Inside IALR

What is Industry 4.0? It involves interconnected machines and data analysis capabilities, and it's what allows three robots to utilize two CNC machines and several other tools and processes to convert a piece of raw material into a finished packaged product without any human involvement inside IALR's Industry 4.0 Integration Lab.  The "Inside IALR" team is on location inside th...

The "Inside IALR" team highlights the support services that help keep IALR running: Facilities Maintenance & Information Technology (IT). This unique (and fun) episode features an engaging conversation with two long-tenured employees, Stewart East, Manager of Facilities Maintenance, and Tim Kruggel, Director of IT. They discuss how, over the years, these two separate departments have...

The average piece of clothing in the U.S. is now worn just seven times, and worldwide, less than 1% of textile waste gets recycled back into textiles. This special episode of "Inside IALR" features an interview with Iulian Bobe, Co-Founder and Advisor for Circ - a circular fashion company that IALR has supported throughout its lifecycle with a variety of analytical testing services and l...

"GO Virginia Region 3 and IALR are well poised to be the leader in the Commonwealth for Controlled Environment Agriculture. " - Ellie Travis, Senior Economic Development Specialist, Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement This episode of "Inside IALR" features a roundtable conversation with several leaders involved in the recent creation of a controlled envir...

The "Inside IALR" team is joined by two energetic leaders:  Danville Community College President Dr. Jerry Wallace and IALR President Telly Tucker. In their conversation, they discuss the strategic, diverse partnership between DCC and IALR, how each organization enhances each other's work and the critical roles that we play in economic development initiatives, workforce training and...

The "Inside IALR" team highlights the Expanding Talent through Registered Apprenticeship (ExTRA) program and how it supports Southern Virginia employers in exploring and establishing registered apprenticeship programs with the Virginia Department of Labor & Industry. This special edition episode features a conversation with IALR Advanced Learning Apprenticeship Coordinator Natori Nea...

The tenth episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program. First, ATDM Director Dr. Debra Holley (00:09) provides an overview of the ATDM program based at IALR, highlighting why this is a unique training opportunity. She explains the significance of this program and outlines how it will scale to graduate 800-1000 students annually by 2025. Then...

The "Inside IALR" team highlights the impact of the recent Career ChoICE Youth Expo events in Farmville and Chatham. This special edition episode features a conversation with IALR Advanced Learning Program Manager Jessie Vernon, Janet Davis of Danville Utilities and Karen Oakes from Averett University School of Nursing. They each give insight into their organization's participation...

The eighth episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on the recent Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East event. This special edition episode features interviews with Virginia Secretary of Forestry and Agriculture Matthew Lohr (2:11), IALR's Dr. Scott Lowman (9:05), AeroFarms' Guy Blanchard (21:49), Virginia Tech's Dr. Kaylee South (30:34), Indoor Ag-Con's Brian Sullivan (...

The seventh episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on the Institute Conference Center (ICC) with Leslie Dobbins, Vice President of the ICC. Boasting dynamic, flexible spaces, the ICC can support events of all types and sizes, ranging from a single meeting with a handful of people to a multi-day conference with hundreds of people. Other services included wrap-around support amenities like catering, techn...

The sixth episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on two AmeriCorps programs facilitated by our Advanced Learning division: the Dan River Year and REACH programs. Advanced Learning Program Manager, Dana Silicki, provides insight on what AmeriCorps is, the background on IALR's involvement with AmeriCorps, what these programs set out to accomplish, and their impact on the community and program members...

The fifth episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on economic development with Linda Green, Vice President, Economic Development and Executive Director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance (SVRA). She defines economic development, emphasizing that it is not a simple, short-term or one-size-fits-all approach. Linda shares how her team works to recruit companies and promote growth for existing indust...

The fourth episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on some of the research offered by the Applied Research division with Dr. Scott Lowman, Vice President, Applied Research. Along with the overview, Dr. Lowman gives an in-depth view of the Virginia Tech-IALR Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Innovation Center, the CEA Summit East and the growth of the CEA industry in Virginia and around the world. ...

The third episode of “Inside IALR” focuses on some of the programs offered by the Manufacturing Advancement division with Todd Yeatts, Executive Vice President of Manufacturing Advancement. Along with the overview, Todd gives an in-depth view of the new Center for Manufacturing Advancement (CMA) on IALR's campus. While highlighting the CMA's purpose and capabilities, Todd focuses on the...

In the second episode of “Inside IALR,” learn about the many programs and focus areas of the Advanced Learning division from Julie Brown, Vice President of Advanced Learning. Dr. Brown provides an overview of everything Advanced Learning, including the three primary focus areas: expanding STEM capacity, connecting students to careers and promoting lifelong learning and service opportunities. Learn...

In the first episode of "Inside IALR," President Telly Tucker breaks down our mission statement and how it informs all of our initiatives. IALR is a collaborative organization by design, and Tucker provides an overview of some of our partnerships and programs. Tucker, who just completed his one-year anniversary with IALR, also shares some notable accomplishments from the past year.  The...