Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 3h

🐦 Want to help protect migrating birds?

GCC affiliate Dr. Ashley Dayer shares tips in an ABC 8 News feature:
🌿 Plant native species
💡 Turn off lights at night
🐱 Keep cats indoors

Simple steps, big conservation impact. 🌎

Conservationist draws research inspiration from rare Hawaiian bird

Ashley Dayer, a Virginia Tech professor and conservationist, began searching for one of the world’s rarest birds in Maui nearly 25 years ago.

www.wric.com

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 1d

🦕 Unwrap 200 million years of history!

Join paleontologists Dr. Nesbitt & Dr. Stocker for the Fossil Unwrapping Party 2025 & grand reopening of the Fossil Prep Lab.

📅 Oct 23 | 6:30 PM
📍 Hahn Hall → Derring Hall & Museum of Geosciences
🎟️ Free & family-friendly (ages 7+)

RSVP soon!

buff.ly/rhnjJCm

Community members stand in front of fossil.

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 2d

💧 Become a community scientist!

Chasing Salt invites teachers, students & community members to help study how road salt & agricultural runoff affect streams.

🗓️ Sign up by Oct 15 to receive your sampling kit & contribute to environmental research!

sentrekin.com/communitysci...

Graphic reads, 'Chasing Salt: Community Science Study Understanding How Salt Creates Stress in Riparian-Stream Ecosystems'.

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 2d

🌟 Congrats to GCC affiliates elected to the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering & Medicine!

🌊 Dr. Cayelan Carey – pioneering freshwater ecosystem forecasting
🐸 Dr. Bill Hopkins – advancing biodiversity research amid climate change

Five faculty members elected to the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The new members are Cayelan Carey, William "Bill" Hopkins, Liwu Li, Hesham Rakha, and Julie Ross.

news.vt.edu

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 7d

Major research awards at Virginia Tech are driving health, security, tech & sustainability forward.

Highlighted GCC affiliates:
✨ Dr. Marr – $18M NSF, COMPASS Center
✨ Drs. Chaves, Sorice, Kindsvater & Ramseyer – $1.7M NSF, fisheries project

Research awards strengthen communities, Virginia, and the nation

From predicting pandemics and advancing drone defense to developing new treatments for traumatic brain injuries, new research awards secured by faculty in fiscal year 2025 will drive a wide range of…

news.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 8d

🎧 NEW: GCC affiliate Dr. Cayelan Carey talks ecosystem forecasting on VT’s Curious Conversations podcast.

Her team uses sensor data + modeling to predict water quality and support ecosystem management worldwide. 🌍💧

▶️ Listen:

'Curious Conversations' podcast: Cayelan Carey talks about ecosystem forecasting

Carey's ecosystem forecasting provides near real-time predictions about water quality in lakes and reservoirs. Believed to be the first of its kind, the system is collecting data from 15 lakes and…

news.vt.edu

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 9d

🌊🐟 Congrats to GCC affiliate Dr. Elizabeth Nyboer!

She’s leading Virginia Tech’s role in the Ginebigomeg Project. This collaborative effort explores Indigenous relationships with sea lamprey and strengthens communication between Indigenous communities and management authorities.

Virginia Tech researcher awarded Great Lakes Fishery Commission grant for sea lamprey project

Assistant Professor Beth Nyboer was awarded a grant to study how communication around sea lamprey management and control takes place between state authorities and Indigenous communities to identify…

news.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 10d

🎉 Congrats to GCC affiliates recently honored with endowed appointments at VT!

✨ Dr. Cayelan Carey, Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellowship
✨ Dr. Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz, Anthony & Catherine Moraco Endowed Faculty Fellowship

Recognizing excellence in research, teaching & service. 👏

buff.ly/lErzQRH

21 faculty members named to endowed chairs, professorships, and fellowships

The Board of Visitors appointed 21 faculty members to endowed positions at its Aug. 20 meeting.

news.vt.edu

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Reposted by Global Change Center at Virginia Tech

AGU (American Geophysical Union) @agu.org · 10d

Know a dataset making an impact for people, planet, or prosperity?

🌎 Nominate it for AGU’s upcoming commentary by 10 Oct. You may be featured!

🔗: buff.ly/XLFfYqM
#ImpactfulData #EarthScience

Nominate an Impactful Dataset

You are invited to nominate a dataset to be included in a commentary about the impact of Earth, space, and environmental data using the dimensions of people, planet, and prosperity. Selected…

buff.ly

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 11d

🌿 How do you fight invasive species?

IGC fellow Harrison Miles is featured in a VT News video on his research tackling the Tree of Heaven and spotted lanternfly.

His innovative work uses a natural fungus to explore vineyard & ecosystem protection. 🍇

Using the spotted lanternfly to control a different kind of invasive species

Harrison Miles, a Ph.D. student in forest reesources and environmental conservation, is studying the effects of using a native fungus on the spotted lanternfly's preferred host, the tree of heaven.…

news.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 14d

💧🏆 Congrats to GCC faculty affiliate Dr. Cayelan Carey for receiving the Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellowship!

Her research on harmful algal blooms and leadership at the Center for Ecosystem Forecasting is shaping the future of freshwater science.

Cayelan Carey awarded faculty fellowship

Carey’s primary research addresses an increasingly serious environmental and public health challenge – predicting and controlling nuisance and harmful blooms of algae in lakes and reservoirs. This…

news.vt.edu

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 14d

🌍✨ Meet the new IGC GSO officers for 2025–26!

These student leaders strengthen the Global Change Center community through education, collaboration & outreach.

Congratulations to New IGC GSO Officers for the 2025-2026 Academic Year

The Interfaces of Global Change Graduate Student Organization exists to benefit the IGC community as a whole through student contributions to infrastructural, educational, and social investments and…

globalchange.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 15d

🌎🐦 GCC faculty affiliate Dr. Ashley Dayer is using social science to protect Atlantic Flyway shorebirds! Her research guides conservation strategies from New York to Florida and informs Virginia’s Wildlife Viewing Plan.

A rare Hawaiian bird’s history guides conservationist’s research today

Ashley Dayer’s work connects people and wildlife across continents.

news.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 16d

👏 Congrats to GCC affiliate Dr. Landon Marston on being named a 2025–26 Dean’s Fellow in VT’s College of Engineering!

His work on water resources & policy will help drive collaborative, interdisciplinary solutions for the future of engineering. 🌎💧

17 faculty members named College of Engineering Dean’s Fellows

The 2025 cohort will lead initiatives to grow large-scale research centers in support of the College of Engineering’s strategic plan.

news.vt.edu

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 16d

A new water forecasting system from VT’s Center for Ecosystem Forecasting, co-led by GCC affiliates Dr. Cayelan Carey & Dr. Quinn Thomas, is changing the way communities plan for clean water around the world. 💧

Researchers deploy water quality forecasting system around the globe

Researchers at the Center for Ecosystem Forecasting have developed a system that can predict the quality of drinking water in lakes and reservoirs. By combining advanced sensor technologies, data…

news.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 17d

🌍 Introducing the 2025–26 Interfaces of Global Change Curriculum Committee (IG3C)!

These GCC faculty & IGC fellows will help shape the program over the next year.

Grateful for those completing terms & excited to welcome new + returning members! 👏

Announcing the 2025-26 IGC Curriculum Committee

Meet the newest members of the Interfaces of Global Change Curriculum Committee (IG3C)!

globalchange.vt.edu

Reposted by Global Change Center at Virginia Tech

Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens @vtcezap.bsky.social · 17d

🗓️ Tuesday, Sept 23 • 3:30 PM
📍 Fralin Auditorium

Join us today for CeZAP SPARK: the 5th ID IGEP Cohort will present research from their first lab rotations

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Reposted by Global Change Center at Virginia Tech

Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social · 28d

Recent pics from Dr. Bryan Brown's promotion seminar on "Biodiversity in River Networks". Dr. Brown has been an integral part of the ISC since its humble beginnings in 2016 and currently serves on the Steering Committee! He is also our go-to invasive crayfish person! 🦞

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 22d

👏 Congrats to GCC affiliate Dr. Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz, awarded the Anthony and Catherine Moraco Endowed Faculty Fellowship!

A leader in air quality research & chair of the IGC program, his work is advancing science & mentoring future scholars. 🌍

news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz awarded faculty fellowship

Isaacman-VanWertz is a nationally recognized faculty member in environmental engineering, specializing in air quality. His research focuses on organic compounds in the air — how they are emitted, how…

news.vt.edu

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · 22d

While studying Lake Victoria’s fisheries, GCC affiliate Dr. Elizabeth Nyboer saw 150K+ women lose their livelihoods overnight after Uganda banned mukene gear.

On September 18, she shares how women are organizing and reshaping fisheries.

🔗

Elizabeth Nyboer to share how women are reshaping Lake Victoria fisheries

A freshwater ecologist and conservation scientist, Nyboer will discuss how policy shifts and women-led networks are reshaping communities in Uganda during a free Global Development Discussion Series…

news.vt.edu

Reposted by Global Change Center at Virginia Tech

Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech @vt-invasivespecies.bsky.social · 29d

📢 Virginia Tech is hiring! 📢 Please reshare and promote!

We are seeking an economist for a research & teaching position at the Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level in applied economics with a focus on #invasive species.

For more info & to apply ➡️ careers.pageuppeople.com/968/cw/en-us...

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · Sep 9

🌍 In Switzerland this summer, GCC affiliate Dr. Ryan Calder joined the Global Teaching Scholars Workshop, helping launch a new collaboration with Università della Svizzera italiana – with plans for shared lectures & future student exchanges.

Global Teaching Scholars fuel cross-border connections

Faculty leave the summer workshop at the Steger Center for International Scholarship in Switzerland with fresh plans for study abroad, virtual exchanges, and global partnerships.

news.vt.edu

Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · Sep 9

🎉🌍 The GCC kicked off its 10th year with the annual Welcome Reception!

Nearly 100 affiliates gathered to celebrate a decade of impact & look ahead to the future of global change research.

A Decade of Impact: GCC Marks 10 Years at Annual Welcome Reception

On Thursday, August 28, 2025, the GCC kicked off the new academic year with its annual Fall Welcome Reception at the Peggy Lee Hahn Horticulture Garden.

globalchange.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · Sep 8

🚰🐾 Your dog might know what’s in your water before you do.

A new study with GCC affiliate Dr. Leigh-Anne Krometis found toxic metals in 64% of dog drinking water samples from private wells. Pets could be early warning systems for hidden contamination.

Toxic well water will affect household pets first, new study finds

In dog drinking water sampled from wells across the country, 64 percent contained excessive levels of at least one potentially toxic heavy metal, such as lead, iron, sulfur, or arsenic. Because heavy…

news.vt.edu

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Global Change Center at Virginia Tech @globalchangevt.bsky.social · Sep 8

🌱 Congrats to the 2025–26 GCC & GCC–ISCE Seed Grant recipients!

This year’s projects shed light on ecosystems in transition, forests under stress, and species navigating a changing climate.

Faculty Seed Grants Awarded for 2025-2026

Each year, the GCC, along with the ISCE accept proposals from GCC faculty to support interdisciplinary research that will lead to collaborative proposals submitted to extramural funding sources.

globalchange.vt.edu

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