Announcements

March 5, 2026: Short Talks, Big Impact — Cheer on Virginia Tech Faculty at the Faculty Nutshell Talks

    March 5: Get ready for a fast-paced evening of ideas, storytelling, and discovery! At the Faculty Nutshell Talks, Virginia Tech faculty take the stage to share their research in just 90 seconds—no slides, no jargon, just clear, compelling stories designed for a public audience.

    These bite-sized talks showcase the breadth of research happening across the university. Presenters are judged by an engaged panel that includes university leaders, campus and community members, and a seventh grader, encouraging every talk to truly connect.

    Join us for an exciting, interactive event that celebrates curiosity, creativity, and the power of great communication. Whether you’re a student, community member, or fellow researcher, you’ll leave inspired, informed, and eager to learn more. Come cheer on the faculty and experience research brought to life, one 90-second talk at a time.

When: Thursday, March 5, 2026 – 4:30 p.m.
Where: Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Center for the Arts, Virginia Tech
Cost: Free and open to the public

You're also invited to a post-event reception immediately following the Faculty Nutshell Talks, held in conjunction with a Pop-Up Faculty Club networking event  until 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts lobby. This casual mix & mingle event is brought to you by Faculty Affairs and will give you a chance to connect with community, ask presenters burning questions, and get to know colleagues from across campus in an informal setting.  Appetizers and refreshments provided. 

This year’s presenters include:

• Nasim Akhtar, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, “Finding cancer early — when we still have choices”

• Jonathan Bluey, Department of Building Construction, “I see the light.”

• Saptarshi Chatterjee, Department of Biological Sciences, “Designing digital games to decode how cells fail in diseases”

• Rockwell F. Clancy, Department of Engineering Education, “AI is culturally ignorant — That's a problem!”

• Eva Collakova, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, “Transforming crop health monitoring by playing detectives with lasers”

• Jonathan A. Czuba, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, “Fish who smoke two packs a day”

• Sally Dickinson, School of Animal Sciences, “The dogs who find us: Preparing partners, not tools”

• Rodney Gaines, Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, “The effects of health and wellbeing icebreakers"

• Shilai Hao, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, “Goodbye, forever chemicals”

• Kevin Hamed, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, “Life in the moss: Can conserving salamanders help people?”

• Shabnam Hematian, Department of Chemistry, “Brewing better batteries”

• Marcella Kelly , Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, “Triggering conservation: The lure of using remote cameras to study elusive wild cats"

• Ekanshu Mallick, Department of Geosciences, “Cooking mini planets to study life's origins”

• Steve Matuszak, Department of Marketing, “The #1 fear”

• Scott McCrickard, Department of Computer Science, “Tech on the Trail”

• Lina Rodriguez Salamanca, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, “When plants get sick: Who do you call?"

•  Stella Z. Schons, Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, “Paying for forest conservation”

• Igor Sharakhov, Department of Entomology, “How can mosquito genes turn against them?”

• Tess Thompson, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, “Engineering with Nature to restore stream ecosystems”

• Joanne Tuohy, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, “Using bubbles instead of knives to help dogs and kids beat bone cancer”

• Hajira Younas , School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, “An underground partnership behind every soybean”

The Faculty Nutshell Talks is supported by the Office of Research and Innovation and by Faculty Affairs. 

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?

     Parking is available .2 miles from The Center for the Arts at the North End Parking Garage (paid parking) and in the Squires Parking Lot (free parking after 5 p.m.).  Handicapped parking is available on-site. Click here for a parking map and more information.

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

Click here to see last year's Faculty Nutshell Talks featured in VT News. 

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.