All Faculty Deposits

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/70873

The "All Faculty Deposits" collection contains works deposited by faculty and appointed delegates from the Elements (EFARs) system. For help with Elements, see Frequently Asked Questions on the Provost's website. In general, items can only be deposited if the item is a scholarly article that is covered by Virginia Tech's open access policy, or the item is openly licensed or in the public domain, or the item is permitted to be posted online under the journal/publisher policy, or the depositor owns the copyright. See Right to Deposit on the VTechWorks Help page. If you have questions email us at vtechworks@vt.edu.

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Urban Forest Management Plan: George Washington Memorial Parkway, Washington, D. C.
Heavers, Nathan; Kelsch, Paul J.; Wiseman, P. Eric (2024-12)
This report examines the urban forest of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) and recommends management strategies and solutions to sustain the forest’s ecological integrity, its cultural significance, its recreational use, and its designed beauty. The GWMP urban forest is comprised of natural remnant woodlands and designed landscapes that extend along the parkway corridor, parallel to the Potomac River. This report specifically studies National Park Service (NPS) lands on the Virginia side of the river from the American Legion Bridge to Mount Vernon.
Climate change adaptation and adaptive efficacy in the inland fisheries of the Lake Victoria basin
Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Musinguzi, Laban; Ogutu-Ohwayo, Richard; Natugonza, Vianny; Cooke, Steven J.; Young, Nathan; Chapman, Lauren J. (Wiley, 2022-10)
Inland fisheries support the livelihoods of millions of people in riparian communities worldwide but are influenced by increasing climate variability and change. Freshwater fishing societies are among the most vulnerable to climate change given their dependence on highly threatened aquatic resources. As climate change intensifies, building adaptive capacity within communities and understanding the efficacy of adaptive strategies for maintaining household stability is essential for coping with ongoing social and environmental change. In this study, we examined household perceptions of climate change, livelihood impacts and responses to socio-ecological changes in fishing-dependent households in the Lake Victoria basin in Uganda, East Africa. Through a series of household surveys and focus group discussions in five fish landing sites, we assessed social adaptive capacity (SAC) based on 207 households and identified adaptive strategies that are effective for coping with climatic change. We found that people in fishing households are aware of environmental change but that most households do not have adaptive strategies that are efficacious for securing long-term income and food security. We also investigated household demographics that contribute to SAC, examined links between SAC and adaptive efficacy and established potential routes towards developing effective adaptive approaches in small-scale fisheries. This work contributes to a growing foundation of documented community-based knowledge for building adaptive capacity in inland fisheries and the communities around the world that depend on them. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Overturning stereotypes: The fuzzy boundary between recreational and subsistence inland fisheries
Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Embke, Holly S.; Robertson, Ashley M.; Arlinghaus, Robert; Bower, Shannon; Baigun, Claudio; Beard, Douglas; Cooke, Steven J.; Cowx, Ian G.; Koehn, John D.; Lyach, Roman; Milardi, Marco; Potts, Warren; Lynch, Abigail J. (Wiley, 2022-11)
Inland recreational fisheries provide numerous socio-economic benefits to fishers, families and communities. Recreationally harvested fish are also frequently consumed and may provide affordable and sustainable but undervalued contributions to human nutrition. Quantifying the degree to which recreationally harvested fish contribute to food security and subsistence is impeded by lack of data on harvest and consumption and by the difficulty in differentiating among recreational and subsistence fisheries. Recreational harvest records tend to be limited to wealthy, food-secure countries and well-monitored fisheries with clear regulations or permitting systems. These records often neglect components of recreational harvest among food-insecure fishers who are potentially more likely to have consumption as a motivation. Here, we highlight the ‘fuzzy boundary’ that can exist between inland recreational and subsistence fisheries and argue that unreported consumption is likely to be a hidden contributor to food security in some populations. We draw on local case studies from around the world to highlight specific instances where recreationally harvested fish species contribute food and subsistence benefits to participating communities. We use these examples to highlight the diversity of ways that inland recreational fisheries contribute to human nutrition, knowledge gaps in understanding recreational fishing for food, and consequences of not accounting for them as food fisheries in policy and management. The aim of this paper is to draw the attention of resource managers and policy makers, create greater social awareness of the importance of recreational fisheries and bring to light this hidden contribution of inland fisheries to nutrition and subsistence.
Towards vibrant fish populations and sustainable fisheries that benefit all: learning from the last 30 years to inform the next 30 years
Cooke, Steven J.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.; Sauer, Warwick H. H.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Link, Jason S.; Koning, Aaron A.; Jena, Joykrushna; Silva, Luiz G. M.; King, Alison J.; Kelly, Rachel; Osborne, Matthew; Nakamura, Julia; Preece, Ann L.; Hagiwara, Atsushi; Forsberg, Kerstin; Kellner, Julie B.; Coscia, Ilaria; Helyar, Sarah; Barange, Manuel; Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Williams, Meryl J.; Chuenpagdee, Ratana; Begg, Gavin A.; Gillanders, Bronwyn M. (Springer, 2023-06)
A common goal among fisheries science professionals, stakeholders, and rights holders is to ensure the persistence and resilience of vibrant fish populations and sustainable, equitable fisheries in diverse aquatic ecosystems, from small headwater streams to offshore pelagic waters. Achieving this goal requires a complex intersection of science and management, and a recognition of the interconnections among people, place, and fish that govern these tightly coupled socioecological and sociotechnical systems. The World Fisheries Congress (WFC) convenes every four years and provides a unique global forum to debate and discuss threats, issues, and opportunities facing fish populations and fisheries. The 2021 WFC meeting, hosted remotely in Adelaide, Australia, marked the 30th year since the first meeting was held in Athens, Greece, and provided an opportunity to reflect on progress made in the past 30 years and provide guidance for the future. We assembled a diverse team of individuals involved with the Adelaide WFC and reflected on the major challenges that faced fish and fisheries over the past 30 years, discussed progress toward overcoming those challenges, and then used themes that emerged during the Congress to identify issues and opportunities to improve sustainability in the world's fisheries for the next 30 years. Key future needs and opportunities identified include: rethinking fisheries management systems and modelling approaches, modernizing and integrating assessment and information systems, being responsive and flexible in addressing persistent and emerging threats to fish and fisheries, mainstreaming the human dimension of fisheries, rethinking governance, policy and compliance, and achieving equity and inclusion in fisheries. We also identified a number of cross-cutting themes including better understanding the role of fish as nutrition in a hungry world, adapting to climate change, embracing transdisciplinarity, respecting Indigenous knowledge systems, thinking ahead with foresight science, and working together across scales. By reflecting on the past and thinking about the future, we aim to provide guidance for achieving our mutual goal of sustaining vibrant fish populations and sustainable fisheries that benefit all. We hope that this prospective thinking can serve as a guide to (i) assess progress towards achieving this lofty goal and (ii) refine our path with input from new and emerging voices and approaches in fisheries science, management, and stewardship.
On embracing the concept of becoming environmental problem solvers: the trainee perspective on key elements of success, essential skills, and mindset
Gale, A. P.; Chapman, J. O.; White, D. E.; Ahluwalia, P.; Williamson, A. K. J.; Peacock, K. R.; Akagbosu, R.; Lepine, T. M.; Arizor, I.; Bone, L. A.; Brown, J.; Fahrngruber, A. M.; Goldberg-Flood, A.; Kovirineni, S.; Lamb-Laurin, S. J.; Zia, N.; Innocent, S.; Lee, W.; Moran, G.; Nwasoria, B.; Ouellette, N. A.; Pendlebury, R.; Prue, A.; Sokolowski, J.; Namutosi, P.; Tesfay, T.; Oliver, M. C. M.; Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Cooke, S. J. (Canadian Science Publishing, 2022-01-01)
Life in the Anthropocene is characterized by many environmental problems, and unfortunately, more continue to emerge. Although much effort is focused on identifying problems, this does not necessarily translate to solutions. This situation extends to the training environment, where students are often adept at understanding and dissecting problems but are rarely explicitly equipped with the skills and mindset to solve them. Herein, a group of undergraduate students and their instructors consider the concept of becoming environmental problem solvers. We first identified themes associated with historical and contemporary environmental successes that emerged from our reading, or more specifically, we identify the elements that underlie environmental success stories. The key elements of success involved setting clear objectives, identifying the scale of the problem, learning from failure, and consulting diverse knowledge sources. Next, we reflected on the skills and mindset that would best serve environmental problem solvers and enable future successes. Essential skills include innovative and critical thinking, ability to engage in collaborative teamwork, capacity to work across boundaries, and resilience. In terms of mindset, key attributes include the need for courage, enthusiasm and commitment, optimism, open mindedness, tenacity, and adaptability. We conclude with a brief discussion of ideas for revising training and curriculum to ensure that students are equipped with the aforementioned skills and mindset. The ideas shared here should contribute to ensuring that the next generation of learners have the ability to develop solutions that will work for the benefit of the environment, biodiversity, and humanity. Solving environmental problems will increasingly fall to the next generation, so it is time to ensure that they are prepared for that task.
Global recreational consumption of non-native inland fish: higher economic benefits, but lower nutritional value and climate resilience
Milardi, Marco; Wood, Louisa E.; Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Embke, Holly S.; Phang, Sui C.; Lynch, Abigail J. (Elsevier, 2025-11-20)
Inland recreational fisheries are globally significant leisure pursuits, with well-documented benefits to human health and well-being, but also one of the principal drivers of non-native fish introductions to enhance fishing opportunities, whether for sport or sustenance. In this study, we assess the relative reliance of global inland recreational fisheries on non-native versus native species for harvest. We further examine how this reliance varies by economic and nutritional value as well as the climate vulnerability of the species involved. We demonstrate that, of the 1,325,851 t of inland recreational fishes recreationally harvested for consumption worldwide in 2021, non-native fish were a small proportion (4 %; 53,651 t). On a global scale, non-native fish contributed a net positive 38.2 % economic value to inland recreational harvest. However, they also contributed a net negative −21.9 % nutritional value to inland recreational harvest. Non-native fishes were also more climate vulnerable (i.e., higher average climate vulnerability index values) and thus proportionally increased overall estimates of climate vulnerability with a net positive of 70.9 %. Our results quantitatively demonstrate that non-native species play a more important role in inland consumptive recreational fisheries than their mere harvest volume would suggest. However, many nuances were seen on the continent and country scale, which reflect the complexity of fisher behavior, fish distribution and socio-economic factors. Our findings help unravel the complex effects of non-native species on human activities and underscore the need to evaluate their global impacts holistically.
Managing exploitation of freshwater species and aggregates to protect and restore freshwater biodiversity
Cooke, Steven J.; Piczak, Morgan L.; Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Michalski, Fernanda; Bennett, Abigail; Koning, Aaron A.; Hughes, Kathy A.; Chen, Yushun; Wu, Jinming; Cowx, Ian G.; Koehnken, Lois; Raghavan, Rajeev; Pompeu, Paulo S.; Phang, Sui; Valbo-Jorgensen, John; Bendixen, Mette; Torres, Aurora; Getahun, Abebe; Kondolf, G. Mathias; Acreman, Michael C.; Song, Andrew M.; Taylor, William W. (Canadian Science Publishing, 2024-09)
For millennia humans have extracted biological and physical resources from the planet to sustain societies and enable the development of technology and infrastructure. Growth in the human population and changing consumption patterns have increased the human footprint on ecosystems and their biodiversity, including in fresh waters. Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity face many threats and it is now widely accepted that we are in a biodiversity crisis. One means of protecting and restoring freshwater biodiversity is to better manage the exploitation of freshwater biota and aggregate resources (e.g., sand, gravel, and boulders). Here we outline the threats arising from such exploitation and identify response options to ensure that methods and levels of extraction are sustainable and allow recovery of over-exploited freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems. The guidance we provide will enable practitioners, policy-makers, and resource stewards to embrace effective, sustainable, and evidence-based approaches to resource extraction. Response options for managing species exploitation include strengthening assessment and reporting, using science-based approaches to reduce overexploitation and support recovery, embracing community engagement, and building or tightening legislation. Response options for managing exploitation of freshwater aggregate resources include reducing demand for harvest, strengthening governance, reporting, and monitoring of environmental impacts, and promoting the restoration of degraded ecosystems or compensating for losses. Diverse case studies highlight examples of where various management actions have been implemented in an effort to consider how they can be scaled up and adapted to other contexts. Managing exploitation will be a key aspect of broader initiatives needed to protect and restore freshwater biodiversity around the globe.
A Nonlinear MPC Framework for Loco-Manipulation of Quadrupedal Robots With Non-Negligible Manipulator Dynamics
Sambhus, Ruturaj S.; Mehta, Kapi Ketan; Sadeghi, Ali MirMohammad; Imran, Basit Muhammad; Kim, Jeeseop; Chunawala, Taizoon; Pastore, Vittorio; Vijayan, Sujith; Hamed, Kaveh Akbari (IEEE, 2026-01)
Model predictive control (MPC) with reduced-order template models has proven effective for dynamic legged locomotion, but loco-manipulation introduces additional complexity requiring efficient algorithms for high-degree-of-freedom (DoF) systems. This letter presents a computationally efficient nonlinear MPC (NMPC) framework tailored for loco-manipulation tasks of quadrupedal robots equipped with robotic manipulators whose dynamics are non-negligible relative to those of the quadruped. The proposed framework adopts a decomposition strategy that couples locomotion template models—such as the single rigid body model—with a full-order dynamic model of the robotic manipulator for torque-level control. This decomposition enables efficient real-time solution of the NMPC problem in a receding horizon fashion. The optimal state and input trajectories generated by the NMPC for locomotion are tracked by a low-level nonlinear whole-body controller, while the optimal torque commands for the manipulator are directly applied. The layered control architecture is validated through extensive numerical simulations and hardware experiments on a 15-kg Go2 quadrupedal robot augmented with a 4.4-kg 4-DoF Kinova arm. Given that the Kinova arm dynamics are non-negligible relative to the Go2 base, the proposed NMPC framework demonstrates robust stability in performing diverse loco-manipulation tasks, effectively handling external disturbances, payload variations, and uneven terrain.
An Open-Source Framework to Design, Tune, and Fly Nonlinear Control Systems for Autonomous UAVs
Gramuglia, Mattia; Kumar, Giri Mugundan; Orlando, Giorgio A.; L’Afflitto, Andrea (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2025-01)
This paper introduces a freeware open-source software ecosystem to design, tune, and test control systems for autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) multi-rotor uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as quadcopters and quad-biplanes. This environment comprises C++-coded flight stacks with a suite of control systems, a high-fidelity simulator that allows model-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop tests, computer-aided design (CAD) models of UAVs, and a website for a broad overview of this project. This ecosystem aims to serve as a common platform for the aerospace control community and ease comparative analyses for control design techniques produced by multiple research groups.
A model-based deep-learning approach to reconstructing the highly articulated flight kinematics of bats
Hu, Yihao; Nnoka, Chi; Mueller, Rolf (Wiley, 2025-04-01)
Bats are capable of highly dexterous flight maneuvers that rely heavily on highly articulated hand skeletons and malleable wing membranes. To understand the underlying mechanisms, large amounts of detailed data on bat flight kinematics are required. Conventional methods to obtain these data have been based on tracing landmarks and require substantial manual effort. To generate 3D reconstructions of the entire geometry of a flying bat in a fully automated fashion, the current work has developed an approach where the pose of a trainable articulated mesh template that is based on the bat's anatomy is optimized to fit a set of binary silhouettes representing views from different directions of the flying bat. This is followed by post-processing to smooth the reconstructed kinematics and simulate the non-rigid motion of the wing membranes. To evaluate the method, 10 flight sequences that represent several flight maneuvers (e.g., straight flight, takeoff, u-turn) and were recorded in a flight tunnel instrumented with 50 synchronized cameras have been reconstructed. A total of 4975 reconstructions are generated in this fashion and subject to qualitative and quantitative evaluations with promising results. The reconstructions are to be used for quantitative analyses of the maneuvering kinematics and the associated aerodynamics.
Pressure-induced circumferential and longitudinal deformations of tracheal tubes in the American cockroach
Webster, Matthew R.; Wijeratne, Roshelle S.; Socha, John J.; De Vita, Raffaella (Company of Biologists, 2025-12)
Insects exchange gases through a complex internal network of tubes known as tracheae, which deliver oxygen directly to tissues and remove carbon dioxide. In some species, these tracheal tubes undergo active compression, periodically collapsing and reinflating to facilitate internal airflow. The mechanical behavior of the tracheal system is governed by its structural design, which in turn influences its physiological role in respiration. Despite the critical importance of tracheal material properties in insect respiratory function, there are relatively few published studies that characterize their uniaxial tensile behavior. In this study, we present new experimental methods for measuring the pressure-induced biaxial deformations of tracheal tubes isolated from the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana). To this end, an inflation-extension testing device was built to subject tracheae to increasing internal pressures (0-6 kPa) and axial displacements (0-0.2 mm). Local circumferential and longitudinal stretches were quantified using non-contact strain measurement techniques. In most cases, circumferential stretches increased nonlinearly with applied pressure at any axial displacements, whereas longitudinal stretches changed minimally. This behavior likely reflects the combined influence of structural anisotropy, mechanical coupling and geometric constraints. The observed deformations highlight the mechanical sophistication of insect tracheae. They underscore the importance of integrating geometry and microstructure to understand how these structures resist collapse, enable gas exchange and adapt to mechanical demands.
Housing Needs Assessment for the State of West Virginia 2025
(West Virginia Housing Development Fund, 2025-12)
This report offers an in-depth analysis of West Virginia’s regional housing markets as defined by the state’s 11 Planning and Development Councils. Using a mixed methods approach that combines public and proprietary data from secondary sources with the experiences and insights of local housing stakeholders, it provides the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, state and local policy makers, and housing advocates with a comprehensive view of the state’s housing landscape including demographics, housing quality, and housing availability and unmet need at the county, region and state levels. It is designed to support more creative thinking and stronger collaboration at the state, regional and local levels as West Virginia works to address its most pressing housing needs.
Shenandoah + Woodstock 2025 Housing Study
Jones, Mel; Raymond, Ainsley; Darby, Anne; Stapor, Michael; Teeples, Will (2025-12-04)
Presentation of the Shenandoah County and Woodstock Housing Study to County Board and Planning Commission and residents.
Deed Fraud Study Final Report: Prepared in Response to Virginia Senate Bill 1270, 2025 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly
Jones, Mel; Raymond, Ainsley; Clower, Terry; Knopf, Jonathan; Dougherty, Maria (Virginia General Assembly, 2025-11-01)
Housing Data for Small and Rural Places
Jones, Mel (2025-05-28)
Housing in the Shenandoah Valley: Affordability and Production to Support the Current and Future Workforce
(Shenandoah Valley Partnership, 2025-07)
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP) engaged the Virginia Center for Housing Research (VCHR) at Virginia Tech to report housing market conditions in the Shenandoah Valley, specifically the Harrisonburg and Staunton metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). SVP specifically requested evidence of housing needs among workers and information about development costs that incorporated both data and developer perspectives. In addition to this data and analysis, SVP requested general information about public-private partnerships for housing. Therefore, VCHR has offered a broad overview of potential partnership, as well as some targeted information based on SVP’s mission and capacity. As such, VCHR has included information about employer-assisted housing, especially those initiatives that address housing supply. In the final section of this report, VCHR has offered recommendations for SVP to promote adequate, attainable, affordable housing for Shenandoah Valley workers. These recommendations are rooted in market conditions, housing needs, and employer and developer feedback, as well as SVP’s capabilities.
Severing Work: A Hauntology
Metz, Walter (2025-09-27)
Dan Erickson’s television drama, Severance (Apple TV, 2022-present) offers a fertile site for interrogating spectral metaphors of identity within narrative film and television. Characters opt for brain surgery such that they may go to work, but then not remember their toil once their day has concluded. The Lumon corporation uncouples public workers from their private selves, marketing the process as a way of promoting a better work/family balance within the early 21st century neoliberal economy.
Central Shenandoah Regional Housing Study: Technical Report
(Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission, 2025-01)
Applications of land value taxation to problems of environmental protection, congestion, efficient resource use, population, and economic growth
Tideman, Nicolaus (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1998)
When economists think about the contribution that land value taxation might make to economic performance, they are likely to think in terms of property tax reform. If taxes on structures are reduced or eliminated, one can expect that more structures will be built, and cities will be taller, more compact and more efficient. But more efficient cities are only the beginning of the contribution that land value taxation can make to improving economic performance. Land value taxation can be generalized to the principle that people should pay for all of their appropriations of natural opportunities, according to the opportunity costs of those appropriations, and the resulting revenue should be shared equally. There are important applications of this principle to questions of environmental protection, relieving congestion, efficient resource use, population growth, and general economic growth. This paper discusses these more varied applications of the generalized principle of land value taxation. The paper begins with a discussion of the justifications of land value taxation. It then applies land value taxation successively to problems of environmental protection, congestion, efficient use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, and population growth. Then it discusses the contribution of land value taxation to economic growth, and an estimate of the magnitude of that contribution.
Urban and Community Forestry Economic Contribution in California in 2021
Parajuli, Rajan; Wiseman, P. Eric; Christensen, Brittany (2024-12-09)
Final presentation to sponsors and stakeholder about research conducted by multi-university team.

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