, the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.

If you know of an expert (or are that expert) who’d make for a great conversation, email Travis today.

Latest Episode

Tombo Jones joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the intricacies of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones. Jones explained the various regulations surrounding drone operations, the challenges of identifying drones in the sky, and the importance of safety measures. He also shared his insights into counter UAS strategies, including detection and mitigation techniques, and its implications for national security, as well as how Virginia Tech is helping advance both.

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Travis

Earlier this year, there was quite a bit of speculation when lights began to dance across the night sky along the east coast. Some were worried a nefarious actor might have been operating in our airspace, while others were concerned that Hector might have in fact been Alf looking to confiscate neighborhood cats.

While the vast majority of those did turn out to be people just flying drones, it did leave me curious as to what regulations there are when it comes to flying a drone in our airspace, and what kind of countermeasures do we currently have in place to detect and maybe even mitigate possible threats. And thankfully Virginia Tech's Tombo Jones was kind enough to answer all those questions and more.

Tombo is the director of Virginia Tech's Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, where he leads their work as a federal aviation-administrated, designated UAS test site. Tombo and I talked a little about what's required to fly a drone in the United States, as well as what some of the technology is that we have when it comes to detecting and maybe even mitigating against drone threats. He also shared some of the plans that Virginia Tech has to create a new center to help mitigate this threat in terms of national security.

And he shared his insights as to what you and I can be looking for when we start to see lights dance across the sky at night. And of course, don't forget to rate, follow, and or subscribe to the podcast. I'm Travis Williams, and this is Virginia Tech's Curious Conversations.

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Travis

You know, the past few months, I guess, or maybe even longer than that, there's been a lot of buzz about stuff that people have seen in the air. And there's been a lot of speculation, I think, just from the general public about that. So I'm really curious, when you, doing what you do, you see something like that, what is your first thought as to what that is?

Tombo

Yeah, I think it's a great question, Travis. And it's a worthy question for our industry. Well, first of all, my first thought when I see a drone, answer your question directly. When I see a drone flying, it really depends on what the drone's doing. Just because it's flying, I don't necessarily think that it's doing anything wrong. know, the FAA has worked really hard and our industry and the test sites and the organizations, many of which we're a part of, have worked hard to legitimize operations and to bring about the benefits that drones do for good. But...it's true that like any other technology, technology can sometimes be used for bad, right? And so when I see a drone flying though, I don't necessarily think that it's doing something wrong. Oftentimes I think perhaps that's a commercial operator that has the right FAA training to do the flights or maybe it's a recreational operator who also, for a recreational operator nowadays, they also have to have a certification from the FAA where they get trained on the rules and regulations about where to fly and what to do.

The times that I will get concerned is when I see a drone doing something that I know is not allowed under the regulations. And there are some very specific regulations about what drones are allowed to do and what they're not. And so that's when I'll get concerned. But for the most part, when I first see a drone, I think, hey, here's a technology that's out doing a job that oftentimes can be done safer than it can be done in the traditional methods, such as inspecting roofs for health damage.

It can be safer than sending somebody up on roof, such as inspecting a power line for damage. can be safer than flying a helicopter along the power line. And I'm a helicopter pilot by trade. you know, I'm sure all my fellow helicopter pilots think I'm a trader there by saying the drone can do it safer. But the truth is we know that the drone can do it safer. So my first thought is not that it's bad. It's that it's probably up to good unless I see something that's doing it. Like flying over people. So many people don't know that a drone, so when you get your recreational certificate or your commercial certificate, you learn the rules and regulations. And one of the primary rules is you're not allowed to fly a drone over people. And there's a few exceptions, but the safety reason for that is if the drone quits, it could injure someone, right, if it were to fail. And there is a rule that came out a few years ago that outlined how you could fly over people if you could pass certain test methods to show that if the drone were to strike someone, it would not calls a fatality or a significant injury. We actually happen to have one of the only test methods, there are two in the nation, but we have right here at Virginia Tech, something to be proud of, we have one of the only two test methods to test drones for safe operations over people. And that's in a partnership we have with the Center for Injury Biomechanics, which of course, I'm sure you know is famous for their helmet testing. So they have a lot of experience in injury testing and our team that has experience with drones teamed up with their team that has experience in injuries and we...work with the FAA to get that approval. that's just one of the examples of a rule that many folks don't understand or know that the FAA has implemented for safety reasons.

Travis

What if you just see lights flying in the sky? you automatically think it's a drone or are you maybe like maybe maybe this is ET? I don't know.

Tombo

Yeah, I don't think it's ET. I don't think it's a UFO. Although I suppose that's possible. You know, traditionally our skies have been filled with traditional aviation. So what we call now crude aviation, right? What you and I traditionally would have thought just call airplanes and helicopters. Usually that's my first thought. I tend to think it's a drone only when certain I see or hear certain things, right? And they have different lighting schemes usually. So And that's a great way for people who see an aircraft in the sky to try to determine whether it's a traditional aircraft or a drone. First of all, they're both legally allowed to fly at night. Drones are allowed to fly at night. Crewed aircraft are allowed to fly at night, obviously. Crewed aircraft have, there's FAA regulations that are very specific about how they have to be lit. They have to have position lights similar to the way that boats do, sorry, they're called navigation lights. Essentially where you have, green on one side and red on the other so that people can tell the orientation of the aircraft the same way that as I suggested that boats do. You know, they're required to have a white tail light on those aircraft. They're required to have a landing light that is on during certain times. Those other lights have to be on at all times. The landing light has to be on when it's in particular, you know, 10 miles from an airport on the way to an approach as an example. And it'll have strobes on the end of the wings too as a requirement and or what we call anti-bang lights is the slang term, but essentially it's anti-collision lights. So when you see those lights on an aircraft, and they can be positioned slightly different on a helicopter than an airplane, but if you kind of understand the requirements of where those lights have to be and the ones that have to be on all the time, you can sometimes realize that's an airplane instead of a drone or that's helicopter instead of a drone. A drone, what's different is a drone to fly at night is required to have lighting.

But there's not a specification on what the lighting array looks like or where it needs to be positioned. It simply has to have a light on that can be seen from three miles. so drones oftentimes don't have nearly as many of those lights. And frankly, unless we're talking about really large Department of Defense sized drones, the drones that we're talking about just don't have the tight wingspan to put position lights on, for example, that are spread apart by a 12 meters like you might see on a Cessna. They may have green and red lights which make it a little confusing because you can't tell how far away it is. But generally speaking, you might be able to tell the difference in the two between, because the lighting schemes are very different. Another huge cue is noise, right? So drones, they're not all electrically driven. You know, there are certainly drones that are gasoline, that have gasoline engines or other propulsion engines that are more traditional in nature in terms of noise. But a lot of the drones that we see today that are flown and that you hear about in the news that are bought off the shelf, like DJI drones, which are probably the most common in the United States, or Skydio drones, which is another company that sells a lot of drones in the United States. Those type traditional commercial shelf drones are electrically driven, so they sound very different than an aircraft, than a helicopter or an airplane. And so if you can hear the aircraft, you can also oftentimes tell whether whether it's an electrically driven motor or a traditional engine that has that type of deeper roar to it. So I think those are a couple of cues that are pretty helpful. One thing that's kind of a, I'll share this with you, Travis, the New York Times, actually, thanks to your team's help in connecting me up with them, they did a really good article on some of the drone sightings. And we talked about in the interview that I did with them about how if you see an aircraft in the sky and you don't know whether it's a drone or an airplane, a great way to reference that and determine, and it's not foolproof because not all airplanes and drones have this, but something like 75 % of the aircraft flying in the sky, that number changes every year, but have a transponder that's an ADS-B transponder. And you and I can just get on apps like for flight, which is a paid subscription, but there are plenty of free ones like Flightradar24 and plenty of others. And you can, if you, you know, it'll show, for example, you can look and see, okay, I see an aircraft over here to the west. And you bring the app up and it will literally say, there's a helicopter operating 2000 feet above you and two miles to the west. Like you'll see it on there. It's kind of like utilizing your phone for Google maps. And you can see, That's probably that helicopter I'm looking at or, by the way, that's probably that Delta Airlines. And I just don't realize how hot it is. Like, so you can, that's a great method to maybe calm some concerns. If you're trying to figure out if it's a drone you're looking at or an aircraft, and you may be able to quickly determine that indeed it's an aircraft. And that New York Times team, they, they did their due diligence. They took a lot of those drone sightings and the cell phone camera, um, location data and orientation data. And we're able to determine. Indeed, this was a passenger carrying aircraft. Indeed, this was a helicopter. You know, indeed, in most all the cases, at least the ones that they shared with me, that they were able to rule out that they actually were not drones.

Travis

Wow, that is phenomenal. I'm so glad that you got to talk with them and you got to share that with them. And I'm excited to try some of those apps out for myself when I start to see things in the sky. think they will help calm some possible nerves around my house.

Tombo

Yeah, one last thing while we're talking about being able to look at an aircraft and determine signatures through electronic means. I talked about transponder, right, on the traditional aircraft. There's a rule for drones that's called remote ID. And if folks are interested, they can look at it. I will share that the FAA has taken great strides in working to ensure that, you know, when a drone is being operated by somebody, that there is some ownership that or should I say some responsibility that can be captured and for law enforcement to be able to determine who is flying that drone, right? And so the way remote ID works is it requires that all drones that operate and all drones that have manufactured after September of, I think it was 23 and drones that were manufactured before that date have to put their own transponders on. And essentially they're broadcasting a packet of information, know, best way to describe it. It's kind of like license plate information that a law enforcement officer can, has the ability to interrogate that drone with their phone. Because it uses, the transponder uses either Bluetooth or wifi to transmit. And so if they're within close proximity of that drone, that operator, it gives information about the drone in terms of its 3D position in space, but important information it gives is what the registration number of that drone is, and all drones have to be registered.

And so they'll be able to tell who's operating the drone. And it also tells them from what location the operator's flying the drone, which is also super valuable, should law enforcement want to go ask. Because they may have the same questions that I have. It could be a legitimate drone flight, and they may just want to go ask. Or maybe it's a drone that's being flown in a place it shouldn't be, such as over a stadium during a football game. That actually happened at Virginia Tech.

And some of the law enforcement folks who were able to determine and find the person who was flying the drone and who just didn't know any better. Basically, he was flying in video and did not realize he was flying in a TFR, which is a restricted flight, temporary flight restriction, which occurs over games. so, you know, our industry is getting better and smarter and the FAA is leaning hard and trying to educate people, but there's still some folks out there that are operating out of ignorance.

 

You know, the same way that happens when you and I drive to work every morning. There's some people that aren't very good drivers, right? That don't know the rules and don't follow them.

Travis

I think that I've seen some people maybe operating out of ignorance. may have, I may be guilty of that. We're trying to do better, so yeah.

Tombo

Yeah, I'm sure we all are. That might be a perfect transition to talk a little bit about counter US because that drone that was, told you, was flying over Virginia Tech during one of the football games, that it was a drone detection system that found that drone. And there's been a lot of news recently about drones, obviously flying in the New Jersey area, the New York area, concerns there, even some in Virginia. To be more specific, and this is public knowledge,

There have been drones that have been flown, that have been detected by humans, so like people hearing it, on some of our Eastern Shore NASA bases that were not detected by drone detection systems that were on site there. And there have been drones, obviously, the Tower 22 incident overseas where some soldiers were killed, where a drone was flown in to that base and sadly killed some of our service members. It flew in undetected there have been different instances of drones being used for nefarious reasons. that brings up, you know, I've talked a little bit, a lot about drones for good, but we're also doing work here to try to assist in the counter US space. And the reason we're trying to do that is because Virginia Tech has a mission to work and assist in national security, to work in that realm. And so we partnered with the National Security Institute and we're working on a Department of Defense project to stand up. You know, right now we're an FAA test site. This is to stand us up as a counter UAS test site as well. And so we're going to establish the infrastructure to test and evaluate systems that are designed to detect drones and evaluate the system's ability to determine whether or not the drone is operating legitimately and then what to do about it in terms of mitigations and how it will be mitigated. And so we're pretty excited about being able to work in that realm too, to help with national defense at the Department of Defense level and then also looking to do some work at the federal, other federal agency level and state level. For example, we did some of this work already for the Department of Justice and working on helping them keep contraband out of prisons. And certainly there are a number of critical infrastructure sites that many different entities across our state, I'll just say Virginia, is looking to protect that we're eager to help assist there. So this new counter US site that we're in partnership with National Security Institute. pretty excited to be standing up this coming year.

Travis

And I want to ask you about that. But first, I'm a little curious because we started this conversation talking about all these regulations and all these different things that drones have to do, drone operators have to do, and it made it sound like, well, yeah, it doesn't sound too complicated to detect where they're at and that they are drones, but I know it just can't be that simple. So what are some of the biggest challenges when it comes to detecting these drones?

Tombo

Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question. you know, drones are actually much harder to detect typically because they're smaller and quieter, right? In crude aircraft. As a matter of fact, a lot of our research in trying to keep crude aircraft and drones from hitting each other has been in kind of how easy is it to see a drone to miss it? Drones have to give way to all other aircraft, including balloons, by the way. Well, actually all aircraft have to give way to balloons, but including every other type of aircraft. The drones are the bottom of the totem pole right now.

Travis

So balloons are at the top of the totem pole? Like, hot air balloons?

Tombo

Yeah, so if I fly in a Cessna and I'm part of the Hokie Flying Club and I see a balloon, I have to get away to that balloon. And it's really, if you think about it, at first it seems kind of like, wait, why would the rule be like that? Because is a balloon more important? It's really about maneuverability, right? So a balloon can only move on one axis and that happens to be with the wind, right? I mean, they can go up and down, but they're always moving on one azimuth. And so that's why they're top of the hierarchy in terms of right away.

Travis

Well, I thought that might be because they're the best-looking but that makes a lot of sense.

Tombo

They are beautiful aren't they?

Travis

Yes, I think so, absolutely.

Tombo

Yeah, no doubt. Anyway, we're talking about how difficult it is to detect a drone. So because drones typically tend to be much quieter, they're much smaller. Even if you're following the regulation and have one light on your drone that can be seen from three miles, you know, it's not nearly as lit up as a traditional aircraft would be. And so I think probably the biggest two factors are that they're small and they're quiet. And so that makes them much harder to detect. But there are a lot of ways to detect them. And this goes for all aircraft detection. If you're trying to detect crude aircraft to get out of the way, if you're trying to detect drones in order to determine that there's an aircraft there and then to be able to determine whether it's on a legitimate mission or not, is that you can detect them obviously with the naked eye, which is really hard to do. You can detect them with radars. That's no surprise to anybody. Like I'm sure that while they have a smaller radar cross-section, radars, and there are companies out there that are working really hard at this.

Radars can be tuned to detect the smaller aircraft. Most of the challenges with that sometimes comes with filtering out things like birds. But anyway, radars work well. You can do acoustic detection of drones. So they do produce an acoustic signature, right? And so there are companies that work specifically with acoustic detection, microphone arrays, acoustic software systems that use machine learning, for example, to determine and filter out and determine if there's a drone present. And actually the technology can even be taken further where you could catalog and determine what type of drone it is you're listening to, right? That's really challenging to do, but there's people working on it. Another one is EOIR. That stands for electro-optical infrared, which basically means a camera that can see at day and night. And so there are camera systems that also are working in this space to be able to detect drones. And so those are probably the three most popular. I will tell you that there's one that most people probably don't think of that actually works really well, and it's the spectrum. And what's meant by that is most drones, if they're being operated the way that the manufacturer designed them to be operated, are broadcasting a signal, a communications link back to the person who's flying the drone, right? If it's being manually flown for sure it'll tell the operator where the drone is, that's called telemetry. And then the drone operator is operating, you know, their controls, so like joysticks, and those signals are being sent to the drone, right? So there's a lot of communication going back and forth, right? As well as a camera feed communication signal. So there's a lot of RF spectrum that's being broadcast from a drone. And most commercial self-systems, that's either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which is not a secure broadcast signal, but essentially, they are producing typically a, they're broadcasting some type of radio signal. And so that's another way to detect that there's a drone there, right?

Travis

I assume that detecting the drone is one measure of counter-UAS. Once we detect a drone and maybe we decide that this is not a drone that we want to be here, what else can we then do to maybe prevent any other sort of nefarious act?

Tombo

Yeah, so in counter UAS, there's two pieces. There's first the detection piece, which we just talked about. And then there's the mitigation piece. And that mitigation piece is the piece where you have determined that a drone is operating where it shouldn't be, that it's nefarious, and that you mitigate against it. And I'll just share that there are a lot of regulations against this right now. There are lot of regulations that keep just anybody from being able to mitigate. And that's a good thing, right? We've seen a lot of people misdiagnose.

What they think is a drone and it's a commercial airliner. So we don't want people, the wrong people being able to mitigate drones, right? But the second piece is mitigation and that comes in a myriad of different ways. It could be kinetic. And kinetic drone mitigation is really kind of what it sounds like. You're basically interfering physically with the drone. It could be shooting it out of the sky with your traditional, like you might shoot ammunition out of a gun. It could be shooting a net towards the drone. That's also considered kinetic because it interferes with the drone's ability to fly. Or in some way, you are using physics to knock it out of the sky in terms of interfering with an object. You can also take over a drone also with RF spectrum. So there's two things. You can actually mitigate it by flooding it just with high energy spectrum, which causes it not to be able to communicate. And usually what happens there depends on the level of energy directed at it.

Usually what happens is it may lose its link. And so most drones are programmed to then go somewhere. It could lose its GPS signal if you use a GPS jamming device. And then it will also go to wherever it's programmed to go. Actually, it can't go to where it's programmed to go to. It may land in place. It may hold its position. It may even crash if it interferes, you know, runs into another drone in the example of a swarm. But there's interference there. You can also...

If you know which drone it is, which this is really graduate level stuff in counter US, but if you know what drone that you're observing and you want to defeat it, there's something called takeover. So RF takeover is where you actually flood it with the right communications telemetry data so that you're telling it now that you're the actual one that's controlling, right? You're essentially overpowering the person who's controlling it with your higher level energy, proper protocols for the drone to respond to and then you control it. And that's really the safest way to take it over. Cause if you think about it, if a drone is nefariously flying over a stadium and I just knock it out of the sky, I've taken one risk that possibly it was nefarious and was gonna hurt somebody, but I'm also possibly gonna hurt somebody by causing it to crash onto them, right? So.

Travis

That seems like it might cause more problems than it's worth.

Tombo

Yeah, yeah, quite possibly. So RF takeovers another way. Those are the two most common is using RF or kinetic to take over a drone. I mentioned that, you know, there's a lot of regulations around who can do this and I'm glad there is, right? I mentioned why that is. I'll share with you that it's really tightly held right now. And I think that's a good thing until we can get some counter US systems to do a really good job. Because different systems have weaknesses and strengths in different areas. And oftentimes you need a array of systems to be able to provide that umbrella. But to give you an idea, we're talking about the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Interior. Those are the agencies that are allowed to do mitigation work. Right now, your state police can't, your local law enforcement can't, unfortunately, and sometimes they legitimately need that. So I'm hoping we get to a place where we can safely do a better job of determining when a drone needs to be mitigated and when it doesn't and have those resources in the right hands. But I will share with you You know, in a future state, what would be optimal? There's something else the FAA is working on that we've done a lot of research on here at Virginia Tech and we're really proud of because we've been the only test site to work on this. Sorry, the only test site to work on every single FAA program with this. And that is called UAS Traffic Management. And that is basically a NASA construct that was born in NASA and is now in the FAA. That all drones, they share their They share the airspace by communicating through particular software programs where they request and reserve different airspace, both static and dynamic. And what I mean by that is maybe a column of airspace static or maybe dynamic, like I am specifically at this place moving at this speed and just a small bubble around me that's protected, right? So all these drones are sharing not only where they're going to be, but who they are, that they're legit. So between that, which is coming in the future, and remote ID, you know, that rules out it's a great thing. It still needs some improvement in terms of detection range and some of the information that's provided. But those type things will allow counter UAS operators in the future when they see a drone to be able to, you know, determine not necessarily automatically assume the worst. can determine is this drone legitimate? Is it on a legitimate mission? And then by process of elimination determine possibly this isn't a very strong one. We need to pay close attention to it. And it'll be good when we're at that state, we're not quite there yet.

Travis

Yeah, it sounds like in the perfect situation, or maybe a better situation, we would look at drones more like we do automobiles on the road. Where we're able to look at a license plate, this car's registered, they don't seem to be doing anything crazy, they're okay.

Tombo

Yeah, I think that's a really good analogy.

Travis

And I assume with all of what we've just talked about counterwise, we're going to solve all of that with this new center that we're working on.

Tombo

We're going to do our best, that's for sure. No, in all seriousness, I think we have a huge value to add back to the industry in terms of security, both at the local, state, and federal level would be the end state. taking the expertise that the National Security Institute has in Department of Defense work and our expertise that my team has in drone work and partnering those together and working with the Department of Defense offices that we're first working with on this, will really set us up for success to be able to have a center where these counter US systems that are under development can come here and we can really evaluate their strengths and their weaknesses and evaluate their efficacy, how well they work, and then work to pair up different systems strengths and weaknesses so that these critical infrastructure, the resources that we need to protect as a nation, as a state, as a locality can be done so in the most efficient manner and that does so in a way that makes sure that our interest is preserved.

Travis

This testing and research center will have both an indoor clean space and then also an outdoor space. Why is it important to have both of those?

Tombo

Yeah, absolutely. So the indoor space is going to allow us to do a lot of testing around RF spectrum in a protected environment, acoustic evaluation in a protected environment. So as you suggested, a sterile environment, also radar cross sectioning, but as you suggested in a sterile environment. And so we can learn a lot about the counter US systems and also we can catalog a lot of different things about drones that can be utilized by these counter US systems in the indoor lab. And then the outdoor lab will be a place where we're able to take these counter US systems and deploy them the same way that they would be deployed in Washington, DC, the same way they would be deployed overseas and bases that we want to protect our service members at. And that outdoor environment where we would expect them to be able to operate. And then we can fly a fleet of different types of drones and properly evaluate how well they work in that outdoor environment. So it's a validation of the things we learn in the indoor environment and the in-state would be coming out of the outdoor environment, we'd be able to make really strong recommendations on which systems work best, which systems need improvement, and the specific areas in which they can be improved, as well as to provide them information, those companies information for them to improve their product.

Travis

Yeah, that all sounds extremely exciting. I'm excited to just learn more about it and to see what you all do. You know, I learned so much about drones and just talking to you. I didn't realize I was going to also learn anything about hot air balloons.

Tombo

Well, there's a theory that it's just a really big sky out there and there's a ton of space, but the truth is we often realize that we're having to share that airspace. So understanding what everybody's trying to do is an important facet of being an aviator.

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Travis

And thanks to Tombo for talking to us about all things drones. If you or someone you know would make for a great curious conversation, email me at traviskw at vt.edu. I'm Travis Williams, and this has been Virginia Tech's Curious Conversations.

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About Jones

Tombo Jones’ unique blend of aviation expertise and skilled leadership anchor his role as Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) director. He leads MAAP’s work as an FAA-designated UAS test site, an FAA ASSURE partner, as well as its leadership of Virginia’s team in the BEYOND program, directing the management and growth of a portfolio that encompasses major federal drone-integration initiatives and complex technical research projects. He serves on the Governor’s Aerospace Advisory Council and has served on FAA rulemaking committees.

Past Episodes

  • General Item
    Internet of Things Safety and Gift Giving Tips with Christine Julien

    Christine Julien joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the Internet of Things (IOT), exploring its definition, potential vulnerabilities, and the implications of using smart devices, especially for children. Julien stressed the importance of security and privacy when using IOT devices, particularly during the gift-giving season and shared insights on navigating these complexities with an aim of balancing the enjoyment and security.

    Date: Dec 09, 2024
  • General Item
    Neurodiversity and the holidays with Lavinia Uscatescu and Hunter Tufarelli

    Lavinia Uscatescu and Hunter Tufarelli joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the importance of understanding and accommodating neurodivergent individuals in various environments, particularly social gatherings during the holiday season. The pair shared the impact environmental factors can have on neurodivergent individuals, as well as the significance of predictability and communication in social settings. As a person with autism, Tufarelli also shared her first-hand experiences and the importance of embracing self-care.

    Date: Dec 02, 2024
  • General Item
    AI and Better Classroom Discussions with Yan Chen

    Yan Chen joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the use of artificial intelligence to enhance teaching and peer instruction in classrooms. Chen believes one potential use for AI, specifically large language models, is to monitor and analyze peer interactions in real-time. He shared the platform he and colleagues have created to do this, called VizPI, which aims to provide instructors with insights and recommendations to create a more engaging and personalized learning environment for students.

    Date: Nov 25, 2024
  • General Item
    Forest Health and Natural Disasters with Carrie Fearer

    Carrie Fearer joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about forest health in the wake of natural disasters. She explained how storms and disturbances affect forest ecosystems, the importance of human interaction in promoting healthy forests, and the opportunities for restoration following catastrophic events. She also emphasized the significance of native species and the role of decomposition in maintaining forest health.

    Date: Nov 18, 2024
  • General Item
    Subduction Zones, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis with Tina Dura

    Tina Dura joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about subduction zones, particularly the Cascadia Subduction Zone, earthquakes and tsunamis. She explained the mechanics of earthquakes, and how the geological record and fossilized algae are helping researchers better understand past occurrences and predict future ones. Dura emphasized the importance of translating scientific research into actionable information for the public, especially regarding tsunami preparedness and community resilience.

    Date: Nov 11, 2024
  • General Item
    Turning old Plastic into Soap with Guoliang “Greg” Liu

    Guoliang “Greg” Liu joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about his journey in sustainability, focusing on the innovative process of converting plastic waste into soap. He shared insights on the challenges of controlling the chemical processes involved, the types of plastics used, and the potential for creating both liquid and solid soap products. He emphasized the importance of sustainability in the detergent industry and expressed hope for future commercialization of his work.

    Date: Nov 04, 2024
  • General Item
    Emerging Technologies and Entrepreneurship with James Harder

    James Harder joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about entrepreneurship and emerging technologies, specially highlighting the Department of Computer Science’s initiative, CS/root. Harder shared his belief that the entrepreneurship process can be learned and applied to various novel ideas and the ways the program hopes to teach and support it, as well as the role it will play in putting emerging technology in more people’s hands.

    Date: Oct 28, 2024
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    AI and Emergency Management with Shalini Misra

    Shalini Misra joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about how artificial intelligence (AI) might be used in the field of emergency management. She shared some of the different ways AI is currently being used and the concerns she’s heard from emergency managers. Misra also talks about the steps she believes will be necessary for the technology to reach its full potential in this field.

    Date: Oct 21, 2024
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    Female Leaders of Nations and the US Presidency with Farida Jalalzai

    Farida Jalalzai joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the state of female leadership globally, with a focus on the United States. She shared how she believes the U.S. compares to other nations in terms of female political representation, the unique challenges women face in the U.S. political landscape, and the impact of gender roles on women's leadership opportunities. She also shared the insights she gained through her research of female leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Date: Oct 14, 2024
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    AI and Securing Water Systems with Feras Batarseh

    Feras Batarseh joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to discuss the intersection of water systems and technology, specifically focusing on aspects of artificial intelligence (AI). He shared the importance of using AI to predict and prevent water quality issues, such as high turbidity, and highlighted the need for water systems to become more intelligent and cyber-secure.

    Date: Oct 07, 2024
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    Alcohol Use and Intimate Partner Violence with Meagan Brem

    Meagan Brem joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to discuss the intersection of alcohol use and intimate partner violence, highlighting the importance of understanding the causal relationship between the two. She debunked common myths, identified current knowledge gaps, and shared insights from ongoing studies. She also described the unique challenge of understanding these topics as they relate to LGBTQ+ populations and shared possible interventions on both societal and individual levels.

    Date: Sep 30, 2024
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    Brain Chemistry and Neuroeconomics with Read Montague

    Read Montague joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the role of dopamine and serotonin in learning, motivation, memory, mood, and decision-making. He discussed his research on measuring dopamine and serotonin dynamics in the brain in real time using electrodes in epilepsy patients and explained the role neuroeconomics are playing in that research.

    Date: Sep 23, 2024
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    The Future of Wireless Networks with Lingjia Liu

    Lingjia Liu joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the future of wireless networks and wireless communications. He explained the evolution of cellular networks from 1G to 5G and the potential for 6G, as well as how open radio access networks (O-RAN) can help advance innovation in this space.

    Date: Sep 16, 2024
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    The Mung Bean and Reducing Hunger in Senegal with Ozzie Abaye

    Ozzie Abaye joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about her work using the mung bean to diversify the cropping system, empower farmers, and reduce hunger in Senegal, Africa. She explained why the mung bean is a good fit for that region, the process by which she began to share it with farmers, and the collaborations she’s utilized to expand it across the country. She also shared what some of the challenges were in developing recipes across cultural lines.

    Date: Sep 10, 2024
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    Curbing the Threat of Invasive Species with Jacob Barney

    Jacob Barney joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about invasive species, their impact on native species, and the challenges of managing them. He explained the history and terminology of invasive species, their economic and ecological consequences, and the interdisciplinary approach to addressing the problem. Barney also highlighted practical steps individuals can take to prevent their spread.

    Date: Sep 02, 2024
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    Making Motorcycle Riding Safer Around the Globe with Richard Hanowski

    Richard Hanowski joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about harnessing research to help make motorcycle riding safer in low- and middle-income countries. He shared the difference in riding culture in those areas as opposed to the United States and explained how his team is utilizing some of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s pioneering technology to help increase rider safety.

    Date: Aug 27, 2024
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    The Evolution of Political Polling with Karen Hult

    Karen Hult joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the history and evolution of polling, methods used in modern polling, and how politicians and the average person can interpret poll results. The conversation highlights the importance of probability sampling and inferential statistics in generating accurate poll results, as well as the need for critical thinking when consuming poll results.

    Date: Aug 20, 2024
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    Navigating Back-to-School Emotions with Rosanna Breaux

    Rosanna Breaux joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the challenges and emotions children may experience during the transition back to school. The discussion includes red flags to look for, as well as coping skills and support parents and caregivers can provide to help their children navigate the school year. The conversation touches on the impact of recent bans on students having individual smart devices in schools.

    Date: Aug 05, 2024
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    Geologic Carbon Sequestration with Ryan Pollyea

    Ryan Pollyea joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about geologic carbon sequestration, which is the process of permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO2) thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. Pollyea explained what types of rock this is currently known to work with, the efforts he and his colleagues are taking to expand this to other geologic regions, and the potential impact that could have for the environment and economics.

    Date: Jun 04, 2024
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    Veterans and Mass Incarceration with Jason Higgins

    Jason Higgins joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the intersection of United States military veterans and mass incarceration and his book, “Prisoners After War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration.” He shared what led him to work at this intersection, some of the reasons he thinks it’s often overlooked, and factors he believes lead many veterans to being in prison. Having interviewed more than 60 veterans whose service ranged from the Vietnam War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Higgins also compares and contrasts their reported experiences and shares some of the efforts veterans are undertaking to support each other.

    Date: May 28, 2024
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    Microplastics, the Ocean, and the Atmosphere with Hosein Foroutan

    Hosein Foroutan joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about microplastics, the ocean, and the atmosphere. He explained what microplastics are and shared recent findings that indicate such waste is somehow making its way into the air around the world. He also described some of the research he’s doing to figure out how this is happening and shared his current theories.

    Date: May 21, 2024
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    Real Estate Values and Elections with Sherwood Clements

    Sherwood Clements joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the impact real estate values have on the presidential election. He discussed some recent research he was a part of that explored the impact of the “homevoter,” what findings surprised him, and what he thinks the date tells us about the upcoming election.

    Date: May 14, 2024
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    AI and the Hiring Process with Louis Hickman

    Louis Hickman joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) during the hiring process. He shared the ways in which AI has long been a part of the process, the findings from his research on AI evaluating automated video interviews, and some tips on how job seekers can leverage the technology to improve their job hunt.

    Date: May 06, 2024
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    Exploring the Human-Dog Relationship with Courtney Sexton

    Courtney Sexton joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the unique relationship between humans and dogs. She shared the origins of the dog-human relationship, how the animals have adapted and become more attune to human needs, and their role in helping researchers learn more about human health.

    Date: Apr 30, 2024
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    The Chemistry of Earth History with Ben Gill

    Ben Gill joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about piecing together Earth history through a combination of geology and chemistry. Gill explained how studying the cycles of different elements can tell a story and help us better understand the planet’s most pivotal moments, such as mass extinctions. He also shared how studying both the worth and best times of our planet can provide us valuable insights for the future.

    Date: Apr 23, 2024
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    Circular Economies with Jennifer Russell

    Jennifer Russell joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the concept of a circular economy. She explained that a circular economy is a shift away from the linear economy, which follows a take-make-dispose model, and instead focuses on reducing waste and reusing materials. Russell shared examples of tangible products and industries that can be, or already are, part of a circular economy.

    Date: Apr 16, 2024
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    The History of Virginia Tech's Helmet Lab with Stefan Duma

    Stefan Duma joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the history of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and the impact it has had on sports-related head injuries. He shared how a military research conference led him to study helmets, as well as the critical role the lab’s relationships with the Virginia Tech football and sports medicine programs have played in advancing this pioneering research. Duma discussed the role of the helmet lab in helping to create a greater awareness about head injuries throughout all sports, and described the helmet shell add-on fans can witness during the football team’s spring game on April 13.

    Date: Apr 09, 2024
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    The History of Food Waste with Anna Zeide

    Anna Zeide joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the history of food waste in America and its impact on society and the environment. She shared insights related to several historical turning points and stressed that addressing food waste requires rethinking and integrating food security and waste management systems.

    Date: Apr 02, 2024
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    The Dog Aging Project with Audrey Ruple

    Audrey Ruple joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the Dog Aging Project, the largest-known study of dog health which aims to understand the keys to healthy aging in dogs and the risks to their health. She explained what information they are collecting, what it means for dogs, and how it might also be used to better understand human health.

    Date: Mar 26, 2024
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    All About Air Pollution with Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz

    Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about air pollution and its misconceptions. He shared his insights related to how plant and human emissions interact and what that means for our shared environment, as well as how he got into this field of study and his hope for the future.

    Date: Mar 19, 2024
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    Righting a Wrong Understanding of Newton's Law with Daniel Hoek

    Daniel Hoek joined ⁠Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations”⁠ to talk about the recent discovery he made related to Newton's first law of motion. The law is typically translated as “a body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion remains in motion, at constant speed and in a straight line, unless acted on by an external force." Hoek explains how he became intrigued by the law, the puzzles surrounding it, as well as the misconception that objects with no forces acting on them exist and how Newton's own account contradicts this.

    Date: Mar 11, 2024
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    Measuring the Risks of Sinking Land with Manoochehr Shirzaei

    Manoochehr Shirzaei joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the importance of understanding and measuring sinking land, commonly called land subsidence. He shared insights about the use of satellite data in creating high resolution maps, how land subsidence fits into the overall picture of climate change, and how he hopes the information is used by localities.

    Date: Mar 05, 2024
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    Emerging Technology and Tourism with Zheng "Phil" Xiang

    Zheng "Phil" Xiang joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the intersection of technology and tourism. He shares the significant technological shifts in the tourism industry over the past decade, including the influence of social media and artificial intelligence on trip research and the experience itself.

    Date: Feb 27, 2024
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    AI and Education with Andrew Katz

    Andrew Katz joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Katz shares his insight related to the applications of AI models, such as chat GPT, in analyzing student responses and providing feedback, as well as the challenges of AI in education and hope it can provide a more individualized education experience.

    Date: Feb 20, 2024
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    Warm, Fuzzy Feelings and Relationships with Rose Wesche

    Rose Wesche joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the science behind the warm, fuzzy feelings that often accompany a new romance, the transition from infatuation to attachment, and how to maintain intimacy and passion in relationships. She also shared her research exploring the emotional outcomes of casual sexual relationships and provided advice for those in relationships.

    Date: Feb 13, 2024
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    The Future of Wireless Networks with Luiz DaSilva

    Luiz DaSilva joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the evolution of wireless networks, the importance of advancing the next generation of wireless, and the critical role the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is playing in that advancement.

    Date: Feb 06, 2024
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    The Positive Impacts of Bird Feeding with Ashley Dayer

    Ashely Dayer joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about her work at the intersection of birds and humans, including a new project that explores the positive impact bird feeding has on human well being and general tips for the hobby.

    Date: Jan 30, 2024
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    Sticking to healthy changes with Samantha Harden

    Samantha Harden joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the science behind developing and keeping healthy habits.

    Date: Jan 16, 2024
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    Screen Time and Young Children with Koeun Choi

    Koeun Choi joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the impact of media on young children. She shared insights from her research on screen time and young children and introduced a project she’s working on that explores the use of artificial intelligence to help children learn to read.

    Date: Dec 11, 2023
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    The History of Holiday Foods with Anna Zeide

    Anna Zeide joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the history of foods traditionally connected to holidays occurring during the winter months, as well as the nature of developing personal traditions.

    Date: Dec 04, 2023
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    The Chemistry of Better Batteries with Feng Lin

    Feng Lin joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the chemistry behind creating better batteries for electric vehicles. He broke down some of the current challenges to mass producing an effective and affordable battery, and shared his thoughts on the potential for coal in helping overcome these hurdles.

    Date: Nov 27, 2023
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    AI as a Personal Assistant with Ismini Lourentzou

    Ismini Lourentzou joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about artificial intelligence and machine learning related to personal assistants, as well as her student team’s recent experience with the Alexa Prize TaskBot Challenge 2.

    Date: Nov 20, 2023
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    The Power of International Collaborations with Roop Mahajan

    Roop Mahajan joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about the value of international collaborations to research and innovation, as well as how they’ve contributed to his work advancing the “wonder material” graphene.

    Date: Nov 13, 2023
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    Driving around Heavy Trucks with Matt Camden and Scott Tidwell

    Matt Camden and Scott Tidwell of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) joined “Curious Conversations” to talk about the institute’s Sharing the Road program, which has shared tips for driving around heavy trucks with more than 20,000 high school students since 2018. They discussed the research behind the program and shared practical safety tips for drivers of all ages.

    Date: Nov 06, 2023
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    Autonomous Technology and Mining with Erik Westman

    Erik Westman joined ⁠Virginia Tech’s ‘Curious Conversations’⁠ to share his insights on how machine learning and autonomous technologies are impacting the mining industry, as well as what Virginia Tech is doing to prepare students for the future of the industry.

    Date: Oct 30, 2023
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    Agriculture Technology and Farmers with Maaz Gardezi

    Maaz Gardezi joined Virginia Tech’s ‘Curious Conversations’ to talk about the importance of developing agriculture technology alongside and with the input of farmers. He shared details about a current interdisciplinary project he’s working on at the intersection of technology and agriculture, as well as his thoughts on the potential for advanced technology in this space.

    Date: Oct 23, 2023
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    AI and Healthcare Workspaces with Sarah Henrickson Parker

    Sarah Henrickson Parker joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about how artificial intelligence and machine learning is currently being used in some healthcare spaces, and what the potential is for the future.

    Date: Oct 16, 2023
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    AI and Online Threats with Bimal Viswanath

    Bimal Viswanath joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to chat about how the rise in artificial intelligence and large language models has changed the online threat landscape. He explained how this technology works and shared about a current project he’s involved with that aims to mitigate toxic language in chatbots.

    Date: Oct 09, 2023
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    AI and the Workforce with Cayce Myers

    Cayce Myers fields questions on artificial intelligence’s impact on the workforce, regulations, copyright law, and more.

    Date: Oct 02, 2023
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    Special Edition: The GAP Report with Tom Thompson and Jessica Agnew

    Each year, Virginia Tech produces the Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report, which provides a snapshot of the current state of agriculture and a projection of its future. Tom and Jessica, executive editor and managing editor, respectively, of the report, joined the podcast just prior to the 2023 release to explain what it is and how they hope it's used.

    Date: Oct 01, 2023
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    The Metaverse, Digital Twins, and Green AI with Walid Saad

    Walid Saad joined Virginia Tech’s "Curious Conversations" to field questions about the metaverse, digital twins, and artificial intelligence’s potential impact on the environment.

    Date: Sep 24, 2023
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    Semiconductors, Packaging, and more with Christina Dimarino

    Christina Dimarino joined the podcast to chat about semiconductors, the importance of packaging in onshoring their production, and what Virginia Tech is doing to excel workforce development in this field.

    Date: Sep 15, 2023
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    Pilot: Electric Vehicles with Hesham Rakha

    In this pilot episode, Hesham Rakha shares insights on what sustainable mobility means, the gas price at which electric vehicles becomes the more cost effective option, and some of his personal experiences with an electric car.

    Date: Aug 14, 2023