Screenshot of an image of a drone hovering above corn stalks. The words "The future of farming" appear below.

The future of farming (VT Engineer Magazine)

Erica Corder Photo, Video, Writing Leave a Comment

The week that would change Terrie Webb’s life is one she doesn’t remember. In that week, the then-57-year-old orthodontist clinic admin from Prince George County, Virginia, was rushed from a doctor’s appointment about her swollen, purple hand straight into emergency surgery. Where her memory picks back up, she recalls being informed she’d suffered a blood clot that traveled to her …

Screenshot of a photo in which two men pose in front of solar panels in a field. The words "The transformers" are written on top of the image.

The transformers (VT Engineer Magazine)

Erica Corder Photo, Video, Writing Leave a Comment

Rob Wallace ’00 and Walter Barnes ’00 first met the summer before their freshman year at Virginia Tech, in 1996. Ask them to tell you how, and they both laugh. “He used to rollerblade,” Barnes says. “I still rollerblade,” Wallace interjects. “I went rollerblading last night.” “He still rollerblades,” Barnes says, laughing. “Which I thought was very odd.” That first …

Students in orange team polos smile on a stage while one woman holds a trophy.

Home of the future takes first place at international competition (VT News)

Erica Corder Photo, Social Media, Video, Writing Leave a Comment

After years of research and development contributed by over 100 Virginia Tech students and faculty, the FutureHAUS Dubai team has officially built the world’s best solar home. The lone American team earned a first-place victory over 14 other selected teams and more than 60 total entrants of the 2018 Solar Decathlon Middle East, a competition launched by the United States Department …

A screengrab of a video still featuring a young woman gesturing toward a house.

Facebook Live: Tour the FutureHAUS in Dubai

Erica Corder Social Media, Video Leave a Comment

While in Dubai covering the FutureHAUS Dubai team’s attendance at the Solar Decathlon Middle East, I hosted a Facebook Live tour of the house just before the beginning of the competition. The tour was met with enthusiasm and thousands of views, reaching over 44,000 people — far beyond the team’s followers (which, at the time, hovered under 1,000). Another Facebook …

Screenshot of a video still with a woman talking in the frame.

Facebook Live: Inside FutureHAUS at Virginia Tech

Erica Corder Social Media, Video Leave a Comment

  Welcome to the Virginia Tech FutureHAUS Dubai, an innovative, interdisciplinary, and ambitious project to design and build a futuristic, modular smart home. Students and faculty from the Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies and College of Engineering have been working nearly two years on the planning, design, and building of the home in anticipation of an international …

Two young men sit at a table and pose for a photo. On the table is a white mannequin head and neck, wearing a black helmet that looks like a baseball cap.

Engineering students take lifesaving concept to market with help from university environment and donors

Erica Corder Video, Writing Leave a Comment

A little seed money and a lot of advice goes a long way for a budding entrepreneur. Take it from the two Hokie engineering student founders of Park & Diamond, a young startup that makes collapsible, sleek bike helmets. After winning seven pitch competitions last year, many held by the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs, the company took off in a major way, earning …