Featured News

Redirect Item

Technology on the trail: Appalachian Trail managers say pervasive use of digital devices harms trail experience , redirect
Virginia Tech research highlights the challenges digital technology poses for managing the Appalachian Trail, the world’s longest hiking-only path. With smartphones and social media shaping modern hiking experiences, trail managers report issues like overcrowding, environmental damage, and misinformation. Published in the Journal of Environmental Management, the study calls for a balanced approach to integrating technology while preserving the trail’s natural and cultural integrity.
Redirect Item

Can AI tools help in an emergency? Research is guiding that question , redirect
Emergency managers in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area are helping to inform a Virginia Tech research team’s ongoing analysis to determine the ways that artificial intelligence can help crisis and emergency managers do their work better.
Redirect Item

Integration and Implementation Insights: Setting up your team for knowledge integration , redirect
Three PI-Tech Collaborative members, Shalini Misra, Megan Rippy, and Stanley Grant, were featured in the Integration and Implementation Insights community blog. Their work explores how to structure teams for effective knowledge integration, including whether to form large groups or smaller sub-groups, how to divide tasks, and which engagement processes foster collaboration. Drawing from their NSF project on freshwater salinization, which involved nine disciplines and 42 local experts, they offer key recommendations for designing inter- and transdisciplinary research initiatives.
Redirect Item

'Curious Conversations' podcast: Shalini Misra talks about AI and emergency management , redirect
PI-Tech Lab Director Shalini Misra joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about how artificial intelligence (AI) might be used in the field of emergency management. She shared some of the different ways AI is currently being used and the concerns she’s heard from emergency managers. Misra also talks about the steps she believes will be necessary for the technology to reach its full potential in this field.
Redirect Item

Getting used to ‘cellphone-free education’ may be just as hard for parents as it is for teenagers , redirect
PI-Tech Director Shalini Misra was recently featured in a Cardinal News article discussing the increasing concerns surrounding new regulations on children's and teens' cellphone and social media use during school hours, and how these changes could also affect their families.