After the TECH Together Campaign launched in July, a whopping 76 applications from 20 different colleges and departments were submitted. Of those, 10 finalists and 5 winners have been chosen to implement their creative, innovative, and integrated solutions for the reopening of Virginia Tech campuses this fall.
Eligible projects involve technologies captured in the VTIP invention disclosure process and identified as candidates for licensing to established companies or to new technology startups.
Michel, an associate professor of geosciences, diverged from his normal path to lead a project involving numerous Virginia Tech faculty, alumni, and specialists from Carilion Clinic to use 3D printing to create nasopharyngeal swabs during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
To support COVID-related research and provide immediate support for Virginia Tech researchers, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation collaborated with Virginia Tech institutes and colleges to establish a COVID-19 Rapid Response Seed Fund. As a result, nine projects were selected for funding.
A new study by Jake Socha, professor in biomedical engineering and mechanics in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science journal shows that insects experience physiological effects of gravity similar to that of humans.