The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews this week surrounding issues in the news. To schedule an interview, please contact mediarelations@vt.edu.

Super Tuesday, Supreme Court decision, RNC chair ouster and more
The Super Tuesday primary contests that will further cement the GOP presidential nomination for Donald Trump are just a day away, but Nikki Haley remains defiant, vowing to continue her fight. Political expert Caitlin Jewitt can explain just what Super Tuesday will mean. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 9-0 that Colorado cannot bar Trump from the primary ballot, and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will step down, clearing the way for new leadership handpicked by Trump. Political expert Karen Hult can address what matters about those developments.

Middle East Conflict: Vice President Harris calls for ceasefire, war in Gaza continues
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza on Sunday, delivering one of the sternest reprimands from the White House to data over Israel’s failure to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Simultaneously, Israel declined to send a delegation to ceasefire negotiations in Cairo, saying Hamas first needs to respond to demands related to Israeli hostages. Foreign policy experts Ariel Ahram and Joel Peters are closely following the newest developments.

Daylight saving can create driver fatigue and hazards on the road
As most Americans get ready to push their clocks forward for daylight saving time, it’s also a time for commuters that can translate to more driver fatigue and hazards on the road, says Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) expert Matt Camden. Time change can exacerbate drowsiness and your body may need a few days to adjust accordingly. Camden offers advice for drivers to avoid fatigue in the weeks ahead. 

West coast storms impact ‘lost winter’ across U.S.
The weekend’s record-setting snow storms on the west coast and the lack of snow across the upper midwest are connected. Drew Ellis, a climate science and meteorology expert in the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech, explains that this year’s El Niño means the moisture-directing sub-tropical jet stream is more frequently positioned over the southwestern and southern United States. “More broadly, heavier rain events are symptomatic of climate warming – the capacity of the air to hold moisture increases exponentially with an increase in air temperature. So, we are generally seeing greater precipitation volatility in recent years,” he says.

Most effective strategies for tax season
Navigating tax season can be a source of stress for many individuals. Virginia Tech finance expert Jesse Lineberry shares ways to stay ahead on tax season to avoid being overwhelmed as the April 15 deadline approaches.

Podcast: The impact of climate change on coastal cities and sinking land
Manoochehr Shirzaei joins Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the importance of understanding and measuring sinking land, commonly called land subsidence. While rising sea levels often dominate the discussion around climate change impact, sinking land is an important, complicating factor. 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.

Shirzaei is associate professor of geophysics and remote sensing in the Department of Geosciences and director of Virginia Tech’s Earth Observation and Innovation Lab. His research uses sophisticated space-, air-, and ground-based monitoring techniques to improve our understanding of seismic and aseismic faulting processes, the evolution of crustal stresses and seismic hazard from fluid extraction and disposal, changes in groundwater and surface water resources, and impacts of relative sea-level rise on coastal areas.

New episodes will debut each Tuesday. Expert researchers are also available for media interviews. To listen and learn more, click here. 

 

Contacts:

Tags

Share this story