Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc.

In #systolic #heart failure, which affects more than 32 million people globally, the muscle loses the ability to squeeze hard enough to push oxygenated blood from the heart’s left ventricle through the body via the circulatory system. In a study published this month the American Journal of Physiology, Junco Warren, a #cardiovascular scientist in the Center for Vascular and Heart Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and her lab show for the first time that a protein known as PERM1 effectively regulates both energy and the heart’s ability to contract. The study suggests the protein could be a new therapeutic approach to systolic heart failure.

SPOCK is the world’s first “miniature” gas #chromatograph built with patent-pending technology that analyzes chemical composition and physical properties and delivers real-time results, revolutionizing aerosol work in industry safety, environmental science, and national security. It utilizes patent-pending technology invented by Virginia Tech graduate students to float the microfluidic chips that power the dual analyzing components of SPOCK. The portable size of SPOCK means that researchers can answer new scientific questions and impact national security. Although it sounds like something out of "Star Trek," a chromatograph is a tool that analyzes the chemical composition of materials, such as water, soil, drugs, food, pollutants, and in the case of Agah's size-segregated particle odor chromatograph kernel, or SPOCK, gases and aerosols.

Virginia Tech’s flight expertise is helping clear up #aviation communication.  A recent multi-partner collaboration between industry and government identities evaluated the effects of latency on air traffic communications, particularly when an air traffic controller is managing fewer aircraft, also known as low-density conditions. The Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) played a key role in the project by securing airspace approvals, providing safety oversight, and coordinating with air traffic control during the live flights at one of two test locations.  

Almost a month after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, Virginia Cooperative Extension (Official) agents have placed the total price tag of agricultural damage at over $159.3 million. The final agricultural damage assessment from the September 27 storm was completed by Extension agents working across 21 localities. The Virginia Department of Forestry also provided information regarding timber losses in the state. The assessment is used by federal and state agencies to help determine how assistance and recovery resources will be allocated to the region. As an integral part of both Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, Virginia Cooperative Extension works in communities across the commonwealth to share knowledge, support businesses, and implement research that advances the wellbeing of all Virginians. 

In fall 2022, the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings Lab researched and tested various #helmet covers on the market. While the right helmet can reduce concussion risk, manufacturers now sell gear for added protection. To help players feel as safe as possible, the Helmet Lab tested the concussion risk of two of the most popular five-star football helmets on the market, both with and without three kinds of helmet covers. Student researchers conducted more than 320 tests over three days, and undisputed evidence showed that a five-star helmet was made even safer by all three covers.

A dramatically updated Virginia Tech Micro/Nanofabrication Cleanroom and Laboratory ushers in a new era of #semiconductor innovation. And it’s all thanks to a $3 million gift-in-kind of semiconductor processing and manufacturing equipment in 2019 driven by SPTS Technologies Ltd, a KLA Company CEO at that time, Kevin T. Crofton ’82. The clean room is a state-of-the-art facility supporting cross-disciplinary researchers and students in a collaborative environment for semiconductor manufacturing. Semiconductors are the building blocks for modern electronics and require highly controlled environments to minimize contaminants such as dust, particles, and even airborne microbes.

Each sucker along an #octopus arm features a funnel-shaped, malleable tissue formation called an infundibulum. The unique, soft curvature allows the sucker to quickly attach and detach from a large range of surfaces, including curved, rough, and underwater objects. Researchers at Virginia Tech set out to re-create this behavior in the lab by pairing a curved rubber stalk with a silicone-based adhesive membrane controlled by increasing or decreasing the pressure of gas inside the stalk—much like pumping air in and out of a balloon. As the stalk deflates, the membrane sucks in to grip and lift an object. It then releases with the stalk’s controlled inhale. The team’s suction technology might not be ready for everyday implementation quite yet. According to Croll, it would probably be more useful if it were slimmer and more durable. But with an improved design, the new #adhesive could well become the household tool drawer’s new staple. 

Completing the Caldwell March is a rite of passage for first-year cadets. The 26-mile hike conducted over two semesters celebrates the journey of Addison Caldwell who traversed miles of countryside to become the first student and cadet to enroll at Virginia Tech in 1872. But senior cadet leaders canceled the fall half of Caldwell March just three days before the event in favor of helping neighboring communities with Hurricane Helene cleanup efforts. 

Virginia Tech researchers helped reach a new milestone in preventing #drone from colliding with other drones. Led by partner Mosaic ATM, a leading #aviation research and development company, the researchers helped conduct the first ever demonstration and validation of a Remote Identification-based detect and avoid (DAA) system for drone versus drone encounters. The year-long project, which culminated in flight testing in late June and early July at Kentland Farms in Blacksburg, successfully showed the equipped drones are capable of autonomously sensing and avoiding other nearby drones.

Fincantieri Marine Group, a world leader in #shipbuilding, is funding hands-on learning experiences and scholarships for Virginia Tech undergraduate #engineering students.