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CENI Newsletter — September 2023

September 18, 2023

Hello! Fall is the season for planning outreach activities. Sign up before Sep 30 for the Virginia Tech Science Festival to reach over 2000 community members in one day. And, see below for a plethora of outreach opportunities across campus. Let's embrace this action-packed month and kick things off with a strong start.

Our big news is that CENI is welcoming new leadership and team members:

New CENI leadership:

  • Jake Grohs, Assoc Prof, Engineering Education and Interim Director, CENI
  • Hannah Glisson, Post-Doc, Engineering Education

New educator liaisons:

  • Lori Mitchell: New River Community College
  • Nora Bolte: Wonder Universe - A Children's Museum
  • Caitlin Thorn: Giles County Public Schools
  • Chris Savage: Science Museum of Western Virginia
  • Melanie Gilbert: Reynolds Homestead

Yours truly,
Lisa McNair

CENI and CENI Partner in the News

The Sep 8 ICAT Playdate featured "Adapting to Climate Change: Embracing Transformation through Data-Driven Innovation." This project is a NSF Convergence collaboration with VT-ARC leading a transdiciplinary team of researchers.

With collaborators across campus and beyond (CAIA, CECE, CGIT, the Sanghani Center, VT ARC, and NC State) we're going to share the exciting work of cybersecurity in our agricultural technology research at a Hokie for a Day field trip and at the VT Science Festival. Please join us with your research and outreach! To learn more and apply, check out the Virginia Tech Science Festival website. 

Outreach Opportunites

Hokie for a Day field trips for fifth graders, Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Applications are open until filled. Virginia Tech affiliates only.
Hokie for a Day Information and Application

Virginia Tech Science Festival. Saturday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Applications close September 30. 
Virginia Tech Science Festival Information and Application

STEM Saturdays at Wonder Universe: A Children's Museum. 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Saturdays. Special STEM activities, crafts, and demonstrations for young children are presented each Saturday from 10:30 to 12:30.
Contact hello@wonderuniverse.org.

Kick-off on College Avenue The second annual Kickoff on College Avenue and Draper Road will take place on Friday evening, September 29, from 5-9 p.m. The purpose of the event is to welcome Virginia Tech families and promote Blacksburg, especially downtown. In short, this is a fantastic celebration of all things Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. Best part-- It’s free (to participate and for attendees)!
Contact Hunter Gresham, The Blacksburg Partnership, hunter@blacksburgpartnership.org or Samantha Buchanan, VT New Student & Family Programs, samlh@vt.edu

STEAM Day. The fourth annual Roanoke STEAM Day will be held on Friday, October 20, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Roanoke. Exhibitors will be able to set up starting at 8 a.m. on the day of the event. The event is a collaboration among the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Taubman Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Transportation, the Science Museum of Western Virginia, Radford University, and Carilion.  
STEAM DAY Application

Campus Engagement Network Updates

  • The first Hokie for a Day field trip of the semester is on September 20, 2023.
  • Open to the public: Flip the Fair at Melrose Branch Library (Roanoke) on September 28, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 
  • Coming soon to the Science Museum of Western Virginia: a new exhibit on how bugs communicate using perfume. The exhibit is a broader impact for a National Science Foundation grant with Virginia Tech biological sciences professor Dorothea Tholl and her team.  
  • This year's Makers Camp was lots of energy and fun again. It was led by college students, and we hope to present its success at a conference soon.
  • Bodies and Bites outreach program with the West End Center for Youth: after school program in Roanoke’s under-served community, which teaches elementary school kids about how their bodies work, and how to keep healthy through a good diet and exercise through hands-on activities 
  • New River Community College has joined our network to assist with outreach for undeserved communities, career planning for middle and high schoolers, and education pathways that are more frugal.

Hokie Bugfest 
Where? Squires Student Center
When? October 7 (10 a.m. - 3 p.m.) 
Who? Open to public (free admission)
HokieBugFest Information

Join us to learn more about the exciting and fun science of entomology. The event will include Dan Capps Insect Collection, over 30 exhibitors, LIVE arthropods from the Hokie BugZoo, bug library, 4-H insect collection contest, and a chance to earn your junior Entomologist certification! 

Educator Liaison Corner

Floyd County Public Schools
Floyd County Public Schools will be embracing “science is doing” this school year as we encourage ambitious science teaching and learning across all grade levels, PK-12. We would love to partner with faculty, staff, and student groups to expose and encourage science in real world situations, career paths, and exploration. 

Interested in partnering with Floyd County Public Schools? Contact Kim Keith. 

Giles County Public Schools
Interested in partnering with Giles County Public Schools? Contact Caitlyn Thorn.

Pulaski County Public Schools
Interested in partnering with Pulaski County Public Schools? Contact Megan Atkinson. 

Radford City Public Schools
This fall, Radford High School (RHS) Bobcat Career Chats have been showcasing various STEM careers.  The career series supports the American Association of School Librarians STEM Special Event Grant, awarded to RHS librarian Rebecca Caufman. STEM kits from the Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education and the Science Museum of Western Virginia will be available to students who visit the library for hands-on STEM experiences.  

Interested in partnering with Radford City Public Schools? Contact Jamie Little.

Science Museum of Western Virginia
Interested in partnering with the Science Museum of Western Virginia? Contact Phyllis Newbill. 

Virginia Tech Roanoke Center
Interested in partnering with the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center? Contact Don Pizzullo.

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