Newsletter

Jan. 8, 2025. We are delighted to welcome Erin Smith to the Center for Communicating Science! Smith began her work at the center January 2 as project coordinator for community engagement initiatives, a role that will boost the center’s mission to create and support experiences for scientists, engineers, scholars, and health professionals to build their muscles of connection, communication, and collaboration. Please join us in welcoming Erin to Virginia Tech! Click here to read the full story.

Jan. 8, 2025. Attention Virginia Tech faculty: It's time to shine in the 2025 Faculty Nutshell Talks! 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 captivate an audience, enhance your communication skills, and compete for one of four $1,000 professional development prizes. Read the full story to find the registration link.

Nov. 27, 2024. What innovative research are Virginia Tech students undertaking? Led by three Interfaces of Global Change Fellows — Sharif Islam, Meredith Snyder, and Katie Mayer — audience members at the November 21, 2024, Science on Tap event “Hokie Science Showcase” learned about six ongoing research projects. Presenters talked about hellbender conservation, mussel responses to contaminants, measuring soil carbon, disease distribution, and invasive species.

Nov. 12, 2024. Two-way communication can build trust, science communicator Raven Baxter told an audience at Virginia Tech’s Haymarket Theatre on November 6. Also known as “Dr. Raven the Science Maven,” Baxter emphasized that every interaction a researcher has with another person is an opportunity to build curiosity, learning, and trust. Giving people a chance to engage with scientists encourages this, she said. "When trust leads, the truth follows, and people will be open to possibilities," Baxter explained.

Nov. 8, 2024. One of the highlights of this year's Nutshell Games was third-grader Marcus Shippee reading his prize-winning poem, "Ode to Wonder." The Nutshell Games, a graduate student presentation competition, was held November 2 at the Moss Arts Center, closing out Virginia Tech's day-long Science Festival. For the first time, poetry was incorporated into the event through a poetry contest with the theme “Ode to the Earth.”

Nov. 6, 2024. On November 2 at the Moss Arts Center, 29 graduate students walked out on stage one at a time and shared their research with a public audience and a panel of judges. This annual Virginia Tech research presentation competition allows each researcher just 90 seconds to explain their work. With props ranging from a giant glass of wine to flippers, a mask, and a snorkel, the student presenters brought to life topics from neuroscience, physics, engineering, computer science, deep time, crop pests, climate change, cell biology, and much more.

Nov. 1, 2024. How might biological diversity arise? That’s one of the questions Caitlin Miller addressed at the October 24, 2024, Science on Tap event “Evolutionary puzzles: How moving into new areas can change evolution.” Miller shared some theories behind the puzzle of evolution that explain how new traits can emerge in populations and demonstrated the ideas through two fun games.

Oct. 25, 2024. In an ongoing collaboration with Virginia Tech’s Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, which sponsors the school group campus visit program Hokie for a Day, graduate students taking Communicating Science (GRAD 5144) this fall were able to share pieces of their research with 60 fifth graders from Eastern Elementary/Middle School in Giles County.

Oct. 25, 2024. A long-term collaboration with Eastern Elementary/Middle School in Giles County has benefited both Virginia Tech graduate researchers and middle school students since 2016. Each semester, students from Communicating Science course put their learning into practice by engaging in community outreach. In our collaboration with Eastern, graduate students work in teams to plan interactive and engaging presentations related to their research.

Oct. 24, 2024. Mark your calendars: It’s time for the Nutshell Games! In this fast, fun, and friendly research presentation competition, 30 graduate researchers tell their research stories in just 90 seconds to a public audience and a panel of judges representing both Virginia Tech and our local community — including, as always, 7th graders. The Nutshell Games will take place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, November 2, at the Moss Arts Center. Please join us!