Researchers awarded $650K in seed grant funding

Competitive seed grants integrate faculty and broaden partnerships within Virginia Tech and beyond.
by Julie Shlisky

Ten interdisciplinary research teams from Virginia Tech have been awarded a total of $650,000 in seed grants through the 2026 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Integrated Seed Grant Program.

The program supports early-stage research collaborations across university disciplines and helps teams become more competitive for larger external grants. Seed funding was co-sponsored by Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Virginia Cooperative Extension, the College of Natural Resources and Environment, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, and the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. 

Proposals were selected based on how effectively they combined research with Extension outreach — a core requirement of the program. This year’s funding prioritized projects that addressed grand challenge areas outlined in the 2020 CALS Strategic Plan and involved collaborators from Extension, Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, and other colleges at Virginia Tech and Virginia State University.

In all, 10 of the 68 proposals submitted were funded. In addition to funds awarded from CALS, $80,000 in funding was leveraged from other Virginia Tech colleges and private industry.

Recipient highlights

Translating food waste-to-bioplastic research into commercialization for Virginia’s circular economy, PI: Zhiwu Wang, Biological Systems Engineering; Co-Investigators: Haibo Huang, Food Science & Technology; Yiming Feng, Virginia Seafood AREC; and Young Kim, College of Natural Resources and the Environment (CNRE). 

In addition to funding awarded from CALS, Wang’s team received matching funds from Dongsung Chemical Co., Ltd. and additional funding from CNRE.

AgriMind: A multi-modal AI framework for weather-robust and market-adaptive precision agriculture, PI: Jain Ni, Pamplin College of Business; Co-Investigators:  Zhenshan Chen, Agricultural and Applied Economics; Joseph Oakes, Eastern VA AREC; Abhilash Chandel, Tidewater AREC; Lecheng Zheng, Pamplin College of Business.

Broad spectrum bacteriophage-based biocontrol for crop pathogens, PI: Frank Aylward, College of Science; Co-Investigators: Bingyu Zhao and Yuan Zeng, both from School of Plant and Enviromental Sciences (SPES); and Ann Stevens and Zachary Barth, both from College of Science.

Transforming plant disease diagnosis in Virginia through generative AI and hyperspectral sensing, Co-PI: Song Li, SPES and Pinar Yanardag Delul, College of Engineering; Lina Rodriguez Salamanca, SPES.

Each of the preceding awardees had a PI from outside CALS — and each project received additional funding provided by their home colleges. Other funded projects included:

Economic implications of spotted lanternfly infestations and management in Virginia vineyards, PI: Micheal Cary, Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Evaluating spectral imaging and agricultural detection dogs as tools to identify pierce’s disease, PI: Erica Feuerbacher, School of Animal Sciences.

Soil health and environmental quality under biochar and biosolids applications, PI: Vijaya Chaganti, SPES.

Room to grow: how cow’s space and exercise shape calf success, PI: Rodrigo da Silva Marques, School of Animal Sciences.

Evaluation of deer depredation in soybeans, PI: Helene Doughty, Northampton Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Assessment of veterinary medicine extension needs in Virginia, PI: Margie Lee, Veterinary Medicine.

Congratulations to all the 2026 CALS Integrated Competitive Seed Grants Program recipients.

 

To learn more about this story, contact Julie Shlisky at juliesb@vt.edu.