Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Part of our Profiled Universities

Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 

Location: Blacksburg, VA, United States, North America 

Focus Area: Sustainable biomaterials; sustainable materials and resource systems 

Expertise: Sustainable biomaterials; sustainable materials and resource systems

Key Projects:

• Global Change Center (GCC) at Virginia Tech, which provides a framework for, and facilitates the interdisciplinary research and education needed to tackle the complex interactions of social, economic, and environmental systems via global change science. The mission of GCC is to advance scholarship and education to address critical global changes impacting the environment and society.

• Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS) which is part of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment the #1 ranked college of its type in the United States. The CLiGS mission is to educate, inspire, and empower sustainability professionals to create a better future for people and our planet.

• The Smart and Sustainable Cities Major (SSC) is one of the first majors of its kind in the United States. Students will gain a deep understanding of sustainable urban development and how smart technology and urban analytics can be combined to create solutions for the cities of the future.

Connect with:

Dr. Jennifer Russell - jdrussell@vt.edu Assistant Professor, Department of Sustainable Biomaterials

Find out more:

• REMADE Institute Project Award New Approaches to Improve Drinking Flotation to Increase the Availability of High-Quality, Low-Cost RecycleRecycleTransform a product or component into its basic materials or substances and reprocessing them into new materials. Paper Fibers.

• Creating a Repair Society (CREACE): Research collaboration between Virginia Tech and Lund University to enable leadership strategies for circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature., via repair, by amassing knowledge from around the world about the best policies and conditions for optimizing repair systems.

Our innovative approach to circular economy education and research starts with an undergraduate curriculum and learning experiences that ground students and faculty in tackling real world sustainability and circular economy issues. We believe this approach is scalable across Virginia Tech colleges and to other campuses, and look forward to collaborating with other campuses and organisations working towards circular economy higher education strategies.