Experts available: VA elections, Halloween, Daylight Saving, 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
Only five days until Halloween
Experts at Virginia Tech can discuss fun and intriguing aspects of the holiday.
Jennifer Nardine, a teaching and learning liaison librarian at University Libraries, can speak about the history of Halloween and its roots in Celtic traditions. More here.
Plant pathologist Steve Rideout can talk about the factors that make Virginia a national leader in pumpkin production. More here.
Lester Schonberger, associate Extension specialist in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Tech, can explain why trick-or-treaters should be wary of homemade treats. More here.
Shaily Patel, assistant professor in the Department of Religion and Culture, can speak about why ghosts fascinate us. Patel is teaching a class about the cultural and psychological significance of ghost stories.
For fun stories on “scary science,” Virginia Tech science experts Jordan Metzgar (scary plants), Lauren Childs (deadly mosquitoes), Pedro M. Monarrez (mass extinctions), Patrick Huber (dark matter), Sterling Nesbitt (scary dinosaurs), and Kate Langwig (bats, not scary at all) have the bases covered.
Only seven days until daylight saving time change
It’s almost time to “fall back” — that is, to set our clocks back an hour and bring daylight saving time to an end. While many enjoy the extra hour of sleep, the necessity of daylight saving time has often been questioned and criticized. Virginia Tech economic expert Jadrian Wooten can discuss the economic upsides and downsides of daylight saving time. More here.
Only nine days until Virginia holds elections
Virginia Tech politics and communications experts can shed light on aspects of the upcoming elections and more.
Whoever wins, the commonwealth will elect its first woman governor. Farida Jalalzai can discuss the historic nature of that milestone.
Nick Goedert can discuss redistricting in Virginia and what proposed changes to that process would require.
Megan Duncan can talk about how voters receive information from news and social media and the roles of partisan news media and partisan misinformation.
Political scientist Karen Hult and political communications expert Cayce Myers can offer insight into the campaigns and also discuss the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Fed meeting this week: Delayed CPI data could complicate next rate decision, expert says
As the Federal Open Market Committee prepares to meet Oct. 28-29, the recent government shutdown has delayed key economic reports, raising concerns about the reliability of the data guiding the Fed’s next move. Virginia Tech finance expert Brad Paye says the postponed release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — a critical measure of inflation — could make monetary policy decisions more uncertain than usual. More here.
Research highlight
Physical activity increases total daily energy use, study shows
The effects of physical activity don’t stop when the movement does. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Virginia Tech researchers in collaboration with researchers at the University of Aberdeen and Shenzhen University found that being active adds to the total energy you use every day without causing the body to conserve energy in other ways. This is important because the health benefits of increasing physical activity are already well-documented, but there is less research about how exercise impacts a person’s “energy budget,” or the allocation of energy to different bodily functions. More here.
