Posted on by lbarron

May 18 – 24, 2026

To see full descriptions for any item in the summary list, please click on the continue reading link below the list.

This Week’s Events: 

  1. FREE COMPUTING AND DATA WORKSHOPS – Monday & Friday
  2. GLC CAFÉ-  Thursday

Administrative Announcements:   

  1. GRADUATE LIFE CENTER SUMMER CLOSURE – 1st posting
  2. CENTER FOR HUMANITIES GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWS, FALL 2026 – 1st posting
  3. THE MARKET SUMMER HOURS – 2nd posting
  4. GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION – 2nd posting
  5. GRADUATE SCHOOL – SPECIAL OPERATING HOURS – MAY 2026 – 3rd posting
  6. LEADERSHIP THEORY COURSE AVAILABLE SUMMER 3 – REGISTER NOW – 3rd posting

Jobs

  1. VT TEACHING FELLOWS PROGRAM – FALL 2026 – POSTINGS NOW OPEN – 3rd posting
  2. GRA POSITION IN CONSTRUCTION PROCESS AUTOMATION – 3rd posting
  3. DATA ANALYST PART TIME WAGE – 3rd posting

Funding Opportunities:

None at this time

Volunteers and research participants sought: 

  1. SEEKING GRADUATE STUDENT PANELISTS – 1st posting
  2. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A RESEARCH STUDY ON TELEOPERATOR-HUMAN-ROBOT COLLABORATION (IRB-25-939) – 1st posting (1/2)
  3. MULTIMODAL COGNITIVE LOAD ASSESSMENT DURING INDOOR WAYFINDING (1/2)
  4. CAPTURING AND LOGGING ECOLOGICAL VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES AND REALITY (CLEVER) RESEARCH STUDY (1/2)
  5. PARTICIPANT NEEDED FOR EVALUATING PERFORMANCE OF A SMART WORK ZONE MONITORING SYSTEM – 1st posting
  6. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A STUDY ON CYBER-ATTACK DETECTION IN AUTOMATED VEHICLES – 2nd  posting
  7. ACCEPTING 10 WOMEN FOR A HUMOR-WRITING INTERVENTION – 2nd posting
  8. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR EYE TRACKING AND USER PREFERENCE RESEARCH STUDY – 2nd posting
  9. SURVEY – GRADUATE STUDENT HEALTH & WELL-BEING WORK GROUP – BARRIERS TO ACCESS RESOURCES – 3rd  posting

    Upcoming Events:    

    1. FREE COMPUTING AND DATA WORKSHOPS – May 18, 22, & 26
    2. GRADUATE STUDENT;POSTDOC GAME NIGHT Q&A – May 29
    3. SUMMER WRITING DROP- INN – June 5 & June 8

    This Week’s Events  

    1. FREE COMPUTING AND DATA WORKSHOPS
    Monday, May 18, Friday, May 22,  Tuesday, May 26, 9am-4:30pm, In-person TLOS or Zoom
    Interested in improving your research data and computing skills before undertaking summer research? Join us for a series of interactive, hands-on workshops in May in Blacksburg or online. Workshops are 9am to 4:30pm with lunch and refreshments provided for in-person participants. The workshops are open to all VT community members. You do not need any experience with the software to participate, but you will need access to a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. Take the whole series of workshops or choose the ones that best fits your needs. Workshops offered: Intro to Python and JupyterLab (Mon, 18 May), Intro to R and RStudio (Fri, 22 May), and Intro to Unix and Git (Tue, 26 May). Register on the Library events page or through the Professional Development Network.
    https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/?query=carpentries

    2. GLC CAFÉ
    Thursday, May 19, 3:30-5pm, GLC Reading Room 
    Enjoy free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of your grad student and Grad School colleagues. Relax, network, and load up on caffeine and/or carbs. Bring your own mug if you can. If you have any questions, please contact Lindsay Barron (lbarron@vt.edu).

    Administrative Announcements   

    3. GRADUATE LIFE CENTER SUMMER CLOSURE – 1st posting
    The GLC will be closed to the public, including all graduate students, between June 8 – August 16, due to renovations in the Squires Student Center. All GLC swipe card access will be terminated during this period.

    • Signage on all building doors will provide detailed instructions regarding how to contact various Graduate School offices and ombuds for assistance.
    • There will be no drop-in student services during this time. Students may connect with the Graduate School team by email (grads@vt.edu) or schedule a zoom meeting.
    • Bryan Hanson/Ombuds services will be available in the Newman Library in Room 427 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 10:00am-3:00pm. Students may schedule in-person meetings in this space.
    • The weekly GLC cafe will be moved to the CID on Thursdays only, 3:30-5pm.
    • Notary services must be arranged in advance by emailing to grads@vt.edu or to the individual notaries to set up an appointment.  Recommended location to meet the student: Newman Library.

    4. CENTER FOR HUMANITIES GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWS, FALL 2026 – 1st posting (1/1)
    Apply by Wed., May 20th. The Center for Humanities is seeking graduate students currently working in a humanities-related field to add to the intellectual life of our center. Fellows receive shared office space in War Memorial Hall, along with the opportunity to apply for research funding. Apply here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hGiVYK0Q-kCGPU8yweOjejPsWmmQjA1Lkh9mF4fDfC9UQTgyOFA2VkIzWU85NElPR081VUFJSkZOOC4u

    5. THE MARKET END-OF-SEMESTER AND SUMMER HOURS – 2nd posting
    The Market, located at 801 University City Blvd., Blacksburg,  is open to all Virginia Tech Students and offers free groceries. Open Market Hours are times that any Virginia Tech student can visit The Market and access our non-perishable pantry. No sign-up, forms, or screening required!  The Market is offering expanded end-of-semester hours:

    • Tuesday, May 12: 2-6 p.m.
    • Wednesday, May 13: 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
    • Thursday, May 14, 2p–6p
    • Friday, May 15, 10a–2p
      Open Market hours for summer will run May 19 – August 18, on Tuesdays, from 9am-4pm. 
    • Visit www.foodaccess.vt.edu for more information.

    6. GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION – 2nd posting
    ARE YOU A GRADUATE STUDENT INTERESTED IN A FUTURE CAREER IN HIGHER EDUCATION? Consider taking a course or two to satisfy your curiosity about university leadership (EDHE 6094), the history of higher education in the U.S. (EDHE 6064), college student development theory (EDHE 5314) and others! Questions? Contact Dr. Chase Catalano, or visit: https://liberalarts.vt.edu/academics/graduate-programs/graduate-certificates/higher-education-administration-graduate-certificate.html

    7. GRADUATE SCHOOL – SPECIAL OPERATING HOURS – MAY 2026 – 3rd posting
    May 20 – Closing 10am-2pm for Employee Appreciation even

    8. LEADERSHIP THEORY COURSE AVAILABLE SUMMER 3 – REGISTER NOW – 3rd posting
    All graduate students are invited to enroll in LDRS 5454 Leadership Diverse Contexts (CRN 61991). This is an online, asynchronous, 12-week course offered during Summer 3. The course explores the foundational leadership theories that inform the study and practice of leadership. Students will develop their own leadership philosophy based on course readings. Questions? Contact Dr Jerald Walz at jhwalz@vt.edu.

    Jobs   

    9. VT TEACHING FELLOWS PROGRAM – FALL 2026 – POSTINGS NOW OPEN –2nd  posting
    The VT Teaching Fellows adjunct faculty opportunities at Northern Virginia Community College are now posted! See the available positions at the included link. This opportunity is open to domestic or international master’s or doctoral students with at least 18 graduate credit hours in the teaching discipline. Teaching will be either in-person or virtual, depending on the student’s location. Applications must be received by May 31, 2026 Questions? Contact Dr. Barbara Hoopes at bhoopes@vt.edu. Virginia Tech Teaching Fellows Application Information and Job Listings : https://bit.ly/3QH2ned.

    10. GRA POSITION IN CONSTRUCTION PROCESS AUTOMATION – 2nd posting
    Description of duties:
    (1)Perform data preprocessing on the provided raw data.
    (2) Train-validate-test common supervised and unsupervised algorithms.
    (3) Perform hyper-parameter tuning to improve model accuracy.
    (4) Generate report on model accuracy using common evaluation matrices (e.g. precision , recall, and F1-score).
    (5) Prepare detailed report on work conducted.
    Qualified candidate should be familiar with machine learning model training using common supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms, hyper-parameter tuning, and reporting on model testing using common evaluation matrices (e.g. precision , recall, and F1-score). Interested student should email their 1-page CV to Dr. Walid Thabet at thabet@vt.edu.

    11. DATA ANALYST PART-TIME WAGE – 2nd posting
    Data Analyst (Student Wage) to support enterprise analytics and dashboard development.
    This is a hands-on opportunity to work with real institutional data, modern BI tools, and a production data warehouse environment. You’ll collaborate with experienced analysts and developers to build dashboards that support HR compliance, audit readiness, and workforce insights across the university. If you’re interested in applying your data skills in a real-world environment, this role offers practical, resume-ready experience. Assist in building and maintaining dashboards using BI tools (e.g., MicroStrategy, Power BI).  Support data validation, troubleshooting, and basic SQL/query development. Work with structured data from enterprise systems (e.g., Snowflake). Generate recurring and ad hoc reports for HR stakeholders. Assist in data cleaning, preparation, and documentation. Collaborate with senior analysts to improve reporting processes. Perform other data-related tasks as assigned. To apply, visit Handshake:https://app.joinhandshake.com/emp/jobs/11010381. Note:  You must be logged in to Handshake with your Virginia Tech credentials to view the posting.

    Funding Opportunities:

    None at this time

    Volunteers and Research Participants Sought 

    12. CALL FOR GRADUATE STUDENT PANELISTS – 1st posting
    The Graduate School is seeking students who are interested in serving as panelists for in-person and/or online events to provide the student perspective and share experiences on a wide variety of topics. You will be contacted when we need panelists, provided with information about the specific event/panel, and may choose to accept or decline the invitation. Please complete the interest form if you would like to be included in our pool of potential panelists: https://forms.office.com/r/8rpXmukZYN. Questions? Contact Lindsay Barron lbarron@vt.edu.

    13.  PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A RESEARCH STUDY ON TELEOPERATOR-HUMAN-ROBOT COLLABORATION (IRB-25-939) – 1st posting (1/2)
    The Occupational Ergonomics & Biomechanics Labs at Virginia Tech is seeking participants for a research study on Teleoperator-Human-Robot collaboration. aimed at investigating the effectiveness of different feedback conditions (e.g. visual, audio, and haptic) for teleoperators in dual-task scenarios. In this experiment, you will be recruited as a teleoperator and asked to perform pin insertion tasks in collaboration with a robot arm and an onsite worker (IRB 25-939).To participate in the study, you must be between 18-45 years old and have no major eye problems or hearing impairments. Study duration is up to 2.5 hours. Compensation will be $10/hour for your time. Location is Durham Hall 197. If you are interested, you can schedule a session using this link: https://calendly.com/sakshit/human-robot-collaboration.

    14. MULTIMODAL COGNITIVE LOAD ASSESSMENT DURING INDOOR WAYFINDING (1/2)
    This study investigates cognitive load during indoor wayfinding using wearable AR glasses. Participants will navigate indoor routes while completing an auditory n-back task. The glasses will record eye-tracking and first-person video data, and participants will complete workload surveys to help analyze how gaze behavior reflects mental demand. Participant qualifications: Be 18 years of age or older; Have normal vision or corrected-to-normal vision with contact lenses; Participants who are not familiar with the Gilbert Place indoor routes are preferred. Compensation: $10 in cash. For information on how to participate contact Lang Zhang langzhang@vt.edu.

    15. CAPTURING AND LOGGING ECOLOGICAL VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES AND REALITY (CLEVER) RESEARCH STUDY (1/2)
    CALL FOR VR GAMERS! Play Job Simulator for Research! The Extended Reality & Artificial Intelligence (Xrai) Lab at Virginia Tech is inviting you to participate in a research study focused on collecting virtual reality (VR) interaction data to demonstrate the capabilities of the CLOVR (Collecting and Logging OpenVR) toolkit. Eligible participants:
    • Are 18 to 64 years old,
    • Have 20/20 vision without or with contacts (glasses are not permitted during the study),
    • Can walk and use both hands,
    • Are willing to attend an approximately 90-minute in-person experimental session in Gilbert Place,
    • Are proficient in reading, writing, listening, and speaking English,
    • Are NOT pregnant,
    • Do NOT have pre-existing binocular vision abnormalities or psychiatric disorders,
    • Have NOT recently undergone any medical procedure (including cosmetic procedures), and
    • Do NOT suffer from a heart condition or other serious medical condition.
    Compensation:$25 Amazon gift card
    Complete the pre-screening survey here: https://forms.gle/Q5p7fLVULk6tBom38.

    16. PARTICIPANT NEEDED FOR EVALUATING PERFORMANCE OF A SMART WORK ZONE MONITORING SYSTEM – 1st posting
    We are seeking participants for a research study on investigating the performance of a smart work zone monitoring system that are designed to reduce the risk of collision in highway work zone (IRB-25-042). You will be asked to wear a safety helmet, respond to vibrotactile (vibration) signals from the helmet, and perform a brief memory task in the lab environment. Qualifications: Be 18 – 45 years old; Be able to walk without assistance. Compensation: $15/hour, up to $22.5 (1.5 hours). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xcet0pXp5oiHHBIpm9uXASzctiunMH0Q/view?usp=sharing.

    17. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A STUDY ON CYBER-ATTACK DETECTION IN AUTOMATED VEHICLES – 2nd posting
    The Mind Music and Machine Lab (Industrial and Systems Engineering department) at Virginia Tech is looking for participants for a research study on cyber-attack detection in automated vehicles.
    This study examines how different types of training influence people’s ability to recognize cyber-attacks and distinguish them from non-attack events while monitoring an automated vehicle.
    During the study, you will:
    • Receive one type of training related to cyber-attack detection
    • Take part in a simulated automated driving session
    • Observe vehicle interface information during the drive
    • Decide whether events are cyber-attacks or non-attacks
    • Complete brief questionnaires about your experience
    You may be eligible if you:
    • Are 18 years or older
    • Have a valid driver’s license
    • Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing
    • Fluent in English
    Compensation; $10 per hour (cash).
    To participate visit: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/GayoungBan1@VirginiaTech.onmicrosoft.com/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true.

    18. ACCEPTING 10 WOMEN FOR A HUMOR-WRITING INTERVENTION – 2nd posting
    WHAT DOES THE STUDY ENTAIL?
    -Join a six-week humor-based writing workshop where you will learn to use comedy, storytelling, and creative writing to find new meaning in your hardest life experiences.
    -Weekly 2-hour Zoom sessions Thursdays 5–7 PM with a small group of women who will
    learn real humor writing strategies used in stand-up, improv, and storytelling to reframe your inner stories on your own terms
    -Two lab visits at the Embodied Brain Lab (Center for Performing Arts VT) before and after the workshop where you will answer questions, play cognitive games, share stories, and have your brain activity recorded via EEG. Participant eligibility: Women, 18+, PTSD Diagnosis verified at pre-testing visit. Compensation $100. For more information contact Heather Winslow hmwinslow@vt.edu.

    19. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR EYE TRACKING AND USER PREFERENCE RESEARCH STUDY – 2nd posting
    This study is a controlled, task-based user study. Participants will wear the Apple Vision Pro and complete a predefined selection task involving four products, including cheese, juice, bread, and salt, choosing one of three options for each: healthy, hedonic, or organic in the virtual environment.
    This will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Participants need to be at least 18 years old, have conversational proficiency with written and spoken English, capable of performing basic arithmetic operations, and have normal vision (contact lenses are supported, glasses are not). Harris Amjad  harris98@vt.edu.

    20. SURVEY – GRADUATE STUDENT HEALTH & WELL-BEING WORK GROUP – BARRIERS TO ACCESS RESOURCES – 3rd posting
    The Graduate Student Health & Well-Being Working Group is convened to examine the unique structural, cultural, and environmental factors that influence the well-being of graduate students at Virginia Tech and to develop actionable, system-level recommendations that promote a culture where excellence and well-being coexist.  We are seeking input from graduate students to help guide this initiative. Your perspectives and lived experiences will play a vital role in shaping this work. The survey should not take more than a couple of minutes. Link to survey: https://forms.office.com/r/KF6UGYPYRp.

    Upcoming Events   

    21. FREE COMPUTING AND DATA WORKSHOPS
    Tuesday, May 26, 9am-4:30pm, In-person TLOS or Zoom
    Interested in improving your research data and computing skills before undertaking summer research? Join us for a series of interactive, hands-on workshops in May in Blacksburg or online. Workshops are 9am to 4:30pm with lunch and refreshments provided for in-person participants. The workshops are open to all VT community members. You do not need any experience with the software to participate, but you will need access to a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. Take the whole series of workshops or choose the ones that best fits your needs. Workshops offered: Intro to Python and JupyterLab (Mon, 18 May), Intro to R and RStudio (Fri, 22 May), and Intro to Unix and Git (Tue, 26 May). Register on the Library events page or through the Professional Development Network.https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/?query=carpentries.

    22. GRADUATE STUDENT;POSTDOC GAME NIGHT Q&A
    Friday, May 29, 6-9pm,The Inn at Virginia Tech
    Curious about the postdoc experience? The VT Postdoc Association and Graduate School invite graduate students and postdocs to meet, connect with, and ask questions of postdocs in a relaxed social setting.  
    The event will kick off with a Q&A session before transitioning into an evening of board games. Snacks and refreshments will be provided. Register here https://forms.office.com/r/hjyUubeEt0. Please contact William Hutton at wdh@vt.edu and Kamillah Kassam (kkassam@vt.edu) for any questions or concerns.

    23. SUMMER WRITING DROP- IN
    Friday, June 5, Monday, June 8, 9am-4pm, The Inn at Virginia Tech, will recur roughly once a week, future dates TBD
    Come join us this summer for Writing Drop-INNs at the Inn at Virginia Tech! Come enjoy continuing momentum and productivity with fellow graduate students and work at your own pace in a quiet, supportive environment. No registration is required!  Snacks and coffee will be provided during all sessions. A limited number of monitors will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis.
    Dates and time will vary but as of now we can provide the following dates with more information soon to follow.
    June 5th, 2026 – Room TBD soon
    June 8th, 2026 – Room TBD soon
    You can find more information https://graduateschool.vt.edu/professional-development/professional-development-series.html.  Please email William Hutton wdh@vt.edu  and Dr. Catherine Cotrupi cotrupi@vt.edu for any concerns or accommodations.