Three Virginia Tech researchers whose work spans fields from wireless communications to Celtic linguistics to cardiac biology have been named recipients of the 2025 Jacob A. Lutz III Award for Eminent Scholars.

Joseph Eska, Robert Gourdie, and Walid Saad were honored during the Office of Research and Innovation's annual awards ceremony, Celebrating Scholarly Excellence, on Nov. 6. 

In addition to the Lutz awards, more than 70 Virginia Tech faculty members were recognized for their remarkable achievements in research, scholarship, and creative activities. For a full list of faculty who were honored, visit the 2025 Celebrating Scholarly Excellence awards and recognition webpage.

Jacob A. Lutz III Award for Eminent Scholars

Established in 2024 by Jacob “Jake” A. Lutz III ’78, the award recognizes long-term, substantive contributions to research and creative scholarship that demonstrate sustained impact over a faculty member’s career. 

“Mr. Lutz’s vision for this award is to recognize and incentivize faculty engaged in world-class research and scholarship across all disciplines,” said Cyril Clarke, executive vice president and provost. “Our ability to recognize our faculty in this way is critical to our achievement of our Global Distinction goals, and we are grateful to Mr. Lutz’s generosity and partnership in this journey.”

The Jacob A. Lutz III Award for Eminent Scholars is Virginia Tech’s first named university-level research award, designed to recognize and elevate faculty who have achieved the highest levels of scholarly distinction. The selection process for the Lutz Awards was overseen by a 12-member committee of mid-career and senior faculty representing multiple disciplines. Recipients receive $10,000 in unrestricted funds to support professional or personal endeavors.

About the awardees

Walid Saad, the Rolls Royce Commonwealth Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Institute for Advanced Computing

Category: Science, engineering, and technology

A Clarivate Highly Cited researcher, Saad’s research addresses challenges at the intersection of digital twins, wireless systems, and artificial intelligence. He has received nearly $70 million in collaborative research funding and his work has shaped entire subfields and influenced global wireless standards. He is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow, recipient of the IEEE Marconi Prize, and author of more than 600 peer-reviewed papers with over 62,000 citations.

Notable achievements:

  • Development of the first rigorous mathematical framework for drone-assisted wireless communications
  • Authored the first comprehensive 6G vision paper, cited nearly 5,000 times and awarded the 2022 IEEE Fred W. Ellersick Prize
  • Foundational research quantifying how wireless impairments affect federated learning performance

Learn more:

Joseph Eska, professor of English, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Category: Social sciences and humanities

A 2024 Guggenheim Fellow, Eska is a historical linguist whose scholarship explores how and why human languages evolve. His work bridges traditional linguistic study and modern theoretical frameworks, advancing understanding of ancient and medieval Celtic languages. His research has redefined long-held assumptions about the origins of Celtic language features, demonstrating that many are the result of internal developments rather than external contact. Eska co-authored “Historical Linguistics: Toward a Twenty-first Century Reintegration,” a seminal text in the field.

Notable achievements:

  • Leading expert on ancient Celtic languages of France and Italy

  • Scholarship spanning Celtic, Latin, Greek, Germanic, and Native American languages

  • Recognized for integrating classical linguistic methods with contemporary theory

Learn more:

Robert Gourdie, the Heywood Fralin Endowed Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

Category: Health and life sciences


Gourdie’s research has transformed understanding of how the heart conducts electrical signals and inspired new treatments for tissue repair and regeneration. His work on connexins and ephaptic coupling has redefined cardiac conduction models and opened new areas of study in electrophysiology, bioengineering, and regenerative medicine. His peptide-based αCT1 technology is in late-stage clinical trials for wound healing and diabetic ulcers, and his startup, The Tiny Cargo Company, is pioneering exosome-based drug delivery systems.

Notable achievements:

  • Discovery of ephaptic coupling in cardiac conduction

  • Development of αCT1 peptide therapy for tissue healing

  • Translation of basic science into clinical applications and biotechnology innovation

Learn more:

Contact:

Tags

Share this story