VTechWorks
VTechWorks provides global access to Virginia Tech scholarship, including journal articles, books, theses, dissertations, conference papers, slide presentations, technical reports, working papers, administrative documents, videos, images, and more by faculty, students, and staff. Faculty can deposit items to VTechWorks from Elements, including journal articles covered by the University open access policy. Email vtechworks@vt.edu for help.
Open Access Policy
Virginia Tech's open access policy enables researchers to deposit the accepted version of scholarly articles with no embargo.
Theses and Dissertations
Virginia Tech was first in the world to require ETDs in 1997, and continues to add scans of older theses and dissertations.
Open Textbooks
More than 50 freely available and openly licensed textbooks are among our most downloaded items.
Communities in VTechWorks
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Nanostructured Adsorbents for Selective Lithium Recovery: Mechanisms, Fabrication, Performance Evaluation, and Applications in Desalination
Pan, Yanan (Virginia Tech, 2026-05-05)
The growing demand for lithium in energy storage systems necessitates the development of selective and scalable extraction technologies, particularly from complex saline water resources. This dissertation systematically investigates nanostructured Lithium/Aluminum-layered double hydroxide (Li/Al-LDH)–based adsorbents through mechanistic modulation, structural engineering, and process integration to enhance lithium recovery performance.
Poly(acrylic acid)-modified LDH (PAA@LDH) was first developed to regulate surface electronic density and interfacial charge distribution. Under optimized conditions (2.5 wt% PAA, 333 K), the lithium adsorption capacity increased from 2.08 mg/g to 3.41 mg/g in low-concentration produced water, with rapid equilibrium achieved within 40 min. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed enhanced electron cloud density and reduced equipotential charge, confirming a charge-transfer-driven adsorption mechanism.
To overcome diffusion limitations of powder adsorbents, electrospun lithium porous nanosorbent fibers (Li-PNFs) were fabricated by embedding LDH into a polyacrylonitrile matrix. The optimized fibers exhibited a uniform diameter of approximately 546 nm, tensile strength of 2.48 MPa, and yield stress of 0.09 MPa, ensuring mechanical robustness. The hierarchical porous structure enabled a significantly enhanced static lithium adsorption capacity of 13.45 mg/g, reaching equilibrium within 60 min. DFT analysis further revealed strong Li⁺ binding energy of up to -5.72 eV, indicating favorable adsorption thermodynamics.
To bridge material performance with scalable operation, a continuous fixed-bed system was implemented. Under optimized conditions, the Li-PNFs achieved a lithium capture efficiency of 23.83% in a single-pass continuous experiment. Breakthrough behavior was successfully predicted using the Clark and Thomas models, demonstrating reliable dynamic adsorption modeling.
Finally, a dual-functional MoS2–LDH@Sponge composite was developed to integrate photothermal evaporation with lithium-selective adsorption. The bilayer architecture achieved broadband light absorption (>97%) and demonstrated a dynamic hydration-controlled adsorption mechanism. Photothermal stimulation initially enhanced ion transport and interfacial evaporation, followed by hydration-shell restructuring that modulated lithium mobility. This work establishes a multi-scale framework that couples electronic modulation, nanoscale architecture, continuous process engineering, and solar-driven energy input for sustainable lithium recovery.
Does women’s empowerment mediate household food insecurity in the event of shocks? Evidence from Ethiopia
Doss, Cheryl R. (Virginia Tech, 2026-04-23)
We examine the role of women’s empowerment in mitigating the impact of shocks on household food insecurity in rural Oromia, Ethiopia. Using panel data from 2016 and 2019, we categorize households based on women’s and men’s empowerment, as measured by the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI), and analyze the effects of agricultural, price, and health shocks. Our findings show that shocks, particularly price-related ones, increase food insecurity, but households where the woman is empowered are less likely to experience worsening food insecurity. Women’s autonomy in income, social networks, and diverse coping strategies appear as key factors in building resilience. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting that gendered empowerment dynamics are crucial in understanding households’ resilience to food insecurity. Our results highlight the protective role of women’s empowerment in the event of shocks and underscores the need for gender-sensitive approaches in food security policy.
Does Stadium Construction Drive Surrounding Urban Development? Evidence from Spatiotemporal Impacts of Large-Scale Stadiums in China
Jin, Shuqi (Virginia Tech, 2026-05-04)
Existing research on the urban impacts of stadium construction has been predominantly shaped by cost-benefit frameworks in Western contexts. In China, however, stadium construction is deployed as part of state-led development packages as strategic instruments for inter-city competition and spatial restructuring. Whether this approach generates sustained spatial effects in surrounding areas remains unclear. This study analyzes 153 large-scale stadiums (≥15,000 seats or ≥15 ha) completed between 2004 and 2019 across Chinese cities, using a spatiotemporal panel dataset and an interrupted time series (ITS) model to assess changes in urban development intensity within 5 km buffers. We find that development intensity rises sharply in the period immediately after stadium completion—plus a one-time bump in the year of the first major sporting event—but does not produce a sustained change in the longer-run post-completion growth trajectory. The effect is significantly stronger in sub-provincial and provincial capital cities, while distance to the city center and built environment quality do not significantly moderate the outcome. These results suggest that stadium-related development gains are shaped by the coordination capacity embedded in administrative hierarchy rather than by localized spatial conditions, highlighting a fundamental asymmetry between the replicability of development templates and the institutional capacity required to translate them into sustained spatial outcomes.
MIA: The Lost Narratives of Black Vietnam Veterans
Hodges, Eric (Veterans Studies Association, 2026-03-28)
This presentation traces the lives of four Black Vietnam Veterans who were denied access to public education and then were drafted into the Vietnam War. The presentation considers topics such as patriotism, racism during military service, and the homecoming experience.
Relationally Distributed Service (RDS): Remembering the Forgotten Supporters in Higher Education and Veterans Studies
Henderson, Latosha R. (Veterans Studies Association, 2026-03-28)
Military spouses play a critical yet overlooked role in sustaining military service, often subordinating their own educational and career goals to support their partners and the broader mission. Despite their contributions, they remain largely invisible within higher education and policy discourse. This presentation introduces distributed service, a conceptual framework that extends James Spillane’s theory of distributed leadership to illuminate how spouses’ labor is enacted across relationships, institutions, and everyday routines. Drawing on Lewis A. Coser’s concept of greedy institutions, the framework highlights how spouses absorb structural demands that enable service members’ full participation. Using qualitative data from interviews with 16 military spouses, this session centers their narratives to reveal how mobility, caregiving, and institutional barriers shape disrupted educational pathways and diminished belonging. In alignment with the Veterans in Society 2026 theme, the presentation calls for reframing military service to formally recognize spouses’ contributions and advance more equitable higher education policies.