This photo shows a young white woman standing behind a table that has two stuffed animal owls on it along with a foldout tree identification guide, some small foil-wrapped packages, and a framed class case with skeletal remains in in.
In October, Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Christine Hodges shared tree identification tips and the fun of dissecting owl pellets with a Science on Tap audience in Covington, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Jill Shifflett.

Science on Tap, a monthly New River Valley science outreach program that the Center for Communicating Science helped found in 2017, temporarily opened a northern Virginia branch this fall when Virginia Tech Executive Master in Natural Resources (XMNR) student Jill Shifflett organized a Science on Tap event in Covington, Virginia.

    Shifflett, a student in the College of Natural Resources and Environment who is enrolled in the Arlington-based one-year executive master's degree program, planned and implemented two outreach events as her Individual Development Project, an independent project that each XMNR student chooses as part of their experiential learning program. Guided through the process by Virginia Tech faculty members Susan Apollonio and Kathy Miller Perkins, XMNR students are responsible for developing their own projects throughout the year of enrollment in the program. 

    The XMNR program is housed in the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability. For the past 11 years, Center for Communicating Science director Patty Raun has been part of the team of Virginia Tech faculty and guests who teach collaboratively in the accelerated graduate degree program for professionals, which enrolls about 30 students per year. 

    Shifflett’s Science on Tap event took place October 22 at Covington’s Brewhouse at Cliff View. Featuring Christine Hodges of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, the community engagement was titled “Communicating Science and Sustainability in our Community.” Hodges described and provided identification tips for a “Top Ten” list of Virginia tree species and also brought owl pellets, regurgitated undigested bits of owls’ prey animals, for audience members to examine and dissect.

    Shifflett also organized and conducted a science-related story time as part of her Individual Development Project. Working with Alleghany Highlands Regional Library in Covington, she paired activity and coloring sheets related to gardening with picture books that helped children understand the links between gardening and eating. The October “Growing Vegetables” story time event was attended by local children and parents.

 

This photo shows four drawings attached to a string by clothes pins. The drawings resemble a honeycomb pattern.
Science on Tap speaker Doyee Byun asked audience members to draw what they imagined the James Webb Telescope to look like based on his description. Photo courtesy of Quinn Richards.

    Meanwhile, back in Blacksburg, Science on Tap-New River Valley had a full fall schedule of speakers at  Rising Silo Brewery on Glade Road.

    In September, Doyee Byun, a Virginia Tech graduate student studying astronomy, presented “A Deep Dive into Deep Space: All About the James Webb Telescope.” In his presentation, Byun explained how advanced telescopes are able to view the infrared region of light, which passes easily through the dust clouds in space that would normally lessen visibility. By looking through these telescopes, he says, we can view stars and galaxies that can give us a peek at the early history of surrounding galaxies. We are then able to use this information to study how galaxies form through time as well as hypothesize about planetary systems and origins of life. 

    The James Webb telescope, named after a former director of NASA, was launched into space last Christmas. Its first images were received in July. Byun shared photos taken by the telescope, including those of the Tarantula Nebula, Neptune, and Mars. To get these photos, Byun said, NASA only has to wait the amount of time it takes light to make it back to Earth, usually only a matter of minutes. 

    October’s event, “Innovation is our Future,” was led by Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council associate director Taylor Spellman. Spellman discussed the RBTC’s hopes for keeping technology start-ups in the area to promote local growth and support an “innovation ecosystem” in which people can come together and create change. 

 

This photo shows a white woman wearing a white jacket and holding a microphone. She is standing behind an upended barrel.
Taylor Spellman, associate director of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, told October's Science on Tap audience about resources, support, and mentoring for local technology start-ups. Photo courtesy of Quinn Richards.

    The RBTC, she explained, is part of the Verge Collaborative Alliance. Verge’s goal is to connect business start-ups in the community to various forms of support so that they thrive. This includes providing information on resources, mentoring, funding, and other components critical to success. 

    “We spend a lot of time sitting with our members and listening,” Spellman said. “A big component of our initiatives is working with our companies and our strategic institutions to connect talent [with our institutions].” 

    She described some of the businesses in Roanoke and the New River Valleys that are making a splash in the innovation and technology world, including new approaches to cancer cell separation technology, electromagnetic technology, chronic pain relief, fully automated semitrucks, and affordable batteries for electric vehicles.

    November’s Science on Tap, the last of 2022, introduced speakers Viverjita Umashankar and Isabella Cricco. Umashankar, a sustainability consultant at Edge Environment, and Cricco, a Virginia Tech graduate student in the Department of Sustainable Materials, brought awareness to the lifespans of everyday items. 

 

This photo shows a young Indian woman in a white sweater holding a small mic to the masked face of a middle aged white woman. The backs of two men are in the foreground and other people can be seen in the background. The scene is interior at a brewery.
Sustainability consultant Viverjita Umashankar asked for audience input at the November Science on Tap. Photo courtesy of Carrie Kroehler.

    The audience participated in an activity in which they were assigned an item – cell phones, shoes, various book formats, and denim, for example. Using their current knowledge, they were to imagine the life cycle of these items during the raw material extraction, manufacturing, packaging/transport, use, and end-of-life stages, as well as specify the types of energy and expenses that come with each stage. 

    While the type of item varied significantly, a common theme became clear during the discussion: the life of items does not end after we decide they have fulfilled their purpose. 

    “We have to think of the life cycle of the item we purchase, not just what we intend their life to be,” Umashankar said, holding up a paperback book for demonstration. “Many everyday items can be reused or recycled in some way.”

    To reduce our carbon footprint, we must be conscious of what we use, how we use it, and what happens to it after our use is finished. To be a responsible consumer, look up local recycling regulations in your area, donate used items when you can, and avoid buying items that are not durable or reusable. 

    Join us for our next Science on Tap at 5:30 p.m. January 25 at Rising Silo Brewery, 2351 Glade Road, Blacksburg, for “Defending Against Hackers of the Quantum Future,” brought to us by Virginia Tech mathematics professor Gretchen Matthews.

By Quinn Richards, Center for Communicating Science graduate assistant