Kelly Izlar
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Virginia Tech Global Distinction Major U.S. cities are sinking , articleAn analysis of 28 major U.S. cities revealed that all 28 are sinking, potentially affecting 34 million people, according to Virginia Tech research published in Nature Cities.
Date: May 08, 2025 -
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Category: research The days of unproctored testing may be over , articleIncreasingly beleaguered by artificial intelligence-based cheating, unproctored testing is now completely vulnerable to reasoning large language models like ChatGPT. A Virginia Tech psychologist has a few ideas about where to go from here.
Date: May 07, 2025 -
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Category: research Bacteria’s mysterious viruses can fan flames of antibiotic damage, according to new model , articleVirginia Tech biologists developed a mouse model that allows researchers to eliminate and revive bacteria-eating virus communities without affecting the gut bacteria. Using the model, researchers discovered that the viruses can exacerbate collateral damage from antibiotics.
Date: Apr 28, 2025 -
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Category: research Triassic fossil reveals nature’s best jaw for hunting fast fish , articleNewly discovered species of extinct fish shows striking similarities to unrelated modern-day predators, suggesting certain traits have emerged multiple times and remained consistent over hundreds of millions of years.
Date: Apr 28, 2025 -
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Category: impact What in the world is quantum? Experts explain , articleIs quantum as hard to understand as everyone says? Well, yes. But for World Quantum Day, Virginia Tech professors from the College of Science and the College of Engineering help us figure out what all the buzz is about.
Date: Apr 11, 2025 -
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Category: research Diagnosing a dud may lead to a better battery , articleA team of chemists found a way to see into battery interfaces — tight, tricky spots buried deep inside the cell have long frustrated battery designers.
Date: Apr 01, 2025 -
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Category: research Radar maps wind over lakes , articleVirginia Tech geoscientists created the first large-scale high-resolution map of wind speed and direction over small bodies of water.
Date: Mar 31, 2025 -
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Category: academics Shuhai Xiao honored as University Distinguished Professor , articleXiao is geobiologist who focuses on geological history. His studies of the period 500 million to 600 million years ago have provided groundbreaking insights into how organisms interacted with each other, how they changed the Earth, and how the Earth changed them in turn.
Date: Mar 25, 2025 -
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Category: research Physics’ Rana Ashkar named 2025 Sloan Research Fellow , articleThe Sloan Research Fellowship recognizes exceptional early career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and accomplishments are poised to revolutionize their fields.
Date: Mar 03, 2025 -
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Category: research Researcher measures microplastics' massive changes on the micro world , articleAustin Gray received a $1.3 million National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award to explore the ecological effects of microplastics.
Date: Feb 20, 2025 -
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Biologists transform gut bacteria into tiny protein pharmacies , articleBiologists converted gut bacteria into miniature protein factories that manufacture and release a sustained flow of targeted proteins inside the lower intestines. This technique solves one of the longstanding problems surrounding gastrointestinal drug delivery.
Date: Feb 18, 2025 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech mathematicians target data center inefficiency , articleData storage centers are driving power use and threatening climate goals. Virginia Tech mathematicians are leveraging geometry to make data storage and recovery more efficient.
Date: Dec 23, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech study extends chart of life by nearly 1.5 billion years , articleFossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new Virginia Tech analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago.
Date: Dec 19, 2024 -
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Category: impact Stephanie Byers named as director of alumni relations for College of Science , articleByers is strengthening a vibrant community where Virginia Tech College of Science graduates can support one another — across disciplines and through time.
Date: Nov 25, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech and international team win global XPRIZE challenge , articleBiologist Julie Allen and team took first place in the $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest competition.
Date: Nov 18, 2024 -
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Category: research Medals and minerals: Nancy Ross’ banner year , articleAmong the many awards and honors bestowed on her over the past few months, geoscientist Ross received the prestigious 2024 Roebling Medal.
Date: Nov 07, 2024 -
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Category: research When Earth was slushy , articleResults from a new study provide the first direct geochemical evidence that the frozen Earth underwent a massive, rapid melting period after the last global ice age.
Date: Nov 05, 2024 -
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Category: research Ancient rocks may bring dark matter to light , articleA Virginia Tech-led team is hunting for dark matter — not with telescopes or particle colliders — but by scrutinizing billion-year-old rocks.
Date: Oct 30, 2024 -
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Category: research How to build a quantum computer that’s actually useful , articleThe Department of Energy is investing $5 million into a Virginia Tech-led program that is leveraging an adaptive approach to build quantum computers that can achieve quantum utility.
Date: Oct 15, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech, NASA mapping tool shows 'irreversible sea level rise' for Pacific Islands , articlePacific Island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji will experience at least 6 inches of sea level rise by 2050, according to recent analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team, which includes Virginia Tech researchers.
Date: Oct 08, 2024 -
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Category: academics In memoriam: Robert Lee Bowden Jr., professor emeritus of physics , articleBowden passed away July 21 in Blacksburg at the age of 91. He developed a reputation for being a teacher who challenged his students to reach their full potential.
Date: Oct 03, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech students named 2024 Astronaut Scholars , articleCollege of Science students Chloe Nyhart and Stephen Argauer earned spots in the highly competitive 2024 class of Astronaut Scholars.
Date: Sep 26, 2024 -
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Category: research Geoscientists detect rapid uplift at unique volcano in Tanzania , articleUsing an early-stage volcanic activity alert system, College of Science researchers have detected and tracked a short-lived bulge in the land around an active volcano.
Date: Sep 12, 2024 -
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Category: impact Virginia Tech wraps up competition in $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest , articlePart of a multinational team, a Virginia Tech-led genetic sampling group traveled deep into the Amazon Rainforest to compete in the final round of XPRIZE Rainforest. Each of the six final teams had 24 hours to autonomously survey the biodiversity of a patch of rainforest. Winners will be announced at the 2024 G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Date: Sep 02, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech research team uses AI, satellite imagery to detail Debby’s damage , articleThe category 1 hurricane flooded nearly 2,200 square kilometers between Florida and New York.
Date: Aug 19, 2024 -
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Category: research Mathematician works to thwart quantum hackers of the future , articleAs the race to develop large-scale quantum computers gains momentum, researchers like Travis Morrison are sprinting to build protocols that will keep the modern internet safe from emerging quantum technology.
Date: Aug 15, 2024 -
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Summer campers take aim at science , articleCampers explored the world of science through action-packed, fun, thought-provoking summer camps in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
Date: Aug 05, 2024 -
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Category: impact Virginia Tech team readies for rainforest race , articleOn July 8, a Virginia Tech group and collaborators will compete to win the $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest competition. They will have 24 hours to survey autonomously the biodiversity of a square kilometer of rainforest.
Date: Jul 01, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech researcher's team discovers 'missing' sea sponges , articleIn a paper released in the journal Nature, Virginia Tech geobiologist Shuhai Xiao and collaborators reported a 550 million-year-old sea sponge that had been missing from the fossil record. The discovery sheds new light on a conundrum that has stumped zoologists and paleontologists for years.
Date: Jun 05, 2024 -
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Category: academics Class of 2024: Yannick Pleimling named Outstanding Senior for the College of Science , articlePleimling has forged connections through science and developed an extensive research portfolio of his own throughout his undergraduate education.
Date: May 06, 2024 -
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Category: academics 'You are smart enough to be here' and other physics lessons from the 2024 College of Science commencement speaker , articleAs a kid, Alma Robinson did not want to be a teacher. Now an award-winning advanced physics instructor and the 2024 College of Science commencement speaker, Robinson shaped her career around lessons that challenge assumptions.
Date: May 06, 2024 -
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Class of 2024: Julia Shapiro named Outstanding Master's Student for the College of Science , articleJulia Shapiro, the Virginia Tech College of Science Outstanding Master's Student, is fearless in code breaking and speech making.
Date: May 02, 2024 -
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Category: research Rock reader: Shuhai Xiao deciphers the geologic past to prepare for the future , articleXiao studies the interactions between life and Earth, especially at a critical point in geologic history when animals first emerged on the scene. Among his many accomplishments, Xiao discovered the earliest known evidence of a moving animal. On April 26, he will be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
Date: Apr 23, 2024 -
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Category: research Rock talker: Robert Bodnar excavates secrets from deep space, deep Earth, deep past , articleBodnar studies ancient droplets of fluid trapped within minerals from deep under the Earth and from outer space. His findings have shed light on future volcanic eruptions, life on other planets, and the location of deposits of “critical minerals,” identified as vital to our economic future and national security. For these accomplishments and more, Bodnar will be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences on April 26.
Date: Apr 23, 2024 -
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Category: research China’s sinking cities indicate global-scale problem, Virginia Tech researcher says , articleA third of China’s urban population at risk of city sinking, according to new satellite data. In an invited article for the journal Science, Manoochehr Shirzaei discusses how this phenomenon points to a global problem: Land is sinking everywhere.
Date: Apr 18, 2024 -
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Category: research Designing hardware with security in mind , articleHardware and software design typically prioritizes speed and efficiency at the expense of security. The research of Wenjie Xiong, a Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Fellow, aims to bridge the gap.
Date: Mar 01, 2024 -
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Category: research The future of cybersecurity hinges on creating harder problems , articleVirginia Tech mathematician Gretchen Matthews is making hard problems even harder — and looking for new hard problems — to protect our online data today and into a quantum future.
Date: Feb 29, 2024 -
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Category: research Rung by rung, graduate students climb toward cybersecurity careers , articleGraduate school can seem like a game of Chutes and Ladders, and Virginia Tech students in security fields are making use of Commonwealth Cyber Initiative resources to advance toward future careers.
Date: Feb 16, 2024 -
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Category: research New tech addresses augmented reality’s privacy problem , articleNew technology from Commonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers protects bystander privacy in augmented-reality systems.
Date: Jan 16, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech researcher to benchmark early-stage quantum computers , articleBuggy, clunky — but still useful? Physics’ Sophia Economou is collaborating on a Department of Energy project to determine whether, when, and how quantum computing might advance the frontiers of science.
Date: Dec 11, 2023 -
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Category: research Saddling up cryptosystems for a quantum showdown , articleUsing an algebraic structure called a "quadratic twist," Virginia Tech mathematician Jason LeGrow advances the quest to keep digital interactions secure both today and into the future.
Date: Dec 06, 2023 -
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Category: research Are your Cyber Monday purchases legit? There’s (going to be) an app for that , articleVirginia Tech researcher Emma Meno is developing a mobile app that will allow a buyer to double check that a purchase isn't a fake.
Date: Nov 22, 2023 -
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Category: academics American Physical Society names physics’ Sophia Economou as fellow , articleEconomou is the T. Marshall Hahn Chair in Physics and director of the Virginia Tech Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering.
Date: Nov 13, 2023 -
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Category: research Small measures yield big improvements in Virginia election security , articleA multi-university internship program deployed 38 interns to localities across the commonwealth to beef up the security of election infrastructure. In Wise County, two Virginia Tech undergraduates improved the score by more than 10 percent.
Date: Oct 31, 2023 -
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Category: research Commonwealth Cyber Initiative in Southwest Virginia awards $1 million in new programs , articleThe set of ambitious cybersecurity programs received awards of up to $75,000 each for the current fiscal year.
Date: Sep 06, 2023 -
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Virginia Tech Global Distinction Protecting the protectors , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers from Virginia Tech work to secure future military base power grid operations and their critical missions from cybersecurity threats.
Date: Aug 29, 2023 -
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Category: research Quantum powers researchers to see the unseen , articleVirginia Tech researchers are leveraging a quirky quantum behavior to build better infrared detectors.
Date: Aug 21, 2023 -
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Category: research Researchers build a blueprint for a diverse quantum workforce , articleVirginia Tech researchers are collaborating with historically Black colleges and universities to train faculty members, acquire lab equipment, and develop curricula to meet the growing demand for a quantum-trained workforce.
Date: Jul 28, 2023 -
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Category: research Summer research program invites students to experience 'golden days as your genuine self' , articleThe Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program offers undergraduates from all over the nation a glimpse of the Hokie graduate experience — where students can work on research with faculty advisors and show up as their most genuine selves.
Date: Jul 06, 2023 -
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Category: research Research programs help researchers leap higher , articleThe Commonwealth Cyber Initiative’s Cybersecurity Research Engagement Program seeds research efforts at the intersection of data, autonomy, and security.
Date: Jun 06, 2023 -
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Category: research Six tips to commercialize deep-tech research , articleThe innovation scholars program encourages students to consider tech transfer.
Date: Jun 05, 2023 -
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Category: research Cybersecurity research aims for impact at Virginia Tech , articleThe Commonwealth Cyber Initiative in Southwest Virginia is investing in researchers working at the intersection of data, autonomy, and security. Proposals for the next round of Cybersecurity Research grants are due June 9.
Date: May 18, 2023 -
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Category: research The chatbot whisperers , articleVirginia Tech computer scientists are working to tame the violent, racist, sexist language that has been reported from chatbots.
Date: Apr 28, 2023 -
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Category: research Cybersecurity is a team sport — and it’s recruiting all positions , articleThere’s a position for everyone in cybersecurity. Commonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers are exploring ways to attract and train a diverse talent pool to meet the exploding, dynamic need for well-rounded cybersecurity professionals.
Date: Apr 24, 2023 -
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Category: research Quantum researchers collide , articleResearchers from departments across the university came together to discuss the current state and future possibilities of quantum research at the first Virginia Tech Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering symposium.
Date: Mar 13, 2023 -
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Category: research Program fuels development of new quantum-aware cybersecurity strategies , articleThe Commonwealth Cyber Initiative in Southwest Virginia and the Virginia Tech Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering issued two awards for the Quantum Aspects of Cybersecurity program to fuel research in quantum information science, engineering, and technology related to cybersecurity.
Date: Jan 29, 2023 -
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Category: research Simulating self-driving security , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers are developing and commercializing a virtual library of real-world driving incidents to simulate and test automated driving technology.
Date: Jan 17, 2023 -
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Category: research Researchers work to solve 5G network problems when it matters: right now , articleCyber researchers from Virginia Tech developed a technique to solve 5G network problems in the field and in real time. With support from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, they are applying their invention to safeguard autonomous vehicles and provide efficient network solutions in other domains.
Date: Dec 14, 2022 -
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Category: research Commonwealth Cyber Initiative’s Ideation to Commercialization program seeks proposals, seeds larger opportunities , articleThe Commonwealth Cyber Initiative's program seeks proposals from Southwest Virginia researchers to provide paths to market for research and technologies within the intersection of data, autonomy, and security.
Date: Dec 08, 2022 -
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Category: research Flexing cyber superpowers in Southwest Virginia , articleDiverse and sometimes unlikely collaborations equip Commonwealth Cyber Initiative research teams to address today’s widely varied cybersecurity challenges.
Date: Nov 09, 2022 -
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Category: research Commonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers hone cryptographic algorithms to stand against powerful quantum threat , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers at Virginia Tech and George Mason University are developing security protocols to fend off cyberattacks — both from today’s computers and from quantum computers coming down the pike.
Date: Oct 18, 2022 -
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Category: research Students bring spark, power, and drive to cybersecurity research , articleMeet a few of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative student researchers in Southwest Virginia who are reframing the big questions and finding the answers – all while training to be future cybersecurity leaders.
Date: Oct 10, 2022 -
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Category: research Diversifying the quantum workforce , articleVirginia Tech partnered with historically Black colleges and universities for a five-day quantum workshop for faculty members at the Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington.
Date: Aug 31, 2022 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech, international partners debut first-of-its kind test bed for resiliency, security in space-based internet networks , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers at Virginia Tech designed the world’s first hardware-in-the-loop test bed that emulates the changing connectivity of a mega satellite constellation at scale. The researchers introduced the test bed at an intercontinental workshop July 12-13.
Date: Jul 28, 2022 -
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Category: research Commonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers at Virginia Tech explore how quantum networks could transform cybersecurity , articleIn a cross-disciplinary research collaboration, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers at Virginia Tech are designing the quantum architecture that may one day secure our everyday communications and connect us to the power of quantum computation.
Date: Jun 01, 2022 -
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Category: impact Shaping the future of Virginia Tech’s 5G power grid , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative researchers at Virginia Tech are working toward a more resilient, secure power grid by simulating a 5G-enabled smart grid for Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. Their work contributes to the Virginia Tech Climate Action Working Group’s effort to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.
Date: Apr 08, 2022 -
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Category: impact Cybersecurity showcase conveys impact and reach of student research , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative student researchers from Virginia Tech and other Southwest Virginia institutions participated in an electronic poster session that showcased the cross-disciplinary impact of student research in cybersecurity.
Date: Mar 28, 2022 -
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Category: research Are contact tracing apps tracking me? Not at all, say Virginia Tech researchers , articleCommonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) researchers from Virginia Tech investigated the security of digital contact tracing technology. Their findings offer reassurance to those leery of privacy risks.
Date: Feb 01, 2022 -
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Category: research Research drives cybersecurity innovation, inspiration in Southwest Virginia , articleAs the urgency of cybersecurity reaches a higher pitch, the Southwest node of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative gathered on Virginia Tech’s campus in late October. The event allowed collaborators to meet in person for the first time and advance cybersecurity strategies throughout the region and the commonwealth.
Date: Nov 18, 2021 -
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Class of 2024: Abigail Lewis loves lakes — and the role they play in climate resilience , articleAbigail Lewis, the 2024 Outstanding Doctoral Student for the College of Science, has carved out a place where she can make a difference in the connected crises of climate change: freshwater management.
Date: May 21, 2024 -
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Category: research Should the legal driving age be increased? No, says Virginia Tech statistician , articleDriving lessons can be a gauntlet of fire — for parents and children. As a parent and an expert in driving risk factors, Feng Guo has strong opinions about when and how kids should be driving: as early as safely possible with many, many hours under supervision.
Date: Sep 19, 2024 -
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Category: research Sleep sounds , articleSleep is transformative in more ways than we know. Sleep specialists, including Sujith Vijayan, have found that sleep’s beneficial brain rhythms can be enhanced by another type of rhythm: sound waves.
Date: Sep 19, 2024