October 13, 2020
ANNOUNCEMENTS

IGC IGEP Curriculum Change
Effective Fall 2020
Message from the Director...


Global Change Community,

As you are aware, the rapid growth of our IGC IGEP required that we rethink how we operate the program to meet the needs of our growing student population.  The challenges we faced centered on innovating new ways to increase the frequency of our course offerings, maintaining high quality education while serving a higher number of students, and working within the constraints of our budget and demands on our faculty.  We embarked on a 2+ year transparent process with frequent opportunities for students and faculty to provide input through surveys, ideation workshops, retreats, and smaller committee deliberations.  I am pleased to announce that at the end of September we completed this process with the adoption of our new curriculum...
Post Doc Opportunity: Forest Pest Invasion Analysis and Modeling 

The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University invites applications for a post-doctoral position on dynamics and impacts of invasive pests in forest ecosystems supported by an NSF macrosystems project. The postdoc will be jointly supervised by Dr. Songlin Fei at Purdue and Dr. Andrew Liebhold at USDA Forest Service. 

FACULTY & FELLOW SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Amy Pruden - Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr. Pruden is the W. Thomas Rice Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research program at VT focuses on applied environmental microbiology. Dr. Pruden serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Environmental...

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www.globalchange.vt.edu
Ben Ahlswede - Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation

Ben is a Ph.D. student interested in the interactions of terrestrial ecosystems and the climate system, and how the terrestrial carbon sink will change in the future. Ben works with observational data from eddy flux towers and satellites, such as ...

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www.globalchange.vt.edu
AROUND CAMPUS
Informational Webinar: Sharing Experiences & Considerations for Utility-Scale Solar Projects in Virginia

“Solar Farms”- Also known as “utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV)” projects, are increasing across Virginia. Many projects have been developed and many more proposed, each presenting its own set of unique challenges and opportunities, ranging from public outreach to permitting and engineering. This informational webinar will highlight Virginia-based information and experiences to help provide more information on aspects of utility-scale solar energy project development in Virginia. 

Wednesday, 10/14 at 10:00 am
Hosted by the Biological Systems Engineering Dept at VT
EEB Virtual Seminar: John Mendelsohn, Director, Research and Information Services of Namibia - On the Edge of Namibian Enquiry 2020
Hosted by IGC Fellow David Millican

Thursday, 10/15 at 9:30 am
VTLSS Virtual Seminar: GCC affiliate, Amy Pruden - Advancing Next Generation DNA Sequencing for Water Quality Monitoring: Antibiotic Resistance and Opportunistic Pathogens

Friday, 10/16 at 12:20 pm
The seminar will be live-streamed on the Fralin YouTube channel
COMMUNITY
Participate in Roanoke's STEAM Day on Friday, October 23rd!

Departments and faculty are invited to join other Virginia Tech and community partners to be a part of Virtual STEAM Day, which brings Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics activities to local elementary and high school students as well as community members. Activities may be pre-recorded or hosted live.

To get involved, contact Don Pizzullo: pizzullo@vt.edu or (540) 767-6102

Little Hokie Hand Me Down: Donations Requested
The Little Hokie Hand Me Down sponsored by the Graduate School, Graduate Student Assembly, and Women’s Center at Virginia Tech, offers university students and staff members with children the opportunity to “shop” for a wide range of infant and children’s clothes, accessories, and other items they may need, free of charge. Members of the university and Blacksburg communities make the event possible, donating gently used or new items for families. Click the link below to see what items are needed most and for information on how to donate or sign up to shop at the event.
American Indian & Indigenous Heritage Month is Oct. 15 - Nov. 15
American Indian and Indigenous Heritage Month was designated by Congress in 1990 and celebrates the accomplishments of the peoples who were the original inhabitants and stewards of what is now the United States.
NEWSWORTHY
Grant awarded to study how plants affect microbiomes

Did you know? There are an estimated 1 billion cells and thousands of species of microbes in a single gram of soil. A four-year $500,000 grant was awarded to an interdisciplinary team of GCC affiliates by the USDA National Institute of Food and Ag...

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www.globalchange.vt.edu
Do you have an opportunity or announcement you'd like to share with the GCC community? Send us an email!
Global Change Center | Virginia Tech | 540-231-5400 | www.globalchange.vt.edu