Chris Smith

Postdoctoral Associate - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States Job Description A Postdoctoral Associate position is available in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA, USA) in the broad area of gas-phase photocatalysis. The pos...

Join @virginiatech.bsky.social as a #postdoc working on gas-phase photocatalysis. Background in spectroscopy & reaction kinetics is expected. Virginia Tech provides postdoc employees access to excellent benefits & a robust training environment. Apply by 3/13!
jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

A graphic shows Torgersen Bridge and reads "Virginia Tech generates $4.7 billion in economic impact across Virginia."

Virginia Tech’s impact is reaching new heights. 👏

Highlighted during yesterday's State of the University, Virginia Tech generated $4.7 billion in statewide economic impact in fiscal year 2025 according to a new report.

🔗: news.vt.edu/articles/2026/02/CM-State-of-University-2026

Virginia Tech generates $4.7 billion in economic impact across Virginia, new report shows President Tim Sands highlighted the findings during his annual State of the University Address on Wednesday.

Virginia Tech provides enormous value to the students & communities we serve. We also drive knowledge creation & new innovations that improve the lives of people across the state, country, & world. Our research enterprise alone generates $1.1 billion in economic impact.
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Postdoctoral Associates Explore how Virginia Tech supports postdoctoral associates through community, career development, and research opportunities across disciplines.

Postdoctoral associates at Virginia Tech have access to excellent employee benefits including matching retirement contributions & state-subsidized health insurance.
We also have a range of programs to support your training & professional development.
Learn more: www.research.vt.edu/about/postdo...

Postdoctoral Associate - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States Job Description The Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech invites applications for a Postdoctoral Associate in geothermal energy and subsurface geomechanics, working under the supervision of Ma...

Come to @vt-science.bsky.social to work w/ @shirzaei.bsky.social as a #postdoc investigating the coupled physics of fluid injection, poromechanical deformation, and earthquake nucleation in enhanced geothermal systems.
Apply by Feb. 22 for full consideration!
jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

Postdoctoral Associates Explore how Virginia Tech supports postdoctoral associates through community, career development, and research opportunities across disciplines.

Apply by March 9th!
Note that postdocs at Virginia Tech have access to excellent employee benefits including matching retirement plans and state subsidized health insurance.
Additionally, we provide a variety of programs & resources for postdocs here.
Learn more:
www.research.vt.edu/about/postdo...

Postdoctoral Associate - Forest Bioenergy, Environmental & Health Co-benefits - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States Job Description The Postdoctoral Associate will work on a research project examining the environmental, health, and economic co-benefits of forest-based bioenergy and sustainable forest utilization ...

Join Virginia Tech as a #postdoc focused on developing a modeling framework that links forest resource utilization, life-cycle emissions, air quality, public health outcomes, & economic valuation to support policy-relevant analysis and management strategies.
jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

What can honey bee brain chemistry teach us about human learning? A multi-institutional team of researchers led by Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC has for the first time identified specific patterns of brain chemical activity that predict...

What can honey bee brain chemistry teach us about human learning? Cool work from Dr. Read Montague's Lab @fralinbiomed.bsky.social in collaboration with Dr. Brian Smith at Arizona State University. news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Postdoctoral Associate - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States Job Description The Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Laboratory is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral associate to join a dynamic, multi-center, interdisciplinary team focused on developing a prog...

The Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Laboratory @vtengineering.bsky.social seeks a #postdoc to contribute to work focused on developing a prognostic model of second Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury risk.
Excellent salary & employee benefits. Apply by March 23!
jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

Postdoctoral Associate - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States Job Description Dr. Zhiwu (Drew) Wang’s research team at Virginia Tech invites applications from highly motivated candidates specializing in civil and environmental engineering, with a focus on adva...

#postdoc position working with Drew Wang @vtcals.bsky.social with a focus on advanced microplastic extraction, detection, and quantification technologies.
Excellent employee benefits & training environment.
Apply by Feb. 20 for full consideration.
jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

Both chambers of Congress have now passed the FY26 minibus with NIH provisions. The President will sign.

(1) $48.7 billion for NIH
(2) Full IDC recovery
(3) No more multi-year funding
(4) No NIH reorganization, maintaining the current IC structure.

Position comes with excellent employee benefits!
Learn more about the Smart Healthcare Hub Destination Area this position is affiliated with:
smarthealthcare.icat.vt.edu
And more on institutional programs & resources for #postdocs @virginiatech.bsky.social:
www.research.vt.edu/about/postdo...

Postdoctoral Associate in Human Factors & Systems Thinking for Healthcare Quality - Roanoke, Virginia, United States Job Description This postdoctoral associate position offers mentored research training in human factors, systems engineering, and health systems science. The fellowship provides an opportunity to ad...

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine seeks a #postdoc in Human Factors & Systems Thinking for Healthcare Quality who will work to understand & improve the socio-technical systems that shape healthcare quality, safety, & diagnostic performance. Apply by 2/13
jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

‘Be The People’ campaign wants to unite Americans to solve problems The 10-year initiative aims to change the perception that the U.S. is hopelessly divided and that individuals have little power to solve problems.

The "Be The People" campaign aspires to change the perception that the U.S. is hopelessly divided and wants to move people take action to solve problems in their communities.
www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

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And bookmark the link below to stay updated on all current postdoctoral associate openings at Virginia Tech:
bit.ly/vt-postdoc-o...

Postdoctoral Associates Explore how Virginia Tech supports postdoctoral associates through community, career development, and research opportunities across disciplines.

Postdocs at Virginia Tech receive excellent benefits including matching retirement contributions and state-subsidized health insurance.
Learn more about postdoc programming & resources at VT:
www.research.vt.edu/about/postdo...

Other postdoc openings include a position in the Soft Materials and Structures Lab working with Michael Bartlett and a position in Structural Wood Testing in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

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We have 5 new #postdoc openings @virginiatech.bsky.social
with application deadlines in Jan & Feb, including work looking at PFAS in water based in Manassas, VA, & 2 positions in the Marston Research Group @vtengineering.bsky.social.
List of all postdoc openings: bit.ly/vt-postdoc-o...

You can join me!
Download the #RedCrossBloodApp at 3cu.be/blood
A 20-minute blood donation every 56 days is a little thing for you as a donor but your donation makes a big difference! #givingback

Back in Fall 2024 I decided to do a little something to help others and make a difference in the world...become a consistent @americanredcross.bsky.social blood donor.
As of this week, I have donated 9 times (for a total of 1 gallon of blood), saving more than 8 lives.

Past, Present, Future: Reflections On Time Life Advice, Neuroscience, Personal Perspective

Today, on the Winter Solstice, we will have the fewest hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere. Two years ago I wrote this piece reflecting on our most precious resource - time - and how we can work to spend it better.
www.christophertsmith.com/reflections/...

New PET imaging breakthrough expands possibilities Chemist Wei Liu and his graduate student Chao Wang have found a new way to tag molecules to aid in PET scans, expanding tracer options and opening possibilities for earlier diagnoses and more precise ...

Very cool work from the Chemistry Department @vt-science.bsky.social and NIMH published @science.org that developed a new way to add fluorine-18 to trifluoromethyl groups, a part of a molecule found in many FDA-approved drugs. This work can make PET research easier.
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Just crossed the 1,000 lifetime citations count on Google Scholar.
When I started my Ph.D. journey back in Fall 2008 it would have been hard to imagine.
scholar.google.com/citations?us...

Details | Postdoctoral Associate | Careers | Division of Human Resources | Virginia Tech

The Xin Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering @vtengineering.bsky.social seeks a #postdoc to drive the development of agentic AI systems for accelerating computational catalysis and experimental design.
Apply by Jan. 2nd, 2026!
careers.pageuppeople.com/968/cw/en-us...

Details | Postdoctoral Associate | Careers | Division of Human Resources | Virginia Tech

The Kohl Center in the Dept of Agricultural and Applied Economics @vtcals.bsky.social seeks a #postdoc to work at the boundaries of data science/econometric methods and the social sciences.
Anticipated start date is May 2026. Apply by Dec 31st!
careers.pageuppeople.com/968/cw/en-us...

Interestingly, NCI saw an increase in new K99s awarded from 2024 to 2025 (39 to 64) and NIAID also issued more K99s year over year (18 to 30). NIGMS saw the number of new K99s it awarded drop from 37 in FY2024 to 24 in FY2025.

The number of new NIH K99 awards was 355 in fiscal year 2021, rose to 419 in FY 2023, and reached 324 in FY 2025.

For the "Pathway to Independence Award" (NIH K99) given to advanced postdocs looking to launch an independent faculty career in the coming years, total new K99s dropped ~13% from FY 2024 (n=372) to 2025 (n=324).

Virtually all NIH Institutes decreased the number of new NIH F32s awarded with NHLBI F32s dropping from 54 new awards in 2024 to 34 in 2025 (~37% decline). NIGMS awards fell from 48 in 2024 to 37 in 2025 (~23% decline). NIAID also saw a 23% decline (from 47 in 2024 to 36 in 2025).

The number of NIH F32 Awards (Postdoctoral Fellowships) funded each fiscal year has declined from 486 in 2021 to 232 in 2025.

As someone who supports postdocs I was curious what NIH funding of postdoctoral fellowships (F32) and career transition awards (K99) looked like over the past 5 federal fiscal years (Oct 1 - Sept 30) and found from NIH Reporter a drop of ~34% in the number of new F32s awarded from 2024 to 2025.

Faculty Job Market Collaboration A record of our team's research and funding.

Learn more about our ongoing work investigating the academic job market:
faculty-job-market-collab.org