Impact of COVID-19 on Graduate Student Research

Graduate Life Center. Photo / Hunain Shamsi

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Fatemah Ebrahim

The Sustainability, Technology, Infrastructure, and Learning Environments (STILE) research group, led by Dr. Frederick Paige in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, is one of the many research teams at Virginia Tech dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). The STILE research group includes a cadre of undergraduate and graduate student researchers who work at the forefront of innovation to serve communities through human-centered infrastructure development.

The advent of COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of normal life, particularly throughout the academic community, where educators and students alike have been adjusting to new teaching and learning methods while dealing with the plethora of emotional, physical, and economic challenges. And while the future is uncertain for all, the STILE researchers are doing their best to ensure that their research moves forward. This article focuses on the STILE research group, how COVID-19 is affecting their work, and explore positive outcomes and lessons learned during otherwise difficult times.

Photo submitted by Emma Todoroff

James Z. Boykin Ph.D. Candidate, Gates Millennium Scholar, and GEM Associate Blacksburg, VA

When contemplating the impacts of the pandemic on his work, James states, “In light of the new and evolving threats that exist within our society today, the need to protect people, systems, and infrastructures will always critical element of the design process.” James’ research surrounds the protective design industry and their current state of practice, whereby he interviews stakeholders and analyzes governing documents. James points out that the protective industry is most heavily governed by best practices and standards instead of regulatory codes. He hopes to address this gap within the literature by creating a database of all governing design documents, which can act as an educational tool for industry professionals and academics within the protective design industry.

Emma Coleman Todoroff Ph.D. Candidate, Via Fellow, and Myers-Lawson Fellow Blacksburg, VA

Emma brings a fresh lens to transportation planning strategies with a background in civil engineering and certifications in personal training. Her research examines how the built environment impacts population health with a focus on heart disease prevention. For Emma, the onset of COVID-19 has meant much more time spent behind a screen, limiting her daily activities and impacting her social interactions with fellow graduate students. Emma remains optimistic in the face of such difficulties stating, “although COVID-19 is an infectious disease, we have learned that the severity of this infectious disease is heavily influenced by the presence of chronic disease, like heart disease. I like to think that my work contributes to the fight against a chronic disease, which is now

also very important in the fight against COVID-19.”

Photo Submitted by James Boykin

Photo Submitted by Wendell Grinton

Dwayne Jefferson Ph.D. Candidate, GEM Associate Fellow, and New Horizon Graduate Scholar Blacksburg, VA - Richmond, VA - Henderson, NC

Although the pandemic and changes in class formats have Dwayne back and forth between different cities, he has still managed to move his research forward. Dwayne was well prepared to transition to data collection virtually, wherein he has begun to analyze user experiences of green building certification resources. Since the pandemic has us spending more time at home, one of the best ways to actively combat climate change is to encourage the adoption of green buildings. Through his research, Dwayne hopes to enhance the utility and user experience of building certification resources, which can ultimately increase the adoption of green buildings. His most recent studies have him working closely with EarthCraft Multifamily (ECMF), and he is interested in exploring other green building certifications for his upcoming studies.

Wendell Grinton Ph.D. Candidate, GEM Associate Fellow, and New Horizon Graduate Scholar Blacksburg, VA

With Wendell, resilience is the name of the game. He believes in the capabilities of neuroimaging to better enhance civil infrastructure messaging such as wireless emergency alerts (think Amber alerts) and energy feedback. The occurrence of natural disasters and pandemics is a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if,’ which emphasizes the importance of bouncing back after calamity strikes. To keep people safe and healthy, we need to align civil infrastructure messages with human responses better. And while the pandemic has hindered his ability to collect neuroimaging data, he plans to resume data collection as soon as it is safe to do so. Wendell contemplates the potentials of his work by stating, “my work can help people save energy and money on their energy bills, become safer drivers, and be better prepared with disasters or

pandemics such as COVID-19 when they occur.”

Photo submitted by Dwayne Jefferson

Photo submitted by Joseph James

Paige West Master of Science, Charlotte, NC

With academia at the forefront of concerns throughout the pandemic, research like Paige West’s is important. Paige hopes to improve online engineering courses by studying the utility of learning analytics, which includes student interactions with online course materials. One of Paige’s most recent findings is that contrary to the popular belief that students engage with online course content late into the night or in the early morning hours. Most of the interactions were, in fact, during working hours (2-4 P.M.). Paige contemplates the significance of her work throughout the pandemic saying, “Due to COVID-19, I believe more schools will realize the necessity for online courses. So, through my research, schools and instructors can learn how to better deliver online instruction to the same, if not better, level as traditional face-to-face instruction.”

Joseph James Ph.D. Candidate, Blacksburg, VA

Joseph James’ work is a testament to the age-old saying, “seeing is believing,” wherein he creates interactive visualization dashboards to increase energy data literacy in affordable housing. When contemplating the importance of energy literacy during the pandemic Joseph stated, “Energy data literacy is something that everyone can benefit from especially doing COVID since more people are staying home now they really need to see how energy is being consumed throughout their household to start to live a more energy-efficient life.” During the pandemic, Joseph had to make significant changes to his research design methods. But since his interests and skillset are vast, he was able to quickly navigate new waters and work on new research projects during the pandemic. Joseph was able to create a standalone outdoor solar-powered WiFi network and he hopes to continue to add valuable contributions to energy-efficiency and energy literacy through his ongoing research.

Photo submitted by Paige West