Our Newsletter

Jan. 5, 2026. Over the past year, the Center for Communicating Science (CCS) has deepened its involvement in the U.S. National Science Foundation’s COMPASS Center — COMmunity Empowering Pandemic Prediction and Prevention from Atoms to SocietieS — a multi-university effort led by Virginia Tech and dedicated to forecasting and preventing future pandemics through ethically grounded, community-engaged research.

Jan. 2, 2026. As we celebrate the New Year together, we’d like to look back with you on a year of impact, growth, and numbers worth celebrating at the Center for Communicating Science. We hope to share some of where we’ve been and thank each of you who made it possible.

Dec. 22, 2025. Are you ready to show the world what your research is all about? Whether you’re a seasoned presenter or new to the stage, this is your chance to engage an audience with your work, enhance your communication skills, and compete for a $1,000 professional development prize. Only the first 16 faculty to sign up will have the opportunity to present, so register quickly (waiting list offered). Registration opens January 6!

Dec. 19, 2025. Developed with support from the Center for Communicating Science (CCS), a new Pathways minor is available through Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: Communicating and Engaging with Science. The curriculum “equips students with the skills to evaluate scientific information and communicate complex topics effectively.”

Dec. 18, 2025. The Center for Communicating Science invites faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate students to transform complex information into clear, compelling, and engaging messages in its March 16 workshop: "Distilling Your Message for Teaching and Outreach: Brief and Compelling Interactions with the People You Need to Talk to."

Dec. 15, 2025. Almost two months after the 2025 Nutshell Games, the final of five winners has been determined. Priscilla Atim, biomedical and veterinary sciences Ph.D. student, has won the “Most Views” award for her talk, “Catching sneaky survivors in a fungal drug escape,” garnering over 16,000 views between our Youtube main channel and Youtube shorts.

Dec. 14, 2025 Who would guess that bat poop could help us understand what Virginia looked like thousands of years ago? That’s the question research assistant professor Rachel Reid, from Virginia Tech’s Department of Geosciences, explored at the November 20 Science on Tap event, “What Bat Poop Can Tell Us About the Past.”

Nov. 11, 2025. The Nutshell Games once again filled the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech with energy, laughter, and applause as 29 Virginia Tech graduate students, representing disciplines across campus, took the stage to share their research in just 90 seconds each.

Nov. 10, 2025. Have you ever wondered how something as devastating as cancer could grow from the same evolutionary forces that shape every living thing? It is a question that blends science with something deeply human, and it drives the research Palash Sashittal shared at October’s Science on Tap.