Virginia Tech Biological Systems Engineering

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Virginia Tech’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering
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Congratulations to BSE Ph.D. candidate Frank Efe Erukainure, who has been awarded a 2026 Pratt Fellowship! 🎉Frank is dev...
08/21/2026

Congratulations to BSE Ph.D. candidate Frank Efe Erukainure, who has been awarded a 2026 Pratt Fellowship! 🎉

Frank is developing smart sensors that can help farmers detect disease, water stress, and other threats to crop health earlier. His work brings together biosensing, 3D printing, precision agriculture, and artificial intelligence.

The fellowship is the latest of two major honors for Frank. This summer, he also earned first place in the Ph.D. category of the 2026 Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Award from . His award-winning research uses 3D-printed sensors to detect a damaging disease in peanut plants.

Congratulations, Frank, on these well-deserved recognitions!

From collecting samples on Claytor Lake to processing them in the lab, rising BSE junior Ella Huang spent her summer gai...
08/18/2026

From collecting samples on Claytor Lake to processing them in the lab, rising BSE junior Ella Huang spent her summer gaining hands-on experience with water quality research.

As an undergraduate research assistant, Ella divided her time between the BSE water quality lab and research with Dr. Natasha Bell on floating treatment wetlands. The research examines how these plant-based systems may change wastewater quality over time.

Ella also worked with The Friends of Claytor Lake on its water quality monitoring program, traveling to different locations on the lake to collect samples and helping analyze them for nutrients, chlorophyll and bacteria.
By working in both the field and the lab, Ella was able to see the full journey of a water sample—from collection through processing and analysis—and contribute to research and monitoring that support healthier water systems.

BSE researchers are exploring a new way to respond to opioid overdose — with a wearable microneedle patch that can detec...
08/17/2026

BSE researchers are exploring a new way to respond to opioid overdose — with a wearable microneedle patch that can detect fentanyl in the body and automatically release naloxone.

Developed by Wujin Sun and a collaborative research team, the patch is designed to provide protection even when no one else is present to intervene. The work was recently published in Advanced Science and is now featured in Virginia Tech News.

Congratulations to Wujin, Penghui Zhao, and the full research team on this important work.

Read the full story: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/08/cals-naloxone-patch.html

From lab testing to data analysis, Nicholas DeWitt is gaining hands-on engineering experience this summer as a quality l...
08/16/2026

From lab testing to data analysis, Nicholas DeWitt is gaining hands-on engineering experience this summer as a quality lab intern with Fostek in Bedford, Virginia.

Nicholas, a biological systems engineering major in Virginia Tech’s Class of 2029, tests foam products and analyzes production data to help Fostek maintain quality and improve its day-to-day operations. Through the internship, he has strengthened his skills in teamwork, data analysis, laboratory testing, and using AI in the workplace.

“My favorite part of the internship is definitely the people that I have gotten to know and work with over the summer,” Nicholas said. “Overall, this has been an awesome experience to grow and learn how to become a better engineer.”

BSE students are on the job this summer!Lauren Cone, an ecological engineering major with minors in green engineering an...
08/12/2026

BSE students are on the job this summer!

Lauren Cone, an ecological engineering major with minors in green engineering and environmental science, is putting her classroom knowledge to work through an internship with Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) in Warrenton, Virginia.

Lauren’s experience has taken her from stream restoration sites—where she has collected soil samples and helped remove invasive species—to the office, where she has contributed to CAD drawings and plan sheets, designed stream cross sections, and analyzed how restored streams perform over time.

“It’s been an incredible opportunity to see how things I’ve learned in classes like Small Watershed Hydrology and NPS Pollution apply in real-world engineering projects,” said Lauren, who will graduate in 2027.

We love seeing BSE students use their skills to help restore and protect natural systems!

Congratulations to BSE’s undergraduate academic advisor, Priscilla Baker, on being named Virginia Tech’s Advisor of the ...
08/06/2026

Congratulations to BSE’s undergraduate academic advisor, Priscilla Baker, on being named Virginia Tech’s Advisor of the Month for August! 🎉

This university-wide recognition honors advisors who provide students with high-quality guidance, communicate with care, foster an environment of both support and challenge, and make themselves accessible to the students they serve.

BSE students know Priscilla as a knowledgeable and encouraging advocate who helps them navigate their academic journeys and work toward their goals. We’re delighted to see her commitment to our students recognized across Virginia Tech.

Please join us in congratulating Priscilla on this well-deserved honor! 🧡

Congratulations to Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. students Zhangtong Liao and Yitao Li, who have received scholars...
08/05/2026

Congratulations to Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. students Zhangtong Liao and Yitao Li, who have received scholarships recognizing their potential as future leaders in the water industry.

Zhangtong is the 2026 recipient of the Virginia Water Environment Association’s Sonny Roden Graduate Scholarship, which supports students pursuing careers in the water environment field. Her research focuses on low-carbon nitrogen removal technologies that can be applied to municipal and aquaculture wastewater treatment.

Yitao received the 2026 Dr. Robert C. Hoehn Graduate Student Scholarship from the Virginia Section of the American Water Works Association. Named in honor of a respected leader in Virginia’s water community, the scholarship supports students preparing for careers in the water industry. Yitao’s research focuses on intensifying biological processes used in wastewater sludge treatment.

Both students conduct their research under the guidance of Dr. Zhiwu “Drew” Wang. Please join us in congratulating Zhangtong and Yitao!
Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Virginia Water Environment Association American Water Works Association

Among the many undergraduate researchers who shared their work at last week's 2026 Virginia Tech Summer Undergraduate Re...
08/03/2026

Among the many undergraduate researchers who shared their work at last week's 2026 Virginia Tech Summer Undergraduate Research Conference were eight students connected to Biological Systems Engineering.

The group included five BSE students and three students from other Virginia Tech engineering programs who conducted research under the mentorship of BSE faculty:
• Casey McFarling — mentored by Clay Wright
• Ella Huang — mentored by Natasha Bell
• Alyssa Garibaldi — mentored by Jon Czuba
• Benjamin Dye — mentored by Jon Czuba
• Gavin Bates — mentored by Anna Duraj-Thatte
• Richfield Yeboah — mentored by Natasha Bell
• Alexandra Altenburg — mentored by Jon Czuba
• Thinh Nguyen — mentored by Clay Wright

Together, their projects demonstrate the breadth of research taking place in BSE—from synthetic biology and biomaterials to water treatment and river systems. Congratulations to these students and their faculty mentors on a productive summer of research!

Rising BSE Junior Will Collins spent his summer doing an immersive six-week Summer Medical Leadership Program at the UVA...
08/03/2026

Rising BSE Junior Will Collins spent his summer doing an immersive six-week Summer Medical Leadership Program at the UVA School of Medicine. The program is designed to provide undergraduate students with crucial experiences that will prepare them for medical school and to be excellent physicians and leaders in the medical field: "I shadowed 10 different specialties. I observed a nerve block, sedation, and shoulder surgery in Anesthesiology, two laparoscopies in Urologic Oncology, counseling for a drug overdose and a paracentesis in Emergency Medicine, and pacemaker implantation and heart ablation procedures in Cardiac Electrophysiology, to name just a few. I researched and presented how to improve the effectiveness and bioavailability of inhaler medication through the use of spacers and provider education with two other scholars. We gained valuable insights from the incredible speakers at seminars. We also had daily MCAT preparation and became certified in ACS Stop the Bleed and DBHDS REVIVE!
I’ve learned so much about the medical field and myself and built lifelong connections with medical professionals, mentors, and fellow scholars!"

Rising Junior Brooke Kelley is interning with Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP in their water resources and environ...
07/31/2026

Rising Junior Brooke Kelley is interning with Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP in their water resources and environmental departments. "I've had the chance to work both in the office and out in the field, which has made every week a little different. I've been working on stormwater and drainage projects by doing hydraulic and hydrologic analyses, evaluating culverts and channels, writing drainage reports, and learning programs like OpenRoads Designer, HEC-HMS, and Hydraulic Toolbox. I've also gotten to help with wetland delineations and site visits, which has been really interesting because I've been able to see how the environmental side of projects ties into the engineering and design process. Overall, it's been an awesome experience, and I've learned so much about water resources and environmental engineering while working alongside some great engineers."

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