Ben Katz joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the impact of lifestyle choices on brain health and cognition. He shared insights about how cardiovascular exercise, spending time in nature, and maintaining a healthy diet can enhance cognitive function. He also talked about the importance of sleep and benefits of social interactions, as well as what changes he has made to best support his own cognition.Ben Katz is an associate professor of adult development and aging within the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on interventions to improve executive function capacities, including non-invasive brain stimulation, cognitive training, and lifestyle change.

Laura Hamm joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about cycling safety, infrastructure, and the behaviors of both riders and vehicle operators. She explained the challenges to getting accurate information about bicycle-vehicle collisions and what conditions make riding safer. She also talked about a project she’s working on that will help the Virginia Department of Transportation better assess traffic stress, connectivity, and accessibility of bike and pedestrian routes and her own experience as an avid cyclist. Hamm is a senior research associate in the Division of Vehicle, Driver, and System Safety at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Her research focuses on the safety and mobility of vulnerable road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. She is currently leading a pilot program to collect and analyze naturalistic data from cyclists aimed to better understand bicycle-vehicle interactions and cyclist behavior under diverse environmental contexts. She is also leading a project in Virginia to incorporate new data sources into the calculation of level of traffic stress for pedestrians and cyclists.

Rory Maguire joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about fertilizer and its connection to the Iran war. He explained what nutrients make up most fertilizers, which of those are most impacted by the conflict, and how they behave differently in soil. He also shared some practical advice that could be applied to both large-scale farms and small gardens. Maguire is a professor and extension specialist in the Virginia Tech in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. He is also the supervisor of the Soil Testing Laboratory at Virginia Tech. His research aims to improve the efficiency of fertilizer and manure nutrient management, using innovative approaches to protect the environment while enhancing the profitability and sustainability of farming systems. #virginiatech #fertilizer #iranwar #soil #farming

Tom Mayock joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about recent research that shows a relationship between single-family rental housing and educational outcomes. He explained the historic and evolving landscape of rental markets and the work he and his colleagues did that point to a rise in student achievement when units are located in thebounds of high-achieving school districts. Mayock is the Michael G. Miller Professor of Real Estate in the Blackwood Department of Real Estate. His research interests include real estate, urban economics, public economics, and credit risk.

Melissa Wright joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about navigating topics related to food, food ingredients, and nutrition. She explained how people should interpret labels and the complexities of topics like raw milk, protein, and color additives. Wright also offered practical advice for consumers and producers to make informed decisions about food safety and nutrition.Wright is director of the Food Producer Technical Assistance Network at Virginia Tech, which supports food entrepreneurs by assisting with nutrition label content, food safety analysis, and pertinent food regulations. The program’s goal is to help Virginia’s food-processing industry produce high-quality, safe, and innovative food products.#virginiatech #food #foodlabels #fooddyes #protein #milk #nutrition #foodsafety

Boris Vinatzer joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about fungi and their potential to influence weather through ice nucleation. Vinatzer shared insights gained through some recent research that revealed a fungi protein that helps water freeze at a higher temperature than would otherwise be possible. He explained how ice is actually formed and the potential for this discovery to be used in cloud seeding and for a host of industrial applications.

Vinatzer is a professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. His research includes molecular plant-microbe interactions, molecular evolution, and taxonomy of plant pathogenic bacteria. He is interested in investigating environmental microbes that may play a role in the formation of precipitation.

Katalin Parti joined Virginia Tech’s 'Curious Conversations’ to talk about how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are turbocharging social engineering scams and what individuals can do to protect themselves. She shared the common techniques scammers use, what could make a person more vulnerable to scams, and the red flags that can help mitigate such threats. Parti also talked about a new project she’s working on with residents of a retirement community to develop real-time tools to assist them in thwarting threats. Parti is an assistant professor with the Department of Sociology in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on both the offender and victim sides of cybercrime, sexual violence, and online manipulative scams targeting older people. Parti is a certified mediator and holds a European Certificate in Cybercrime and Electronic Evidence. She is also a co-author and co-editor of "Juvenile Justice and Schools: Policing, Processing, and Programming."#VirginiaTech #cybersecurity #ScamAwareness #AI #FraudPrevention

Michael Schwarz joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the rapid invasion of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay, its ecological and economic impacts, and the promising potential for turning this challenge into an opportunity. He explained what makes the fish so problematic, the challenge of standing up sustainable fishing, processing, and marketing of the fish, and its unique taste and nutritional profile. Michael Schwarz is director of the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center of Virginia Tech in Hampton, Virginia. His research includes land-based and offshore aquaculture production system design and optimization, environmental optimization and identification of environmental production limits for aquaculture species, and the development of production protocols for new and emerging species.#BlueCatfish #ChesapeakeBay #SustainableSeafood #VirginiaTech #Aquaculture #fishing #seafood #angler #seafoodindustry