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Bill Hopkins named associate executive director of Fralin Life Sciences Institute

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From VT News  |  August 11, 2020

William Hopkins will join the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech as associate executive director, effective immediately.

In his new role, Hopkins will assist Matt Hulver, executive director, and his leadership team as they develop and implement the vision and strategic directions for the Fralin Life Sciences Institute to tackle grand life science challenges at the interface of the environment and the human condition.

Hopkins will assist Hulver in identifying strategic opportunities that leverage and capitalize on existing expertise and infrastructure at Virginia Tech. Hopkins is also the founding director of the Global Change Center and the director of the Interfaces of Global Change Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program.

“Hopkins is a dynamic and compelling leader whose passion for the institute’s research and expertise in tackling global change will energize faculty, students, and staff, ” said Hulver.

The Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech a strategic university investment committed to improving the human condition by supporting life sciences research, education, and outreach across Virginia Tech and the world.

“Since joining Virginia Tech about 15 years ago, I have witnessed the positive impact that our investment institutes have on the research enterprise, experiential learning, graduate training, and translational outcomes.  I’ve seen these impacts firsthand, as the Fralin Life Sciences Institute has had a tremendous influence on my own career and the careers of dozens of my colleagues,” said Hopkins. “I am excited to take on this new role where I can give back and help support an organization focused on some of the most pressing global challenges of our time, such as climate resiliency, invasive species, and infectious diseases, with the institute’s talented faculty and staff.”

Hopkins’ specific duties will also include identifying opportunities for fostering an inclusive environment and attracting faculty from diverse backgrounds to the life sciences at Virginia Tech, fostering faculty collaborations within and among the centers as well as with other faculty teams, pursuing philanthropic opportunities with the Advancement office, and serving as a member of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute Stakeholders Committee.

Hopkins’ research program at Virginia Tech, which focuses on physiological ecology, conservation, and wildlife ecotoxicology, will be moving to Steger Hall. Hopkins studies how wildlife respond physiologically and behaviorally to global threats, including climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and pathogens. His current active extramural research funding exceeds $2.2 million and current sources include the National Science Foundation, multiple state and federal agencies, and foundation grants.

Hopkins has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on subjects pertaining to wildlife conservation, pollution, and physiological ecology.

The Global Change Center will also be moving to be administratively housed at Steger Hall. This will consolidate current operations from Latham Hall, Fralin Hall, and Litton Reaves to greatly enhance the center’s efficiency.

At Virginia Tech, Hopkins has taught undergraduate courses in Wildlife Biology; Tropical Ecology and Conservation; and Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation in the Galapagos. At the Graduate level, he has taught Vertebrate Physiological Ecology, the Global Change Seminar courses, and the Global Change Capstone course.

Hopkins is a professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation  in the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech. He holds additional adjunct associate professor appointments with the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology, the University of Tennessee, and Purdue University.  He has received the Alumni Award for Excellence in Research, the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award from the Graduate School, and twice received the Outstanding Faculty Award for undergraduate teaching, mentoring, and advisement from his home department.

Hopkins is passionate about using the best available science to inform public policy and sound decision-making. He has served as a member of three National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees on contentious issues related to coal mining, water resources, and rural health in Appalachia.  And, Hopkins recently chaired a fourth National Academies committee focused on data quality in the federal government.

He has been a key scientific contributor to five of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) cases, including those surrounding the B.P. oil spill, the T.V.A. ash spill (Kingston, Tennessee), the Olin Superfund site (Saltville, Virginia), the South River mercury spill (Waynesboro, Virginia), and the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. In all five NRDAR cases, he worked effectively with multiple stakeholder groups, including industry, state government, federal government, local concerned citizens, NGOs, private consultants, and other academic institutions. He also regularly serves in advisory capacities at the local, state, national, and international levels on issues pertaining to waste management, water resources, sustainability, and the global decline of amphibians.


CONTACT:
Kristin Rose Jutrus
(540) 231-6614

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Announcements Blog GSO IGC

IGC GSO transitions to new officers for 2020-2021

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As we welcome in the newest officers of the IGC GSO, we also want to take a moment to thank all the officers who are finishing up their term. The IGC GSO exists to benefit the IGC community as a whole through student contributions to infrastructural, educational, and social investments and activities. Thank you, 2019-2020 officers, for all your contributions this past year.

Congratulations to our newest officers!

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”48820″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]President: Korin Jones[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”41075″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Vice President: Bennett Grooms[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”45588″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Treasurer: Heather Wander[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”49859″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Secretary: Chloe Moore[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”44710″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Outreach Committee Chair: Isaac VanDiest[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”49860″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Sustainability Officer: Amber Wendler[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”42414″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Social Committee Chair: Alaina Weinheimer[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”41573″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”44794″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”4/6″][vc_column_text]Professional Development Committee Chairs: Jessica Hernandez and Sam Silknetter[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”45247″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”49174″ img_size=”100×100″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”4/6″][vc_column_text]IG3C Representatives: Melissa Burt and Sarah Kuchinsky[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Accolades Announcements Faculty Spotlight

Five GCC affiliates receive 2020 promotions

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]June 8, 2020

Congratulations to five GCC affiliated faculty members who have earned tenure and promotion in June 2020 as a result of their outstanding achievements in teaching, research, and service. Tenure and promotion marks an important milestone in their academic careers, so please join us in congratulating our colleagues!

Zachary Easton, now professor, Biological Systems Engineering

Leah Johnson, now associate professor with tenure, Statistics

Ryan Stewart, now associate professor with tenure, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Kevin McGuire, now professor, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Sterling Nesbitt, now associate professor with tenure, Geosciences

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Accolades Announcements IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP

Cristina Marcillo wins the 2020 Randolph L. Grayson Outstanding CALS Diversity Scholar Award

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May 12, 2020

Congratulations to recent IGC alumna Dr. Cristina Marcillo, who just received a 2020 Randolph L. Grayson Outstanding VT-CALS Diversity Scholar Award! Throughout her four-year graduate career at Virginia Tech, Cristina has displayed her devotion to issues of justice and inclusion in her research, service, and professional activities. In addition to her dissertation work examining potential disparities in water quality and access here in Virginia and abroad in Guatemala, Cristina worked for the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity to mentor students in the college’s National Society of Black Engineers chapter and to assist in community college students’ transition to the university through the Pre-College Initiative. She also provided tutoring and STEM demos at rural K-12 schools through the Virginia Tech PEERS volunteer program (Partnering with Engineers and Educators in Rural Schools) and served as graduate student representative on the BSE department’s diversity committee for three years.

Congrats Dr. Marcillo on this prestigious, well-deserved award for your accomplishments!

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Accolades Announcements IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP

Congratulations to Recipients of the 2020-21 IGC Fellowship!

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May 8, 2020

The Interfaces of Global Change IGEP awards four 12-month Ph.D. fellowships every academic year, each covering tuition and stipend. These graduate research assistantships are awarded based on the student’s professional credentials, the student’s level of engagement in the IGC IGEP, pertinence of the student’s research to global change, the interdisciplinary nature of the work, and the student’s plan for using the one-year fellowship.

Congratulations to the following recipients of this year’s IGC Fellowships![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Stephen DeVilbiss

School of Plant & Environmental Sciences

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”42500″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_circle”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]”My dissertation research addresses the impacts of freshwater salinization on bacterial water quality and ecology. Increased salt runoff in freshwater systems is caused by numerous global change issues including agriculture, resource extraction, urbanization, and climate change. While salinization impairs freshwater ecosystems, the activities causing it are vital to human wellbeing; thus, it is not feasible to eliminate the production and use of salts in the environment. Given the wicked nature of this issue, it is critical to identify target salinity ranges that preserve ecosystem services and inform smarter salt management strategies that consider water quality, ecosystem services, and societal needs.”

The IGC fellowship will enable Steve to dedicate 100% of his time to research in his final year, as well as allow him the time to grow existing collaborations with GCC faculty, conduct additional research to enhance his doctoral thesis, and increase the impact of his work.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]”I am studying the foraging behavior of brown-headed nuthatches, and the situational drivers that cause them to join large and diverse multi-species flocks during nonbreeding season. I am observing these multi-species flocks on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBL), which is required via the Department of Defense to conserve biodiversity on this federal property. To be effective in an applied manner, my study requires field ecologists to collect data, policy makers to determine management efforts, and habitat managers to implement policy. By working with MCBL wildlife management to incorporate non breeding season factors into the base’s avian management plans, I hope to create an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing and managing bird habitat that can be utilized by other federal properties across the pine savanna regions of the southeast.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Noah McNeill

Biological Sciences

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”33937″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_circle”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The IGC Fellowship funding will allow Noah to vastly expand his time in the field in the upcoming year. He’s also working with Pulaski Middle School teachers to develop an in-class outreach program to demonstrate primary aspects of bird biology, and this secured funding will permit him additional time to develop and implement this program in educational settings.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Isaac VanDiest

Biological Sciences

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”44719″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_circle”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]”I’m interested in understanding how community dynamics impact an individual’s physiology and fitness. My research specifically focuses on how urbanization alters arthropod communities and may therefore compromise songbird physiology and fitness. Urbanization is expanding world-wide and understanding its consequences for wildlife and ecosystem function requires thinking and working across levels of biological organization. Through my research I am working with people in the entomology, wildlife, animal sciences, and biological sciences departments to develop these perspectives.

Conservation plans tend to look purely at vital rates when making decisions, but are starting to come around on using other forms of information, such as genetics and stress physiology, to protect species before their numbers crash. My dissertation work focusing on nutrition as a vital physiological indicator of wellbeing nested among larger scale ecological data is a great opportunity to proactively implement legislation to prevent population drops that cannot be predicted with only vital rates.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The IGC Fellowship opportunity will allow Isaac to double down on the extensive laboratory work needed over the coming year, as well as free up time for additional field projects and a continued dedication to mentoring undergraduate science students.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]”My research bridges gaps between the extant and the extinct by using microevolutionary methods applied to macroevolutionary timescales, particularly during periods of extensive global change. In a nutshell, I study both living and long dead animals by looking at the evolution of tooth shape across evolutionary time. To pursue this research, I aim to reconstruct the evolutionary history of diet of 41 extant and extinct species of lemurs. Lemurs are an ideal system for investigating the evolution of diet and its relationship with extinction, as there are many recently extinct species with a robust fossil record, as well as many more currently declining species. I am collaborating with an interdisciplinary research group of anthropologists, mathematicians, and statisticians at Duke University, working together to develop new methodologies for characterizing and quantifying tooth shape. Although lemurs are in decline, they are charismatic species and are relatively well-known to the general public. I aim to expand public interest in both lemurs and evolution by building outreach tools to teach the public how morphology influences ecology and how these together influence extinction.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Brenen Wynd

Geosciences

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”49397″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_circle”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Brenen will utilize the IGC fellowship to dedicate time directly to his research, including plans to spend a full month at Duke University working with collaborators. He’s also aiming to develop an outreach project based on his research and using 3D printing or online modules that will create a toolkit to be shared on morphosource.com to be used by educators, researchers and the public.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Announcements Conservation Food & Agriculture Global Change Other Sponsored Lectures Seminars, Workshops, Lectures

Innovative conservationist and business entrepreneur to present public lecture in Blacksburg on March 20

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | March 10, 2020

**UPDATE March 11, 2020:  POSTPONED due to Virginia Tech COVID-19 mitigation strategy and large event cancelation policy (more info here).

Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, a fourth-generation beekeeper and founder and CEO of Bee Downtown, will visit Virginia Tech on March 20.

Bonner will give a 4 p.m. distinguished public lecture titled “Moments that Matter: Leadership Through the Eyes of a Beekeeper” at the Lyric Theatre in downtown Blacksburg. The lecture will be followed by a question and answer session.

Honeybees are one of nature’s most important workers, and they pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the United States each year. However, honeybee populations — and the services they provide to ecosystems and society— are quickly declining.

To do her part in addressing this pressing global issue, Bonner founded Bee Downtown during her junior year of college. The company installs and maintains beehives on the roofs and campuses of corporations to rebuild honeybee populations in urban areas. Additionally, Bee Downtown offers educational programs, events, and leadership exercises to increase employee engagement in the workplace.

What began as a school project has grown to provide employee engagement and leadership development at more than 50 corporations like Delta, Chick-Fil-A, AT&T, and IBM. Bee Downtown now maintains more than 200 hives to house more than 12 million honeybees.

“Running a successful business is just like running a successful beehive,” Bonner said. “One honeybee makes a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her whole life. But together a hive can generate over a hundred pounds of honey in a matter of months. If we — as leaders, as a community — can work together, like a honeybee hive, we can collectively create a lasting change in the world that we are all proud to be a part of.”

By integrating sustainability with a corporate business model, Bonner engages employees in beekeeping while enabling them to “think outside the hive” on their leadership journey.

Bonner holds a beehive pallet, which is covered swarming with bees. She is wearing a grey tee-shirt with a bee on it, as she holds the pallet with her arms stretched far out. Courtesy: Bee Downtown.
Bonner with a beehive pallet. Courtesy: Bee Downtown.

 

Bonner is a storyteller, environmental steward, and empowering leader. She is a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur, a 2018 Inc Magazine 30 Under 30 Rising Star, a Southern Living Southerner of the Year, and a TEDx speaker. Top media outlets, such as Forbes, BBC, Inc Magazine, and the New York Times, have featured Bonner’s work.

Bonner’s visit represents the seventh lecture in the public Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech. The lecture series brings some of the world’s leading scholars to the Blacksburg community to discuss critical environmental and societal issues in an open forum.

“The environmental problems we face today are so complex that it’s easy to become overwhelmed, leaving many to ponder how they can possibly make a positive difference. Leigh-Kathryn Bonner exemplifies the fact that every one of us can contribute toward solving the world’s most urgent challenges,” said William Hopkins, director of the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech and professor of fish and wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. “She has taken her passion for protecting pollinators and turned this into a highly successful business model that teaches corporate leaders and their employees about sustainability and social responsibility. She is an inspirational example of how we can each contribute to a sustainable future.”

Coordinated by the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech, the event is free and open to the public, thanks to joint funding efforts from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, College of Natural Resources and Environment, Apex Center for Entrepreneurs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Virginia Tech Graduate School.

“There is a big focus on entrepreneurship in the technology sector right now and we think it’s really important for students to understand all of the different ways that they can be innovative and successful. The hands-on, community-based business model that Bee Downtown has launched in the corporate realm is an excellent example of this. We’re thrilled to support bringing these types of leaders to Virginia Tech and the Blacksburg community,” said Sean Collins, director of the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs at Virginia Tech.

For more information about the event, please contact the Global Change Center at 540-231-5400 or visit its website.

The Lyric Theatre is located at 135 College Ave. in Blacksburg. Doors will open at 3 p.m. Metered parking is available on the street as well as in the Kent Square garage. Anyone parking on the Virginia Tech campus before 5 p.m. will need a permit.

– Written by Rasha Aridi

 

CONTACT:
Kristin Rose
(540) 231-6614

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Accolades Announcements IGC Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Student Spotlight

IGC Alumna Sydney Hope receives the 2020 Outstanding STEM Dissertation Award from the VT Graduate School

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Congratulations to IGC Alumna, Sydney Hope!  Dr. Hope is the 2020 recipient for the Virginia Tech Graduate School’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Science, Technology, and Math category.  Her dissertation was titled “Consequences of avian parental incubation behavior for within-clutch variance in incubation temperature and offspring behavioral phenotypes.”

This prestigious recognition is awarded based on the originality of idea, clarity and effectiveness of presentation, quality of writing and significance of the contribution to the field.

Way to go, Sydney!

 

 

Cover image by Matthew Hale

 

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Accolades Announcements

Matt Hulver named executive director of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | March 3, 2020

Matt Hulver will join the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech as executive director, effective May 10.

In his new role, Hulver will shape the new vision and programs of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute by leveraging existing strength and developing a strategic plan to enhance resources for Virginia Tech’s life sciences community. Hulver will report to the vice president of Virginia Tech’s Office of Research and Innovation.

“Hulver is an experienced and compelling leader whose passion for the institute’s research and scholarly mission will energize faculty, students, and staff,” said Don Taylor, interim vice president of Virginia Tech’s Office of Research and Innovation. “I am very excited about the future of the institute under his visionary leadership. I want to thank Dean Sally Morton from the College of Science for serving as interim director of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.”

The Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech is an instrument of strategic university investment committed to enhancing the quality, quantity, and competitiveness of life sciences research, education, and outreach across Virginia Tech and the world. Residents of the institute’s five flagship buildings (Steger Hall, Fralin Hall, Latham Hall, Integrated Life Sciences Building, and Life Sciences 1) are automatically considered affiliated faculty members.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead an organization focused on some of the most pressing global challenges of our time with the institute’s talented faculty and staff. I look forward to capitalizing on existing strengths, developing new strengths, and working to elevate the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech’s reputation as a premier life sciences institution,” Hulver said.

Hulver’s specific duties will include overseeing investments, including recruitment and start-up support for new faculty members, retention and recognition of established faculty members, investments in thematic research centers, seed funds for new research projects, equipment purchases, graduate student recruitment and support, undergraduate research support, and support for outreach activities.

Research initiatives within the life sciences receiving support include global change, coastal studies, plant sciences, infectious disease, drug discovery, ecology and organismal biology, molecular and cellular biology, and cancer biology. Hulver will continue to identify and support cutting-edge research areas and to build a thriving research enterprise.

“Every day at the Fralin Life Sciences Institute our scientists demonstrate the power of fusing expertise from multiple disciplines to tackle critical global issues,” Morton said. “Dr. Hulver understands the Fralin mission, and his collaborative approach will carry the work to even greater heights.”

Hulver and the institute will be actively engaged in cooperative partnerships with colleges, departments, and other institutes that also support the life science community. Faculty who take part in institute-sponsored activities —  including participation in institute-funded centers and focus areas, use of core facilities housed and supported by the institute, and involvement in institute-supported graduate and undergraduate programs — are invited to become affiliated faculty members.

“I was privileged to be the founding director of the original Fralin Life Sciences Institute 12 years ago and have immensely enjoyed working with Dean Morton to establish the newly configured and much larger enterprise,” said Dennis Dean, associate director of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and a University Distinguished Professor. “I am delighted that Dr. Hulver has now been named executive director of the institute. I am confident he has the vision and energy to provide strong and effective leadership to the research community.”

Hulver was previously assistant dean of health sciences and the head of the Department of the Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. Hulver is also one of the leaders of the Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors located at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

“I grew up, academically, at Virginia Tech, and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute played an important role in my development as a faculty member and afforded me multiple leadership opportunities,” Hulver  said.

His research focuses on the threat of lifestyle-related diseases – which are conditions that are caused or aggravated by a person’s own behavior. Since he has been at Virginia Tech, Hulver has led and collaborated on initiatives that explored metabolic changes to a variety of factors, including dietary change; environmental influences; and chronic disease conditions, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

Prior to becoming a faculty member at Virginia Tech, Hulver served an appointment at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as an assistant professor of research. There, he led a lab focused on understanding the role of abnormal skeletal muscle metabolism in the pathology of chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Hulver maintains membership in myriad lifestyle-related disease societies, including the American Diabetes Association and The Obesity Society. He has led and participated in collaborative research efforts that have garnered continuous funding for more than 14 years from industry sources and such agencies as the National Institutes of Health and American Diabetes Association. Hulver has spoken around the country about his nutrition and metabolism research and has served on numerous grant review panels and study sections.

Hulver holds a bachelor’s degree in fitness management from Marietta College, a master’s degree from McDaniel College in exercise science, and a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from the University of Kansas.

CONTACT:
Kristin Rose
(540) 231-6614

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Accolades Announcements

Six College of Science faculty receive fellowships from Board of Visitors to support research

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | September 19, 2019

Six faculty members in the Virginia Tech College of Science were honored with faculty fellowships by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The awards were approved at the August meeting of the Board of Visitors. Each of the three-year fellowships is dedicated to recognizing faculty for extraordinary research and teaching, and for recruiting scholars with exceptional records of achievement. All recipients were nominated by College of Science Dean Sally C. Morton and the College of Science Honorifics Committee.

“Our nationally renowned faculty are working every day to address problems that challenge our society, and they bring visibility and recognition to Virginia Tech,” said Sally C. Morton, dean of the College of Science. “It’s my privilege to award these fellowships, which wouldn’t be possible without the alumni who support us.”

College of Science Faculty Fellowship

The College of Science Faculty Fellowship was established in 2019 through support from alumni and friends of the college. Recipients are:

Professor Martha Ann Bell poses at Torgersen bridge

Martha Ann Bell is a professor in the Department of Psychology, an adjunct professor in the Virginia Tech School of Neuroscience, and an affiliated faculty member of the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Her research focuses on developmental cognitive neuroscience where she studies frontal lobe functioning in typically developing infants and children, and examines individual differences in brain and behavior. Her research informs the basic science literature in developmental psychology, as well as clinical psychology and intervention science.

Her research has brought in more than $6 million from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Her awards include the 2019 Senior Investigator Award from the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology. Bell earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Carson-Newman College in 1978, a master’s degree in child and family studies from the University of Tennessee in 1983, and a Ph.D. in human development from the University of Maryland in 1992.

Xinwei Deng poses for a photo at Hutchinson Hall

Xinwei Deng, an associate professor in the Department of Statistics, is a data science researcher working with both design of experiments and machine learning for large scale analysis, learning, and decision-making processes. His research focuses on big data, often streaming in real-time, with a goal of designing decision analytics that are efficient, accurate, fair, and robust. Since joining Virginia Tech in 2011, he has brought in more $500,000 in research funding from such agencies as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, and the Proctor & Gamble Company.

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Deng was a visiting assistant professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned a bachelor’s in mathematics from China’s Nanjing University in 2003 and a Ph.D. in statistics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2009.

Roger Moore and Mojdeh Khatam-Moore Faculty Fellowship

The Roger Moore and Mojdeh Khatam-Moore Faculty Fellowship was established in 2019 by a donation from its namesakes, Roger Moore ’64 and his wife, Mojdeh Khatam-Moore. Recipients are:

Cayelan Carey poses at the Duck Pond on campus

Cayelan Carey, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, studies and forecasts future water quality in a suite of lakes and reservoirs, including those in the Roanoke, Virginia, region. Her work directly connects freshwater ecology and data science, using environmental sensors to collect real-time data. Her research and teaching record have been recognized with substantial funding and awards, including six NSF grants totaling $5.4 million, the 2018 Yentsch-Schindler Award from the Association of the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and the Department of Biological Science’s Outstanding Faculty Research Award in both 2015 and 2018 and its Outstanding Teaching Award in 2019.

Before coming to Virginia Tech in 2013, Carey was a Fulbright Fellow at the Institute of Limnology of Uppsala University, Sweden, and a postdoctoral research associate at the Center of Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from Dartmouth College in 2006 and Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University in 2012.

Patrick Huber poses in front of Roberson Hall on campus

Patrick Huber, a professor in the Department of Physics, focuses on neutrino physics. Since joining Virginia Tech in 2008 Huber has helped to build a world-leading program in neutrino physics, both in basic science and in global and national security. As part of the Center for Neutrino Physics at Virginia Tech, Huber co-authored the Light Sterile Neutrino White Paper, which has since received more than 600 citations and eventually paved the way for the Intermediate Neutrino Program, which led to the PROSPECT experiment. Additionally, the GLoBES software package that he co-developed is the standard for computing the physics sensitivity of many large neutrino experiments.

Huber is the director of the Center for Neutrino Physics  and was named director of the Integrated Security Education and Research Center in 2017. His research has received more than $2 million in federal funding. His many awards include the Fermilab Distinguished Scholarship and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, both in 2016. He earned a bachelor’s degree in general physics in 2000 and a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics in 2003, both from Technical University Munich.

Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellowship

The Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellowship was established in 2019 by a donation from its namesake, Patricia Caldwell ’71. Recipients are:

Amanda Morris in her chemistry lab

Amanda Morris, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, focuses on mimicking the chemistry of nature’s photosynthetic system — a complex assembly of light-harvesting arrays, electron transfer relays, and catalytic centers — that converts sunlight into chemical fuels. Her work has advanced how a new class of molecular materials and metal organic frameworks can effectively serve in each required component of photosynthetic activity, major implications for renewable energy production and storage.

Since joining Virginia Tech in 2011, Morris has won numerous awards, including the Inter-American Photochemical Society Young Investigator Award in 2017, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in 2016, and a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2016.  Morris earned a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University in 2005 and a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 2009.

Shuhai Xiao poses at South Hahn Hall

Shuhai Xiao, a professor and historical geobiologist in the Department of Geosciences, focuses his research on understanding the complex interaction of biological and environmental evolution. His work has touched on the critical transitions in Earth history using fossils and geochemical data, and has appeared in such journals as Science, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

His awards are numerous, including the 2006 Charles Schuchert Award, the 2010 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2010 Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in Research, the 2014 Sir Albert Charles Seward Memorial Lecturer, the 2016-17 Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholarship, and the 2017 Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from Peking University in 1988 and 1991, and master’s and doctoral degrees in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 1996 and 1998, respectively.

 

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