Announcing the Future of Work in Health Faculty Fellows Program

I’m please to announce the launch of the Future of Work in Health Faculty Fellows Program – a close collaboration between the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP) and the Destination Areas (DA) 2.0 Smart Healthcare Hub (SHH).

This new initiative offers Virginia Tech early- and mid-career faculty a unique opportunity to:

Advance their research in close collaboration with one of the Smart Healthcare Hub teams.
Receive mentorship from senior faculty across CFWPP and the SHH.
Access cutting-edge research infrastructure accessible to the SHH at the Virginia Tech–Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke.
Contribute to shaping the future of healthcare work and technology.

The Smart Healthcare Hub is advancing research at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and human-centered systems, with focus areas in:

AI as a tool for human-centered healthcare delivery
Healthcare data privacy and cybersecurity
Immersive simulation and gaming as a tool for clinical training and patient learning
The development of a Naturalistic Clinical Interaction Database (NCID)

Aligned with these themes, the CFWPP brings together technology, design, policy, and economics to explore the future of work, workplaces, and processes, with an emphasis on workforce development, responsible use of technology at work, and sustainable, health-focused work environments.

Program Benefits

$10,000 in overhead funds (for course buyout, summer salary, graduate student support, equipment, etc.)
Formal engagement with SHH research teams and CFWPP leadership
Engagement in the 2026 AI and Health Conference at Virginia Tech’s Academic Building One in Alexandria
Support to pursue external funding and expand research impact

Eligibility & Application

The program seeks early- and mid-career Virginia Tech faculty eager to apply their disciplinary expertise to healthcare and the future of work. Priority will be given to proposals with strong potential for external funding, scholarly recognition, and broader impact. Applicants must submit:

A 3-page proposal (using the template provided)
A CV (maximum 4 pages)

Deadline: November 30, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET

Submit via this Google Form

White Paper: Advancing Agrivoltaics in Virginia

I’m pleased to announce the release of a new white paper titled “Advancing Agrivoltaics in Virginia,” prepared by the Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA), the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP), and the Power and Energy Center (PEC). This white paper captures insights from an agrivoltaics summit held at Virginia Tech in 2024.

The motivation for the 2024 agrivoltaics summit stemmed from Virginia’s growing need to balance the conservation of agricultural land with the rapid expansion of renewable energy, particularly solar power. As land-use conflicts, economic pressures on rural communities, and the need for climate resilience intensify, agrivoltaics offers a promising solution by enabling the dual-use of land for both farming and solar energy production. The agrivoltaics summit aimed to define strategies for collaboration between industry and state agencies to support agrivoltaics during the renewable energy transition, explore opportunities and challenges from diverse perspectives, and establish a network dedicated to evaluating and advancing agrivoltaics opportunities relevant to Virginia stakeholders.

KEY FINDINGS

Farmers are open to agrivoltaics but stress the importance of balancing solar development with protecting prime agricultural land and maintaining long-term farming viability.
Early community engagement and overcoming regulatory hurdles are key to successful solar projects, with long-term benefits expected from environmentally responsible, community-focused designs.
Utility companies face challenges with grid connection for solar projects but see opportunities for collaboration with local communities to support renewable energy integration.
Clear policies, financial incentives, and collaboration among stakeholders are essential to protect farmland while promoting the sustainable development of agrivoltaics in Virginia.

Acknowledgements: This research was supported by a grant from the 4-VA program.

Recommended citation: CAIA, CFWPP, & PEC (2025). Advancing Agrivolatics in Virginia. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg.

Generative AI for High School Innovators

I’m pleased to announce the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP) will be running a new two-week course this summer for high school students, entitled “From Data to Generative AI: A Journey through Machine Learning.”

This course is designed for students in Grades 9–12. No prior experience in coding or artificial intelligence is required—just bring your curiosity and enthusiasm.

Win a Scholarship! Essay Contest for VA Students

Virginia high school students in grades 9-11 are invited to participate in an essay contest exploring AI’s future!

Theme: How AI is shaping society, education, work, or ethics
Length: 800-1,000 words
Prize: Five (5) winners will receive a full scholarship to this summer school!
Deadline: June 20, 2025
Award Notification: June 30, 2025
Submit: Essay + CV to vtcfwpp@gmail.com

What Student Will Learn

Understand how generative AI works – from neural networks to transformers like GPT and DALL·E.
Create content with AI tools – use platforms like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Llama to write stories, design graphics, and generate music.
Analyze ethical and social implications – explore bias, misinformation, creativity, authorship, and responsible AI use.
Develop your own AI mini-project – pitch and present a creative application of generative AI to solve a real-world problem or express a unique idea.
Build foundational knowledge in machine learning concepts like training data, model outputs, and prompt engineering.

Agenda/Schedule (July, 2025)

Week 1: Foundations of Machine Learning and AI
Session 1: Introduction to AI and Machine Learning
Session 2: How Machines Learn
Session 3: Data in Machine Learning
Session 4: Machine Learning with AWS
Session 5: Building Our First ML Model

Week 2: Generative AI and more
Session 6: Introduction to Generative AI
Session 7: Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Session 8: Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Session 9: Ethics and Societal Impact of AI
Session 10: Capstone Project and Showcase

Prerequisites: Curious, open to learning, comfortable with basic use of computers.

Tuition Fees: In-State: $400, Out-of-State: $1000

Recording of Dr. Arlene Blum’s Seminar

I’m pleased to share below a recording of Dr. Arlene Blum’s seminar entitled “Climbing your own Everest: Mountains & Molecules.” In this talk, Arlene explores her amazing career as a pioneering mountaineer and impactful chemist.

At the end of the seminar, I reminisce on how Arlene kindly supported the first class I taught while a postdoc at Stanford. It is truly remarkable to see what she has accomplished with the Green Science Policy Institute that was only an idea being developed back in 2007.

Dr. Arlene Blum Seminar – Climbing your own Everests: Mountains and Molecules

We are excited to announce that Dr. Arlene Blum will join us via Zoom on Friday, March 28 (from 3:30–5:00pm EST), as a keynote speaker in the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP) “Women in the Future of Work” speaker series.

Dr. Blum is a renowned mountaineer, scientist, environmental policy advocate, and one of Forbes’ 2024 Sustainability Leaders, recognizing 50 global changemakers. From summiting the world’s most treacherous peaks to breaking barriers in science and policy leadership, Dr. Blum’s extraordinary journey is one of resilience, courage, and transformation. In this seminar, Dr. Blum will share riveting stories from her groundbreaking expeditions, including leading the first American—and all-women’s—ascent of Annapurna I, and steadfast work to prevent the use of “Six Classes” of harmful chemicals in consumer products and building materials worldwide. Dr. Blum is the author of two books entitled Annapurna: A Woman’s Place and Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life and is considered by the UK Guardian as one of the “World’s 100 Most Inspiring Women.” Whether you’re forging your own path in science, business, or adventure, this seminar will leave you motivated to push boundaries, challenge norms, and create lasting change.

In addition to the online viewing option, we have arranged a viewing party for the seminar that will be held in Virginia Tech’s new Data and Decision Science (DDS) Building. The event will be jointly sponsored by the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business and Dr. Blum will be introduced by Dean Saonee Sarker. The talk is followed by a CFWPP and Pamplin joint reception at DDS atrium between 5:00-7:00pm.

Please register in advance here.

2024 CFWPP Summer Research Award Recipients

Meet the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP) 2024 Summer Research Award Recipients – Sakshi Taori, Mary Frazier, Yuxuan Guo, and Zeyuan Hou – who shared the findings from their summer research with the center earlier this week.

Center for Future Work Places and Practices – Networking Event

On May 9, from 2-4pm, the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP) will hold its annual friends and affiliates networking meeting at the Virginia Tech Inn. The meeting will provide attendees with an opportunity to meet and interact with other affiliates and friends of the center. During the event, we will have a brief presentation about the center activities over the last year, followed by several short presentations about ongoing research related to the future of work. There will also be plenty of time for coffee/free discussion. Please register here.

CFWPP Speaker Series: Applying for NSF Funding

On March 13 at 2pm, the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP) will welcome Dr. Alan Tomkins – the Acting Division Director of the NSF’s Social and Economic Sciences (SES) Directorate – to Virginia Tech as part of its speaker series. In this presentation, Dr. Tomkins will talk about NSF’s grant process and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) programs, provide tips for writing a competitive proposal, and discuss different types of grants.

Please register here to join the talk in person or remotely.