Announcements

Join us November 7 for the Nutshell Games!

What do toothpaste and your dream house have in common? Are "baby bumps" barricades to balance? Where's our groundwater going? How can we protect our elders from abuse? These questions and many more will be answered at the 2026 Nutshell Games. Please join us on Saturday, November 7, at 4:00 p.m. at Virginia Tech's Center for the Arts!

    In just 90 seconds each, 30 Virginia Tech graduate students will rise to the Nutshell challenge, take the stage, and share their work in ways that are engaging, clear, and meaningful. No jargon. No slides. Just brilliant ideas, told from the heart. Topics including trust in science, breakthroughs in electronics, making medicine from millipedes, beating back viruses, 3D printed metals, vaccines, immune systems, and more will make you lean in and leave inspired.

    This year’s presenters will share research from a wide variety of disciplines and represent eight Virginia Tech colleges. Hosted by the Center for Communicating Science and held in conjunction with Virginia Tech's Science Festival, the Nutshell Games is fun, fast, and family-friendly. It's also free and open to the public. Come cheer, support a new generation of researchers, and stay for the cookies! A reception following the event will allow audience members to meet the speakers and learn more about their work. 

    For the presenters, there’s more at stake than bragging rights. Five awards will be given, with three winners selected by our panel of campus and community judges, whose presence helps ensure communication is grounded and accessible. This year’s panel includes

• Carlene Arthur, (retired) operations coordinator, Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, Virginia Tech
• Kate Gilbreath, education director, Science Museum of Western Virginia
• William R. Huckle, associate dean and director of interdisciplinary graduate education in the Graduate School, Virginia Tech
• Jacob Mayiani, director, Institutional Research and Planning, The George Washington University
• Elizabeth M. Robinson, seventh grader at Floyd Elementary/Middle School
• Helen Robinson, Floyd resident and registered nurse

    One presenter will also receive an audience choice award that you’ll help decide live, and a prize for the most-watched talk on our YouTube channel will be determined after the event. Each winner’s home department will receive $500 for the winner's use in program-sanctioned research costs or conference participation.

    This year’s presenters represent research from across Virginia Tech: 

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Sam Chisholm, Biological Systems Engineering, “Could you be more specific? I can’t tell which genes you regulate!”

Shabneek Kaur, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, “Glow before you grow: Can yeast predict plant growth?”

Ashlee P. Sullivan, Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, “Mom's spaghetti and mindset: Reframing public speaking dread”

Rebecca Wall, Human Nutrition Food and Exercise, “Muscle messages: What exercise tells your body to do”

Jenna R. Warnock, Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, “Water and weight: What's the big deal? Exploring hydration's role in healthy aging”

College of Architecture, Arts, and Design

Bria Weisz, School of Performing Arts, “Wait a minute. . .who are you?”

College of Engineering

Muneeb Ahmad, Mechanical Engineering, “Your body runs on electricity: Can we use it to control hand tremor?”

Snigdha Bardhan, Civil and Environmental Engineering, “From slime to solution: Training bacterial goo to gobble up water pollution”

Sam Chisholm, Biological Systems Engineering, “Could you be more specific? I can’t tell which genes you regulate!”

Yulia Kirina Claesson, Materials Science and Engineering, “Thin films, bismuth, and the electronics of tomorrow”

Umur Kose, Industrial and Systems Engineering, “Let’s stop throwing away the gift of life”

Anugrahaprada Mukundan, Materials Science and Engineering, “3D printed alloys: What makes them, what breaks them?”

Sowmya Muthurangan, Electrical and Computer Engineering, “Catching the wind with light”

Khushi Piparava, Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, “Why is designing an airplane a waiting game?”

Vida B. Shirvani, Construction, “What do toothpaste and your dream house have in common?”

Alexandra Stibler, Biomedical Engineering, “Baby bumps: Barricades to balance?”

College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Shumaila Bhatti, School of Public and International Affairs, “Is it enough to say, "Trust me, I'm a scientist!"?”

Onyinye F. Mbanefo, Human Development and Family Science, “What if they’re not okay?”

College of Natural Resources and Environment

Udit Bhatta, Geography, “Will we keep the lights on? Flood risk and power outages across the United States”

Hiral Makwana, Sustainable Biomaterials, “Will your vaccines survive the trip? A crystal ball for the cold box”

Amanda Maria W. Santos, Fisheries and Wildlife, “Catch me if you can”

College of Science

Carolyn Curley, Chemistry, “The invisible war: Using chemistry to fight superbugs”

Arden Hatch, Chemistry, “Tiny bugs, big drugs: New chemistry from millipedes”

Shawn Morton, Biological Sciences, “Immune exhaustion. . .The bedtime story gone wrong”

Interdisciplinary Degree Programs

Cassie Parrish, Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, “Turning the tides on groundwater depletion”

Pamplin College of Business

Shunqing Shi, Management, “Never forget where you came from. . .your wallet already did”

Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

Almudena Sanz Gutiérrez, Population Health Sciences, “Who gets to drink safely? Mapping inequality in U.S. drinking water”

Sai Navya Vadlamudi, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, “Can good germs fight stomach viruses?”

Nutshell Games rules:

●      Time: Presentations are limited to 90 seconds maximum. Timing will begin when the presenter starts the presentation through speech or movement.

●      Props: No PowerPoint slides are permitted. No additional electronic media (e.g., sound and video files) are permitted. One prop is permitted (for example, a piece of lab equipment or a photograph).

●      Presentations are to be spoken prose (i.e., no songs, poems, or raps).

●      Presentations are to begin in front of the audience.

●      The judges' decision is final.

Nutshell Games judging criteria:

●      Did the presenter capture and keep the audience's attention?

●      Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for the research?

●      Did the presentation make the audience want to know more?

●      Was the research communicated in language appropriate to a public audience?

●      Did the presenter communicate the significance and background of the research?

●      Did the speaker have good eye contact and an interesting vocal range?

●      Did the presenter convey confidence in the research?

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The Nutshell Games provide a one-of-a-kind chance to

• Get inspired by a whirlwind of fascinating projects in just over an hour.

• Celebrate graduate students as they step outside their comfort zones to communicate across differences

• Have fun while connecting with your community.

    So grab a friend, mark your calendar, and join us for an unforgettable evening of curiosity, creativity, and connection at the 2026 Nutshell Games. Come be energized, cheer for your favorites, and see how graduate students are shaping the future of science, technology, and society. . .all in a nutshell.

When: Saturday, November 7, 2026 – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Center for the Arts, Virginia Tech
Cost: Free and open to the public

    The first Nutshell Games was held as part of the opening celebration for the Center for Communicating Science in spring 2017. Ten years on, we’re delighted to still be hosting this fun event!

    Previous Nutshell Games video recordings are available on the Center for Communicating Science YouTube channel.

    If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Corinne Taylor at corinnet16@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.

For more news about the Center for Communicating Science, see our newsletter page, our VTX (News and Stories from Virginia Tech) page, and the "Other News and Media" section of our News page.