Experts available: DNC, pumpkin spice, damage from Hurricane Debby, marijuana studies, and more
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.
Virginia Tech experts available to discuss headlines in the news
Harris, Walz lead DNC in Chicago
The Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago Monday, as Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz get set to make their most public pitch to the nation since their late-breaking ticket has been finalized. Unlike the RNC, the DNC is expected to feature many party heavyweights and former top office-holders, including Barack Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton. Political and campaign experts Karen Hult, Caitlin Jewitt, and Cayce Myers can speak to the opportunities as well as the challenges the party faces 11 weeks out from the election.
In addition, Karen Hult joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” podcast 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.
*Experts available beginning Tuesday. Some will be limited in their availability this week.
Pumpkin spice returns…already?
It may still be full-blown summer, but pumpkin spice is set to return to the Starbucks menu as soon as this week. While the return of a limited time item can bring back positive feelings of nostalgia, economist Jadrian Wooten says that “after enough time, that happiness wears down and we’re ready for the next seasonal treat.” But instead of pushing the pumpkin spice release date back to fall, “diminishing marginal utility” means that we just end up welcoming winter flavors even earlier. More here.
AI, satellite imagery detail Debby’s damage
Hurricane Debby, a category 1 storm, brought flooding and damaging winds as far as New York and New Jersey, while Charleston was inundated with 15 inches of rain. At the Earth Observation and Innovation Lab of Virginia Tech, Manoo Shirzaei and his team leveraged artificial intelligence and big radar satellite data acquired by Sentinel-1 satellites operated by the European Space Agency to track Debby’s impact step-by-step. Shrizaei’s team found that nearly 2,200 square kilometers were flooded during and after Debby's landfall along the East Coast between Florida and New York, with nine counties, such as Orange, Florida, experiencing up to 1.5% of their land area inundated. More here.
Research Highlights
Researchers use engineering to study the effects of cannabis on the brain
In the world of higher education, there has been a rapid convergence between the fields of electrical engineering and neuroscience. For two Virginia Tech professors focusing on developing new treatments and unlocking new technologies, the pairing should be utilized more often to meet pressing medical challenges. For the last three years, Xiaoting Jia, associate professor in the College of Engineering, and Dan English, assistant professor in the College of Science, have collaborated on a research project that explores how cannabis changes the activity of the brain. Specifically, their focus centers on the effect of cannabinoids, compounds naturally occurring in plants of the genus Cannabis, on the hippocampus, an area of the brain that plays a major role in learning and memory. While cannabis use is known to affect memory in humans, the mechanisms are not well understood. Read more.
The blue catfish: Wanted breaded or fried
In a world where invasive species spell trouble in ecosystems across the globe, researchers are aiming to turn one such nuisance into a tasty opportunity. The blue catfish is an invasive species that has made its way into more than half of Virginia’s waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay and all of its tributaries. Michael Schwarz and his fellow researchers at the Virginia Seafood AREC are working with Virginia Cooperative Extension specialists, government agencies, other research institutions, and private industry stakeholders to build processing capacity to support the blue catfish market to bring it to plates around the commonwealth and beyond.The college and Extension aim to help producers increase blue catfish processing capacity to help reduce the prevalence of the fish and provide additional economic support to the industry. Read more.
