Faculty Research
Hellbender baby release. Photo by Max Esterhuizen for Virginia Tech
We’re bringing all our knowledge and skills to the table
There are more pressures and demands being placed on our planet’s resources than ever before, and, thus, there is also a greater need to preserve and build capacity for the future. Our faculty are tackling these challenges as they engage in applied and practical research that seeks to help us understand and solve some of our most complex global problems. Along the way, they are also training the next generation of leaders and policymakers who will carry on this legacy.
Jennifer Russell is blazing a new path that will merge research about natural resources and materials science with an innovative perspective incorporating environmental resources considerations with social and economic benefits.
She co-authored a U.N. report about realigning the manufacturing industry to decrease waste and stimulate economic growth and received a National Science Foundation grant to tackle the challenge of recycling polyurethane foams by applying life-cycle thinking.
We’re taking on the big issues — and we won’t give up
As a society, the environmental challenges we are facing can seem overwhelming. That’s why a sense of optimism is critical and drives our faculty-led research projects. The work that is happening in the college impacts management and policy decisions related to every aspect and area of the natural environment, from the atmosphere to what’s on the ground, in the soil, and in the water.
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Bees might solve the biodegradability challenge of plastic , articleVirginia Tech research reveals a bee-manufactured polyester that mimics conventional plastic but breaks down rapidly in soil, offering a blueprint for sustainable next-generation materials.
Date: Nov 04, 2026 - -
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Monarchs report their locations via… cell phone? , articleResearchers use lightweight radio-pulse tags and cellphone signals to track migrating monarch butterflies, revealing routes, behavior, survival, and habitat needs while informing conservation and future land management across North America.
Date: Oct 22, 2026 - -
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Jordan Budhu receives DARPA Young Faculty Award , articleAssistant Professor Jordan Budhu is exploring how bioprinted materials can be engineered to interact with electromagnetic waves, thanks to support from nearly $650,000 in initial funding from DARPA.
Date: Oct 21, 2026 - -
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Virginia Tech Packaging Innovation Hub will offer packaging solutions from materials to marketplace , articleThe Virginia Tech Packaging Innovation Hub integrates interdisciplinary expertise from across the university to help industry partners solve complex packaging, design, materials, and sustainability challenges.
Date: Oct 15, 2026 - -
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Can we save an imperiled pollinator? , videoMonarch butterflies make an extraordinary annual migration across eastern North America, but their populations have declined significantly in recent decades. Researchers in the College of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation Management Institute are working to better understand their migration routes by using radio transmitters, providing information that could help guide conservation efforts, reduce pesticide exposure and identify areas where additional habitat could make a difference. Research in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences is exploring ways to dissuade monarchs from laying eggs on milkweed that’s been sprayed by pesticides. By testing compounds that alter how milkweed reflects ultraviolet light, researchers hope to help monarchs recognize and avoid contaminated plants. Protecting monarchs is also something anyone can take part in, whether by creating a small garden, planting monarch-friendly vegetation or simply adding a few potted plants at home.
Date: Oct 09, 2026 - -
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The future of polymers: biodegradable solutions to a global challenge , videoPolymers have transformed modern life, but many are made from petrochemicals and can break down into harmful microplastics. Researchers are developing sustainable alternatives using natural materials like carbohydrates and lignin and creating biodegradable plastics and renewable adhesives that can replace conventional products. By studying how microplastics are generated, improving medical packaging, and even learning from biodegradable materials found in nature, scientists are working to reduce plastic pollution and build a cleaner, more sustainable future.
Date: Sep 24, 2026 -
Stay connected to research that shapes our natural world
Get updates from the College of Natural Resources and Environment through our quarterly research newsletter to explore how Virginia Tech researchers are advancing solutions for a more sustainable future. Drawing on expertise in forest ecology, water resources, wildlife conservation, sustainable materials, geospatial science, and environmental education, our work connects people, data, and ecosystems — strengthening resilient communities across Virginia and beyond.
Our faculty are world-renowned experts in their fields
They are scholars, researchers, innovators, and change agents. They are leaders who take on the problems of the world and look for solutions, and then teach those who will follow them to ensure that their work will continue.
They are the world’s experts and they are right here at Virginia Tech.
Luis Escobar wants to answer the unsolved questions of how, when, and where cross-species virus transmission might next occur in wildlife. He’s traveled to Columbia with student researchers to understand how vampire bats can help predict and prevent the next pandemic.
Escobar has received a National Institute of Health award to study the spread of rabies to humans, as well as National Science Foundation funding to research the transmission of hantavirus as a means to determine how climate change may influence virus spillover.