News Stories

Daniel Slade, faculty in the Department of Biochemistry, and Scott Verbridge, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, research how poor oral hygiene could cause the bacteria to migrate to other parts of the body where cancers exist.

For Jeffrey Morelli, it all started with a desire to help others, which grew to a passion for health care and creating innovative technology to improve the overall quality of life. Then, when a global pandemic hit, he knew this was his moment to rise to the challenge.

Michel, an associate professor of geosciences, diverged from his normal path to lead a project involving numerous Virginia Tech faculty [including BEAM's David Dillard, among other College of Engineering faculty], alumni, and specialists from Carilion Clinic to use 3D printing to create nasopharyngeal swabs during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As a result of his 37-year career at Virginia Tech, Mook left a legacy in nonlinear dynamics, computational aerodynamics, and aeroelasticity.

The new biomedical engineering undergraduate program is underway with 40 second-year College of Engineering students that began the degree this past fall. Students in this program will be trained to bridge the gap between traditional medicine and technology.

For more than 20 years, Jake Socha, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, has sought to measure and model the biomechanics of snake flight and answer questions about them, like that of aerial undulation’s functional role. For a study published by Nature Physics, Socha assembled an interdisciplinary team to develop the first continuous, anatomically-accurate 3D mathematical model of Chrysopelea paradisi in flight.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia Tech researchers and scientists initiated numerous research projects in an effort to support the local community and to affect humanity on a global scale.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Anand Vadlamani, a biomedical engineering and mechanics postdoctoral researcher, joined efforts to respond. Working with his peers in the department to collect 3D printers and adapt lab space, Vadlamani took part in a coordinated Virginia Tech effort to produce personal protective equipment.