The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews surrounding a variety of topics and research ahead of Earth Day on April 22, 2024. To schedule an interview, please contact mediarelations@vt.edu.

Transportation and infrastructure

Prioritize humans, not vehicles: Sustainable transportation solutions for urban planning

The decisions engineers make when designing cities impact generations to come, but it’s not easy to establish sustainable infrastructure.  

“When we think about adding a bicycle lane, people fixate on what they’ll lose, not what they’ll gain. We need the right framing for community buy-in,” said Virginia Tech construction engineering expert Tripp Shealy. “Especially since current and prevalent architecture practices, such as adding five story parking garages to small towns, leads to a myriad of climate concerns, including more flooding. It’s also short sighted, and assumes vehicles will always be the main means of transportation.”

“There’s a lot of talk about electric vehicles, but nobody is really talking about energy reduction or human-focused design,” Shealy said. “The industry is talking about the exchange of fuels with something else, but how can we prioritize walkability because not needing a vehicle at all is even better for the environment. We know how to build net zero energy buildings and walking communities but we’re not doing it fast enough because we’re not prioritizing it.”

Building construction sustainability: How new construction practices build better communities 

There’s a pressing need to change the way buildings are constructed and cities are designed if there’s to be a better relationship between humans and the planet. Doing so requires a radical shift in how we understand our role in the built environment, and what’s at stake includes waste management, air quality, and environmental conservation, as we consider how to take principles of self-sufficiency and co-existence in nature to design and build better homes, buildings, and structures.

Annie Pearce with the Myers-Lawson School of Construction keeps these issues at the forefront as she studies building construction sustainability with an emphasis on community outreach. Her research team’s solutions have impacted low-income homeowners, special needs children, and homeless animals in the New River Valley and beyond. Regional projects she’s involved with include Camp LiGHT, the UnBuild Project, the Radford Animal Shelter PantherHouse, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Climate change, solar power, and renewable energy

Losing power: Modernize the electrical grid before climate change gets worse

With the influx of green energy and the push to decrease fossil fuels, there are more uses for electricity than ever, and they’re straining our power grid. Climate change is only making these power outages more frequent and severe, but researchers at Virginia Tech have a solution to streamline the structure.

“The power grid technology in the United States is more than 100 years old. Because of this outdated grid technology, it’s more susceptible to power outages — especially as we experience more and more extreme weather,” said Christina DiMarino, electrical and computer engineering professor at Virginia Tech. “When you add in the increased penetration of renewable energy sources and charging capabilities, it’s putting a significant demand on our grid, which it was not originally designed to fulfill.”  

DiMarino’s research proposes a new solution called SCALED, or Substation in a Cable for Adaptable Low-cost Electrical Distribution, which looks to create a more streamlined structure that combines the functionality of power electronics and the power density benefits of high-voltage cables to replace bulky power substations in the electrical grid we use today. This new, more compact design could eliminate the need for large and expensive power substations and enable simple integration of renewable energy sources, electric vehicle fast-charging infrastructure, energy storage, and efficient direct current distribution lines. More here.

Throwing caution to the wind: 3D-printing of wind turbines creates viable source of green energy

The average wind turbine generates enough electricity in 46 minutes to power a home in the United States for an entire month, according to the United States Geological Survey. And with more than 70,800 turbines scattered throughout the country, wind power has now surpassed hydroelectric power as the largest producer of renewable energy.

Currently, wind turbine blades are made at off-site production facilities using large molds that require long lead times. Once those blades are fabricated, they then take a long and costly journey to their often remote destination by way of semi truck.  

3D-printing of wind turbines with better materials can solve the lesser known negative climate impacts of developing alternative energy sources. Virginia Tech chemical engineer Mike Bortner’s research looks to dramatically reduce waste, completely eliminate all hazardous materials, and enable 3D printing of a completely recyclable wind turbine so that the processes around the turbine are as green as the energy produced. He uses new technology to robotically print large objects, utilizes unique optimization techniques to enhance how the materials are printed, and employs a novel polymer composite material that is completely recyclable.

Invasive species, plants, and pollution

Invasive species: A global concern

The term “invasive species” might call to mind trees enveloped in kudzu or spotted lanternflies infesting crops, but that only scratches the surface of the problems invasive species cause. Reports estimate that invasive species cost the global economy over $400 billion per year and have a role in 60 percent of global extinctions.

The Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech represents the collected expertise of over 100 researchers with specialization in plants, animals, aquatic systems, infectious disease, and the human dimensions of invasive species research. Collaborative steering committee members  Haldre Rogers with the College of Natural Resources and Environment and Bryan Brown with the College of Science demonstrate that range of knowledge. Rogers studies how the brown tree snake has harmed bird species in the Mariana Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, while Brown studies how crayfish invasions have affected aquatic systems, particularly in Virginia’s New River watershed.

Plants ‘pollute’ too: Air quality is impacted by human activities, but pollutants can also form chemically within the natural environment

Surprisingly, air pollution is not limited to the visible emissions humans create such as from smoke stacks or vehicles, but also includes the pollutants chemically formed and emitted by plants. Understanding the interaction between humans and the natural environment is crucial, especially when it comes to air quality.

Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz with the College of Engineering studies atmospheric chemistry with a focus on understanding the sources and transformations of organic compounds in indoor and outdoor air. He develops and deploys samplers for distributed sampling of volatile organic compounds, which are any of thousands of different carbon-containing gasses emitted for biological and ecological purposes. He is currently conducting research in Ecuador and in the Amazon.

Microplastics

Microplastics along the coast and beneath the ocean

The accumulation of microplastics in waterways and oceans raises great concerns about the effects of these pollutants on ecosystems worldwide.

Bays, estuaries, and salt marshes are significant repositories for microplastics, which are deposited daily by the incoming times, and sometimes carried in by both marine and freshwater sources. Such is the case with the Chesapeake Bay. Yet microplastics are not considered in coastal ecosystem health assessments to prepare for future conservation efforts. Focusing on a coastal marsh in Accomack County, Virginia, bordering the Chesapeake Bay, Tina Dura with the College of Science is researching how to predict and counteract the effects microplastics will have on these environments through time, as well as what concentrations of microplastics can tell us about rising sea levels.

As for ocean depths, Dan Stilwell, co-director of the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics, leads a team working to design autonomous robots that can crawl on the ocean floor, and thus remotely conduct research projects, such as measuring how heavily microplastics are concentrated in the ocean, what they are made of, and how they move through the waters. The technologies Stilwell is developing can also map the ocean floor, helping to provide a bigger picture of the Earth's climate and the biological life and landscapes deep below the ocean’s surface.

Artificial intelligence: Energy optimization and forecasting water quality  

Artificial intelligence and sustainability

In a 2021 international survey by Pew Research, 71 percent of respondents said they were somewhat concerned or very concerned about global climate change. With growing environmental concerns, there has been an increased focus on finding innovative solutions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Behaviors (IoB) are two emerging technologies that have become an integral part of the sustainability conversation — especially regarding their applications in urban development.

Kendall Giles, a professor with Pamplin College of Business’ Master of Information Technology and College of Engineering research centers around how AI and IoB can work together to make city living more sustainable, from energy optimization to efficient resource allocation. His classes also reflect a changing view of how to teach engineering, embedding concerns about sustainability as practice, making sure students are exposed to and considering ethical issues presented by the work they’re doing. More here.

Merging AI and water quality

What if artificial intelligence (AI) could forecast the quality of water in lakes that supply drinking water to cities like Roanoke? Or help scientists measure aerosols in the atmosphere that are one of the biggest unknowns in understanding climate change? Can we use AI to study complex fluid-particle mixtures such as blood flow where solid cells are dispersed within the blood plasma?   

Anuj Karpatne studies such scientific questions by marrying the wealth of scientific knowledge developed over centuries of research with the latest in AI. Recently he collaborated in the use case of lake modeling to provide real-time forecasts of water quality in the Falling Creek Reservoir at Roanoke.

“This reservoir is a major source of drinking water for Roanoke residents, and we are interested in forecasting its temperature, chlorophyll content, and other water quality variables,” Karpatne said. “Through our research in KGML, we aim to generate better forecasts of water quality in lakes and reservoirs that can directly impact the people who depend on their water.”

Feras Batarseh, an associate professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his students at the A3 lab are working with local water treatment plants in D.C. and Northern Virginia to use AI to better anticipate major water events, allowing the plants to use more sustainable practices more often.

Climate change and sea level rise

Protect our coasts: The cost of sea levels rising

Climate change is leading to an increase in sea level rise, putting millions of people in danger of severe coastal flooding in coming years. In fact, in the U.S. coastal sea levels are expected to rise by .25 to .30 meters by 2050, which is the same amount measured between 1920 and 2020. New research from Leonard Ohenhen, a graduate student working with Associate Professor Manoochehr Shirzaei, reveals one in 50 people living in two dozen coastal cities in the United States could experience significant flooding by 2050.

Sherif Abdelaziz, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, is working to find solutions to keep coastal areas safe by enhancing the resilience of sea walls against coastal flooding. He assesses the impact of the temperature on earth retaining structures built to prevent erosion along the shoreline. As part of a global collaboration to strengthen coastal defenses he also measures how much water fills in soil, soil improvement, and resilient infrastructure.

In addition to physical safety concerns, coastal cities are being forced to invest significant funds to protect their residents from flooding. “Investing our efforts into sea wall research is not just safeguarding coastal communities, but it is building resilience that ensures the stability and prosperity of those communities for years to come,” Abdelaziz said.

Wildfires

Fighting fire without 'forever chemicals'

Wildfires and the destruction they bring have escalated in frequency in recent years, brought on by human-related environmental activities, rising temperatures, increased drought, and volatile weather patterns. Firefighting itself has unwittingly done harm to the environment, as fire suppressing foams often contain toxins called “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS, that do not break down quickly and have the potential to linger in the environment for centuries, causing adverse health reactions in humans and wildlife.

Brian Lattimer directs the Extreme Environments and Materials Lab, which focuses on safety in extreme environments primarily related to fire. He has developed a superior foam that can still effectively fight fires and does not make use of environmentally harmful PFAS. Lattimer’s research focuses on the properties and behavior of chemicals with respect to fire dynamics, high temperatures, and extreme environments, with an aim to make communities safer from such calamities.

Food waste

Converting food waste into needed fiber

Despite fiber’s importance in a healthy diet, most Americans only get about 15 grams of it per day, well below the daily recommended 25-35 grams. Researchers in Haibo Huang’s food engineering lab in the Department of Food Science and Technology are working on a way to convert food waste into dietary fiber and protein concentrate, healthy ingredients that can be added to food.

Utilizing spent brewer’s grain, a byproduct of beer production which is in no short supply these days, Huang and his researchers hope to improve American dietary health while also finding a sustainable use for an increasingly common food waste product.

Recycling food waste into renewable biochemicals

An estimated 30-40 percent of the U.S. food supply is wasted each year. Food that could be used to feed food-insecure families ends up in landfills, and the labor, water, land, and energy used to produce it is wasted.

Food engineering researchers in the Department of Food Science and Technology partnered with researchers at Tennessee State University to isolate a unique bacterial strain that can be used to convert food waste from Virginia Tech’s Campus Kitchen into renewable biochemicals. One such biochemical is 2,3-butanediol, which is used in the production of sustainable bioplastics and food additives. Haibo Huang and his team hope their research can help transform some of our food waste problems into a sustainable solution.

For a list of Earth Day topics from 2023, click here.

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